Tag: Bible

My Only Hope Is….

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Eternal Life, Hope, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Wednesday, 2021-07-14
WRITTEN AT: Casa Grande, AZ

SCRIPTURE FROM: Psalm 39:6-7
TRANSLATION: The Passion Translation (TPT)

BIBLE TEXT: 6 We live our lives like those living in shadows.
    All our activities and energies are spent for things that pass away.
    We gather, we hoard, we cling to our things,
    only to leave them all behind for who knows who.
7 And now, God, I’m left with one conclusion:
    my only hope is to hope in you alone!

APPLICATION: There was a gentleman who had his casket built, and it was stored in the room next to him at his home! Children dreaded visiting this gentleman with their parents because they were afraid of the idea of a casket being in the home! Now compare that to the dozens of people you know that fit the description given by David in verse 6. Many of us work ourselves into an early grave, as we strive to make the next hundred to save in our retirement, or purchase the newest gadget for our spouse or child. But what happens when their hopes are dashed by an accident that suddenly shortens the lifespan of that individual? I love the heart, and the writings of David in the Psalms. In the preceding verses he was rehearsing with God how much longer he would live. And I believe that we all think about that at times, but oh how I wish that we would come to the same conclusion that David did in verse 7: Regardless of all else, praise God I realize that my only hope is in the risen Lord, Jesus my Savior! Friends, we all want to leave for our children more than our parents left for us, but let me suggest to you something that matters most when an individual leaves this world: that someone was touched by your walk, or your talk, or your time with them, while you were alive here on earth, and that person found Jesus because of their association with you! Friend of God, I pray that your hope is in God – the same God that David referred to in our Scripture today. Where is your hope? What is your hope based on? Unless your hope is based on Jesus Christ, nothing you achieve will be of value to those you hope will benefit from your estate.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Our hope is in Jesus our Lord, the Creator of the earth, sun, stars, you and I. Anything else is temporal and may never be appreciated by those left behind.

PRAYER: Thank You dear Lord for the reminder that all you created will be taken care of here on earth and in the new heaven that You created just for us. Everything else is temporal and matters very little when we stand before You on Judgment Day. Please Lord, speak to the hearts of the unsaved and speak to each reader/listener of this devotional. May we all plan to be with You on that great resurrection morning! Please help us to fix our eyes on this very important part of life while here below, so that when our time comes for meeting you in the skies, we might sing with the angels: Oh That Will Be Glory For Me! AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Respect The Place Where God Resides

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Righteous Living, The Church, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Tuesday, 2021-07-13
WRITTEN AT: Casa Grande, AZ

SCRIPTURE FROM: Numbers 35:34
TRANSLATION: The Voice (VOICE)

BIBLE TEXT: 34 You won’t pollute the land where you live and where I also have chosen to dwell among you. I, the Eternal One, dwell among the Israelites.

APPLICATION: As things occur in our lives that God always knows about, there are times that He has to help us understand why they are happening; or perhaps how we should handle the situation; or we may even be given wisdom to know that with God, all things are possible. It was no different with the Israelites, God’s very own people. In our Scripture, God was dealing with the subject of murder. And although He had already told Moses how displeased He was with the act, He went on to warn Moses, as I believe He is doing with us, that He will not reside where sin abounds. Please don’t question God’s unlimited intelligence by saying that you don’t know what He’s talking about. Yes, you may have never murdered another human being, but when He said that He wants us too keep His place of abode righteous, I believe He included this incidence in the Bible so that we could also take note of His strong distain against sin. You see, many of us reading this Scripture and this devotional may have accepted Jesus as our personal Savior. While I’m sure that makes God overjoyed at receiving one more of His children into His kingdom, I believe He becomes just as angry with us as He did with the Israelites, for we go to some of the same places where we used to go; we join in on some of the same dirty conversations that we used to; and we create havoc between God’s children that leads to disharmony, and that is strongly against God’s will and purpose. It’s like we leave God at the altar of the church, and we go out and return to our sinful ways. The Word of God says that the Holy Spirit indwells the life of the believer. So when you visit those old places, you are exposing God to the sin that goes on there. When you curse another child of His or share evil and conniving things that will hurt another child, you are exposing God to your old, evil mindset. Also, having worked in leadership of the local church for many years, it is frightening to know the evil things that go on among God’s people. We regularly invite God to join with us in His place of worship as we lift up holy hands and sing His praises, but dear friends, can we truly expect Him to honor our requests when there is so much jealousy, envy, strife and sin of almost every nature occurring right inside of our four walls? We ask for His guidance in helping us save our businesses, yet we steal, cheat and act greedy towards even the poor who enter our doors. Will God consider entering there to bless our businesses? I believe by now you are getting the idea of where the Holy Spirit led me as I meditated on this Scripture today. If we invite Him to live within us, then we must be prepared to cleanse our sanctuary so that He may indwell us in a setting of righteousness that is free from sin. If we invite God to be present with us in our church services, we must cleanse ourselves of all sin, so that God may enter the Holy of Holies in a sin-free environment that is especially designed for a righteous God. Friends, I know that we are not perfect, but please be reminded that God is. He can cleanse us for all our unrighteousness and make us white as snow, so I know that He can give us wisdom to also keep ourselves holy. When our churches are filled with God’s holy people, then it will be suitable for God to live there and to meet with us as we seek His face. Sin is unacceptable to our righteous God, whether it be murder, or what we may often consider to be minor sins like: stealing, gossip, lying, hatred, etc. Only the blood of Jesus can wash us clean and make us holy, just as the Master is. Seek Him today while He may be found, Precious child of the King!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: God resides where there is no sin. Oh that He will comfort and rest in us, and in the environment where we find ourselves!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, please forgive us for treating Your grace so lightly. Through peer pressure and often for popularity purposes, we tend to accept You as Lord of our lives. These are often poor excuses for such an important decision. Lord, speak to us again through Your Holy Spirit, so that our decisions may be genuine. We need You every hour of every day, to help us stay on track and to live righteous lives, even as You are righteous. The unsaved will be disgusted over hypocrisy, Lord please help us to present ourselves as genuine children of the King so that they may see Jesus, so that they may believe, so that they may surrender their lives to Your lordship. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

The Temple – A Place Of Prayer

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Power of Prayer, Praise, Prayer, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Monday, 2021-07-12
WRITTEN AT: Kingman, AZ

SCRIPTURE FROM: Matthew 21:12-13
TRANSLATION: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

BIBLE TEXT: 12 Jesus went into the Temple area. He threw out all those who were selling and buying things there. He turned over the tables that belonged to those who were exchanging different kinds of money. And he turned over the benches of those who were selling doves.13 Jesus said to them, “The Scriptures say, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer.’ But you are changing it into a ‘hiding place for thieves.’”

APPLICATION: While I sincerely believe that Jesus walked into a sanctuary, or at least the courtyard that led into the sanctuary, upon reading this my mind also went on something else referred to in the Bible as ‘The Temple of God – where the Holy Spirit resides’ – our bodies. In the case of what we call the sanctuary, or the church today, how many of us can say that prayer plays a crucial part in our ministries? In churches that I have attended, we could hardly keep the doors opened on a prayer meeting night, for only the very few faithful ones would show for that meeting. In fact, one elder member told the pastor of one church that he would stop attending on Wednesday nights if he turned it into a night of prayer alone, for he wanted to hear the pastor teach on that night. Friends, when at home we receive instant gratification from turning on the television. If we don’t get the kind of entertainment we want, we simply change the channel. Doesn’t that sound like the same scenario as the real-life example I just shared with you? Many just can’t be bothered to ‘make the sacrifice’ to attend one additional service each week. Oh dear friends, imagine us feeling like we are making ‘a sacrifice’ to join with other believers to praise God, and to thank Him for His goodness towards us? If we were not included in the blessing, one could possible understand the refusal to go and thank God, but no matter how much we want, and how badly we see the need for certain things, yet there is so much that Almighty God has blessed us with. I remember being admitted into my workplace one morning and asked how I was doing after my long drive to work. With a smile. I responded how thankful I was about the awesome day that God had given to us, and for the job He blessed me with! I was quickly shut down, because they were expecting complaints about having to come to work! Here’s a thought to consider: If you added the following words after your church name outside of your church ‘A House of Prayer’, would you be the mockery of the town, or would that attract many others to stop and worship with you? On another note, what if Jesus was referring to ‘the Temple’ as our bodies? Surely our own personal prayer life is well oiled and happens like clock-work, right? Although Jesus could easily see the challenges with the church, He knows how well we do in our personal prayer life, right? Friends, let me be the first to remind you today, that the church/temple prayer meetings suffer because of the lack of prayer in our personal lives/temple. Only a renewed personal/individual relationship with the Creator could solve both problems. Won’t you be the first to do that today? If for no other reason, show your appreciation for all that God has blessed you with. That alone is sufficient to praise Him in the morning, at noontime and evening!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: God’s ‘TEMPLE’ = House of Prayer (Isaiah 56:7).

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for giving of Your very life so that I may live eternally. Thank You for blessing me with good health each and every day so that I might enjoy everything You have provided for Your children here on earth. Please Lord, help my readers and listeners to never think much of bowing the knee in thanksgiving to our Provider of every good gift from above. Please be a motivator for us to leave everything behind and find ourselves in group prayer meetings so that iron might sharpen iron – we might encourage one another in all that You have done for us. Please help us to be a grateful people who are always ready to join hearts and hands in thanksgiving to our generous God! AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Praise God For All You Have Seen and Heard

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Sunday, 2021-07-11
WRITTEN AT: Kingman, AZ

SCRIPTURE FROM: Luke 2:16-20
TRANSLATION: The Voice (VOICE)

BIBLE TEXT: 16 ….. After they saw the baby, 17 they spread the story of what they had experienced and what had been said to them about this child. 18 Everyone who heard their story couldn’t stop thinking about its meaning. 19 Mary, too, pondered all of these events, treasuring each memory in her heart.
20 The shepherds returned to their flocks, praising God for all they had seen and heard, and they glorified God for the way the experience had unfolded just as the heavenly messenger had predicted.

APPLICATION: Before you begin to wonder, this is not a re-post from a Christmas time post! When reading through the Bible, we will come to passages that refer to all season off the year and of life itself. My current reading plan has me in Luke, but I believe there are some very important pieces of this story that might minister to our lives even today. Notice that the shepherds:
a). Obeyed the heavenly messenger regardless of their status in life – I don’t know about you, but there are times that one can easily be intimidated – around the rich; the highly educated; the poor, even though many of you and myself might think we are extra poor. But the shepherds were considered outcasts because of their jobs and their position in life. But notice that they didn’t question the angel, instead they obeyed and immediately started out on a journey to find the newborn King. Our lesson – enough with the excuses, do what God orders us to do. No need to feel unworthy, too poor or invaluable to God, for we are children of the King;
b). Were persistent in their search for the baby Jesus – Notice how much faith is involved here. If they chose to ignore God’s messenger, they would never have made the first step in their search. If they didn’t find Jesus where they thought a King would be, they could easily have given up on their search. Jesus wants us to be persistent in saving the lost. Do we have the faith to follow His commands and be a witness?
c). Shared their experience joyfully – imagine the joy of seeing God’s promise come true and experience the joy of others as you share your ‘Story’ with them? Mary was touched by the Shepherds, and so were the people that they shared their story with. Perhaps instead of being timid about sharing our story, we should prepare ourselves for a time of celebration as we see God work through us in touching lives for the Kingdom!
d). Returned to their flocks rejoicing and praising God – Imagine our weekend services if we truly rejoiced in God our Father for all His wondrous works in and through us during the week? Will there be an unsaved person in your sanctuary who would leave unconvinced of the awesome works of our God? These poor shepherds had reason to return filled with joy and worship to our Lord. So do we dear friend! It’s not the joy for seeing our friends, or the pastor, or what everyone is wearing that day. In fact, we may not see any of those things if we truly concentrated on praising God for His wondrous works to even us – simple poor folk depending on God every day.
It’s Sunday dear readers and listeners, a day that many of you will find your way thru the doors of a church. What’s your purpose? Did you, like the shepherds, see Jesus this week, and you are anxious to tell your good news, that will surely encourage the saved, and open the eyes of the unsaved, present in your church?

BLESSING(S) NOTED: The shepherds believed, obeyed, worshiped, told their ‘Story’ and returned to their pastures praising God! So should we as we experience our risen Lord!

PRAYER: To God be the glory for the great things You have done! Thank You Lord for making me a part of Your kingdom, and I am thankful for all my readers and/or listeners who also serve You faithfully. The shepherds had so much to praise You for, but today we remember how very grateful we are for all that You do for us also. May we be faithful in praising You and lifting Your name on high every day for the awesome work that You do in our lives. May our worship be so focused on You that others might be encouraged to totally surrender to You and follow You faithfully for the rest of their lives. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

If You Have Faith

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Faith, Faith in Action, Genuine Faith, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Saturday, 2021-07-10
WRITTEN AT: Kingman, AZ

SCRIPTURE FROM: Matthew 17:19-20
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 19 Afterward the disciples asked Jesus privately, “Why couldn’t we cast out that demon?”
20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.

APPLICATION: This Scripture comes at a time when I am visiting the Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA. We can read about God creating mountains and canyons, but until we see these things in person, it is so difficult to truly fathom His awesome works. In reading this Scripture I quickly concluded that God was simply using mountains as an illustration for us to understand how powerful our faith truly is, to the one who believes on teh Lord Jesus Christ. But as I looked at those beautiful mountains, I could only think that I would have no reason to have a mountain move, for it is very obvious that they were placed meticulously and perfectly by God. In all humility, I just beg of God to give me faith to heal certain diseases that hinder enjoyment of life by so many, even the health of my very own family. Think about it – COVID; Cancer; Alzheimer’s; Blindness; Deafness; the awful position of many who are lame or crippled, etc, etc. Friends, you may look at my list and say that in the realm of human capability, those diseases are just as huge as mountains, for they have been around for a while now and they seem to be beyond help by doctors, much less normal laity like you and I. But unless we go beyond the faith of the disciples, Jesus would repeat His explanation to us all over again as He did to the disciples. We currently have every reason to take God at His word in saying that ‘Nothing is impossible’, for we have seen where He performed miracle after miracle,and we know that all things are possible with Him. But I had a friend who would stop and pray that God would help him find his car keys, or show him the right path to take in his business. He said by turning everything over to God, it provided him with a foundation upon which to stand while asking God for the BIG things in life that may otherwise seem impossible in the eyes of man. Whatever it takes to syke up our minds to let go and believe in God with all of our heart, soul and mind, we must do it dear friend, for He cares for us and loves us more than anything we could even imagine. In some biblical translations a verse is added as vs 21, and it says that having this kind of faith may require us to fast and pray in deepest faith. So just as in the case of building physical strength, where we start small in our weightlifting and then increase as we could handle it, let’s plan to do the same on our Spiritual journey of faith. Develop your faith by trusting God in the small things, and watch how He will strengthen you to trust Him even in the times that may seem impossible, especially to unbelievers.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Just a little amount of faith will go a long way. Have faith, believe, and nothing will be impossible!

PRAYER: Lord, we often say that we believe in God, and that is admirable. But may we have such faith in You that our Scripture today will become a reality – Nothing is impossible with God, and for the one who believes in God with all their heart, soul and mind. Please embolden us with Your love, Your miraculous touch, and the everlasting hope that brighten the day of every believer in Christ. Please work miraculously through us, and grant us the boldness to know that ALL things are possible through the powerful and strong name of Jesus Christ. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Preparing The Way

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Preparation, Prepared, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Friday, 2021-07-09
WRITTEN AT: Kingman, AZ

SCRIPTURE FROM: Luke 1:76-77
TRANSLATION: Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT: 76 “And you, my little son, shall be called the prophet of the glorious God, for you will prepare the way for the Messiah. 77 You will tell his people how to find salvation through forgiveness of their sins. 

APPLICATION: Like me, you may have also been a part of a team preparing the way for missionaries to arrive; family members to arrive; church evangelistic meetings (Revival); and possibly even political meetings. You know what to expect and what might facilitate immediate action by the arriving party. In God’s ultimate wisdom, He blessed an elderly barren couple – Zachariah and Elizabeth, with a son, John the Baptist. Not only was John conceived miraculously, but he was born with a special purpose in mind – to be the forerunner of Jesus. He was tasked with the job of preparing the way (the minds and hearts of the people) for Jesus and His earthly ministry. Why do you suppose you were created, child of God? After accepting Jesus as your Savior, you might recall having read where Jesus commanded that you now go and tell the world who saved you, and how Jesus could also save them. Does that not sound like a replication of what John was tasked with? If you agree with that, do you suppose that you might have a similar title – Prophet? The Oxford dictionary helps to confirm this by stating as its meaning: ‘a person regarded as an inspired teacher or proclaimer of the will of God. John was told that he was to tell the people how they could be saved from their sin. As a Christian, one of our primary responsibilities we have towards our fellow man is: to tell them how they could be saved from their sin! John was preparing the people for the Christ who would come and share the same message. We should be preparing the hearts of our fellow man for the Day of Judgment when they will be questioned about their sin. For those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior, they will receive their just reward. For those who made the choice to remain in sin and remain attached to Satan, they too will receive their doom – eternity in Hell with Satan and his demons. So you see, we have a very similar task as that assigned to John the Baptist. He preached fire and brimstone as he prepared the people for the coming King. What are you doing to prepare the hearts of those in your circle of influence? I believe we will all be asked by God about how well we did with what He assigned to us. May we all be found worthy of that famous saying: ‘Well done good and faithful servant’!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Like John the Baptist, we too are tasked with the awesome responsibility of preparing the way for unbelievers to see heaven. Hopefully we will hear the Master congratulate us for a job well done!

PRAYER: Thank You Father for Your orchestrated plan to have John The Baptist prepare the way for the ministry of Your Son, Jesus. Likewise, I thank You Lord for tasking your children on earth to also prepare the hearts of unbelievers, and show them how they may seek forgiveness of their sin. Please give us boldness, wisdom and faith enough to move mountains, so that we may be successful in our assignment. Be glorified in us and through us, so that others may see and believe in You. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Thanks For Watching Over Us

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Give thanks, Needs, Praise, Protection, Protector, Recognize God, Thank You Jesus, Thankfulness, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Thursday, 2021-07-08
WRITTEN AT: Williams, AZ

SCRIPTURE FROM: Numbers 31:48-50
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

BIBLE TEXT: 48 The army commanders went to Moses 49 and said, “Sir, we have counted our troops, and not one soldier is missing. 50 So we want to give the Lord all the gold jewelry we took from the Midianites. It’s our gift to him for watching over us and our troops.”

APPLICATION: In this very old story, God is bringing His people, a group who was generally ungrateful for all that God did for them, from a land of slavery and ill-treatment to a land of ‘Milk and Honey’ – the Promised Land. We read about all the ways that they turned their backs on God, and how they failed to recognize His awesome provisions and His love towards them. Yet on this particular occasion the Israelites were used of God to eliminate the Midianites from a land they were to assume ownership. It seems like for the commanders of each part of the Israelite army that went to battle, their eyes were opened to the glory of God and His protective hand over their people. They showed their appreciation by giving back to God one hundred percent more than than they were asked to give, as their way of saying ‘thank you’ for watching over them. Friends, this opened my eyes as I meditated on this. We thank God for our food and our health, but most often it seems like we just follow an habitual routine, or a tradition, of thanking Him for these very obvious things. Think about this: What if you or I won a large sum of money, or inherited a large estate. Knowing how comfortable we are already, and how we are meeting all of our bills already, what would we do differently if we were gifted this large estate? I know: you would tithe to your church; you might pay off any mortgages outstanding so that you would end up debt free for once in your life; you might use a chunk of the money to take care of your parents for the rest of their lives; and you may even create an endowment fund so that the orphanage supported by your church will be funded properly. But what if you felt a tug on your heart to give to God’s church for the ongoing ministry in your community? Isn’t it strange how we then become experts on how the church misappropriates it’s money; how the leaders favor one family over another to help when in need; how their budget is a joke; etc, etc? Please dear believer in Christ, notice that there is nothing said about how the Israelites may have felt about misuse of power or provisions by Moses and his leaders. They realized that God Almighty was their guide into the battle; their strength during the battle; their protector that brought them safely out of the battle; and their everlasting hope in every circumstance of life. Notice that the commanders didn’t say that their gifts were for Moses, but they were for God. Notice that they didn’t insist on how their gifts must be used, they just wanted to give unto God for all that He had given to them and protected them from. In God’s Word, He demands that we give to the Lord God. We are given direction on how much to give, based on what is taught in the Word. I believe that God is holding our church leaders accountable for the jobs they are given in leading us, and they are all answerable to God. Let’s learn to do our part, and allow our church leaders to do theirs. God watches over each of us in His own special way, and we each are accountable to God for what He has entrusted to us. God being our helper, may we all thank Him, and give to His work, as we feel in our heart that He commands us to do.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: In a battle where all the men of the opposing army was killed, the Israelites realized that not one of their men was lost. They gave, thanked God, and worshipped Him, for protecting them. So should we when we see our God watching over us like He does each day!

PRAYER: Thank You dear Lord for protecting our ancestors and taking such good care of them. You do the same for us each and every day! So Lord, we just want to say ‘Thank You’ from the bottom of our heart. You are so good to us! Please forgive us when we whine and complain, for Your love is always with us, even when life don’t seem to be going our way. May our lives be an example to those searching for You, or just simply don’t believe in You. May they see Jesus in action through the normal course of our lives, and may they realize that You are alive and well, ready to listen to their cry for forgiveness of their sin. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Let Heaven Fill Your Thoughts Today

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Heaven, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Wednesday, 2021-07-07
WRITTEN AT: Williams, AZ

SCRIPTURE FROM: Colossians 3:1-3
TRANSLATION: The Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT:  1 Since you became alive again, so to speak, when Christ arose from the dead, now set your sights on the rich treasures and joys of heaven where he sits beside God in the place of honor and power. 2 Let heaven fill your thoughts; don’t spend your time worrying about things down here. 3 You should have as little desire for this world as a dead person does. Your real life is in heaven with Christ and God.

APPLICATION: When Christians worry, do you suppose it’s because we are worried that God will not do what He promised? When we doubt and stress out to the limit, do you suppose that we are concerned that God is unfaithful? When we feel unloved and like no one cares, do you suppose that we allow ourselves to ponder if God must have left us alone, and He no longer cares about us? Friends, I believe that when we allow these types of feelings and/or thoughts to enter our minds, it’s because we have taken our eyes off Jesus and becoming overwhelmed by the the things of this world, and perhaps looking for the attention of earthly friends or loved ones. I believe it might be times like these that Satan moves in for the attack, for he sees that we have taken our eyes off Jesus and allowing the distractions of his world to take hold in our lives. I would highly recommend these verses to all Christians today, for if we follow the advice in verse 2 and fill our thoughts with heaven – our future home, then we will be reminded that it is a place prepared just for us. A place where we will unite with Jesus at the foot of His throne and worship Him with unending praises. A place where we will hear the voice of the Father who will encourage us with words such as “well done good and faithful servant”! A place where we will glorify the Creator of love, the One who loved us enough to die on a cross so that we might have everlasting hope and assurance of heaven. A place where there will be no distractions, but instead where our full undivided attention is centered on the Savior of the world! Try getting away where you are totally disconnected from cell phones and devices for a week. Wow, what a release! Oh how our attention is quickly drawn to the things and people who are truly important to us! Friends, I must remind you that we have allowed so much interference in our day that we not only lose sight of our one-on-one time with the Lord, but we also have lost that one-on-one time with our spouses, our children, our friends, our coworkers and all others. Is it any wonder that we have trouble evangelizing to them? If we can all agree that verse 3 is totally spot on and accurate, then we will agree that our real life is in heaven! I would dare say that our minds, our attention, our aim and our devotion should be there today and everyday. Perhaps it is time that you take a little time to get with Jesus and make sure that every little this is alright with Him. It’s important, friend.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Heaven should be the home we are headed for, and we should live each day preparing for that future home with the King of Glory!

PRAYER: Lord God, we are such worry warts, but it’s always over things that really don’t matter – things of this world. Being reminded in this scripture that our minds are to be set on our heavenly home, and our time with You, we humbly come before You today asking for forgiveness for our misguided thoughts and worries. We realize that all these things do is to distract us in our walk with You and our witness of You. For when we become solid in our faith and demonstrate it in our walk with You, we will influence those who follow in our steps. Lord I pray that You will do an awesome work in my life and in the lives of my readers, so that we might become healthy Christians focused on the ‘main thing’ – our heavenly home. I further pray that this new focus will have such an impact on us, that the unsaved will desire a close and intimate walk with You. I humbly ask these things in the strong, mighty and holy name of Jesus – your Son, and my Redeemer, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Your Miraculous Sign

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Miraculous, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Without doubt, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Tuesday, 2021-07-6
WRITTEN AT: Williams, AZ

SCRIPTURE FROM: Matthew 16:1-4
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 1 One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority. 2 He replied, … You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times! 4 Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign……

APPLICATION: If I was at work, and was called in by the president, who built me up for a great programming project he/she had for me, but they wanted me to do a sample first, I wonder how I might feel? Perhaps like the president wasn’t sure that he/she could trust my qualifications for the job they had in mind? Perhaps they still can’t believe that I single-handedly completed other projects that they saw around the shop that had been credited to me. Or to think positively, perhaps the president just wasn’t sure what they truly wanted, and they were asking for a sample so they could tweak and build on my first output. The Pharisees were very smart scholars, but they were beginning to feel like Jesus was encroaching on their territory. The crowd was beginning to cling on to this man claiming that He was the Son of God, for He was healing their sick and performing amazing miracles in their midst. In my younger years I remember hearing young adults say to someone challenging them: ‘you think you bad, do this, or do that’! It was a dare, as they hoped to bring that person down from the lofty perception of others. I believe that Jesus went about healing and performing many other miracles out of a heart of compassion for His children that He saw hurting and in trouble. For Him to obey the Pharisees, He would then be placed in a position of a magician who could do almost anything on demand. Friends, we must always remember that God is ‘love’, so anything that He did through His Son is done out of ‘love’, not as a result of being told to do it from some earthly leader. So let me suggest that perhaps the next time we are tempted to ask God for a sign, that instead, we look for ways to express love, worship and praise to our Father. Although He already knows what we need, try asking Him to show you the way to live according to His will and in a way that is pleasing to Him. Share with Him the dilemma you have of knowing what to do in a situation, and ask Him for His guidance. Share with Him about your concern for the health of your loved one and ask Him to help you accept whatever His will is for that individual. Share your hearts desire for the dire situation of a loved one, but try saying what Jesus did in the garden as He prayed to the Father to remove the cup of suffering from Him ‘Not my will, but thine be done’. Friends, our God is able to do way more than anything we could think or imagine. There is no need to ask Him for a sign, He could do it. Trust in Him with all your heart, soul and mind, and all these things will be given to you, child of God!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: No need for a sign, we know without a shadow of doubt that our our God can do all things through Christ in whom we place our faith and trust.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, we say we believe, yet we question Your abilities and Your awesome power. Please forgive us when we doubt and when we question Your ability. Please give us the desire to spend more and more time in Your Word, as You have filled it with great truth and amazing wonders of our Creator. There is no greater book for us to read, and our instructions from our Almighty God is very evident throughout it’s pages. Lord, we need You every minute of every day. Please draw us unto Yourself so that You might work miraculously through us. Lord we believe, please help us in our unbelief and doubt. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

What Does Your Heart Produce?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Clean Heart, Heart, Heart Knowledge, Humbleness, Humility, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Worship1 Comment

DATE WRITTEN: Monday, 2021-07-05
WRITTEN AT: Gallup, NM

SCRIPTURE FROM: Matthew 15:17-20
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

BIBLE TEXT: 17 Don’t you know that the food you put into your mouth goes into your stomach and then out of your body? 18 But the words that come out of your mouth come from your heart. And they are what make you unfit to worship God. 19 Out of your heart come evil thoughts, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, vulgar deeds, stealing, telling lies, and insulting others. 20 These are what make you unclean. Eating without washing your hands will not make you unfit to worship God.

APPLICATION: The Pharisees had overstepped their boundaries, as usual, and tried to test Jesus by reporting something they felt His disciples were overlooking. In this particular instance, they reported that, upon close observation, it appeared like the disciples were neglecting the customs of the Jews in washing their hands before eating a meal. Now we practice this little rule today, and we will get on to our children for not practicing good hygiene. But Jesus took this opportunity to teach the Pharisees, and us, that although this may be a good earthly practice to avoid spreading of germs, this is minuscule in the big picture, as it has nothing at all to do with godliness. So does this mean that the Christian must think only about godliness? Not necessarily, but when you follow through like the Pharisee in reporting a brother or sister for non-godly things, instead of praying that they might become more Christ-like, then there may be questions about your motives. Furthermore, I would hope that when you report someone for breaking man’s law, or God’s, I would hope that your life is in stellar condition. Much like the case of the Pharisees, I remember a time when I was gossiping with a coworker about certain staff members who, I thought, was less than perfect. To my surprise, and through a rude awakening, that coworker looked at me and said: ‘that’s funny, they say the same thing about you’. Shocking, but thank God for an honest and bold coworker, for it opened my eyes that I was too much like the Pharisees. Jesus went on to give examples of what results from a heart that is filled with the world’s trash. Think carefully about the Word of God and see if you could think of any Scripture that supports the following actions: evil thoughts, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, vulgar deeds, stealing, telling lies, and insulting others. I believe you will find that the Bible/God teaches just the opposite to each of these wicked things. Being children created by God, I’m sure that He didn’t teach these things to us, so where do you suppose we came up with these? Friends, we live in an evil and conniving world that is out to set God’s children out of line with His powerful and godly teachings. It is very important that we fill our minds with the things of Christ. Jesus taught that if we fill ourselves with these two things – love God; and love one another; then we would easily follow all of His other commandments. As we practice these two commandments each day, we will fill our hearts and our minds with the things of God, and the world needs to see and witness more of this today, than perhaps any other time in history. We must guard our hearts, so that we take in the things of God, and not the things of this world that leads to more evil and disharmony. Show them Jesus, won’t you?

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Fill your heart, mind and soul with more of Jesus, and prepare to worship Him! the world needs more of Jesus, not more of itself.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I desire that my heart will produce the fruits that You speak of in Your Word. To accomplish this while still in a world filled with sin and imperfections, I will need You by my side every minute of every day. Please fill me with the will to obey Your commands and to replicate the many good things that You modeled while on earth. My friends who will read and/or listen to this devotional may have the same desire, so Lord I pray that You will touch Your children today in miraculous ways so that the world may know that Jesus lives, because they see You alive in us. Please humble hearts who need You today. Draw the lost to You and use us at every opportunity where You know that we won’t mess up. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!