Tag: Blessings

Permission Granted To Enter

On By Ed AlgreenIn Lamb's Book of Life, Salvation, Saved, WorthyLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Revelation 21:27): 27 But nothing unworthy will be allowed to enter. No one who is dirty-minded or who tells lies will be there. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will be in the city.

THOUGHTS: I recently took an international trip. Because I was leaving my country of citizenship, I needed proof to show the authorities of the visiting country that I was who I said I was. They saw from my passport that I was a legal person in my home country, now they had to decide if they felt OK about letting me into their country. They were not at all interested in allowing a ‘bad’ person into their country. In fact, most immigration officers would check to make sure that I was not on a ‘bad’ list of persons that should not be allowed entry. In every case, it is highly advised that you never attempt to enter another country unprepared, otherwise they will use their option to decline you entrance into their country. In our scripture today John is sharing with us what we might expect when we make our final crossing – the one from planet earth to our final destination. I will point to the very last sentence in our scripture today, where we are told that only those whose names are in the book of life will be allowed into heaven. Friends, you will recall from many earlier devotionals where we discussed such things as salvation, redemption, a loving Savior, a sacrificial death for the forgiveness of our sin, only one way, and many other like phrases and or studies to help remind ourselves of the need, and the only way of preparing ourselves for acceptance into God’s heaven. In my above travel story, notice that I had to ask for permission to enter the foreign country. Notice that based on my past behavior, they opted to allow me entrance. Notice that John is given a very similar scenario in this verse. You must have accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, and therefore gotten your name into the Lamb’s book of life. However, this is not like an airline ticket that you purchase, and then live any way you want until the day of your trip. For we are told that nothing unworthy, no dirty-minded person, nor liars would be permitted there. In other words, if you have accepted Jesus and lived your life like He personally demonstrated, and as explained through His biblical saints, then chances are that you are who you say you are. Although I sincerely hope that none of you reading this devotional would ignore the warnings here, I want to be sure and remind you that failure to be accepted in heaven automatically directs you to hell. There are only two destinations. Hell is the Lake of fire that we talked about yesterday, so I sincerely pray that you have either made your travel preparations for heaven already, or that God will melt your hardened hearts today so that you might seek the face of Jesus and His righteousness, and invite Him into your heart and life. This is the only means into heaven. I want to see you there friend, please don’t disappoint me!

PRAYER: Thank You Father for the reminder of what we must do today to prepare for our final crossing of the border between our current home and the next. For those of us that know You, our minds are fixed on heaven and our celebratory time we will enjoy worshiping at Your feet. However this scripture has reminded us that for those who are not prepared for heaven, they are destined for hell – a place of eternal torment. The main reason we live today Lord, is to evangelize and encourage those that have not made a decision yet to accept You as Lord and Savior. May this be a day that your saints will be energized to share, to encourage and to live life as a full demonstration of God’s love for us, so that our family, friends and coworkers might see the results of Your grace in our lives. We long to be with You oh Lord. Please make our waiting time here worthwhile by using us to touch the lives of those needing You. I ask all this in the strong name of Jesus, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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 www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

God’s Work among the Nations

On By Ed AlgreenIn Recognize God, SubmissionLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (English Standard Version – Habakkuk 1:5): “Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.

THOUGHTS: It is so easy for us to see the ‘bad’ in everything, or the ‘wrong’ in everything, or the ‘hopelessness’ in everything, but very challenging for us to see the positive things. I believe that this happens very often when our expectations are not met, and especially when we don’t try to align our expectations with God’s plan. We have become such an instant world that any action that takes longer than a few seconds we tend to think of as inaction by God. We are told in God’s Word that our ways are not His ways, and His ways are not ours. This means that God is not a puppet set to our agenda, or programmed to act exactly like we may want to program Him! So why then do we whine or complain? It may be the same reason why churches are not running full capacity. It may be lacking folk who feel like God and the church has stopped listening to them and not performing up to their expectations. Friends I believe that we have tried to sit in the ‘driver’s seat’ and, in our weakness and powerlessness, we are trying to ‘run the show’. How ironic that we would then get disappointed or disgusted when we see failure and try to blame God! Habakkuk was told that he would be astounded by the work that was already going on in nations around him. I would dare say that if we would set aside our personal agendas and expectations, that we would see the marvelous work of the Lord also in our day. We can’t change the politicians, so why get worked up over all that we wish they would do differently. Let us refocus on God and His handiwork. Let us stop focusing on the things we feel should be done differently and start praising God for all that He does in and around us. He deserves our glory and praise for even the things that we take for granted, such as the sun, the moon, the air we breathe and the water to drink. Perhaps as He recognizes our thanksgiving in these things then He might open our eyes to other ways that He is already working around us and blessing our nations.

PRAYER: Lord You are awesome, and again this morning I am reminded that You are busy at work in areas that we often forget or overlook. Please help us to keep our eyes focused on You and look for ways to celebrate Your mighty works, rather than picking apart the things that we selfishly feel should be different. Lord may You be the focus of our attention and may You be recognized as God of this universe in every aspect of every day, so that we may praise You as we should at all times, for You alone are worthy. I ask these things in the wonderful name of Jesus and for His sake, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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 www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Promised Help From The Lord!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, Hope, PromiseLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Living Translation – Psalm 130:1-5): 1 From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help. 2 Hear my cry, O Lord. Pay attention to my prayer. 3 Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? 4 But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you. 5 I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word.

THOUGHTS: David was known as one of the great men of God in the Old Testament, yet he faced struggles and he needed help. I’m sure this sounds all too familiar, as each of us are face with challenges daily that are beyond our reach or ability to satisfy the need. This is why I believe that God drew my attention to verse 5 in particular. One translation actually relays the understanding that David called on God for help because He had promised it. This translation basically says that David was depending on, or had placed his hope in, God’s Word. Friends there is an old song that says something along the lines of, if I never had a problems, I wouldn’t know what God could do. I don’t believe this means that we intentionally invoke problems so we could prove God’s power, but like David, we should be so comfortable in God’s Word and in our relationship with God, that we could be reassured that even in our struggles, or hard times, or even challenging times, we know that God is there for us and has the power and desire to help us through our challenging times. I would encourage us to just remember that we serve an all-powerful God – the One that spoke this universe into existence, the One who raised the dead back to life, the One who placed Jesus into the womb of a virgin, the One who raised Jesus back to life after 3 days. What is the challenge you are facing again? Does it even come close to any of these examples I just listed? Yet we know the full story – that each of these overwhelmingly challenging things were met with resolution by our supernatural God! What an awesome God We Serve! Perhaps one of my readers might not be comfortable with placing your faith and/or trust in this God that I love and trust so dearly. May I recommend that you contact me so that I might pray with you about your relationship with God? Please use the information in my ‘Footnote’ to contact me and request prayer.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, You have promised that You would never leave us or forsake us. You proved Your undying love for us, by sacrificing Your one and only Son on a cruel cross so that we might be acceptable to Your Father and have the promise of eternal life in heaven with You one day. Awesome! Powerful! Love like we have never witnessed or seen demonstrated again. Thank You Lord Jesus! May we learn to place our faith and our trust in You and allow You to guide our daily footsteps and to have confidence that our life challenges require only a touch from You or a spoken word, as You did on the Sea of Galilee to calm the waters. You are an awesome Father, and I thank You for the love that You show to me and my readers every day that we are allowed to open our eyes and see the beauty and majesty that You provide for us. Bless us again today and help us to trust always in Your promises, for this I humbly ask in Your precious and strong name, Lord Jesus, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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 www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Renew Your First Love

On By Ed AlgreenIn First Love, Love, Rededication, RenewalLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New English Version – Revelation 2:2-5): 2 I know your works as well as your labor and steadfast endurance, and that you cannot tolerate evil. You have even put to the test those who refer to themselves as apostles (but are not), and have discovered that they are false. 3 I am also aware that you have persisted steadfastly, endured much for the sake of my name, and have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you: You have departed from your first love! 5 Therefore, remember from what high state you have fallen and repent! Do the deeds you did at the first;….

THOUGHTS: In reading verses 2 and 3, I believe that most of us would be envious of the testimony of a church that does that well! I believe that most of us are very proud of our churches, but personally, we are such poor members – in that we are overly obligated in our homes, work and community and barely find time to attend a church service, much less becoming actively involved in the ministry of the church to our community. But wait just a minute. Isn’t that exactly what God is referring to in this message to the church at Ephesus? That they have allowed other things to interfere in their relationship with their ‘First Love’? Well, let’s examine some of the attributes of our ‘first love’. I believe that if we remind ourselves of our first earthly love (girlfriend or boyfriend), I believe we will quickly reflect on how ‘our world’ stopped so that we could cater to that first love. We couldn’t move without that person being at our side, and our minds were just consumed with finding more ways to show that person how much we really love that person! When we first accepted Jesus as our Savior, it was very similar. For we would have climbed the highest mountain for Him or sailed the roughest seas to spread the word about our very best Friend. In fact, we were consumed with the things of God and looked in every way to find bigger and greater ways of showing our love for Him. So what happened? Where did our gusto go? I believe this is exactly the point that God is giving to the Ephesian church in verse 4, for it seems like they had, as we have, lost our ‘first love’ – our enthusiasm and love for our Lord. Friends, losing our enthusiasm for the Lord is similar to what happens in a marriage when divorce, or at least marriage counseling is approaching. We need help! Whether in struggling marriages or in a Christians spiritual life, this loss of our ‘first love’ feeling leads to an easy door for sin to enter, and that will lead to even greater division. In marriages, we are normally counseled to spend more time together; look for creative ways to show our love and appreciation for our spouse and open the lines of communication. May I recommend that we try and do the same in our spiritual lives when we recognize that we are not as excited about our ‘first love’ (Jesus) as we were the day we got saved? Spend time together – this is not always equal to church attendance, although I feel that is super important, but get into God’s Word and get direction from Him for your life. Understand His character and aim to imitate it as best you can. Creative way to express you love for God – this entails thinking about how you can love Him more, and how you can show that love through every word and action. This will impact the lives of those that you come into contact with, as it will be evident to whom you belong! Communicate with God – pray, pray, pray! This includes praising Him for His manifold blessings; praying for His direction for Your life (His perfect will) and for His miraculous hand upon your witness and in every aspect of your life.

PRAYER: Dear God, ashamedly we come before You realizing that we have really slackened in our relationship with You – our ‘First Love’. Thank You for drawing this to our attention in scriptures such as this one today. Just as it is of super importance that we renew and refresh our first ‘earthly love’ with our spouse, we realize that it is even more important that we do the same with You. This begins with asking your forgiveness – as we have turned our backs on the One that first loved us; the One who loved us even when we were unlovable by the world; the One who sacrificed Your only Son so that we might have life eternally with You and Your Father. Please renew within us a right spirit, so that we might desire Your Truth/Your Word and that we might rededicate ourselves to living in light of Your commands and for Your sake alone. You gave Your very best for us, and we deserve to give our very best to You. Please help us to do just this with every ounce of our being. Renewing our ‘First Love’ relationship could make us brand new disciples in this old world that is so enveloped in sin. Please grant us faith, power and the will to do just this today oh Lord. For I ask this in faith, and in the name of Jesus, my Savior, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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 www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

What Can Your Life be Likened To?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Allegiance, CommitmentLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – 2 Timothy 5:6-7): 6 …. My life is like a drink offering being poured out on the altar. 7 I have fought well. I have finished the race, and I have been faithful.

THOUGHTS: I believe that we might want to stop and think about an earthly example to help us apply this heavenly application. Let’s imagine for a moment we are being interviewed for a job, not as in a first job scenario, but later in life. The interviewer asks you to summarize your life so far so they could better understand the heart of the man/woman they are considering to bring into their employment. While this will challenge us to think about all of the good things that we’ve done in our lifetime, in order to promote ourselves for the job being applied for, I believe that we will still give a different response than if we were standing before the Lord and answering the same question. Think carefully about this as you consider your answer before God, Paul declared that his life was like a ‘drink offering’, a sacrifice, a life surrendered totally to what pleased God and responding in every way to His will and direction. It would truly be a challenge for any of us to come close to saying anything similar to Paul, especially before an all-knowing God, wouldn’t it? So then, how do we strive towards that? Well, I believe that this comes from a daily commitment to truly seek God, both in prayer and in the study of His Word; and through a totally committed life to the Master, so that we don’t let the ups and downs of this world get to us, weaken us, or cause us to wander off the course charted towards eternity with our Master. Friends, we must live today as for the Master, then when we stand before Him on Judgment Day, we’ll have nothing to be ashamed of. Paul proved that this CAN be done. We just need to be as committed as he was!

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for the clear-cut path You have developed for us. Not only have You provided the rule book for us, but You have given us clear instructions in Your Word to help us succeed in our walk here on earth. Please empower us with the will and commitment to honor Your Word, to obey it and allow it to guide us daily in every aspect of life. Lord, I believe that each of Your children would declare allegiance to You, however, please help us to have the will of Paul, so that we may live as a sacrifice to You, allowing Your will to override ours, and Your Word to direct our path each day. With the temptations of this world, I believe that we can only achieve all this under Your complete guidance and with Your all-powerful hand. Please continue to bless and endow us with Your strength each and every day. I ask this believing wholeheartedly in You and depending on You, in the name of Your Son, Jesus, my Lord and Savior, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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 blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Attitude More Important Than Sacrifice

On By Ed AlgreenIn Attitude, Giving, SacrificeLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

10 Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. 11 Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have. 12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.

(Bible Translation and Location: New Living Translation – 2 Corinthians 8:10-12)

Thoughts:

In my previous devotional I addressed the idea of giving to God, as we are blessed. In today’s scripture I am reminded of the New Testament story of the ‘Widow’s Mite’ where Jesus highlighted the penny offering dropped in by a widow. Because it was given from the heart and represented everything the widow had to give, Jesus was overjoyed with her gift. Personally in growing up, a quarter was a frequent offering given to me to place in the offering plate. Later while still at home, I remember that increased to a dollar. When I started working and was taught about the biblical standards for giving, it almost killed me to know that I was actually giving one hundred dollars to the church at one time! It wasn’t until I recognized that God was blessing me beyond measure with the 90% I had left to meet my bills with, and spend recreationally, that I understood that I had no reason to judge what the church might do with all this extra money I was giving. Rather, I learned to praise God for all His many riches that He blessed me with each day, and in return, for allowing me to give a portion back to Him for His continued work here on earth. I am a firm believer in church members giving freely of their tithes and offering to the Lord. I am also a firm believer that, based on my personal experience, God will open the doors of heaven and bless you with more than enough to still meet your earthly financial obligations. Let me encourage you to look at your income in this way: If you earn $1,000 gross pay, $200 of that may be taken out in taxes – so you can’t bank on the $1,000 as your spendable income, you can only count on $800. If you are a follower of Christ, then you can’t bank on the $800, because $100 of that gross income belongs to God as your tithe, so you can only bank on actual spendable income of $700. Now for those who are new to this principle, there is no economic class that will teach you how God can help you meet $800 worth of bills with only $700, but friend let me be quick to remind you that no professor can tell you how the Red Sea was parted for God’s chosen people to cross safely across to the other side either. Nor how Lazarus, who had already begun to decompose in his grave, yet he was brought back to life by Jesus! Remember, if we could figure the acts of Jesus out in our minds, then it is, or was not an act of Jesus. The one thing I can encourage you with this morning, based on personal experiences, is that when you place your faith and trust in Jesus, then you must do what He says, in expectation and assurance that He will do what He said He would do for you! His love never changes, and He’s still God, friend!

Prayer:

When I consider the beauty around me today: the ocean and all that it brings forth for us to survive on and enjoy; the plants and all the vegetables and fruit that plays such a vital part in my health; the wonderful family, friends and even strangers that I meet who enrich my life; who am I to question You oh God about working out Your will and way in my life? I just celebrated my 44th year at work, when some stay only a very short time before moving on to ‘greener grasses’. I will be celebrating my 39th wedding anniversary tomorrow (God willing) to the same lovely lady, while I look at statistics that more than 50% of marriages end in divorce. I can thank my God from the bottom of my heart that He’s still God in every way, especially in my life. With all that reassurance Lord, I humbly ask that You will continue to bless me, and Your other servants who has Your heart to give in support of Your work here on earth. May our hearts always be appreciative of Your many gifts that You provide for us, as incentive to continue giving from hearts of love. May Your work flourish in our churches and in our communities. May we continue to willingly and gladly serve You in and through everything we do and say everyday, so that those who may not have accepted You as Lord yet, will see Your hand at work in us and have a stronger desire and intent to know You more today than ever considered before in their life.

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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 blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day‘s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL!

Is There Anything God Can’t Do for You?

On By Ed AlgreenIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

The Bible – The Good News Translation

Psalm 107:35–38

35             He changed deserts into pools of water

and dry land into flowing springs.

36             He let hungry people settle there,

and they built a city to live in.

37             They sowed the fields and planted grapevines

and reaped an abundant harvest.

38             He blessed his people, and they had many children; he kept their herds of cattle from decreasing.

Thoughts:

There are times that we are so buried in our own struggles, heartaches, bodily aches and pains that we bury ourselves in our distress and cannot see the light of day. Friends, I was encouraged when I read these verses this morning, and I believe that God clearly showed me that when I feel discouraged and distressed, and may not have the faith to see beyond my troubles, I need to dig deeper into His Word and be reminded of how powerful He really is. We hear from our pulpits often, and yes, I believe that our God is the same today as He was yesterday, and in the days of which we read in the Bible. So when I read about the miracles wrought, and the very serious struggles that God brought His people through, I can’t help but jump for joy knowing that ‘Joy comes in the Morning’, as an old sacred song says, for those who believe in Him. You see, David had his struggles also. He battled with sin just like we did, because it is also recorded in the Bible. But in this Psalm he was reflecting on what God did for His people as they trusted Him in their long journey through the wilderness, and as we read on through this Psalm you can see how this time of reflection brought peace, comfort, joy and encouragement to the Psalmist. This is a prime example of what we are to do, because friends I must tell you, there is nothing that our God can’t do for you and I! That’s exciting news, that’s encouraging for those who feels like they are at the end of their road in sickness, finances, family struggles and just discouragement for the future! This serves as encouragement for us to regain our focus and our trust in Jesus and to rest our troubles before Him that are appearing overwhelming to us at this time. He is ‘GOD’ friend, He is at the top of the chart, over everything going on around us and in our lives, we can trust Him with everything! If you are really struggling with something that this devotional has not already helped you overcome, please use information in the footnote to seek help in praying this through!

Prayer:

What an awesome God we serve! For you created this whole wide world that we live in. You created us humans to live in this world. You created the beautiful sun to bring sunshine, the rain to enhance the food chain for us. You have healed the sick, made the blind to see and brought the dead back to life again. Our struggles seem so overwhelming to us, but in comparison to the above miracles they must be so minute to You. But Father, I want to ask that You please calm the storms of worry and despair in us, and help us to find ways to enhance our faith and trust in you. I realize that as long as we remain on this old earth amongst all the sin and worldly distractions, we will struggle with the problems of this world, but I plead with You to help us stay focused on You, with our eyes fixed to the cross of Calvary, so that we may constantly be reminded that we serve a God who is much bigger and way more powerful than all of our struggles. With this truth always before us, I know that we can overcome! Thank You Lord for your blessings on me! I ask all this, yet praise You for the assurances of being my sustainer, in Your precious and holy name I pray, AMEN!

NOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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.

The Creation of My Awesome God!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Disciple, God our Provider, PraiseLeave a comment

The Bible – The Good News Translation

Psalm 104:13–15

13             From the sky you send rain on the hills, and the earth is filled with your blessings.

14             You make grass grow for the cattle and plants for human beings to use, so that they can grow their crops

15             and produce wine to make them happy, olive oil to make them cheerful, and bread to give them strength.

Thoughts:

I am blessed to enjoy a short vacation this week, so as I meditate on this scripture I can hear the ocean waves beating against the shoreline, I can overlook the vastness of the ocean, the beauty of the land as it tapers off into the ocean waters (the beach), and the shrubbery that is specific to this area and tolerant of the salt sprays from the ocean. In addition to its beauty and the amazement of my wonderful God, I am overwhelmed by the stubbornness of man who is forced to obey government rules and regulations concerning our beaches and adjacent properties, and they are forced to cooperate with the rules of nature/God by planting the right kind of shrubs for the brutal salt sprays, yet we are challenged to convince these same men that there is a God who loves them even more than the waters and the earth. Isn’t it interesting that God is patient with these smart men in their ignorance and rejection, and He will forgive them at their request when coming to Him for salvation? David also recognized the awesomeness of all that surrounded him, so he expressed the inner joy and appreciation in the value of the rain, and the lush growth of plants around him. These plants were not just another pesky bush that he had to complain about trimming, but David recognized that had it not been for God providing these specific plants, he and others, like you and I, would be cheated from valuable things like wine, olive oil and bread. Friends it is not our responsibility to prove to non-believers that God exist, it is our duty to God to boast about the power of God that saved us from our sin, and that all the many things around them us were created and strategically placed because of the wonder, majesty, power and awesome love of our Provider, our maker, our Savior and our Lord. Please be reminded that we can save no one. We merely express what’s in our heart. God will use that little, to accomplish much for His ultimate glory. I am reminded in another scripture verse where Jesus said that if His disciples kept quiet the very stones will cry out/sing praise (Luke 19:40). We are not challenged to find words to praise our kids and grand-kids, why are we so challenged to sing the praises of our Creator? Could it be that our relationship with God is not where it needs to be? Draw close to God dear friend, so that He can draw near to you. He loves You and wants to be involved in your life.

Prayer:

Lord, I praise You for who You are, and for the beauty of all that You have provided for us to enjoy and benefit from. You not only made us in Your wonderful image, but You followed through by providing everything we need to survive, and even things to enhance our worship of You. You are awesome Mighty God! Thank You for being my Master and yet my friend. I honor You today and I thank You for providing everything around me to enjoy, both for peace of mind and rejuvenation but also for survival through the foods that I eat and the air that I breathe. As David reminds me, this earth is filled with Your blessings and Your awesome touch. Thank you for being my God, my Lord and my Savior. I adore You heavenly Father. May You be praised by every living soul this day, especially those that may meditate on this devotional. I praise You, and ask all this, in Your most holy and awesome name, Jesus my Lord, AMEN!

 

NOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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.

We May Forget To Ask God for These Things

On By Ed AlgreenIn Ask and Receive, Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Pleasing to GodLeave a comment

The Bible – The Good News Translation

Psalm 90:16–17

16             Let us, your servants, see your mighty deeds; let our descendants see your glorious might.

17             Lord our God, may your blessings be with us. Give us success in all we do!

 Thoughts:

 I believe that way too often we overlook reasons to praise God for His handiwork. For example, we look at a beautiful sunrise and we complain about the heat that must be ahead of us that day, instead of praising God for the sunrise that not only lights our day so that we might work, but also the sun is one of the major contributors to plant growth, which provides a great portion of our food chain. There are multiple other examples I could share, but David asked God in verse 16 to please allow us to see His mighty deeds. Not that he was blind, but so often we are blinded by the things that we take for granted, that we expect to be there for us. We must always be ready to ‘see’ the beauty and the good in all that God provides, and we must use those opportunities to praise Him for His wonderful works. In this verse David goes on to ask God to allow his descendants to see His mighty hand at work. Friends, we seem to be losing a generation that have no regard for God. Oh that we would adopt David’s prayer as our own sincere prayer to God. David continues his prayer to ask God for His ongoing blessings and to give him success. Friends, I love the unselfish prayers of our people, but I believe we get so hung up in asking for the needs of others until we brush aside asking God for those things that would help us personally grow successfully and that would allow us to succeed in ministry. Think about it friends, if we don’t practice what we preach, then what would our followers think that we do about our own success. They must know that we depend on God unwaveringly, and because of our relationship with God, we are accredited to minister to them and give them Godly advice. So yes friend, we have lots of needs when we go before the Master, but let us never forget the need to ask Him for our personal success, especially in anything that we attempt for Him.

 Prayer:

 Lord Jesus, it was refreshing to see that strong patriots of the Gospel needed to ask You for things like discussed above, because it helps me to realize that I am not abnormal as I truly need You for every decision, every direction, every witness that I share and in all aspects of my life and the lives of those that I may impact, such as my child. Lord, please help me to never overlook the beauty of Your creation and all opportunities to give You praise. Dear Jesus, I also ask that You please show your might and Your worthiness to our children so that they may not only succeed in this life, but that they might have life everlasting to look forward to! As You bless me with success, please help me to be a channel through which You might use those blessings to impact the lives that need to know You personally.

 

NOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will 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.

Excitement In Seeing God at Work!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Uncategorized2 Comments

I believe that even today God still speaks to Christians, and we would also get super excited if we would slow our minds from wandering, tune into God, and allow Him to speak to us through the written Word and through the preaching and teaching of the Gospel. Way too often we go to God’s house unprepared, ready to be entertained and/or preached at, and leave feeling like we have completed our Christian duty for the week. If we would only ready our minds through prayer and meditation, prior to attending church, and then seek God for how He might be responding to our prayers and desires, I believe that we too would get excited about the miraculous things that God is still doing today! Nothing is impossible with God, but it sure would help to open our minds and it would build excitement as we see Him at work, if we prepare ourselves and tune into Him, instead of being distracted with everything else around us. God is a God of miracles, but unless we ready ourselves to see and receive His blessing, we may leave church just the way we went in, untouched  by our loving and awesome God. Friend, our communion with God is way more important than anything else that Satan may place in our minds to distract us from a blessing. Try it! Ask God to remove the distractions so that you can concentrate on Him, hear Him and be blessed by Him! I believe that you too will be amazed by what you see and hear, and the blessing that will be yours for tuning in!

Book cover

Now there were then residing in Jerusalem Jews, devout and God-fearing men from every country under heaven. And when this sound was heard, the multitude came together and they were astonished and bewildered, because each one heard them [the apostles] speaking in his own [particular] dialect. And they were beside themselves with amazement, saying, Are not all these who are talking Galileans?