Tag: Children of God

Faith Today: The Promise of Eternal Life Through Jesus

On By Ed AlgreenIn Accept Jesus NOW, Allegiance to the Lamb, Ask and Receive, Believe, Believers, Biblical Decisions, Blood of Jesus, Born Again, Christ's Representative, Christian, Christianity, Cleanse me Oh God, Commitment, Convinced of the gospel, Decisions, Know and Believe, Know Jesus, Surrender, The love of God, The Plan, The WordLeave a comment

DATE POSTED
Friday, November 22, 2024, and I was blessed to be at Mariposa at Hunter Road, San Marcos, TX when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find and read any and all devotionals that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Quoted from the Living Bible (TLB) and found in John 1:1-4; 11-13

THE SCRIPTURE READS
 1-2 Before anything else existed, there was Christ, with God. He has always been alive and is himself God. 3 He created everything there is—nothing exists that he didn’t make. 4 Eternal life is in him, and this life gives light to all mankind. 
11-12 Even in his own land and among his own people, the Jews, he was not accepted. Only a few would welcome and receive him. But to all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God. All they needed to do was to trust him to save them. 13 All those who believe this are reborn! – not a physical rebirth resulting from human passion or plan – but from the will of God.

APPLICATION – as inspired by the Holy Spirit
Just as John saw fit to declare the name, power and authority of the Christ in whom he believed, and who inspired him to write the Gospel of John, I believe it is important for us to understand this when we look at the instruction from this book, the Bible. Interpreters have labored over translating the Bible as accurately as they possibly could, but some words – like ‘Logos’ in the original language, actually translates to God; Christ; or the Word. Therefore, many Bibles show ‘the Word’ in their translation of John chapter one. The version I quoted here is not incorrect, the writers just used a word that we relate to more, to help us understand the intent.
BUT, after establishing the person of Christ and His relationship to God, John impressed even more upon me as I got down to verse 11, and I hope that God will also impress upon you, the importance of these words. John wanted God’s chosen people, the Jews, to know that he was aware of the ones who rejected Jesus as the Christ – the Son of God, but more importantly, John wanted them to know that for those who heard the voice of God and accepted Jesus as Lord, they were awarded the right to become children of God. And we all long for a sense of belonging to someone. For the casual reader, no doubt you are excited that the Jews read John’s words, listened to, and obeyed his invitation, and they could now rest easy knowing their eternity is secure in the fact that they will be with God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit forever. However, to my readers today I must share that God also wanted this chapter included in His Word to us today, so that we could know that His Word is still the same powerful force today; His love is even more expansive that we may have first thought, because this Good News also applies to us today. The promises of God are just as true today for us as it was for the Jews: ‘to all who receive him, he gives the right to become children of God‘. To those who really read into this, you owe it to yourself to ask ‘but what about those who don’t receive Jesus?’ It is a good reminder for us that there are only two places available to us after life here on this earth: Eternity in Heaven for those who have invited and received Jesus into their life and given Him authority to be Lord of their life, OR Eternity in Hell where Satan will torment you way worse than anything you have experienced while here on earth. Friends, God created us in His own image, and He wants us to stay especially close to Him as our Creator and Father, why would we allow Satan to tempt us into thinking anything else? Please allow the Lord to open your heart, mind and soul today and impress upon you any adjustments necessary for your impending eternity.

PRAYER
Dearest Lord Jesus, You are indeed my Creator; my King; my Savior; My Lord and my eternal Father. I thank You Lord for that assurance and I am renewed in my resolve after reading the words You impressed upon John the apostle. I earnestly pray that You will impress upon the hearts of my readers the importance of not only hearing about You, but in accepting You as Lord of their lives. This life, as we know it today, will conclude here on earth, but it is clear that our souls will go on to a place made possible by the choices we make here on earth. I long to be with You in Heaven one day soon, and I would love to convince my audience to prepare for that day also. Please impress upon them the importance of making that decision, and doing something about it TODAY. In just my small circle of family and friends, several have been called out unexpectedly recently, and possibly without knowing You personally. To all those reading this devotional, please be reminded that you can make the decision today to right your final destination, for tomorrow may be too late. Have Your will and way in our lives today, Lord, and may You be glorified by the decisions we make and the stances we take to be honest and true representatives of Yours everywhere we find ourselves today. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE
If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please take advantage of information provided on my page ‘To Know Jesus’. I would also suggest that you speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com and share your good news! Perhaps one of God’s servants will pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue, your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals, or subscribe for a daily email containing each new devotional, please go online to NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. Friends, please allow me to encourage you to find a church home nearby 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 being a part of that, while also growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Train To Act Like Children of God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Children, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Worship2 Comments

DATE POSTED Sunday, 2022-12-18
WRITTEN AT: O’Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Luke 6:32-36
TRANSLATION: Amplified Bible (AMP)

BIBLE TEXT: 32 If you [only] love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend [money] to those from whom you expect to receive [it back], what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to receive back the same amount. 35 But love [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for] your enemies, and do good, and lend, [k]expecting nothing in return; for your reward will be great (rich, abundant), and you will be sons of the Most High; because He Himself is kind and gracious and good to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful (responsive, compassionate, tender) just as your [heavenly] Father is merciful.

APPLICATION: Salvation comes when we recognize the love, power and peace of our heavenly Savior. At that time, we decide that the life we were living, has done nothing for the eternal destiny that we want in heaven. So, we seek out the face of Jesus, and we make a 180 degree turn in the direction for our lives, with the help of Almighty God. But what happens to our years of experience in achieving the mannerisms and actions that we were taught by our earthly parents and by those we spent time with? We can’t bring those teachings with us, because they led us to a life of sin and eternal damnation. I believe that’s where our lesson comes in today, for Jesus saw the same challenge as He watched and listened to His followers. I love the way that Jesus pointed out critical areas of our everyday life, and how our attitudes towards each of these actions would change, when guided by the Holy Spirit in our new life in Jesus Christ. While I realize that all of you reading, or listening to, this devotional could easily identify the areas that Jesus pointed out, I would like to re-emphasize the teaching of, or training by, our Master on this subject:
–> On loving others: Jesus knew that our natural instinct would be to love those who show love towards us. But Jesus showed us in many instances throughout His life, and especially on the cross at Calvary, that His love is unconditional and without regard to whether we love Him or not. In aligning ourselves with Him, and in vowing to live our lives by following His example and obeying His teachings, then we would need to love differently than we were first taught. To be sons and daughters of the King, our love towards others must imitate the same love extended by our Father. If you don’t feel accomplished in this unique type of love yet, let me encourage you to draw even closer to God so that He may work in your life and give you the power to overcome your earthly desires and hindrances.
–> On doing good: While it may be easy to do things for people that love us, it becomes increasingly challenging to do things for those that despise us and seem determined to destroy us. Those who seem undeserving of our help. With Christ, all things are possible. Seek His strength, guidance and compassion to do for even those who seem unworthy of our effort. When we love unconditionally, we will more easily do things for others without expecting anything in return.
–> On lending money: Coming from a banking career, this one seems harder than most of the others, for me! Bankers are taught to protect depositors’ money and only lend when we are fairly certain that the funds could, and will, be paid back to the bank. That’s the easy kind of lending, because it was not our personal, hard-earned money that we were lending out. Jesus is training us to lend, even when we don’t expect to receive repayment, for it would demonstrate His kind of love, and His gift of life that He surrendered on Calvary for even the undeserving, and especially for those who couldn’t possibly pay Him back.
–> On being merciful: The world teaches us to become even harder on those who persecute us and cause us grief. But in our training lesson from Jesus, He wants us to be merciful to everyone, especially those on whom the world looks down on, and turns their noses up to. Remember the blind man by the roadside as Jesus passed by? The crowd pushed him back and tried to silence him, but Jesus called him to Himself and had mercy on him. You may come across several today who want to see Jesus at work, but they are rejected by the crowd and pushed back as undeserving of His time and mercy. Will you be part of the crowd, or will you stand up for Jesus?
May God grant you the strength to not only accept His Son as your free ticket into heaven, but to also live according to His teachings and example, as He taught in this Scripture today. Let’s all learn to be a child of the King, even when it is different to the world’s teachings and expectations.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Jesus simply said that our reward will be great as we allow His training to guide us into loving others like He did; doing good to others as He did; lending money without expecting repayment; and being merciful to others in the same way that He did. In fact, we would become children of the Most High God!

PRAYER: From a world of sin, and training in earthly selfishness, to a Kingdom ruled by the Prince of Peace, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. May we all catch a fresh glimpse of the One who demonstrated perfect love towards us; the One who showed us personally how to do good for those who may appear undeserving of our attention and effort; and the One who showed mercy even towards those who came to arrest Him. Please kind Master, teach us to reflect Your image, Your unselfish giving and Your humble attitude towards everyone. This world in which we live could benefit so much from seeing You at work, especially through the skins of Your humble and obedient servants. Draw us closer to the cross Lord and draw the unsaved away from the hard shell they developed from the world, so that they too might see, experience and accept our risen Lord. Oh, that You may become more evident to our world, because of the recommitment of those who claim You as Savior and Lord. May we not only see You more clearly but demonstrate Your teachings to all that we encounter. 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!

We Are All One

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

DATE WRITTEN: Saturday, 2020-07-04
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: Galatians 3:26-29
TRANSLATION: Good News Translation (GNT)

BIBLE TEXT: 26 It is through faith that all of you are God’s children in union with Christ Jesus. 27 You were baptized into union with Christ, and now you are clothed, so to speak, with the life of Christ himself. 28 So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free people, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are the descendants of Abraham and will receive what God has promised.

OBSERVATION: How refreshing to be reminded that there is no division among God’s children! If you feel like there is division, then obviously sin has entered the house and causing you to attempt to undo what Christ did for us on the cross. Praise God, He created all of us as His children! He sent His Son, Jesus, to die a very cruel death at Calvary for all those who choose to accept His gift of salvation. As we examine what God has in store for us today in His Word, I believe it is important to consider all that our Father did to love, care for and prepare for our future with Him, for all who would believe – all who would place their trust in Him, so that we all could be together in heaven some sweet day!

APPLICATION: In growing up around a family with 5 kids, we would often tease mom and/or dad about who we felt their favorite was! I bet you did also! However, we soon learned that there was something in common between the kids – we were all born of the same mother, fed by the same dad, and shown in very special ways that we all were loved way more than we probably deserved, but equally by our parents. I believe that God looks at His creation in much the same way, for we are all His creation and He shows His love for us in much the same way each and every day. Although I am blessed to have never seen separation in relationship between my parents and either of their children, I realize that it is an unfortunate reality in some families. However, I am convinced that our God loves us, His children, equally and to the ultimate understanding of what true ‘love’ really is. In spite of our attempts to run away from God and not have anything to do with His church at times, I believe that through His Son Jesus, God still looks at us and loves us unconditionally. I also believe that God will not force Himself on any of us that choose to go our own way, but I don’t believe that He would ever give up on us to try and get us back on the right track. An example is fresh on my mind: yesterday I heard that a husband had just told his wife that they would start going to church. Friends, that may sound like something very trivial or insignificant to you, but I know that prayers are being answered there, and I know that Satan would not awaken one of his to start going to church, so where do you think that encouragement came from? ONLY GOD, and I am at the top of the list of friends praising God for this new decision to attend church. I believe that today, more than anytime in our history, it is vitally important to listen to the voice of God and to obey Him promptly. Satan is so busy trying to tear down families, destroy churches, leading husbands and/or wives astray, encouraging children to become involved in things that will keep their attention from the Savior of the world. And Satan is using every possible tactic to confuse the world about the simple truth of the Gospel. You see, no matter what Satan may cause you to think, there is only one cross for sinners to kneel before. Only one heaven where sinners saved by the grace of God will wind up with the One True God. Placing your faith and trust in Jesus is not dependent on anything else but faith. It doesn’t matter how rich, poor or smart you are, nor the background from which you came or the church you attend. Notice none of these were mentioned in today’s Scripture as conditions of Christ accepting you, but simply through faith alone, in Christ alone. My friend, Jesus loves you today just as you are. This world may have given you lots of reasons why no one would love you, but I’m here today as a representative of Jesus Christ, to remind you that you are loved by the Master of this universe, and He would have an awesome celebration in heaven today, should you decide to accept His gift of eternal life and seek to serve Him until He calls you home. Please stop what you’re doing and take time for this most important decision. Have faith in God today, won’t you?

PRAYER: While here on earth there are lots of ways that Satan is working to keep unbelievers dedicated to himself. But all praise to You oh God, You have already settled the dispute, and convinced us that You died so that we might live eternally in heaven with You, if we simply accept You as our personal Savior. It all sounds too simple, because we place so much emphasis on what separates us down here on earth. Please help your children to really get it today – You love us all with a love that opens the doors of heaven for the vilest of sinners to come home. In spite of the artificial differences that we place on ourselves here on earth, what a joy it is to know that we are important enough to be called sons and daughters of the most High God. Regardless of our achievements, our degree of sin, or the ugliness of sin that has held us down, we are all considered children of God when we accept You as Lord and Savior. Oh that today may be an overwhelmingly urgent day of decision-making for our friends and family, and for all who will read my blog today. May we all be able to sing in unison by end of day ‘When We All get to Heaven’! Oh what a day of rejoicing that will be, thanks be to God! AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog at https://NuggetsFromGodsWord.org 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 or listening to this devotional, please go to 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. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and see all of my posts, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. 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!