Tag: Christmas

Reflect His Caring Heart

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christmas, Forgiveness, giftsLeave a comment

Friday, 2018-12-07

Bible Reference: Colossians 3:12-14
Translation: Easy-To-Read Version (ERV)

Bible Text: 12 God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So your new life should be like this: Show mercy to others. Be kind, humble, gentle, and patient. 13 Don’t be angry with each other, but forgive each other. If you feel someone has wronged you, forgive them. Forgive others because the Lord forgave you. 14 Together with these things, the most important part of your new life is to love each other. Love is what holds everything together in perfect unity. 

OBSERVATION: At Christmas time we seem to easily find room in our hearts to be kind to others. In our verses today Paul reminds us of what all God did for us, and how that should lead us to do the same for others. So as we meditate on this today, may it stir up within us many ideas on how we might bless others at Christmas!

APPLICATION: Most children are probably looking forward to Christmas because of the gifts they have asked for, and expect to receive. As adults, Paul has reminded us of the gracious gifts that are ours, in being a child of the most high God! Here are some of the gifts mentioned by Paul: 1). God has made us His holy people – imagine that – steeped in sin and very much a part of Satan’s army, yet when we felt the call on our life by Jesus, and surrendered our life to Him, we were adopted into the sonship of the Most Holy God! That is beyond comprehension, and could only be imagined through faith in the truth of God’s Holy Word; 2). God loves us – ‘Love’ is an awesome word that we use, and even abuse in our lifetime, but it takes on such a special meaning when the holy Son of God loves a child that has been so blatant in sin, and asked for His forgiveness. Oh that we may find it in our hearts to love like that this Christmas! But here are some gifts that we may give to others, in return for His gracious love to us: Show mercy towards others; Be kind to others; Be humble towards others; Be gentle to others; Be patient with others; Don’t be angry with others; Forgive others; and LOVE others. Friends, the best news of all about these godly gifts, is that there will be no increase in credit card bills whatsoever!  So why not read over this devotional again as Christmas draws closer, and concentrate on all the gody gifts that you can extend to family and friends. Be instrumental in teaching them God’s ways and His teachings through your example this Christmas! Others may just see that you have a heart like that of Jesus, because you care for others!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for Christmas! Thank You for teaching us about the many precious gifts that You bless us with, and through your servant Paul, teaching us how we might extend to others the many gifts that You have showered on us. Please help us to make someone’s Christmas special this year, by showering them with the character of Your Son, and the godly gifts mentioned above. AMEN!

Here’s Why Jesus Was Born

On By Ed AlgreenIn Caring, Celebrate God, Christian, Christian Principles, Christmas, FaithLeave a comment

Thursday, 2018-12-06

Bible Reference: John 18:37
Translation: Easy-To-Read Version (ERV)

Bible Text: ^37 Pilate said, “So you are a king.” Jesus answered, “You are right to say that I am a king. I was born for this: to tell people about the truth. That is why I came into the world. And everyone who belongs to the truth listens to me.”

OBSERVATION: Jesus taught us great lessons throughout His ministry. In this Scripture today, when Jesus was being tried by the authorities, He still showed His compassion; His calmness; and He declared His whole purpose for coming to this world. I wonder what we would say is our whole purpose on earth?

APPLICATION: At different stages of our lives we may have sat and declared what our purpose in life is. For example, the transition from high school or college into the working world, you may have committed to be a doctor or an accountant, etc. When you got married, you made have declared what kind of spouse you would be. When you got saved, you may have promised God a drastic change in your lifestyle or in your habits. But was there ever a time that you declared what your whole purpose in life is…..? You see, Jesus was known as ‘Truth’, and for that reason we can measure absolute ‘Truth’. I sincerely believe that the Truth that Jesus spoke of here is the absolute Truth that He represents in being God’s precious Son. In other words, looking at Jesus and hearing His words, were just like seeing and hearing His Father – God. With that in mind, what is the real truth that others experience in you? Do they experience with you, what they really hear from you? Do you have to tell them that you are a Christian, or do they see that in you, and hear that from the words that you speak? As ‘little Christs’, our aim here on earth should be much like that of Jesus – to represent Him completely; honestly and wholly, so that the world may know and believe in the One who saved us from our sin and condemnation. To the unbeliever reading this blog today, let me assure you that God loves you also, and He wants you to come to Him believing in His precious Son. Seek His forgiveness my friend and give Him control of your life. He would love for you to experience His love; His forgiveness; and His caring – just like a real loving father would do for that very favorite son or daughter.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I pray that Your love will shine so strongly through my life that it will be evident to the world that You are having an awesome impact in my life, then may You be glorified by all that I come into contact with. Thank God for the grace and power expressed through His gracious Son. Thank You Jesus for accepting me as Your gracious son. May I represent you as well, so that others may see and believe. AMEN

Less of Me and More of Others

On By Ed AlgreenIn Accept Jesus NOW, Adoration, Jesus' BirthLeave a comment

Monday, 2018-12-01

Bible Reference: John 1:10-12
Translation: The VOICE (VOICE)

Bible Text: 10 He entered our world, a world He made; yet the world did not recognize Him. 11 Even though He came to His own people, they refused to listen and receive Him. 12 But for all who did receive and trust in Him, He gave them the right to be reborn as children of God;

OBSERVATION: With Christmas quickly approaching, it is quite sobering to reflect on the reason that this special day came about. John reminds us in our Scripture today that although God created this world, and each of us, yet we don’t recognize His Son, and many even refuse to listen and subsequently receive Him. However, because he came, some has and will receive Him and are therefore saved from their sin and eternal damnation. This coming to earth as a baby with such awesome eternal benefits – that’s what we celebrate at Christmastime!

APPLICATION: If we listen to the radio; television; or any type of public speaking opportunity, we would quickly assume that Christmas is about gifts, or parties, or family get-togethers, or a holiday from work, but in many forums it is forbidden for speakers to make reference to the real truth of Christmas. So some will attend church services as one of their seasonal things to do. But notice what John says in verse 11, he said that many refuse to listen to the truth about Jesus’s Christ. Sadly I believe this occurs in churches at roughly the same rate as on the street, for there will be some attendees (members included) that know deep in their heart that they should fellowship with fellow believers, but often that’s as far as they go – fellowship. For these, I believe that God’s people should earnestly pray that their hearts might be revived to seek and find again, the Savior that they first heard about. In being reminded of the reason Jesus came, perhaps their eyes might be reopened that they are the reason that He came in the first place! For the curious, or the ones who may feel obligated to a parent or a loved one, that may attend church this Christmas, I pray that although they may come for various reasons, that God would have a divine appointment with them to hear the Gospel one more time, and that the love of Jesus would melt their hearts into making a decision to not only recognize His love, and His reason for coming to earth as a baby, but that they might accept Him as Lord of their lives, as Savior of the world, and as our soon coming King who will take us to glory for an eternity with He and His Father. Oh may the love of the Christ Child be evident to all who may want to know more about C H R I S T M A S this year!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for loving us enough to care about our ultimate destination – even after we leave this old sinful world. It is clear from Your Word that You provided a superior option for us to escape the pit of Hell when rescued from this old sinful world. This started with the birth of Your Son, a time that we now celebrate as Christmas. Thank You for showing us in Your Word that this was carefully designed and planned by You, for we read how You gifted Your prophets hundreds of years earlier to tell the world of Your Son who would come to rescue the world challenged with sin. Lord, may this Christmas be a time that we recognize the true purpose of our celebration, and in learning this, may it impact us to truly worship You from the manger to the cross. Father we adore You! Savior we worship You! AMEN!

The Greatest Gift Ever Given!

On By Ed AlgreenIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Tuesday, 2017-12-19
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Acts 2:38-39 (ERV)

Text:

 38 Peter said to them, “Change your hearts and lives and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Then God will forgive your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise is for you. It is also for your children and for the people who are far away. It is for everyone the Lord our God calls to himself.”
OBSERVATION:
Peter had the attention of the Jews visiting from all over the world. They had just witnessed the working of the Holy Spirit in the believers gathered for Pentecost, and Peter wanted them to know that this same Holy Spirit was also available to them, and to anyone else who would change their hearts and seek a relationship with the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. This same ‘Gift’ of God is available still today, so lets see more about how this all works….
APPLICATION:
Around this time of the year, if we hear the word ‘gift’, we automatically assume that it must be something under the Christmas Tree. However, this ‘Gift’ that Peter refers to, is one that it available 365 days a year, or until God calls you out of this world. Notice I didn’t say ‘until God calls you home’, because He will never barge into your life. IF you surrender your life to Him and to His control, He will enter your heart and fill you with His Holy Spirit. You will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide, protect, love and care for you all of your days here on earth, and then top that off with having you join Him and His father (God) in heaven for eternity! Should you decide to continue trying to do life alone, then God will not force the issue. I’m sure He will be disappointed and hurt, that after all He did for you in sacrificing His own life for you, so that you may have the means of being with Him eternally, now for you to turn your head on Him and settle for second best, this would hurt Him beyond anything we could explain or understand. Friends, I’m sure that this type of love and sacrifice shown by Jesus, is greater than anything you could imagine, but I am encouraging you today to have faith in this story, because millions have come and gone, but there’s still room for more, yes, there’s room at the cross for you. It’s up to you friend. It’s your turn. God is waiting to bless you with His greatest Gift this Christmas. Will you accept that gift?
PRAYER:
I am eternally thankful Lord, for the day that You spoke to my heart and drew me to Yourself. I am also eternally thankful for the Gift you gave in that stable in Bethlehem to the humble earthly parents – Joseph and Mary. Because of that Gift, I can call You Father, Deliverer, Everlasting Master and Lord. Thank You Heavenly Father. 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 could 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 to 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, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! 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!

The Joys and Applicability of Christmas!

On By Ed AlgreenIn ChristmasLeave a comment

To my awesome subscribers, followers and readers of this daily devotional, ‘Nuggets From God’s Word’:

May the anticipation that filled the hearts of Mary and Joseph as they learned of their involvement in Jesus’ birth, also fill your hearts today and throughout the coming year as you recognize, and agree to be used in the work of the Lord, just like Mary and Joseph did!

May you find an opportunity each and every day to rejoice, and praise God for His awesome mercy, and His choice in using even you to help in accomplishing His work, just as Mary did when she visited Elizabeth after finding that she was an instrument in God’s hand!

May you be willing and quick to obey the call on your life, and willing to go wherever instructed to go, just as the shepherds welcomed the announcement of the angels and then immediately left their posts and went on to Bethlehem to find baby Jesus to personally worship and welcome Him!

May you be reminded of the reason Jesus came, and be willing to follow His example in also being a carrier of the Good News of Jesus Christ to all those in need of a Savior! For Jesus will return again, this time to take His children home to glory with He and His Father! You will want to be ready for that day, and that could be today friend, but you will also want to ensure that all those in your realm of influence are also ready to meet Him on that day! Your involvement in their life and your reflection of Jesus Christ will either help them agree to accept Jesus, or if you are not careful to honestly live the life that you preach, you might totally confuse them and be a stumbling block for them. Seek Jesus as your Savior and allow Him to live in and through every aspect of your life, friend! Others’ lives might be depending on that!

Based on the Word of God, I believe I can safely assure you that Jesus loves you for who you are and just where you are in life right now. Trust in Him, friend, and allow Him to care for your every need! As a representative, or messenger of God, let me assure you that I love you also. Feel free to email me, and allow me to pray with you as we meditate on God’s Word through these devotionals every day, wont you?

God is With Us – Trust Him This Christmas

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christmas, Faith, LoveLeave a comment

Saturday, 2016-12-10

Scripture

Bible Reference: Isaiah 7:9-16

Bible Text:  9 Samaria is the capital of Ephraim alone, and King Pekah’s power will not increase. You don’t believe me? If you want me to protect you, you must learn to believe what I say.” 10 Not long after this, the Lord sent this further message to King Ahaz: 11 “Ask me for a sign, Ahaz, to prove that I will indeed crush your enemies as I have said. Ask anything you like, in heaven or on earth.” 12 But the king refused. “No,” he said, “I’ll not bother the Lord with anything like that.” 13 Then Isaiah said: O House of David, you aren’t satisfied to exhaust my patience; you exhaust the Lord’s as well! 14 All right then, the Lord himself will choose the sign—a child shall be born to a virgin! And she shall call him Immanuel (meaning, “God is with us”). 15-16 By the time this child is weaned and knows right from wrong, the two kings you fear so much—the kings of Israel and Syria – will both be dead.

Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take

Verse 14 is a verse that we hear used a lot around Christmas time in Christian circles, but as represented in other recent devotionals, I believe it is so important for us individually to take time and read the whole context from which these popular verses are found. Today’s scripture is a wonderful example. Like us, King Ahaz thought that some things were just too trivial to bother God with, even though it was God Himself who told Ahaz to test Him. I love what the Lord said to Ahaz in the latter part of verse 9, and I know that it very much applies to me and very possibly also applies to you. In my own words, and based on my understanding, I believe that God said to Ahaz, and is saying to us: How do you expect me to protect you, or, how do you expect me to heal you or bless you, if you don’t learn to believe in, and trust me? Friends, there is so much truth in those powerful words by the Master! Will our child ever trust us to catch them jumping from a high wall if they have not learned to trust us? I don’t think so! In my hyperlink to todays scripture, I included the whole chapter, because I want you to take time to read and understand that God had given Ahaz comfort in knowing that He would take care of the opposing leaders, and He even wanted to give him a timeline that it would occur. However, God knew that Ahaz doubted what he was told, so He told Ahaz to test Him just to gain trust in knowing that He is true to His word. The timing of this event then allowed God to elaborate on the miraculous birth of His Son, Jesus. Friends, once again we are assured that our Father has a plan for His children, just like He had for Ahaz. However, we must know Him so well that we are willing to trust Him and believe what He says to us through His Word; through visions; and through His mighty warriors who deliver His messages to us each week. Wouldn’t it be ‘MERRY’, if this Christmas this concept might ‘click’ in our minds and cause us to totally place our faith and our trust in our Savior? We can’t expect God to bless us and protect us if we don’t trust Him or believe fully in Him!

Prayer

Your Word never ceases to amaze me Oh God! To read the context from which we have traditionally heard parts of the Christmas story, and still find new truths that really speak to our hearts, we can only say ‘Wow’ what a Savior! What an awesome God! Lord Jesus, we just want to worship You, praise You and honor Your blessed name for the key role You have played in our plan of salvation. God had a plan to comfort king Ahaz, and I am convinced that His plan to comfort, protect and save us, is even more awesome! Thank you Heavenly Father! Please continue to open our hearts and fill us with Your grace and Your awesome love that You have shown to us, so that we may, in turn, be a blessing to others in every way possible this Christmas season and throughout each day of the upcoming New Year. With every fiber of our being, we again say ‘thank You Father’ for Your amazing love to us in so many ways! 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. 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 could 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 to 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, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! 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!

Lessons From Zechariah

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Humility, Obedience, Righteousness, SurrenderLeave a comment

Friday, 2016-12-09

Scripture

Bible Reference: Luke 1:13; 18; 24

Bible Text: 13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John.

18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.”

23 When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home.
Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

I believe that we read over the Christmas Story so quickly each year that there are aspects of the story that do not get the attention it deserves. For example, look at these two aspects of Zechariah’s part in this story and let’s see together what we can learn from him. In the link for the Bible Reference above, I have given you a few surrounding verses that will give you the context from which I have taken the verses for my text. Here are two things that caught my attention, because it quickly reminded me of where we might be in our relationship with God  even today:

  1. Our prayers of expectancy – Our church prayer meetings are probably one of the least attended services that we have at our church, and I don’t believe we are that different to most churches today. However, I believe that most churches will acknowledge that they are a people of prayer! Regardless, let’s look at the experience by Zechariah: The angel revealed that this child of God was praying for a long time that his wife might bear a child. In verse 25 of this chapter, we are told by Elizabeth, that she felt somewhat disgraced in not having borne a child up to this stage in her life. So picture Zechariah approaching the incense altar, as he probably had done many times before, yet this time something was different, for there was an angel standing next to the altar. Knowing that he was in the temple all alone, yet to hear this heavenly being speak to him, and to speak specifically about an answer to a prayer item that he had pleaded before God on many occasions for, must have in itself be astonishing for Zechariah. But all of the same human feelings that we have today, came through in Zechariah, for he doubted. He just couldn’t believe that God was actually answering his prayer at a time like this, in he and his wife’s old age. Friends, why do we, like Zechariah, spend so much time in prayer, pleading our case before a holy and all-powerful God, yet never expecting our prayers to be answered? It’s like we pray hoping the best, but expecting the same old, same old – business as usual – everything remains unchanged. That truly is not the kind of God that we pray to friends? Why would our answer to prayer be any less of an expectation, when we consider all of the other miraculous things that God has shown to us through His Word, and that we may have been blessed to see by our ancestors of faith? Really, praise should be on our lips every day friends, for our almighty God answers our prayers every day. We may struggle to understand why a most powerful and awesome God would answer our prayers slightly different to the way we placed our order, but let’s remember that God knows what we need, if we need it, and when we need it. Let’s let Him be God, as we try harder to perfect our position as humble and obedient servants!
  2. Our dedication to the Lord’s work – Notice in verse 23 that even after this miraculous experience with the angel, and the awesome news delivered to Zechariah in the temple, yet he stayed on and finished up his week of service in the temple! Oh my, how many of us would ever have done that? Imagine an angel of God telling you that your blind son, whom you have been praying for his eyesight ever since birth, can now see. Can you even imagine staying the rest of the week to finish up your work around the church, or finish up the week of revival services you started? Of course with all of the new communication tools and devices at our disposal today, we would immediately get in touch with home-base to validate what thought we heard the angel say to us, but what if the angel’s message told you to wait until you returned home to see for yourself. What would you do with yourself friend? I believe there would be lots of doubt, but yet you would be very anxious to speak with your son to see for yourself if this was truly a message from God. Why do you suppose God ever answers our prayers, when there’s so much doubt by us even from the time our prayers leave our mouth?

May I encourage you, especially at this Christmas time, to look a little deeper into the scripture and see what God might want to say to You through His Word? Friends, we especially need folk with Zechariah’s dedication around our churches showing us that we don’t step aside from our God-given responsibilities for every little hiccup. We still need our Elizabeth’s who will go straight to rejoicing when they hear of miracles, even if they sound super impossible to her. Look for values in the other characters that we hear about at Christmas and see what God might be teaching you through their story, won’t you? 

Prayer

Father, Christmas-time is often a time that we remember all that You gave to us through Your Son, Jesus Christ. However, stories like this one today has helped us to examine the character of others that You involved in this wonder gift that You blessed us with. Please continue to teach us to pray in great expectancy, and to praise You for the answers that You bless us with every time. We are reminded that often we pray for the benefit of others, but not necessarily ready to accept the answer that You might give in return. Zechariah was a humble man who prayed and prayed for his dear wife, yet was challenged to believe that You really answered his prayer at such an unusual time in his life. Lord, we have every reason to believe that You hear our prayers and You answer us every time in ways that You see best at that particular time. We were reminded just yesterday in our study, that You will answer our prayers not only when it is best for us, but at a time when the glory for the answer will be directed to You, the only possible explanation or source of the answer. Please continue to work on our patience to wait on You. Yes, ask as directed in Your Word, but always be willing to wait for Your answers. Lord, You are most awesome in every way, and I thank You for who You are! 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. 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 could 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 to 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, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! 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!

Who Done It?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Christmas, Faith, Humility, Obedience, Prayer, Righteousness, Sin, SurrenderLeave a comment

Saturday, 2016-11-26

Scripture

Bible Reference: Genesis 3:6–8

Bible Text: 6 The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too. 7 Right away they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together to make something to cover themselves.
8 Late in the afternoon a breeze began to blow, and the man and woman heard the LORD God walking in the garden. They were frightened and hid behind some trees.

Bible Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

My Take

On reading the title, you might conclude that I am about to introduce an old TV show by the same title! That’s not my intention, so no need to close the blog without reading today’s devotional!!! This scripture got my attention though, because we see in the three examples in this story how each party, Adam, Eve and the serpent, all found excuses for the cause of this very first sin that we read about in the Bible. In each case they quickly threw the blame, or cause of their action, on someone or something else. Unfortunately, in spite of all that transpired in this story, added to the enormous blessings that God has showered on us, I am amazed how little mankind has changed. I wonder today how much of our prayer time is spent on explaining to God who may have caused us to sin, or how it was possible for the infraction? Look at how Adam even went to the extent of trying to pass the responsibility of this sin to God Himself, for had God not sent the woman to Adam in the first place, then Adam thinks that he would not have sinned! eeeennnk! I don’t believe so Adam! Think about our many excuses, men blame their distractions at work or even at church, on the pretty lady who wears very short dresses or very tight pants, for leading them to infidelity. I wonder when God looks at the deepest part of man’s heart what He must find is really happening, to cause such sin to erupt in a man’s heart? Yes friend, you read that right. God considers even our wicked thoughts when He judges us! Men, may I plead with you join me in fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith? May I suggest that we commit ourselves more to the idea of drawing closer to God and being obedient to His Word, then perhaps our minds would be more focused on eternal matters than on the sinful things of this world? Ladies, I know you are not exempt from this condition, so please consider the gist of what I just shared and apply it to the challenges you face. God in His mighty wisdom actually distracted me on to the thoughts I just shared, because my initial intent was to actually introduce the Advent season into my blog over the next 24 days. Friends, we are introduced in this scripture today, to the very first sin – also known as the fall of mankind. You will quickly recognize that it was from the very beginning of time that God saw the need to send a Savior into the world to save fallen man. This ‘Savior’ of which I am referring is God’s very own Son that He sent – Jesus. It is the miraculous birth of Jesus that we celebrate each and every Christmas. Perhaps this should be the season of Thanksgiving when we consider the precious gift given for our benefit, and because of our weakness to sin!

Prayer

Father, from the time of our very first ancestor, sin has been a problem – a challenge for us. We are weak, and very gullible to sin, then we are so quick to reflect the cause of that sin on anything, or anyone else that we could think of. Please open our hearts to the awesome reminder of how You not only saw our sin, but You did everything to help us seek forgiveness of that sin in preparation for standing before a holy, sinless God. You alone are God in heaven, and yet You loved us enough to make the way clear for us to be with You! Thank You Heavenly Father, thank You Jesus, and thank You Holy Spirit. We are truly a blessed people. May Your kingdom come oh Lord, and may each person meditating on this thought today be ready to see You face-to-face on resurrection morning, all because 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 contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. 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 could 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 to 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, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! 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!

The Gift That Started All Christmas Celebrations

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christmas, Eternal Life, Gift, JesusLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE ~ NLT and CEV ~ 2 Corinthians 5  ~ 11 Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. (NLT)

17 Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new. 18 God has done it all! He sent Christ to make peace between himself and us, and he has given us the work of making peace between himself and others. (CEV)

20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. (NLT)

THOUGHTS: I want to share a gift with you on this day that is noted for gift-giving – Christmas! The gift is the wonderful Word of God! Notice in vs 11 above, where Paul said that he and his team were working hard to persuade the Corinthians about the ‘gift’ of Jesus – the One who reconciles us with God, and Paul and his team were doing this because of their fearful responsibility to God. Oops, we have a ‘responsibility’ as Christians? I believe most of us consider the ‘gift’ of Jesus as a blessing, perhaps as a privilege, or perhaps a calling from God, but I bet we rarely think about the ‘gift’ of Jesus as a responsibility. Let me explain where I believe God took me on this, to help me understand. Let’s assume for a moment that a crowd of your friends were in a large hotel room for a meeting or celebration of some sort, and you saw where a fire had started at the other end of the hotel. Would it be your privilege to know that information, or would you feel an urgent responsibility to run and tell your friends that they must leave their celebration and get far away from that hotel which may soon burn to the ground? May I suggest that our responsibility to God is very similar, for we see friends walking in the danger of eternal death every day, while we keep bottled up inside the ‘GIFT’ of Jesus Christ, that God sent to this world on that very first day – whose anniversary we celebrate as ‘Christmas’. However, this highlights how way too often we miss our God-given responsibility of sharing that reconciliation, that joy, that hope and that peace with our family and friends, who could very easily be walking into the fires of Hell, because of their lack of knowledge, lack of convincing by us, or just plain lack of concern for themselves, because they are too busy enjoying the ‘fun’ things of life. Not a fun thing for you to consider on the biggest day of gift-giving, but may I remind you that this is the greatest ‘gift’ that we have ever been given, and it is so important that we share this with others around the tree with us today! For this will give family and friends the kind of ‘gift’ mentioned in vs 17 & 18 – a new take on life; forgetting the ugliness of the past, and discovering the gift of newness in Christ so that our conscience will be clear between us and God – a brand new lease on life! For those of us who have the ‘gift’ already, remember that this is quite different to any other ‘gift’ we will receive under the tree – it is one given to us so that we might share it with others and convince them to accept the ‘Gift’ personally. We become ‘Gift’ demonstrators and imitators, not ‘Gift’ users or destroyers, because we become ambassadors for Jesus Christ – the ‘GIFT’ send to us by His Father. The ‘Gift’ that started this whole Christmas celebration. So if you are feeling down and out about the financial burdens of gift-giving this Christmas, please consider accepting the greatest ‘Gift’ ever given. What will it cost you? The total surrender of all your sins, your regrets, your past for which you may not be very proud. The ‘Gift’ of which I am referring, was totally paid for in blood, by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He paid in full, so that through His ultimate ‘Gift’ we might live with the assurance of eternal life with Him one day! Wow, what a ‘Gift’, and this can be ours today! And can by yours today also dear friend!

PRAYER: Thank you precious Father for the ‘Gift’ of Your Son that You sent as a baby in Bethlehem. An occasion that we celebrate as ‘Christmas’. As we celebrate that significant occasion today, may we reflect on the reason for the gift, the joy of the gift, the everlasting value of the gift, and the ultimate cost of that ‘Gift’ in order that His purpose would be fulfilled. Thank You for the ‘Gift’ in the manger at Bethlehem, and thank You for the ultimate cost of that ‘Gift’ so that we might one day see You in glory! Make Yourself very present today as we open our presents, and may we receive You as quickly as we receive our presents from under the tree today. Thank You Lord Jesus for touching us in such a way that we enjoy a worldwide celebration of Your birth each year – today! May we truly understand the significance of that gift, is my humble prayer that I offer up to You in total thanksgiving and praise, 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!

Have The Same Attitude As Christ Jesus

On By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, ExampleLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (New Living Translation – Philippians 2:1-5): Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. 3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Thoughts: We are often compared to a parent or grandparent on our looks and in our demeanor. Wouldn’t it be praise worthy if, just from our actions and our attitude, someone could identify us with Jesus? You see, this could very well happen when a believer or non-believer identifies something different about us – something different to the rest of the world, or different to what they would expect for someone under our circumstances. I believe that we, children of God, are to be constantly in the Word of God. Therefore, just as we model our lives after our ancestors because of our time with them, we will also become acquainted with the ways of God and start acting like Him. The neat thing for Christians, is that when we commit/surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, He gives us His Helper (the Holy Spirit) as our Guide, our Strength, our Deliverer, our Protector and our Friend, to enable us to act like Jesus even under circumstances that would tend to throw the ordinary person into a tail spin. Paul teaches that this type of life will invoke: agreeing wholeheartedly with each other; loving one another; working together in peace and purpose; unselfishness; no need to impress others; humbleness; ability to think of others as better than yourself; and not always looking out for your own interest only. Friends, there’s an old song with lyrics that read “What the world need now, is love, sweet love….” For a moment can you think what our world would be like if everyone would live with the attitude of “What the world needs now, is Jesus as Lord”? Can’t you imagine us retiring most of our military, little need for an expansive law enforcement team or counselors or mediators! Think about it friend, if we are not living like God expects, then obviously we are living like Satan wants us to. There is no in between. This change can happen one life at a time. Will you consider being the first to make a change in your life and seek to live with the attitude of Christ Jesus? With God’s help you can, friend!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You are my Rock, my salvation, my Guide, my Deliverer, my Friend and yet my Master. You led a perfect life so that I may have a perfect example to follow. Please give me an ongoing desire to follow Your example each and every day, and may I practice Your example with everyone that I come into contact with, and under every circumstance in this life. May others see Jesus in every aspect of my life, and may You receive honor and praise from others as they detect Your love and example in me. Please speak to the hearts of my readers today, because I am convinced that what the world needs now is Jesus. They need to see You in action through the committed lives of Your children. May they not be disappointed as they look on us dear Lord. I ask all this, believing that You are the only one capable of helping us, and the only one worthy of our praise, and so it is in the name of Jesus that I plead my case, 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!