Tag: church

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!

Our Unshakable Devotion to God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, Dedication, Devotion, UnswervingLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Century Version – Daniel 3:28): 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Their God has sent his angel and saved his servants from the fire! These three men trusted their God and refused to obey my command. They were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god other than their own.

THOUGHTS: From the subject, I hope that no one gets the impression that this faith of ours is automatic, or that because of our faith in God, all Christians are as devoted to, and stands firm in their faith like Daniel and his buddies did. Yes, we should all be that devoted to our God who sacrificed so much for us, but I believe that for many Christians, we stay way too long in the transitionary stage of releasing all of Satan’s pull on our lives, to a full and dedicated, unshakable faith in God. The reason I believe this is true, is because I don’t believe there are very many people today who, claim that they are ‘Christian’, will be willing to ‘take a bullet’ for their faith. I believe I am safe in going as far as to believe that most church goers are probably in ‘the same boat’, for often we attend church as a ‘status thing’, or as a way to please someone else who places pressure on us, rather than attending to return thanks, worship and learn from the preaching of the Almighty God through His earthly servants. Friends, just take a moment and meditate on the chosen verse very carefully. Notice how the same king who despised the god of Daniel and his friends, was totally changed and even broke out into worship and praise to their God, when he saw their faith in action? Let us remember, that there are no other Gods besides our Master and our King. Daniel was willing to go the distance with his God, even if it meant being burned to death in a fiery furnace. There is no indication of Daniel’s thoughts as he was thrown into the furnace, but I get the distinct impression that there was not a worry of any sort on the mind of Daniel for he knew, like other saints have declared in the Bible, that whether he lived or whether he died, blessed be the name of the Lord. He knew that if this was the time that God would declare him absent from this world, he would be welcomed into a new world in the presence of Jesus and His Almighty Father. A better world, prepared for all of God’s true followers! A bright future that we can all look forward to! The question for each one today is: are you dedicated enough in your walk with the Lord, that you are willing to risk everything – all worldly desires and pleasurers, to truly show Jesus, and this world, to whom your life is devoted, committed as you live in anticipation of His call to join Him at the Father’s feet soon? This type of devotion solidifies our relationship with God and has an awesome impact on those around us who might be watching to see if we are a sincere, truly dedicated child of God, or just another hypocritical, wishy-washy person who claims the title of ‘Christian’ when convenient, or needed? If you are doubtful as to where you stand friend, then it would benefit you to read my Footnote and sure things up with the Lord. In spite of all who you might fool about your relationship with the Lord, He knows the ‘real’ you and wants to help you be truly committed to Him today and until the day He calls you home to himself. Get ‘real’ with yourself friend, for God knows the ‘real’ you!

PRAYER: Father, I believe that there is nothing more disgusting in Your sight than to look at a self-serving, uncommitted, wishy-washy person who claims the name of Jesus for personal gain, rather than in total commitment to You and available for ministry in spreading Your love to all that they come into contact with. Lord, Daniel has shown us that being ‘real’ and standing firm in our commitment to You, will impact even the most challenging persons, as Your love is expressed through Your servants, encapsulates the sinner, and convinces them of Your perfect love, and Your unswerving desire to see them totally surrender themselves to You. Thank You for not giving up on us, but instead expressing unexplainable love towards us while we serve out our time here on this earth. Please use us as Your servants, Your agents of change, Your representatives, as we walk our talk each day. You are in control, so we totally surrender our self-will to You and ask for Your perfection in us as You guide, protect and use us. I ask all this in the precious name of Jesus, my Master, my King and soon coming Lord, 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 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!

What You Should Be Doing, Based on the Times

On By Ed AlgreenIn Actions, How to Live, Warning SignsLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (God’s Word Translation – 2 Timothy 3:1-5): 1
You must understand this: In the last days there will be violent periods of time. 2 People will be selfish and love money. They will brag, be arrogant, and use abusive language. They will curse their parents, show no gratitude, have no respect for what is holy, 3 and lack normal affection for their families. They will refuse to make peace with anyone. They will be slanderous, lack self-control, be brutal, and have no love for what is good. 4 They will be traitors. They will be reckless and conceited. They will love pleasure rather than God. 5 They will appear to have a godly life, but they will not let its power change them. Stay away from such people.

THOUGHTS: I believe that if I would have stripped out the scripture references on this passage this morning, you may have assumed that I was quoting the local newspaper, or sharing with you what might be happening in my realm of friends. I discovered two very important things in these verses that I want to share with you friends:

  1. Warning signs of the last days (before Jesus comes) – Keywords such as bragging (in order to promote self); arrogance (placing yourself above others because you have such confidence in self); abusive language (we hear it in the music being blasted as cars pass us by, or we hear it from the passengers – like I heard from my back yard yesterday while a car was passing); curse their parents (I don’t know if there has been a time in history where there has been as much animosity as today between parents and their children. It really hurts me beyond explanation); lack of gratitude (in spite of the generosity of many, there are some very ungrateful folk who receive without any thought of gratitude); no respect for what is holy (so hurtful to hear of robberies and defacement, but especially sad to hear when this happens to a church. I’m really surprised that God has not yet stricken the offenders blind or hurt them seriously during such acts); Friends there are several other signs in verses 3, 4 and 5 that I could also expand on, but I believe you and I can appreciate that these are not ‘pie in the sky’ actions and/or characteristics, but actual actions that we see occurring almost daily in our circles, right now in 2015. Why, you might ask? The scripture tells us that these are all signs of the last days before the last trumpet call, when Jesus will come to take His bride (the church – believers – Christians) home to be with Him in glory.
  2. What must Christians be doing? – We are instructed to stay away from such people as described in (1). Why do you suppose God would instruct us towards such segregating actions? Friends, if you swim in a septic tank, you will come out very smelly. We are to distance ourselves from folk that have characteristics described in this scripture, and instead show them by our character, our speech, and our bold witness that there is a better way to live. With God’s help, it is possible to be holy and righteous. It is possible to live our lives free from conceit and self-worth, but totally controlled by the Holy Spirit and in line with what our circles would expect from Christians – free from hypocrisy.

Friends, to live like God intended, we must be sincere in our relationship with God, and we must be willing to be controlled by His Holy Spirit dwelling inside of the Christian who will steer us towards love and good works. Do you feel that kind of power today? Let us draw close to God so that He might draw close to us and mold us into His likeness. Please feel free to use the information in my ‘Footnote’ to contact me, if there is anything that I might pray with you about, especially in regards to this lesson today. I’m sure that your local pastor and/or church leader would also welcome the opportunity to sit and chat with you about any questions God might have provoked in your mind today after reading this devotional.

 PRAYER: Lord God, Your Word is very plain and it is filled with ‘Nuggets’ meant to convict us of our sin, and show us the way to live more like You. Thank You for loving Your children so intimately, and for caring enough about our witness after we commit to You. We want to be more like You every day, and every day we are more and more convinced of the need for Your power and Your strength to guide us through this life and protect us from the evil one. Please use us as Your instruments today to win the lost and encourage the fallen or despondent. May we be alert to your soon return and more excited every day with anticipation of worshiping You endlessly in heaven very soon! I ask these things in the perfect and all loving name of Jesus, the name above all names, and Your only Son, 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 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!

He Cares Affectionately For You!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Elders, Leadership, LoveLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Amplified Bible – 1 Peter 5:6-7): 6 Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you, 7 Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully. [Ps. 55:22.]

 THOUGHTS: Peter had just appealed to church elders to take their jobs seriously and lovingly, not just for a paycheck. He then cautioned the younger leaders to be humble and obedient to their elders so that they might learn from them in obedience to God. He then immediately followed by assuring the leaders that no matter what they feel like their leadership responsibilities might be, they are to humble themselves under the overall power and might of God, for it is He who will one day exalt them before the Father in heaven. Friends, I believe that these two verses are also applicable to Christians in general, for who are we to lord ourselves over folk. Yes, we may have certain supervisory rights as part of our job responsibilities, but we are never to lord ourselves over folk and make them feel inferior to us. In fact, I have found where folk will respect you a whole lot more and be more obedient to you as their boss, if you treat them with humility and respect. Now, verse 7 goes on to cap this whole thing off by telling us that when the concerns of leadership, church leadership in particular, becomes overly burdensome, we are to take Jesus at His word, and cast those concerns at His feet, knowing full well that He has such love and affection for His children that He will wipe away the tears, ease the concerns and watch out for our eternal good. Don’t you feel comforted by that friend? We don’t have to wait until we have gotten to the end of our emotional, mental or physical ‘rope’ to then place our concerns before God, we can do it as soon as we feel concerned about something. I just love the remaining words of these two verses, for it reminds me that Jesus cares affectionately about me and He is watching out for me! What an honor! If you are not experiencing this kind of love and care today friend, then I would encourage you to reevaluate your relationship with the Master, for His Word is never wrong. He cares for His own affectionately! Surrender yourself wholeheartedly to Him today and enjoy the gracious and loving rewards of being His precious child!

 PRAYER: Thank You Father for the reassurance of Your love and concern for us. You are awesome beyond all measure and I thank You for caring so much about even me. Lord You are well aware of all the pressure and hurt that face our church leaders and also similar experiences by lay persons as we try to be good representatives of yours in our everyday life. Please continue to remind us of Your presence, guidance and love as we try to work through every circumstance of life. Most of all, I pray that You will help us to never lose sight of Your faithfulness and Your promises to never leave us alone, but always caring about us. We need You more today than ever before Lord, so we come before Your throne yet again in humility asking for Your ongoing love for us. Thank You Jesus for Your arms of affection and Your watchful eye on us. I bring these petitions before You in all humility and love today, in the wonderful and blessed 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 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!

Through Godly Eyes

On By Ed AlgreenIn Love, UnconditionalLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Living Bible – James 2:1-4): 1 ….how can you claim that you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, if you show favoritism to rich people and look down on poor people? 2 If a man comes into your church dressed in expensive clothes and with valuable gold rings on his fingers, and at the same moment another man comes in who is poor and dressed in threadbare clothes, 3 and you make a lot of fuss over the rich man and give him the best seat in the house and say to the poor man, “You can stand over there if you like or else sit on the floor”—well, 4 judging a man by his wealth shows that you are guided by wrong motives.

THOUGHTS: I would imagine that the title alone might draw attention thinking that perhaps I would address various sins that might be acceptable to God. No that would never happen, because God makes it clear in His Word that He hates sin. However, there are certain actions we are guilty of that reveals our ugly motives and ultimately leads to sin. Often Satan will place the thought of greed and self-promotion in our hearts and we easily concede to sin. The example given in this scripture today is still very real today, but I want us to examine what might be the motive behind it. We are still recovering from a fairly challenging financial depression, where we have seen a number of churches close their doors and/or reduce staff in order to survive the financial crisis. Church treasurers are excited to see new tithers enter their church, and they morn the departure of those that faithfully give financially. Churches are called on more than ever before to help poor families who may have lost jobs and/or faced crucial financial challenges that have really impacted their homes. If this kind of information is well known to church leaders, how do you suppose they would react to a well-known rich person visiting their church, versus a struggling family who may have to call on the church for help? If we do this in our churches, don’t you know that we do this in every phase of our lives? Will you prepare your home as nicely to receive a humble clerk from your employment for dinner, as you would the CEO? In our scripture we see where God gave James insight into this by challenging us to think about our motives behind the ways that we treat people from various walks of life. Friends, we should never treat someone based on their financial status, or the color of their skin, or their social status in society. These are worldly statuses we have given to each other, because all God sees is a sinner in need of His grace. He will save the poor person as quickly as He would a rich person. Because all are simply children made by God, He loves the rich person as much as He does the poor person. If we are to be just like our Father, why would we act any differently that He? Let us learn to love one another, without regard to their social or financial status, friend!

PRAYER: Lord, I need to love my CEO as much as I love my lowliest co-worker. They both were designed by You and they both need You as their Savior to be acceptable into heaven. I believe that You love us as much today, with all that we have attached to ourselves from this old world, as You did the day You released us from our mother’s womb. For worldly attachments will remain, and only those basic things created and blessed by You will rise to meet You in the air. I pray that You will help us to rid ourselves of prejudices and wrong motives. Please help us to see Your children for who they are, not for what they have become throughout their lifetime here on earth. Financial gains as well as poverty will remain, but our hearts, souls and minds will all look the same as we enter Your kingdom. Please help us to see each other in this form while we remain on earth, so that when we rise to meet You we can lock arms with people of every nation, social status or walk of life – all children saved by Your wonder grace. Please help us to look at others through Your lens today and see folk in need of our Savior, or celebrate with them as children already saved by Your grace. I ask this in the powerful and almighty 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 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!

An Unshakable Kingdom

On By Ed AlgreenIn Reconciliation, SincerityLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – Hebrews 12:25-29): 25–27 So don’t turn a deaf ear to these gracious words. If those who ignored earthly warnings didn’t get away with it, what will happen to us if we turn our backs on heavenly warnings? His voice that time shook the earth to its foundations; this time—he’s told us this quite plainly—he’ll also rock the heavens: “One last shaking, from top to bottom, stem to stern.” The phrase “one last shaking” means a thorough housecleaning, getting rid of all the historical and religious junk so that the unshakable essentials stand clear and uncluttered.

28–29 Do you see what we’ve got? An unshakable kingdom! And do you see how thankful we must be? Not only thankful, but brimming with worship, deeply reverent before God. For God is not an indifferent bystander. He’s actively cleaning house, torching all that needs to burn, and he won’t quit until it’s all cleansed. God himself is Fire!

THOUGHTS: Don’t you suppose that some of the super-powers in our world today wished they could say that they have ‘An Unshakable Kingdom’? We are warned that God shook up His kingdom once before when He showed the Israelites that although He preserved and cared for them in the wilderness for 40 years, most of them would not be allowed into the Promised Land because of their continued sin and disregard for God. Friends, here we are thousands of years later still being warned that we must listen and take note of the awesome God that we know and serve, because He has a side that imitates a raging fire, and just as He shook up the Israelites, He will once again shake up the earth’s population. In fact, it sounds like He is specifically speaking to the church here, because He refers to the many things we have put in place to supposedly encourage people to worship, yet those very things built and/or developed to attract our worship often breakdown the intended purpose for which we put them into place. Let me explain: many churches have split apart over the color of the church walls or the location of the piano, many more have split over the arguments that develop between members – the very persons that the ‘church’ was designed to bring together to worship and adore the one, true Lord that we all call ‘Our Father’. Friends, we are being warned in these verses that God has a much different kingdom in place for His children, but only after a good shakedown to cleanse His church – for those who are sincere in their relationship with God, and who prove it in their daily walk, talk and relationship with their fellow brothers and sisters. Where does that leave you Brother? Will you be in the group that is sifted out Sister, or are you secure in your relationship with God and His people? According to Deuteronomy 4:24, our God is not to be trifled with, for He is a consuming fire and a jealous God. We might fool our pastor or others in the congregation, but God knows our inmost thoughts and our every action – even the intent behind our actions. Often we might realize how those very close to us can see straight through our actions, so imagine how much more powerful God is. In all sincerity friends, let us get our lives in order and truly practice worshipping the one true God here on earth, so we will be ready for an eternity of praising Him in heaven.

PRAYER: With great reverence and with utmost respect I come before You this morning, knowing that in spite of Your loving and caring nature, yet You know my inmost thoughts, decisions and intentions behind everything I say or do. Please forgive me for the times that I have been less than upright or fully forthright before You and/or my fellow man. I am convinced that not only do I need You as my Savior and Lord, but I am in constant need of Your guidance, protection, wisdom and everlasting love. I need You Every Hour, as that good old hymn says. I cannot do this thing called ‘life’ without Your everlasting presence. I hope that my friends reading this devotional are in much better shape in all of these areas than I am, but I pray that You might clear the cobwebs from their minds and show them any shortcomings they might have. Lord, we don’t want to bury our heads in the sand and ignore our faults and/or our sins, because we want to stand before You one day and hear You say “well done good and faithful servant”, for we want to know that even today “It is well with my soul“. Thank You for this reminder Heavenly Father, please help us to be true to You and in our earthly relationships, and we will carefully give You all the credit and praise, for I ask these things in the matchless 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 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!

Important Responsibilities of the Christian

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christian, Example, Like JesusLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Hebrews 10:23-25): 23 We must hold tightly to the hope that we say is ours. After all, we can trust the one who made the agreement with us. 24 We should keep on encouraging each other to be thoughtful and to do helpful things. 25 Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer.

THOUGHTS: There are some important reminders for Christians in these few verses today that, I believe, we can be encouraged by, and that also serve to show us our worth, while representing Christ here in this earth:

  • Because we can trust our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to do all that He has promised to us in His Word, we need to hold on tight to the hope this brings, and not let the trials and tribulations of this earth pull us down, which is exactly what Satan sets out to do every day with children of the Most High. In fact we need to memorize the scripture that Jesus used against Satan when He was being tempted by him (Satan) in the wilderness. Remember, the power of the One who lives inside of us (God’s Holy Spirit) is far greater than any obstacle that might be placed in our way. So let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, and not our circumstances;
  • Because of this hope that we have, we must be constantly aware of those around us who are getting bogged down in the trials of this world, and the adversary, Satan. Notice the Word said nothing about this being the responsibility of the pastor, although I’m sure that he equally shares the responsibility that is ours. Friends, I believe that if we were to actively look for folk that we could encourage or minister to, we won’t have near enough time to sit and sour about the lack of attention the pastor may have paid to us when we attended church! My experience has been that the more we try to minister to others, the more we are ministered to by the Holy Spirit. Try to bless others, and watch double the blessings outpoured on yourself!
  • The Day of the Lord’s return is closer now than ever before. It is important that we get used to being around those that we hope to be in heaven with! Church attendance and worship times together are some of the best opportunities for us! Now I’m sure that many reading this can quickly tell me of the excuses why this just doesn’t work for you, but friends, the Word is clear. We are to not only make every effort to attend worship services, but go there with the intention of encouraging as many brothers and sisters as you can. This can be done simply through a smile, or a sincere handshake, or listening carefully to what the other person is sharing with you. Make them the most important person in the room while listening attentively to them. Share with them how God has blessed you. They might be encouraged to continue praying about a need. They might come back for the very next service because of the time you spent with them!

Friends, if you are challenged to do any of the above, may I suggest that you go back to square one and reacquaint yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ? All of the above is characteristic of the King, and since you are supposedly His child, you also should have these characteristics. I believe He is waiting and willing to help you mature in these qualities!

PRAYER: Father in Heaven, thank You for sending Your Son to live on earth and, in turn, showing us the way to live. Thank You for touching these great writers who shared Your heart with us throughout the books of the Bible, and making its contents so applicable to us even today. Please draw Your children closer to You, so that we might be reminded of how much more blessed it is to give, than to receive. Please help us to look for opportunities to minister to others, so that Your love might be expressed through us in the words that we speak, and in every opportunity we have to act in love towards others. Please fill us with Your character and help us to be better representatives of Yours each day, for I ask all this in the wonderful, matchless name of Jesus, my Lord and 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 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!

Business as Usual Won’t Cut It

On By Ed AlgreenIn Forgiveness, Joy, SalvationLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – Hebrews 7:11-19): 11-14
If the priesthood of Levi and Aaron, which provided the framework for the giving of the law, could really make people perfect, there wouldn’t have been need for a new priesthood like that of Melchizedek. But since it didn’t get the job done, there was a change of priesthood, which brought with it a radical new kind of law. There is no way of understanding this in terms of the old Levitical priesthood, which is why there is nothing in Jesus’ family tree connecting him with that priestly line.

15–19 But the Melchizedek story provides a perfect analogy: Jesus, a priest like Melchizedek, not by genealogical descent but by the sheer force of resurrection life—he lives!—”priest forever in the royal order of Melchizedek.” The former way of doing things, a system of commandments that never worked out the way it was supposed to, was set aside; the law brought nothing to maturity. Another way—Jesus!—a way that does work, that brings us right into the presence of God, is put in its place.

THOUGHTS: This appears to be a complex passage for a layperson to try and explain to anyone, or give you the theological meaning of, so I won’t try to do that!! However, I am a firm believer that God’s Word is in place for us to meditate on and allow God’s Holy Spirit to minister to our hearts so that we may be drawn to a closer relationship with the Father. Here’s how this impacted me: I was reminded recently that to understand a passage, try and picture the audience for whom it was written, the time in which it was written and by whom it was written. So for a brief moment, let’s think about the audience, a people who had been used to the leadership of Levitical priests. Then came this new priesthood of Melchizedek, who was radically different to anything the people were used to – a perfect analogy of the ‘priesthood’ of Jesus Christ, the One known as our great High Priest; our spiritual leader; our mediator with God the Father! I believe that God prompted me to share that we must be careful about allowing anything or anyone to be our sole leadership spiritually. Not the church – no matter how much we love our church; and not the pastor/priest/bishop/etc – no matter how much we respect and love them. For, although we should take the teachings of the church and our leaders to heart, what really matters is our personal relationship with the Son of God – Jesus Christ. To have a relationship with Jesus, we must go before Him in reverence and fear, Admit that we have sinned and desperately need a Savior; Believe that Jesus is God’s Son and only He who can forgive us of our sin; and Confess that we can do nothing to save ourselves, short of accepting Him as Lord and Savior. Yes, confess our unworthiness, but seek after His righteousness. Friends, we are told in God’s Word, that no tradition taught by our ancestors could facilitate our righteousness or relationship with Jesus Christ, it is only through us personally Admitting; Believing and Confessing of our sins that we totally surrender ourselves to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Yes, this may be very radical for some who have followed various traditions over the years, like the Israelites did with the Levitical priests, but let me challenge you to examine the Word of God and validate this for yourself, then take the appropriate action to sure up your eternal salvation. Jesus loves us dearly, sacrificially and wholeheartedly. There is nothing greater He would desire of us than to know that we have accepted His great love for us. Do it today friend, before it is eternally too late.

PRAYER: Thank You Fathpossibility for us. As with the Levitical priests back in the day, and with our various denominational beliefs and practices today, they attract us to follow their various twists on what they understand from Your Word, however You clearly made a way for us to come straight to the source – the only Biblical way for us to be saved from our own sinful selves. Thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the cross, but thank You even more that Jesus arose – an expression of the true life that we have in You when we become one with You. Please help us to be a people of the Book, so that we may be led to be servants of Your Son Jesus, who will lead us to all Truth with lives pleasing to You in every way. Our churches and our pastors/leaders are excellent resources for us to grow in our relationship with You, but continue to impress upon us that our true strength comes from You, and it’s You that we should live for every day of our lives. Thank You Father, and I ask that You hear my cry, increase my joy, and answer all my requests today so that I and my readers may be drawn closer to You now, and throughout eternity! 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!

Pride Comes Before A Fall

On By Ed AlgreenIn Humility, Obedience, SurrenderLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Jeremiah 38:17-18, 28): I told him that the Lord had said: “Zedekiah, I am the Lord God All-Powerful, the God of Israel. I promise that if you surrender to King Nebuchadnezzar’s officers, you and your family won’t be killed, and Jerusalem won’t be burned down. 18 But if you don’t surrender, I will let the Babylonian army capture Jerusalem and burn it down, and you will be taken prisoner.”……. 28 I was held in the courtyard of the palace guards until the day Jerusalem was captured.

THOUGHTS: I am amazed that we can look into God’s Word and not just see the amazing things that He did such as bringing people back to life, or miraculously healing them, but to also see some of the same characteristics in the folk of that day that compares to much like we see and experience today. In spite of knowing that he could possibly be killed for sharing with the king exactly what God said, yet Jeremiah was faithful and told King Zedekiah just that. In verses 19 thru 27 we are told how the king asked Jeremiah to handle the questions when asked by the palace authorities about the meeting between Jeremiah and the king, because the king found it impossible to concede to what God wanted him to do, as it would burst the pride of his kingdom. I found vs 28 interesting, because it gives the idea that Jeremiah waited in full expectation of what God said He would do, and in later verses we will read the rest of the story! I believe that way too often we go off in our own direction and, in spite of asking God for His advice, we are so filled with personal pride that we do our own thing, although His warnings and/or directions have been made plain to us. Friends, God is all-knowing and all-powerful. If we are truly His child, and we want to be truly obedient, then we will allow His will to override our wants and our pride. This requires a close walk with God and demands our knowing His very thoughts and plans, and allowing that sense of direction to lead us into all truth, even if it looks like it will probably lead to folk laughing at us, or thinking that we have lost sense with reality. God’s true messengers tell the story as they understand it from God, not as they have manipulated it to best suit their purpose. We are chosen to be God’s messengers of His truth, not to dilute it with our wants and/or benefits. I believe that God is watching as we decide today whom we will serve. What shall it be friend?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for trusting Your servants to deliver Your Word to those that need it even today. You are well aware of how manipulative we are in still sharing that Word with our own personal prejudices and twists that help us to feel important and without including ourselves in the mix of all who need correction. Please tender our hearts, and please cause us to allow Your words to penetrate us first personally, before we ever think about sharing them with someone else. You are the Creator and ongoing Master of this universe. All things were made by You and are still under Your control. Please help us to understand that this will not change, even if we try to soften the reality of that, or not tell the whole truth of what it will take to draw mankind unto a saving knowledge of You. There is no need for us to be intimidated by others, for Your message is designed for us all. There is no gain for self, for Your Word is intended to draw mankind unto You, not unto us. Please forgive us for our littleness in trying to use Your message for our benefit. Please help us to wipe away self-pride and instead practice true servant-hood and be Your humble messenger simply delivering Your Word to lost mankind. Only the blood of Jesus can wash away the sin of mankind, nothing else. May Your will be done today in our lives, I pray, in the all-powerful and matchless name of Jesus my Lord, 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!

Try To Please Your Commanding Officer

On By Ed AlgreenIn Commanding Officer, SoldierLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – 2 Timothy 2:1-4): 1 Timothy, my child, Christ Jesus is kind, and you must let him make you strong. 2 You have often heard me teach. Now I want you to tell these same things to followers who can be trusted to tell others. 3 As a good soldier of Christ Jesus you must endure your share of suffering. 4 Soldiers on duty don’t work at outside jobs. They try only to please their commanding officer.

THOUGHTS: God designed us with a sense of choice in life. Parents and church workers teach children the right choices to make in life, but admittedly there are tons of other choices they could make, based on the friends they hang out, both their age and also older child-minders. However, the influence of teachers or daycare workers could also influence a child from a very early age. As adults, we grow up with these earlier age influences and we make choices impacted by the principles we have learned. Paul is teaching Timothy, and ultimately us, that when we become one with Jesus Christ, we are to live in a way that pleases Him. In fact, outside distractions and non-biblical principles will steer us away from the life our Commanding Officer desires of us. I was especially touched by the one command that we are to spread the gospel, not just to any and every one, but especially to those who will then also spread the gospel wherever they go. In fact, my takeaway on this is that I don’t just sit in Bible School and church each Sunday morning to allow the words taught, to tickle my ears, but to allow the Holy Spirit to open my ears of understanding and my eyes to the needs of those around me, so that I might share what I’ve been blessed to learn. I was taught that we are to be careful to whom we allow access to our belief system, as our allegiance to our Commanding Officer might be impeded or seriously distracted. As Christians, we are to practice that although we are in this world, we are not to be of this world and impacted by its sin and destruction. For our allegiance is to be to our Commanding Officer, Jesus Christ. Friends, your output will reflect where most of your input is coming from! Take time to evaluate self and see who has your allegiance today, please? If you need help in turning this around, please use my contact information in the ‘Footnote’. I will be happy to pray with you and give you some additional scripture that might help you realign your allegiance to our Lord and Savior!

PRAYER: Father in Heaven, please show Your favor on us once again today by blessing us with power to overcome the evil of this world and to center our thoughts and allegiance on You. Our news reports are filled with the results of evil in men’s hearts, so I am reminded that it is even the more important that Christians stand firm in our belief and our stand for our Commanding Officer. In the military, many would have been charged with defecting, and I believe that there will be a price for ‘Christians’ to pay when we see You face to face for the many times that we have defected in our allegiance to You. For some have accepted You as Lord (joined the army of Saints) yet never have chosen to learn the rules of engagement, therefore have no idea what they should be doing as a soldier, nor do they have a desire to do it. Some of us know it, but have deliberately chosen to defect. Some of us know it yet we stand wishy-washy in our belief system and in our daily commitment to You. We are ashamed dear Lord. We badly need Your strength, Your guidance and Your patience to make us stronger in our faith and more committed to our decision to be Your child, Your warriors and Your messengers. Please continue to work with us today and every day that we remain on this earth. I ask all this knowing that You are the only one true God and the only One who can give such blessings, 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 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!