Tag: Circumstances

Committed – Through ALL Circumstances

On By Ed AlgreenIn Stuff, Surrender, WorshipLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: Job 1:20–22
Today’s Bible Text: Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The LORD gave me what I had, and the LORD has taken it away. Praise the name of the LORD!” In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: Some Spoiled kids fall face to the ground and bang their heads on the ground while screaming, when things don’t go the way they want. I’ve seen where adults have left the church; hit a wall so hard that it broke their hand; Pouted all day when their angers flare up; and I’ve also seen where folk will go into total depression when they lose someone or something important to them. In this chapter of Job, I believe we can understand how Job could have responded in any of the above ways, based in the many disappointments and losses that he faced at one time, and we would have totally understood his actions. But friends, if you are not fully familiar with the story of Job, I must share briefly what caused him to tear his robe and shave his head. Various servants came in to Job one right after the other excitedly telling of certain disasters that had occurred with his Oxen; his sheep; his camels and his children. In each case, each of these had been killed together with the servants who watched over them. So I must ask you to consider: what would you have done if you were in Job’s place? In purple I highlighted the words of Job’s prayer to God. Could you have done that? Friends, I’m afraid that we place so much emphasis on the ‘stuff’ that we own and the precious gifts that God has blessed us with in family, that it becomes a thing of pride and boasting about what we did to achieve all that we have. When Jesus hung on the cross, about to die sacrificially for our sin, His only concern was that His mother be taken care of. There was no real estate or equipment or cattle for Jesus to worry about. Unless Jesus comes back first, we will all die; and based on decisions we made while alive, we will wind up just like Job, where we stand before the throne of God, just as we came into the world. This could happen this very day friend, so may I encourage you to emphasize on what’s really eternally important to you today. May I suggest that your relationship with the God of this universe, the One you will face after life here on earth, is the most important thing for you to concentrate on. Only then will you be able to separate yourself from the chaos of everyday earthly greed, and keep your eyes fixed on the one who truly holds tomorrow. Jesus loves you friend, and He wants your undivided attention. Job did it, and so can you and I.

Prayer: Father it seems almost farfetched how faithful Job was, especially as we get so attached to all that we are blessed with here on this earth. But Lord, our attachment to ‘stuff’ takes away from our total attachment to You. Please forgive us for all that we have allowed to distract us in our walk with You. Please teach us to place You first in all things, so that our priority in this life here on earth will be to worship, adore and serve you. May we stay focused on You so that earthly belongings and desires will become secondary in our lives. Fill us with so much of Yourself that it will become very evident whose we are, and may this serve only to promote You in all aspects of our character. Praise the name of the 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. 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!

2016

How To Handle Life Challenges

On By Ed AlgreenIn FaithLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (Good News Translation – Isaiah 37:16-17): 16 “Almighty Lord, God of Israel, enthroned above the winged creatures, you alone are God, ruling all the kingdoms of the world. You created the earth and the sky. 17Now, Lord, hear us and look at what is happening to us. Listen to all the things that Sennacherib is saying to insult you, the living God.

(Contemporary English Version – Isaiah 37:18-20) 18 It is true, our Lord, that Assyrian kings have turned nations into deserts. 19 They destroyed the idols of wood and stone that the people of those nations had made and worshiped. 20 But you are our Lord and our God! We ask you to keep us safe from the Assyrian king. Then everyone in every kingdom on earth will know that you are the only Lord.

Thoughts: So many times we are faced with circumstances where we realize that we have allowed our walk with the Lord to fall into second place. Notice that I said ‘we’ allow, instead of indicating that God leaves us and moves on. Friends, I believe that when we sense a distance between God and us, we needn’t wonder whose fault it is, for our God is always the same – He loves us, cares for us and will remain with us to the very end. Way too often we beat up on ourselves so badly that we convince ourselves that there is no way that God could love us in our sorry state. I’m here to tell you that anytime you sense a distance between you and God, please search your heart and His will for what He would have you do. Notice in verse 16 that King Hezekiah recognized God for who He is – ‘You alone are God’. That’s a very powerful acknowledgment that each of us must recognize, especially when we are feeling isolated, alone and powerless. However, it will be challenging for you to recognize this fact when you’re in need, if you didn’t also acknowledge Him as God when everything was going well for you. The way that God got my attention in the second set of verses is that the king acknowledged that in spite of the overwhelming circumstances, he knew that the balance (final say) remained in God’s hands. Friends, this is an awful lot like us when we face very challenging circumstances, for in faith we must say that: in spite of what the doctors say, or in spite of what my check book says, or in spite of all odds ‘You are our Lord and our God’ and it is in You that I place my faith, believing that all things work for best, for those who love and serve God! King Hezekiah went before God in great confidence. We serve the sane God and we can go before Him in the same faith and confidence that the king did! Anything stopping you friend?

Prayer: Dear Jesus, we are weak, but You are so strong. Please help me/us to place our faith and trust totally in Your hands and depend on You in every walk of life and through every circumstance, especially those times when we realize that things are way out of our hands and/or abilities. As indicated above, I realize that such trust can only be achieved through our faith in You during the ‘good’ times also, for if we only come to You in trouble, how would we know to trust You. So Lord, I plead with You to touch my heart, guide me and lead me in the path of righteousness. Teach me Your ways and help me to live so that my life will glorify You. May I learn to trust in Your ways and allow You control of my circumstances, even when the way seems dark and impossible to me. May Your Word touch some soul today who may be facing circumstances such as this, for I ask this in the precious and holy 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 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!

God’s Love Remains – In Prosperity and Hard Times

On By Ed AlgreenIn Love, Prosperity, UnconditionalLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

13 Accept the way God does things,

for who can straighten what he has made crooked?

14 Enjoy prosperity while you can,

but when hard times strike, realize that both come from God.

Remember that nothing is certain in this life.

(Bible Translation and Location: New Living Translation – Ecclesiastes 7:13-14)

Thoughts:

The last verse in this chapter, Ecclesiastes 7:29 reads: 29This is all that I have learnt: God made us plain and simple, but we have made ourselves very complicated. I believe that this verse sums up our human race so well, for we are never satisfied with just the facts, we have to prove they are true, and that the speaker or the author had no bias towards what they said! Friends, our key verses today is basically reminding us that our God is way more powerful than we could ever imagine, in fact Solomon went on to illustrate the majesty and power of God by reminding us that no one can straighten out the curves in this universe made by God. Therefore we should continue to trust Him through our praises and celebrations when things are prosperous and going well for us. However, although we often neglect to stop and praise Him for our everyday happiness, safety, family, friends, work, knowledge and so much more, we seem to do just the opposite when it comes to those hard times in our lives. We are reminded in verse 14 that ‘everything’ comes from God, both the good and the challenging times. Think about it friend: if God loves His dear children, why would that differ when things are going wrong, vs the times when we are on cloud nine with joy and happiness? When we discipline our children, it is not because we hate them today vs yesterday. We discipline because we love them and want to help them do better. There’s a popular song out today entitled “I will Praise You in the Storm” that speaks very loudly and clearly to this unconditional love of God for which we are to be thankful and praise-worthy at all times. Will you join me in shifting our negativity during challenging times to more of a praise time because of God’s love to discipline us and show us a better way to live? Can we learn to praise Him in spite of our personal circumstances – good or bad?

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You made us, so I am confident that You are well aware of our weaknesses, especially during those challenging times in our lives. Please touch Your children today and help us to be more of a thankful people. For I believe that if we did a better job of praising, thanking and celebrating during our ‘good times’ then, perhaps, we will more easily recognize that You are still God, still in control, and will do nothing to harm us, but rather continue to mold us during the times when we feel so out of control. You went through some very challenging times even as our supreme Lord, so help us to understand that these times will come. However, help us to follow Your example in dealing with our challenges, for You healed the ear of an attacker in the garden, and You prayed for the Father to bless those who hung You on the cross. Please help us to recognize You daily for the loving God that You are, knowing that You have our best interest at heart. Please continue to bless others through us, both during our prosperous times and especially through our challenging times, and may we continually praise You through every event in life, for I ask this in the wonderful 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!