Tag: commitment

The Purity of Faith: Trials and Triumphs for Believers

On By Ed AlgreenIn Accept Jesus NOW, Acknowledge God, All have sinned, Awesome God, Commitment, Faith, God Cares For Us, God’s WordLeave a comment

DATE POSTED
Monday, June 30, 2025, and I was blessed to be at Westgate Vacation Villas, Kissimmee, FL when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find and read any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Read 1 Peter 1:6-9 in your Bible or click on it to read it online in the Living Bible (TLB).

APPLICATION – as inspired by the Holy Spirit
There may be multiple misconceptions out there about Christians and their safety, security, joy, and total exemption from the evils of this wicked world and its leader, Satan. However, after you read today’s Scripture verses, you might be confused, because under the inspiration of the holy Spirit, Peter is telling us that testing, and trials, will continue while we remain here on earth.
So, we should look at this, in hopes of better understanding why God would expose even His own children to such earthly heartaches and stress. After all, God is known as our Father of love, care, and protection. Our Father for all eternity. The Bible use gold as a comparison. Probably the most precious metal, yet it is placed through fire and pounded to prove its purity and genuine aspects. We must always remember, when we place our trust in Jesus Christ, we are saved for eternity. Our Heavenly Father watches out for His own and we could got to bed in peace knowing that we are His, and He is ours. We can awake each morning with great assuredness, knowing that our time in God’s Word will reaffirm the greatness of our Father, who will be leading us through every circumstance of life that day. Fellow believers, remember, our faith, protection and overlook are anchored in the powerful hands of the Creator of this universe today! While still here in this world, we are not exempt from trials and temptations. In fact, these may become more intense as the world places us in the fire to prove our commitment to our Lord. Some may very well pound on us to test God in protecting His dear children.
I sincerely believe that today’s Scripture encourages us to embrace true faith in Jesus Christ. Some turn to Him for the promise of Heaven, while others see Him as a backup for life’s toughest moments. However, those who fully surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ find peace in knowing that God equips them to live according to His guidance, through studying His Word, praying regularly, and entrusting every aspect of life to Him. Surrendering to Jesus means giving Him control over your decisions, direction, and worries. Holding onto even a small part of these means you haven’t fully surrendered. Each evening, reflect on your day and compare it to gold—just as gold is tested and proven genuine, can God see your life as genuine at the end of the day? In verse 9, Peter reassures us that enduring the trials of life leads to true salvation, showing the world who we belong to.

PRAYER
Lord, I thank You this morning for the reassurance of knowing You as my Lord and Savior! Life on earth often feels filled with endless trials and challenges, but through the Holy Spirit, I am reminded of who is in control of my life, watching over me and guiding my steps in every situation. You understand our doubts and how we falter under Satan’s attacks and influences. Lord, my fellow believers and I need You every moment. With empty hands, we come before You, asking to be filled with Your everlasting goodness. Reassure us constantly of Your wisdom, presence, and unending love. As You bless us, may we also share Your grace with others who are in need of a Savior today. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE
If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please take advantage of the information provided on my page ‘To Know Jesus’. Alternatively, consider speaking with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. One of God’s servants will pray with you and offer help and encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals or subscribe to receive a daily email containing each new devotional, please visit NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. Friends, I encourage you to find a Bible teaching church home near your residence and attend as frequently as possible. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk while you make every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider being a part of that while also growing in your faith as you worship with fellow believers!

How to Discern True Messengers of God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Accept Jesus NOW, Acknowledge God, All have sinned, Awesome God, Commitment, God Cares For Us, God’s Word, Totally committedLeave a comment

DATE POSTED
Tuesday, May 20, 2025, and I was blessed to be at Mariposa at Hunter Road, San Marcos, TX when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find and read any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Read Jeremiah 23:28-40 in your Bible or click on it to read it online in the New Living Translation (NLT).

APPLICATION – as inspired by the Holy Spirit
I can hardly imagine how much the hearts of the prophets must have been impacted by the messages given by God for them to deliver. Think about it, if you were given a message for a small group of friends, I feel pretty sure that you wouldn’t think twice about delivering that message. For your home church, that may be just as easy for you to deliver that message. But how about giving that same message before a crowd where other denominational leaders may be present, as well as many political leaders from your state? Might be a bit more challenging, right? But in our Scripture referenced today, God issued a word for Jeremiah to deliver to ‘prophets’. Now, Jeremiah was also a prophet, so he would be delivering this message to his contemporaries, and God wants them to be aware that He will not stand for false prophets any longer. No doubt, Jeremiah did some soul searching and questioning of God to make sure that no fingers were being pointed at him, before ever hitting the road to deliver this critical message from God! However, I feel like this is a moving example for those of us that move to a new area, and we begin searching for a new church, or while on vacation and we look for a church to visit. Unfortunately, our world has not learned a whole lot from what God said in His Word, for there are still pastors and churches who meld in much too much of the world’s ideals so they could, presumably, attract more of the world’s population. But can’t the people simply go to a movie theater or live show somewhere to get that kind of wishy-washy environment? When the Holy Spirit is tapping on the heart of a sinner to know Christ, or a believer to return to Him, don’t you think that they will opt to attend a local church instead of places like I gave in my example above? But how then will they know a legitimate, Holy Spirit empowered, and Bible teaching church? Is it the quiet one down the street, or perhaps the popular one on the other side of town, or should they travel to the next town where you’ve heard a lot about the good life groups and lots of programs they have? In addition to asking the Holy to guide you to a church where He knows you will grow in your faith, I believe that you can also use some of the principles from our Scripture today:
Vs 28 – God insisted that His ‘True Messengers preach every Word that He declares’. Try attending a church that preaches through every verse in the Bible. You will find some messages that will take you to another level of joy, and some that may really mash your toes because of truths that you need to adopt into your Christian lifestyle. They might even apply these principles to current day events to help you discern right from wrong in a biblical and Godly sense, rather than a political and worldly view;
Vs 35 – Take your tools to church with you. It is important that you have your Bible in your lap and that you follow along with what is being taught. The pastor in front of that church is human just like you, and some have been known to fail, just like you do at times. A good orator could make everything they say sound very believable, but when you are holding them accountable by reading the same Scriptures they are preaching from, you stand a better chance of ensuring that the reference in vs 28 is a reality – that they are True Messengers of the God you went there to worship and learn about.
As you leave that place of worship, examine the message in light of vs 35: What is the Lord’s answer delivered through the Word that day. And/or What is the Lord saying to you through the Word preached that day. If you struggle with this, contact that pastor and ask for clarification, or contact another pastor in whom you have already developed a good confidence level, and discuss the matter with him. Think about this dear friend: While on the internet, you do everything possible to make sure you are on a legitimate site and not a fake site developed under false pretenses in order to steal your confidential information. Emails you receive are much the same – legitimate or are they spam or junk? Why should you do anything less in selecting a church, or attending one, or in listening to the teaching/preaching of God’s Word from that church?

PRAYER
Dear Lord Jesus, You have taught us everything we need to know for salvation, righteousness and for living in obedience with Your Word. Yet we have allowed the world to soften our grip on obedience and the boldness to stand firm in spite of any worldly repercussion. We need more of You in every walk of life while here on earth Lord. Please continue to work on us and develop us into the children You would have represent You here on earth. Whether its false prophets or uncommitted Christians, I believe Your Word would indicate that both are tasteless in Your mouth and You would spit us out. Just as we could be good, committed, longtime employees, help us to be even more committed to our stance with You. Others need to see Jesus in us, otherwise we look more like the False Prophets You spoke of through Jeremiah. Please have Your will and way in my life, and also in the lives of those who recommit themselves to you after this reminder today. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE
If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please take advantage of the information provided on my page ‘To Know Jesus’. Alternatively, consider speaking with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. One of God’s servants will pray with you and offer help and encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals or subscribe to receive a daily email containing each new devotional, please visit NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. Friends, I encourage you to find a Bible teaching church home near your residence and attend as frequently as possible. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk while you make every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider being a part of that while also growing in your faith as you worship with fellow believers!

Overcoming Distractions: Prioritizing God in Your Life

On By Ed AlgreenIn Acknowledge God, All-powerful, Allegiance, Allegiance to the Lamb, Always There, Ask and Receive, Awesome God, Blessings, Bold Confidence, Challenges, Choice, Church attendance, Cleanse me Oh God, Daily communion with God, Devoted, Distractions, Draw Me Close to You, Eternal Life, Everything We Need, Faith, Follow Jesus, God our Provider, God's Guidance, God's Power, Leadership of the Holy SpiritLeave a comment

DATE POSTED
Tuesday, November 12, 2024, and I was blessed to be at Mariposa at Hunter Road, San Marcos, TX when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find and read any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Quoted from the Good News Translation (GNT) and found in Isaiah 65:1-3

THE SCRIPTURE READS
1 The Lord said, “I was ready to answer my people’s prayers, but they did not pray. I was ready for them to find me, but they did not even try. The nation did not pray to me, even though I was always ready to answer, ‘Here I am; I will help you.’ 2 I have always been ready to welcome my people, who stubbornly do what is wrong and go their own way. 3 They shamelessly keep on making me angry. They offer pagan sacrifices at sacred gardens and burn incense on pagan altars. 

APPLICATION – as inspired by the Holy Spirit
Perhaps you have better control over your emotions on being trapped in an impatient situation, but it seems like as I age, I am becoming way more intolerant over waiting for someone that I expected to make the next step in a process, only to find out they either misunderstood their role, or had no intention in following through on something expected of them. As I meditated on this Scripture today, I held my head down in shame, because I was reminded that God must be exceptionally tolerant of me as He waits for me each morning after blessing me with a very safe, warm, comfortable, restful night, yet I fail to thank Him as I awaken and approach another beautiful day. At evening time, after all day preparing the way for me, directing my path while opening doors that would otherwise be shut tight, yet I lay my head down without saying ‘Thank You’ to my Provider, my Protector, my Savior and my Lord. Friends, try re-reading today’s Scripture and allow it to challenge you about your similarities to the nation of Israel that God spoke to through His servant, Isaiah. We are quickly approaching a time of the year that many set aside as a special day each year to offer up thanks to Almighty God for His amazing hand of mercy and blessings throughout the year. Let us pray that this will not just prove to be a day of overindulging in turkey and whatever other food items might fill our tables that day, for just as our God is reminding us in this Scripture, He stands ready to continue blessing us in the year ahead, if only we would recognize our source of each and every blessing. He stands ready to hear our prayers and petitions as we share our concerns with Him in prayer, for in Isaiah 59:1 we are reminded that God’s arm is not too short to save us or hear our cry for mercy, or want or salvation. Please, dear friends, be reminded that God is still on the throne and He sees the gods that we have chosen to worship. Yes, especially those gods that are outside of His temple where we expect Him to be present. For the Israelites, He saw the gods they worshipped in their gardens. For us, it is any thing, or any one that we allow to take precedence over our time with Almighty God. Let me suggest that we start with, and particularly look at, what we choose to do during the times that our church worship services are going on. Examples might be the beach, boating, sports, shopping, hunting, work, etc. Are these the things that you give thanks to at Thanksgiving for your survival over the past year? Are these the things that you go to, or call on, in times of trouble, disappointment or illnesses? I believe that if these things take priority, and/or take up the time you would otherwise spend with God, then God may be jealous to the extent that He considers you spending more time with other gods rather than Him. May God direct us to keep our hearts and minds fixed on Him, our Creator and Savior, and allow nothing else to distract from our time with Him.

PRAYER
Lord Jesus, thank you for Your unconditional and persistent love for us – Your creation and Your children. You created us in Your image, yet we’ve strayed to our own vices and found other ‘gods’ more attractive, necessary and important to us. You bless, protect and guide us to be more like You every day, yet we choose to ‘do it our way’ like the songwriter wrote about. Please Lord, forgive us of our twisted priorities and our misguided allegiance. Please continue to work on us and open our eyes to see You as You are, our Savior and Lord – our everlasting King – the God of this universe for today and for evermore. In the busyness of life we often complain about not having time for everything that should be important to us. Please help us to use the words that something, or someone was not a priority to us, if we chose other things to consume our time. We want You to be our top priority in all walks of life. Please help us to give priority to You above all else. Amen!

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

On Betraying Jesus

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Adoration, Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Awesome God, Beyond Description, Blessing, Celebrate God, Needs, Praise, Praise-worthy, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED: Friday, January 26, 2024, and I was blessed to be at Advent Christian Village, Dowling Park, FL when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find, read or listen to any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE FROM THE Amplified Bible (AMP) IS FOUND IN Luke 22:47-48

THE BIBLE TEXT IS: While He was still speaking, a crowd came, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve [disciples], was leading the way for them. He approached Jesus to kiss Him. And Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”

APPLICATION OF THE WORD: As I meditated on this very familiar Scripture today, it made me question whether I betray Jesus in any way. Oh my, did that open a ‘can of worms’ as I thought what this could possibly mean today. We come down hard on Judas for being a ‘betrayer’. For this means that someone who has ties to, and a certain allegiance to, may choose to turn them into the enemy, instead of standing up for them and being totally sold out to their safety, their advancement, their profit and their success. So, friends, I want you to stop and consider with me today whether you have anything in common with Judas. Let’s begin by being reminded that Judas was chosen by Jesus as a follower of His, so he was a disciple who had equal access to all things revolving around the life and ministry of Jesus. Are you a follower of Jesus Christ? Are you a member of his local church? When we answer ‘Yes’ to both of those questions, I believe that means that we have a certain appreciation for all that Jesus did to provide salvation for us and His promise to welcome us home to glory one day when we graduate from our home here on earth. This should make us ‘float’ around on a cloud every day rejoicing in the birth, death and resurrection of our Savior and Lord. But what happens when we’re put on the spot by our long-lost friend who is obviously apart from Christ and worships the things of this world while also following every evil wish and practice of its ruler? How many of us remain true and faithful to our Master? Or do we tend to cower and, perhaps, avoid even stating the name of Jesus in our conversation, or totally renege on our promise to promote Jesus in our words and our actions? How many of us quickly turn to denouncing the preacher on Monday morning for having stepped on our toes in the sermon the day before just by merely sharing the Word of God with us? Do we promote the name and person of Jesus, or do we more often disassociate ourselves with Him, depending on the circumstances? Have you ever given in to the ways of the world because of your circumstances? Judas did. He wanted to be popular, by being the one who aided authorities in capturing Jesus. He wanted the money paid for helping in the capture, for he was known as the one to watch over the treasury, or money bag for the disciples. To what extent might we go to earn a few extra dollars? Even if we have to look the other way on our faith, our church or our Lord? I believe God would have us examine ourselves and the things that we allow to impact our choices and our decision making. Is there an appearance of ‘betrayal’ in any of that? I believe that we must challenge ourselves to seek Jesus on an ongoing basis and ask Him to show us the ways that we are unfaithful in our allegiance to our Lord and or ministries dedicated to Him. We must be children totally sold out to Jesus, and not ones who are ‘in’ when it’s convenient or no opposition present. It is super important that we not confuse those who are looking to see Jesus in all of His glory working through His children. What might Jesus call our actions? Betrayal, a turning away, questionable as to whose we are, hypocrite, uncommitted, or are we truly a child of the King who will stand for Him in every circumstance of life?

PRAYER BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT OF TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Lord Jesus, just as we are quick to ridicule Judas for his disappointing actions in betraying his Lord, I pray that You will continually open our eyes to the times that we tend to disclaim You and perhaps even dishonor You and Your name. We are certainly not ones who remain faithful in every circumstance of life, yes even at times when we know that we should do better in promoting the name and person of Jesus Christ. Please forgive us Lord, and I humbly pray that You will be even more intrusive in our thoughts and decision making to truly get our attention and give us a chance to be more committed. May it always be our growing desire to claim the name and person of Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, no matter the circumstances of this world and the darts thrown at us by the evil one. May the world see Jesus in us and hear about Him through our spoken word. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There’s another page on my website, entitled ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading or listening to this devotional, please go to this page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin or continue your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals, or subscribe for a daily email containing each new devotional, please go online to NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. For my podcast, go online to Apple Podcasts or, using the Apple Podcast app, simply search for Nuggets From God’s Word to hear more episodes, or click ‘Follow’ to be notified of Podcast updates. Friends, please allow me to encourage you to find a church home nearby your home and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

A Bonus From God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Acknowledge God, Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Ask and Receive, Awesome God, Believe, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED: Sunday, 2023-02-19
WRITTEN AT: O’Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 2 Chronicles 1:11-12
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 11 God said to Solomon, “Because your greatest desire is to help your people, and you did not ask for wealth, riches, fame, or even the death of your enemies or a long life, but rather you asked for wisdom and knowledge to properly govern my people— 12 I will certainly give you the wisdom and knowledge you requested. But I will also give you wealth, riches, and fame such as no other king has had before you or will ever have in the future!”

APPLICATION: I would imagine that it would probably depend on what we are going through at the time, as to what we might tell God is at the top of our ‘Wish List’, or is our greatest desire. If we are wanting to get married, then we would probably ask God to help us find the best suited mate available. If we are attending college, then perhaps we might ask God to help us achieve the best test scores possible, whether we have, or have not, spent adequate time studying as we should have! If the bills are mounting and there just don’t seem to be enough income to go around, we might ask God to wave His magic wand and make the bills go away for us. BUT, I’m hoping that many of my readers and/or listeners are in close fellowship with God, spends adequate time with Him each day studying His Word and praying for His divine direction in your lives. What would you ask for? My attention was drawn when the young, new king, Solomon, made it his very first move to take his leaders with him up to the temple. He didn’t say what he was going for, and Scripture doesn’t record, that his leaders asked any questions about where they were going or the reason why. This large group arrived at the temple and Solomon led the pack in proceeding to the bronze altar and sacrificing 1,000 burnt offerings to the Lord. Isn’t it amazing how this very powerful young king didn’t recline back and order his servant leaders to handle the burnt offerings? Notice how Solomon didn’t make the offerings with any type of condition to God, or use them as any bargaining tool for what he wanted from God that day? But of particular notice is that God knew the heart of the dad who had prayed for his son to assume kingship over Israel, and how he wanted him to keep God first in everything he did. God also knew that in-spite of everything that Solomon had going for him, he found no greater priority than to gather his leaders and first go to the temple to seek the face of God, before any other task that required their attention. Notice in verse 11 how God’s heart was touched by Solomon not doing like most, who would ask for personal success and riches, but instead asked for help in being the best possible leader for a people he had been given the honor to lead. Although knowing his very heart, yet God wanted us to notice that He will bless abundantly more than we could comprehend, when His people will humble themselves, seek His face, and beg for help in meeting the needs of His people over whom we have influence. God blessed Solomon with the things he requested, but then as a bonus, God also blessed him with those things that he could have asked for! Friends, I don’t believe there is any greater ‘wow’ moment than to see the Great I Am do more for us than we ask or deserve! I wonder, when last have we sacrificed time at work or play or family, to call a few Christian brothers and sisters and invite them to meet you at the altar of your church? Assuming that some will show up, would they be surprised that nothing is personally wrong with you or your immediate family, but that you wanted to pray for a neighbor who needs Jesus, or for your Sunday School class that you will teach the following day, or the congregation that you feel truly needs to see Jesus in services the next day? Do you suppose that people are not being blessed, or saved today because of our laxity and lack of dedication to the God we are meant to represent and lead our people to in our respective ministries? At the very ending of verse 12, God promised to bless Solomon more than any king before or after him ever thought possible. What would happen in your family, or your Sunday School class or your church congregation if God chose to bless in this way because of your faithfulness? Could our city contain itself if it saw churches being blessed in response to their humbleness, their dedication, their teaching and their preaching? Why, it will become evident that the God we worship and adore really does exist, because the might works of God reveals itself through His church! Are you truly doing anything to invoke the blessings of Almighty God on His people and His church? Oh Lord, may we always facilitate Your blessing, and never stand as a stumbling block to all You want for Your people.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: God was merciful to Solomon and blessed Him with what he asked for, plus, as a bonus, also blessed him with the things that he could have asked for! What an awesome, giving, and ever-blessing God we serve!

PRAYER: Glory to God in the highest for who You are and for all that You do for Your children – especially for the blessings that we may not even asked for! Oh that Your people will recognize Your greatness today and have a deep desire to worship You and seek Your ongoing goodness for all those we love and cross paths with each day. Your blessings are way greater than anything we could imagine or ask for, and I pray that we would realize once again that You just want our availability to serve, and Your blessings will overflow through us to bless others. May each one that walks through the doors of Your church today come with a new desire to worship You for who You are, and not just for what You could give them. Please Lord, help us to seek Your throne on behalf of others today, and not just for what You can do for us. May Your kingdom come, on earth, as it is in heaven. For thine is the glory, the honor and praise. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

The Prescription for Success

On By Ed AlgreenIn Devotion, For His Glory, Glory of God, God's Glory, LoyaltyLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Monday, 2020-03-14
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

Bible Reference: 2 Chronicles 31:20–21
Translation: Good News Translation (GNT)

Bible Text: 20 Throughout all Judah, King Hezekiah did what was right and what was pleasing to the Lord his God. 21 He was successful, because everything he did for the Temple or in observance of the Law, he did in a spirit of complete loyalty and devotion to his God.

APPLICATION: I can hardly imagine what our families, our churches, our cities and our nation would be like if we had men following the example of King Hezekiah today! We are told in verse 21 that this king was extremely successful because….. everything he did was in a spirit of complete loyalty and devotion to God! Wow! In Bible Studies we are often reminded about the importance of loving our spouse in complete loyalty and obedience to God, and we might hear testimonies about the difference these characteristics make in the life and marriage of couples who remain in love with each other through good, and yes, even through challenging times. I could only imagine how much better our workplaces would be if we (Christians) went to work with a spirit of complete loyalty and devotion to God. Friends, I know that many employers will not allow Christianity to be promoted within the confounds of the workplace, but what is inside of us cannot be taken away! We take Christ into our jobs through our lives – our actions, our stands on certain things, through our sincere dedication to our work and our bosses. Christians should be the best employees for any employer, if we do our jobs in complete loyalty and dedication to God. He will stop us from cheating, stealing, lying, gossiping, and any other ungodly actions. God will drive us towards being the best in everything expected of us by our employer. In addition to committing yourself to loyalty and devotion to God, please remember to daily pray God’s blessings on your supervisor and on your employer. Yes, even the boss that may seem hard and uncaring towards you. Just as Jesus made a difference in your life, He will also impact the life of your boss, or that difficult supervisor! As you meditate on this devotional and consider following this commitment, please notice that Hezekiah had no conditions to his commitment, and I believe we could deduce that his commitment was evident in every aspect of his life. I’m sure I don’t need to remind you, but our churches, our families, our workplaces, our schools and our social clubs are all suffering from the lack of commitment by those who tell the world that they belong to God. The Word says that as a result of Hezekiah’s commitment, many conditions changed for the good, and he was successful in everything he did. So will you join me in committing to be completely loyal and devoted to God in every aspect of your life? The world so badly needs Jesus, perhaps one dedicated child of God making a difference in their workplace, their homes, etc. will bring hope to those who need the Lord. Do your part dear friend, and pray for the same success that Hezekiah had!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus I’m sure that You never intended for us to be an image of You for others to look on, but rather that we might imitate You in everything You have taught us though Your Word and Your actions, so that they may be convinced of their need for Jesus. Thank You for the life of Hezekiah and the commitment displayed by this servant in loyalty and devotion to You. This impacted his world! But still today, our world is in trouble and many need to see a few good men and women who are dedicated to the One they say they belong to. Lord, may they see from our commitment, loyalty and devotion to You, that Jesus is alive and well, because of the evidence they see each day in us. Please forgive us Lord for the times we have acted just like the world, and not been a pure replica of You. Please help us to never be a stumbling block that prevents Your impact on the lost. Oh that You may be glorified and recognized in us, and may You be glorified on earth, as You are in Heaven! AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog at https://NuggetsFromGodsWord.org that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading or listening to this devotional, please go to the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and see all of my posts, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

What Say Ye? Whom Will You Serve?

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

DATE POSTED Wednesday, 2021-09-08
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Joshua 24:19-23
TRANSLATION: New Century Version (NCV)

BIBLE TEXT: 19 Then Joshua said, “You are not able to serve the Lord, because he is a holy God and a jealous God. If you turn against him and sin, he will not forgive you. 20 If you leave the Lord and serve other gods, he will send you great trouble. The Lord may have been good to you, but if you turn against him, he will destroy you.”
21 But the people said to Joshua, “No! We will serve the Lord.”
22 Then Joshua said, “You are your own witnesses that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”
The people said, “Yes, we are.”
23 Then Joshua said, “Now throw away the gods that you have. Love the Lord, the God of Israel, with all your heart.”

APPLICATION: Do you tend to feel uneasy in the company of certain individuals? Perhaps they are very rich, compared to you. Or perhaps they are overly educated, compared to you. In some of Joshua’s final talks with the Israelites, he challenged them to consider their acts of worship to a holy and jealous God. How might you respond to that question? I for one, feel very uneasy if I flippantly miss attending corporate worship, or a daily reading of the Word of God, or daily communication with God in prayer. Some might quickly respond that I may be too legalistic about my relationship with God, but I could only evaluate my own feelings towards my holy and righteous God, and so should you. Notice that Joshua gave a reason why the Israelites may not be worthy of worshipping God – idols. I know, we don’t build idols for people to go and worship, but don’t we honestly allow certain things in life to interfere with our time alone, or corporately with God? Joshua knew that some Israelites collected idols from the countries they had captured, and they worshiped those idols at times. But Joshua felt such a love for his people that he wanted to warn them one last time that our Heavenly Father will not tolerate split allegiances. Why do you suppose? I believe we could look at a very familiar relationship, husband and wife, and understand why no one tolerates this. Imagine a cheating husband. Can a wife notice the difference in their relationship when a man is also having relations with another woman? Although she may not care to acknowledge why her husband is trying to please two women, she would really have to be blind in many ways to not feel and understand that someone else is in the picture. Our God sacrificed His only Son for our salvation, so He will become very jealous of one who shows only half-hearted praise and allegiance in return. I believe that when we split allegiance, we are saying that the primary party no longer meets our needs. Could we truly say that to God? But don’t we do exactly that when we consider other pleasures ahead of the pleasure of worshiping our Savior and Lord? There are many ‘excuses’ that we use to explain why we chose not to read our Bibles, or pray, or attend corporate worship. I find it very interesting when children start using the excuses of their parents when asked if they went to church. But isn’t that what we are doing when we tell our kids to watch closely and do what we do? Paul also said something like that, but he was referring to his walk with the Lord. Oh how I wish we could set aside all excuses (idols) and be so committed to God that we could say openly to those who know us, just follow me as I follow God. Wow, don’t you know that God will smile with pride for his kids who are so dedicated to Him?

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Joshua challenged the Israelites to always choose God and do away with idols. In one of their last promises to Joshua, the people assured him (vs 21): ‘we will serve the Lord’. God still blesses the nation that sets aside its idols and collectively say ‘we will serve the Lord’!

PRAYER: Lord, I pray that with our mouths we may say like the Israelites ‘We will serve the Lord’, and then set aside our idols and worship only You! To do this as a nation, we will have to set aside our petty differences between each other so that we could encourage each other to also set as their primary goal: Worship to the Father and to the Son, for as long as we all are left to wander on this earth. Please soften our hearts Lord and teach us to set our priorities straight. God comes first, even if it means less TV or less online activity, or less partying, or less beach time. Unfortunately, it seems like everything else is a priority, even though You gave it all for us. Please forgive us Lord, and please deal in our hearts to always keep You first in every aspect of our lives. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Our God Will …

On By Ed AlgreenIn God Can Do It Again, God Cares For Us, God's WillLeave a comment

Saturday, 2021-08-28

Bible Reference: Proverbs 3:5-10
Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

Scripture

Bible Text:  Trust the Lord completely; don’t ever trust yourself. 6 In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.
7-8 Don’t be conceited, sure of your own wisdom. Instead, trust and reverence the Lord, and turn your back on evil; when you do that, then you will be given renewed health and vitality.
9-10 Honor the Lord by giving him the first part of all your income, and he will fill your barns with wheat and barley and overflow your wine vats with the finest wines.

APPLICATION:  Like me, I would imagine that, throughout your day there are times when you are overwhelmed as to how you will ever accomplish everything on your agenda, and that you wish you knew what might be happening in the coming days, weeks and years, so that you could make good choices today. Friends, I believe that God has placed the answer to this dilemma right at our fingertips – in these verses today. For I believe that you will see clearly that although we may not have all of the answers, there is a God who does – praise His name for ever and ever! As you read the first two verses of our Scripture today, let me remind you of Moses, God’s messenger and leader who had millions of people following him. Because He trusted completely in God, when he brought all these folk to the edge of the Jordan River, his ulcers didn’t explode from the stress of what to do next, for he was convinced that if God brought him to this crossroad, then obviously God would see him through, or across the river. These verses declare that when we place our faith and trust in Jesus, He will direct us into right paths and make our journey, or actions successful. Notice that this is not something we need to understand how or when success or answers will come, we are to just trust God and He will… Notice in verses 7-10, there are certain expectation from us, such as: 
* Trust and reverence God;
* Turn our backs on evil – of course the positive equivalent to this is to obey God’s commands;
* Honor God by giving Him the first of our income;
Just remember that God is all powerful and He could bless our health and give us vitality without us feeling like we had anything to do with the formula, but by demanding that we participate in the above simple actions, we learn that God’s goodness is for those who have an interest – those who want it. Similarly with our finances – God could very easily bestow great riches on everyone, but don’t you know that we always abuse anything that is given to us without us have some ‘skin’ in the game? When we give the first of our income, we are not only showing obedience to God, but we are acknowledging that there is nothing more important in our life. It also helps us to recognize that because we are blessed by God to be able to work and provide for our family, the least we could do is give back to Him unconditionally from our financial earnings. In true form to the goodness of our God, He foreknew the temptation of money, so He still threw in a blessing for those that obey this commandment to give. I believe that God’s Word is clear that we will be blessed financially in proportion to what we give. Are you ‘blessed’ financially? Check your giving, perhaps it needs adjusting!

PRAYER: Lord God, You have proven Yourself to us in so many ways, yet we often feel like we could handle this thing called ‘life’ all by ourselves. Please forgive us for our littleness Lord. You are Creator; Master; Lord and the Savior of this world. Thank You for giving us clear instruction of what is expected of us to receive optimal results from You. Please touch our stubborn hearts today and convince us of the need for obedience and faithfulness to You. Lord, we want to benefit from all the great things You have promised to us, but more than that, we are anxious to one day be with You in glory, where we could worship You endlessly. Bless us this day with Your grace and your mercy. Please lead us into total obedience to Your Word, for I ask these things in the gracious and loving name of Jesus, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog at https://NuggetsFromGodsWord.org that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading or listening to this devotional, please go to the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and see all of my posts, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Worthy Of Being A Follower of Christ

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

DATE WRITTEN: Thursday, 2021-02-04
WRITTEN AT: Avon Park, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: Matthew 10:37-39
TRANSLATION: New Century Version (NCV)

BIBLE TEXT: 37 “Those who love their father or mother more than they love me are not worthy to be my followers. Those who love their son or daughter more than they love me are not worthy to be my followers. 38 Whoever is not willing to carry the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Those who try to hold on to their lives will give up true life. Those who give up their lives for me will hold on to true life.

OBSERVATION: This is probably a challenging Scripture to understand, but I believe that God wants us to understand the difference between knowing Christ, and the willingness and commitment of following Him. The disciples were ‘Followers of Jesus Christ’, are you?

APPLICATION: Jesus, being the perfect Son of God, found the perfect illustrations to help us understand His teachings. There are twelve apostles commonly referred to in the New Testament, and there were numerous disciples who followed the teachings of Jesus Christ but never had a personal face-to-face encounter with Him. Christians today may often use the words Christian and Followers of Christ interchangeably, but there is a difference. I may have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior, but have little desire to follow His example in everyday living or speech. The Bible teaches us that I would still be considered a Christian. My pastor, for example, may have accepted Jesus as Lord, but he may have gone on to also follow the teachings and example of Jesus in his everyday life. He, therefore, is a disciple, or follow of Jesus Christ. Friends, I believe that Jesus wants us to know that if we commit to not only knowing He is Lord, but also commit to follow in His footsteps and in obedience to His teachings, then I believe that we become usable vessels that He will use while we follow. Allow me to give you an example of verse 38. I served under a pastor who asked us to carry a cross with us 24/7 for a week. This was a wooden cross, about 3/4” thick and measured about 10” x 8”. No one checked me into a sanatorium, but there were some serious looks when folk visited my office, or if I had the cross with me when attending a business meeting. That may sound extreme to many readers, but imagine how much gentler that was than us doing some of the extreme things that Jesus did in His ministry while here on earth? That same pastor often chided about a whole family who stayed home from church to care for a mother who came down with a cold! Instead of declining an invitation to join friends at the beach on Sunday, because it is your day of worship, many will use the excuse that it’s the only day they have to do such recreation. Imagine the witness to those friends if we insisted in sticking to our commitment to be in God’s house for every opportunity of worship, because it may be our last opportunity? I feel like we allow our various situations to drive our decisions, rather than our commitment to follow Christ. A visiting relative might cause us to stay home with them, versus us inviting them to join us in our usual commitment to attend church. This is a very tough passage of Scripture, for it tells me that I must decide who has priority in my life. God or my parents? God or my daughter? God or my personal obligations (employment, church, social, etc). For if God is first in our lives, and we have committed to serve Him faithfully until the very end of time, then we will follow Him wherever and whenever He leads us. To whom, or what are you committed, or obligated? I pray that you will join me in striving to follow Jesus every day in every way.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You willingly went to the cross and was mocked, spit upon, tortured, and crucified, even though You had the power to bypass all that and walk away. As Your followers, I believe that we should be ready to say like You did ‘Not my will, Oh Lord, but thine’. Ashamedly I must admit that it is always easier to go along with the crowd, instead of responding in the center of Your will for our lives. Please give us strength and a renewed boldness to stand firm in the powerful name of Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord, for all time and until You return to take us home to glory. May others be influenced for Jesus Christ as they see us make decisions and show our commitment to You. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog at https://NuggetsFromGodsWord.org that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading or listening to this devotional, please go to the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and see all of my posts, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

God is able to Orchestrate Everything For Our Good!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Allegiance to the Lamb, Answered Prayer, Believers, Caring, Circumstances, Merciful Savior, Mercy, PerfectionLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2020-12-27

Bible Reference: Romans 8:27-28
Translation: The Voice (VOICE)

Bible Text: 27 Don’t you know that He who pursues and explores the human heart intimately knows the Spirit’s mind because He pleads to God for His saints to align their lives with the will of God? 28 We are confident that God is able to orchestrate everything to work toward something good and beautiful when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan.

OBSERVATION: As we approach the end of the year and begin thinking back to all that has taken place in our lives in 2020, unfortunately others may hear us moaning about the ups and downs of COVID or the hardships brought on because of that dreaded virus. However, there could be a much brighter view if we review the year based on our Scripture today. Join me for a time of reflection on the mercies of our awesome God!

APPLICATION: For some, who may have won the lotto, or been immensely blessed in many ways, it may be easy to reflect on how good God is, and the many ways in which He has blessed. But there are some who may have experienced great life events, that may have involved losing a loved one; or medical challenges that may have almost caused separation from life to death for a precious family member; or losing a house or a car because of devastating financial burdens; or any number of things that you may have wished were more ‘normal’ or in line with others. However, if we look at the year in light of what today’s Scripture is teaching us, how might we answer this question of ‘blessings’ more appropriately, or how might we understand more clearly how God’s hand was right plumb in the middle of our circumstances? Friends, the Word of God says that our Savior is ‘pursuing and exploring our heart’ and petitioning the Father on our behalf that we may stay aligned with His will for our lives. Is it any wonder why we reflect on circumstances and wonder why we chose to take a certain road home in lieu of another, after hearing of the awful accident around the time of our travel home? Or that we chose to go to the hospital for expert medical help, instead of playing doctor and treating our chest pains with aspirin? Or that we chose to share our testimony with our best friend, at a time that God was already working out His salvation plan in her life? Friends, for each of these examples we may easily brush them off as just being something you would have done anyway, or we may call them coincidence or good luck, but please notice again from the Scripture that neither of these words are used – not even in this modern translation of the Bible. There is nothing haphazard about God’s plan, or about His actions in working out His plan in our lives. Remember, we are His workmanship, and for those who have accepted Him as Lord, we are His prized possession on loan only to this world for just a little while longer. So let’s look for, and expect to see His love and His caring touch work through us in miraculous ways. Verse 28 is a commonly recited verse, but I pray that it takes on a more enriched meaning for you as you are reminded of these verses today. I love the way that the Voice has translated the condition in verse 28: ‘when we love Him and accept His invitation to live according to His plan’. So friends, whether you reflect on 2020, or look towards 2021, try creating a sense of accountability with God on whether you could honestly say that you have loved Him sincerely, and you have accepted His plan for your life. Learn to praise Him unconditionally for everything that has transpired in your life, even if something devastated you at the time, because you know that He has worked it out with the Father for your good!

PRAYER: Lord You are so good to us! You amaze us with Your love and Your goodness, so much so that we may tend to question ‘why me Lord?’. Thank You for the lessons taught in these special verses today, for we are reminded of Your unconditional love for us, and how You love us enough that You keep us constantly before the Father, for our good. Help us Lord to keep this awesome reminder in mind, especially when things don’t appear to be going our way. May we be encouraged to share that special love with those that we come into contact with today. AMEN!