Tag: commitment

The Horror of Rejection By God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Acceptance, RejectionLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Jeremiah 14:10): My people, you love to wander away; you don’t even try to stay close to me. So now I will reject you and punish you for your sins. I, the Lord, have spoken.

THOUGHTS: I struggled with the idea of presenting a very negative verse in a positive manner, but I feel like God had me call it like it is so that we all might be made aware that He is still the same God that struggled with His people of Judah. Think on this friends: God even went a step further for us, because He sacrificed His only Son on a cruel cross at Calvary, so that we may not find the excuse that the old way of sacrificing and living according to the many laws of Moses to be a roadblock for us to enter heaven’s gates. The awful thing that I believe that God sees today though, is probably worse than what He saw in His people back in the days of Jeremiah. For in spite of the extra effort, and tremendous outpouring of His love, yet what God sees today must truly break His heart …….. perhaps even to the point of lifting His hand off us and rejecting our plea before Him. So often we should praise God in thanksgiving that He is in charge of making that decision, and not mere man, for we would have given up on this world a long time ago. Friends, I don’t believe that I need to spell out the evil that is prevalent in our world today, for we have it happening in our own backyards, and we hear about it every time we watch the evening news. We have many churches that are closing down because of poor attendance. I believe that we have more folk who’s only Christian activity, might be attending church on a Sunday morning, if they can fit it into their busy schedules. Imagine if you only ate physical food once per week? Imagine if the only communication you had with your spouse or parents was once per week? There wouldn’t be much of an influence in your life from either of these sources, nor would you have reason to brag on either of these, because they play such a minimal role in the remaining days and hours of the week. Yet I’m afraid that we have ‘Christians’ who do exactly this, and expecting their lives to be changed by God. Friends, be realistic – one hour per week with God and 167 hours in the heat of evil and the works of Satan. Which do you think will influence our lives more? Who then are we pleasing? Who then are we more apt to reflect in our attitudes and actions? It is extremely frightening to think about rejection by God or the fatal punishment by God on those who He is upset at. On the other hand, we have lots of verses that tell us things like: Draw near to God and He will draw near to us; If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray, I will hear from heaven and….. Friends, know that God loves you very much today. Please don’t reject Him. Please don’t take your relationship with Him lightly. We want to see His eternal blessing on us, not rejection and punishment.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You love me so much that You gave Your very own Son so that I may have eternal life in Your presence. Please forgive me for the times that I take Your love for granted. Please speak to the hearts of my readers so that they too might examine their lives to ensure that they are in close communion with You, and not letting the vile of this old world to take prominence in their lives. Please help us all that we may spend the necessary time with You for a happy and healthy relationship with You. Lord, we want to live more like You every day, and we realize that this only comes from spending more time with You than we do with this old world and its master, Satan. I pray that today it may be evident to those that we come into contact with that we have been with the Lord, and their lives might be impacted in such a way that they would either draw closer to You in relationship, or come to accept You as Lord of their life. Have Your way in our lives today Lord, and lead us towards You, is my humble prayer that I ask in the name of Jesus Christ, 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!

What’s Next?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Follow Jesus, SurrenderLeave a comment

The Holy Bible   (The Contemporary English Version – Colossians 3:1-6): 1 You have been raised to life with Christ. Now set your heart on what is in heaven, where Christ rules at God’s right side. 2 Think about what is up there, not about what is here on earth. 3 You died, which means that your life is hidden with Christ, who sits beside God. 4 Christ gives meaning to your life, and when he appears, you will also appear with him in glory. 5 Don’t be controlled by your body. Kill every desire for the wrong kind of sex. Don’t be immoral or indecent or have evil thoughts. Don’t be greedy, which is the same as worshiping idols. 6 God is angry with people who disobey him by doing these things.

Thoughts: New commitments normally require changes for us. Consider a single man getting married – can you think of all the changes that might be needed? If the man is sincere in his new commitment, there is no way that he will continue hanging out with the guys and not pay attention to his new wife. If I owned my own business, then went to work for corporate America, I would have to drop my own business and give my allegiance to the new company if I expect to succeed in my new job. In today’s scripture, Paul is drawing our attention to the fact that when a Christian surrenders his old life to Christ and commits to allowing God to control and lead him in his ‘New’ life, then he must forget the ‘old’ life and seek to serve God wholeheartedly by taking on the characteristics of His Son Jesus. The temptations of this world are very convincing, but in scripture we are reminded that our God can help us to be overcomers! Satan will try to convince us that we can’t survive without doing some of the things we did in our ‘old’ life, but in scripture we are reminded that our God can meet all of our needs and that we are more than conquerors because of His power available to us! So friends, may I remind you, much like Paul did to his church at Colossae, that when we accept Jesus, we become brand new creatures in Him and, with our new-gained strength, we can start again – a new life that is totally dedicated to Christ, and overcomers of the ‘old’ ways and sinful acts that we left at the foot of the cross for Jesus to bury. God’s Word shows us the ‘new’ way, the character and expectations of our new Master. I believe that the challenge for us today is twofold:

  1. If we have accepted Jesus as Lord, are we truly living a totally surrendered life free from its old sinful nature? Have we truly given full control to Jesus? If not, we need to get this straight today friend. A divided allegiance lacks true commitment to either ‘life’. Please decide today whom you will serve, and follow through to ensure nothing is hindering that! God can help you friend!
  2. You may not have accepted Jesus as Lord of your life yet, because you feel like you are not ready to give up the fun and excitement that this world offers to you. Friend, an un-surrendered life leads to Hell and damnation without the love and hand of God’s protection upon you. Please don’t make this mistake with your eyes being opened to the plain truth again today. Jesus loves you so much that He sacrificed His very life so that You might accept Him and subsequently live in glory with Him some day. There is nothing for you to ‘sacrifice’ or miss out on by asking Jesus into your heart, friend. For in Him, you gain genuine love, a heavenly palace and the guidance and direction to the only One who holds tomorrow in the palm of His hand. You will gain a hope that satisfies your soul like nothing else can! I believe your only question might be, “why didn’t you do this a long time ago”! Please read the Footnote for help on how to correct your lost condition!

Prayer: Lord, I believe that there are decisions that need to be made today. For we see Christians living just like the world, and we see non-Christians unaffected by the gospel. Please give us a sweep of Your precious Holy Spirit today so that our minds might be cleared from the confusion and misdirection of this world and its leader, Satan. I pray that everyone reading this devotional will receive a special touch from You today that will convince them of their lost or misdirected condition. May we learn to surrender our lives totally to You so that You would gloriously use us in accomplishing Your will here on this earth. Please forgive me for my weaknesses and lack of total surrender. May this be a turn in my life, and the lives of my readers today, is my humble, respectful, but sincere prayer today, for I ask in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ, with thanksgiving, 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!

How To Live Innocent, Pure and Effective Lives

On By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, LightLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (New Living Translation – Philippians 2:14-16a): 14 Do everything without complaining and arguing, 15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. 16 Hold firmly to the word of life;

Thoughts: I don’t believe there is a person on earth that would not want to live their lives with purpose and in a way that would impact someone else in a positive way. I believe that some of the bestselling books are those written to show people how they might improve their lives to be more effective in their jobs and in their personal relationships. Perhaps most folk are unaware of Biblical teachings, such as the one highlighted today, that do exactly what they are looking for! So friends let’s dig in and examine what the Word is actually directing us to do in order to live innocent, pure and effective lives:

  • First, and of primary importance, do everything without complaining and arguing. – I believe it is obvious to see that not only does this interfere in our growth and effectiveness today, but that Paul addressed this with His church followers because of issues in the church back then. Think about this good friend, and I believe that you will quickly see that this type of behavior only serves to tear down and not build up. It is generally egged on by Satan to destroy the effectiveness of God’s work among His people. So anytime you find yourself participating in something like this, please quickly recognize that you are not promoting an innocent, pure and effective work that shows God at work in your life;
  • Secondly, when others cannot see any difference in the life you live versus those that do not claim Jesus as Lord, then I would dare say that you have lost touch with the One who makes a difference in your life. For when Jesus lights up your life, through living in You and showing you the way to righteousness, your life will be a stark contrast to the unsaved that you come into contact with. People might explain a stark difference in two things as “difference between day and night”. Similarly, you can also see from verse 15 above that God is expecting our lives to be in such contrast to the darkness of sin in an unbeliever’s life, as a shining light is to one in their dark world of sin and disregard for the things of Christ. And
  • Thirdly, our strength to be effective comes from the Lord. So hold firmly to the Word of God. This is not a paper book being referred to here. This means that we are to hold on to the truths taught by and through the Word of God. When we live by the Spirit, He will be more apt to affect the lives of others through us, but when we exclude Him, we are powerless.

For the Christian, I believe that your challenge is to live the life you have committed to live in Christ’s wisdom and power so that we might all be effective witnesses for our Master. For the non-Christian, there is a better way friend! To live life to its fullest and to enjoy the rewards of sharing light and hope to your lost friends, I would encourage you to first surrender your life to the Light of this world, Jesus Christ. Please read through the ‘Footnote’ below for help on how you might do this. Friend, I am always available and ready to help you in any way that I could, in order that you might achieve this eternal hope!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, Light of the world, thank You for shining Your precious light on me some 39 years ago, and for lighting my path every day, enabling me to live in the light of Your will. Please continue to touch me with Your power each and every day so that I may stay away from complaining and arguing, and instead live a clean and innocent life that exemplifies You in every way so that I may be a ‘light’, Your light, to the dark and miserable world that I am surrounded by. Please touch the hearts of my readers today so that they too might commit to being more effective ‘lights’ in their world, or if You are not known as a source of light to one that might stumble upon this devotional, I pray that You might have an awesome and life changing impact upon them today. Lord, may Your powerful ‘Light’ shine though us today, is my humble and sincere prayer that I ask in the 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!

Have The Same Attitude As Christ Jesus

On By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, ExampleLeave a comment

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

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

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

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

The Traps That Ensnare Us

On By Ed AlgreenIn PrioritiesLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

9 But now you know the true God. Really, it is God who knows you. So why do you turn back to those weak and useless rules you followed before? Do you want to be slaves to those things again?

(Bible Translation and Location: New Century Version – Galatians 4:9)

Thoughts:

I believe that there is nothing Satan hates more, than to see one of his children come to know Jesus and accept Him as Lord of their life. I also believe that in spite of God’s power, Satan is constantly trying to win us back, so there is a constant tug-of-war going on in our spiritual lives. For example, our religious practices forbids idolatry, yet many ‘Christians’ practice spiritual idolatry in their hearts. For what a man loves most, and cares most for, that is his god: some have their riches for their god, some their pleasures, some their favorite sport, and some their lusts. Many ignorantly, and unknowingly, worship a god of their own making; a god made all of mercy, and no justice. For they persuade themselves that there is mercy for them with God, though they repent not, but go on in their sins. It is possible for those who have made great professions of faith, to be afterwards drawn aside by Satan from purity and simplicity. Friends, just as in marriage you don’t walk out of the church saying “I do” and walk into oblivion believing that love and unity will grow in your marriage whether you live together or not, so it is with Christianity and your kinship to God. Sure, God is with you always and everywhere you go, but what good is it if you ignore Him? Please remember, our God is a jealous God. He gave the ultimate gift of His precious, and only Son, to show His love for us. I am personally convinced that He deserves our unwavering commitment, our intentional worship and daily, or more frequent, communion with Him. There are several scripture references that would support my statement that God is to us, based on what we are to, and for, Him. Could this be why so many churches and ‘Christians’ are in trouble today? If we only grudgingly give God an hour on Sunday (or Saturday), why should we expect any more from Him? There’s a hymn entitled “I Need Thee Every Hour”, why then should we only worship Him for one hour (or less) in a 168-hour week, and expect Him to be there for us?

Prayer:

Dear Lord, we have become such a spoiled and rotten bunch. We open our arms to receive from You 24/7 365 days per year, yet we can’t make time to thank You daily, or to worship and praise You at least one hour per week. We continually ask for so much from You, yet we complain when we try to give even an hour per week back to You. Please forgive us for our unworthiness, selfishness and pride. We make time for everything else in life, yet way too busy to find time to stop and pray. Our priorities have become very warped, and Satan is really catching a grip on weak Christians. Father, I am thankful for what You did for me at Calvary. Please continue to guide me into all truth and keep me on a path of righteousness, for Your name’s sake. I love You Lord and I lift my voice to Worship You, Oh my Lord, Rejoice….. I respectfully ask all this with a thankful heart and in the name of Jesus Christ, 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!

The Precursor To Unreserved Giving

On By Ed AlgreenIn GivingLeave a comment

The Holy Bible Says….

    They gave offerings of whatever they could—far more than they could afford!—pleading for the privilege of helping out in the relief of poor Christians. This was totally spontaneous, entirely their own idea, and caught us completely off guard. What explains it was that they had first given themselves unreservedly to God and to us. The other giving simply flowed out of the purposes of God working in their lives.

(Bible Translation and Location: The Message – 2 Corinthians 8:3-5)

Thoughts:

During the recession we are just now coming out of, we saw many banks fail and we saw many churches close their doors, but the reasons for failure may be different for each of these. For banks I believe that greed and lack of proper management got them in trouble. Fortunately in the US there was a big brother (FDIC) looking over the shoulders of financial institutions, with financial support to avoid loss to their depositors. In the case of the churches, I’m afraid that through lack of commitment, lack of continued outreach into the community, and subsequent lack of financial support by their members, they had insufficient resources to continue operation, so they died. Throughout my years of growing up in the church, and even as an adult, I remember the church always begging members to give more so that the church could be the church in local communities and throughout the world. I believe Paul’s explanation on what enabled the church in Macedonia to give so generously, might have a lot to do with failing vs successful churches today. The church ministered to by Paul gave generously from their hearts because they had first given themselves unreservedly to God. Now, for churches that are still failing today, could you see the correlation in their members vs what Paul witnessed in the Macedonian church? There may very well be a strong need for our members today to first give themselves unreservedly to God before we could once again see vibrant outreach, missions, teaching, making a difference in our communities, attendance and commitment from all age groups in the church, before we could see members getting their eyes off self and their worldly worth, and instead focus on the needs of the world to know Christ in a very personal and committed way. Friends, in God’s Word we are commanded to give generously from the heart (a heart committed to God and His work here on earth), and a guideline of at least 10% of our gross income is given to us. In these verses nothing is directed of the church leaders to use the funds in a way pleasing to you, so please don’t use that as an excuse not to give as commanded. Our church leaders are held accountable by God to use His resources wisely for the ongoing work of the church. Let’s answer to God in response to what is demanded of us, and let our church leaders be accountable to God for their responsibilities. Satan is the chief of all sinners and of all lies. He will temp you with every reason not to be obedient to God and His precious Word. Plant your faith firmly in God friend, listen to His voice and His commands through His Word, and allow these things to guide you in your living and in your giving. Just as God has dealt in your life to give, He will also deal in the lives of those with the fiduciary right to use those funds in a way pleasing to God. They are accountable to God, just like you are, so don’t let Satan prompt you into not giving as God commanded you to do. First of all, give yourself unreservedly to God, all else will fall into place after that!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, please touch the hearts of Your children today, for we have allowed Satan free reign in our lives that are supposedly given wholeheartedly to You. Please help us to realize our sinfulness, and to seek Your face and Your perfect will for our lives. Please teach us about commitment, because I believe that as we commit ourselves unreservedly to You, not only will we see our giving realigned to Your perfect will, but also our lives will become an open book reflecting You before our lost family and friends. Please work on us daily so that we never lose ground in our faith, our beliefs, and most of all in our unreserved commitment to You. Lord, You are worthy, and deserving of all of us. May we constantly strive to have all of You in our lives so that all of You will naturally flow from us in words and actions. Thank You Jesus! I am asking all of this in Your wonderful and powerful name, 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!

Love The One You Got!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Love, Marriage, Surrender1 Comment

The Holy Bible

18So be happy with your wife and find your joy with the woman you married- 19pretty and graceful as a deer. Let her charms keep you happy; let her surround you with her love. 20Why should you give your love to another woman, my son? Why should you prefer the charms of another man’s wife? 21The Lord sees everything you do. Wherever you go, he is watching.

(Bible Translation and Location: Good News Translation – Proverbs 5:18-21)

Thoughts:

There’s an old hip-hop song with the same title I gave to our devotional today, because as I meditated on these verses this song came to mind, so I didn’t intentionally use bad English!!! However, God not only spoke to a man that He made to be the wisest man on earth, but He also inspired him to write down these wise words to share with folk that came along after he (Solomon) died. God, in His wisdom, knew that you and I should be told from His Word how to truly live holy and happy lives, even when it concerns our lives with our spouses. Now friends, there are a few things in here that really step on the toes of some that have supposedly convinced themselves of what God should have included in His Word, so they may become offended, but I would encourage them to politely and respectfully pray to God about those things. These verses follow verse 15 where Solomon gave us these words of wisdom: “Be faithful to your own wife and give your love to her alone”, so I believe that what God is drawing to our attention in order to have happy marriages, is that:

  1. Men must be the husband of one wife and find your joy with her – Notice the verse didn’t indicate “one of your wives” or “one of your women”. Also note that the verse didn’t say that you will find joy waiting for you, but rather you will “find joy”. That gives me the impression that we must seek after it, or work at it. If you sow in happiness, you will reap joy! Please note that to find joy with your wife, you cannot have other women trying to win your affection, otherwise you could never give your wife the attention and love that she, and you, deserve;
  2. Pretty and graceful as a deer – I’m sure that no one ever married a woman because she just wasn’t pretty in your eyes. So if she was pretty when you married her, and you have tried in every way to find joy with her every step along the way, why might she not be pretty now? I am reminded of something an elderly gentlemen told me at one time when I was finding fault with a vehicle I owned. He said, it is so interesting the fault we will find with our current vehicle when we have our minds set on a new one we want to buy! Funny, but very true words that also apply to our view of our wives! They are very pretty until we set our eyes on someone else that we are becoming attracted to. One word of advice to husbands and wives, don’t look elsewhere because you feel your spouse has lost their beauty, you are also growing old at the same rate of your spouse, and you may not be getting any more handsome either!!
  3. God is watching – God not only hears the words we speak, but He also knows our thoughts. You absolutely cannot straighten Him out with the poor excuses you give your spouse, so live upright, honest, loving and happy lives like God intended for you.

Friends, I am not a Marriage Counselor, but I am a Christian and would be happy to rejoice with you on any happy stories this devotional may have reminded you of, or if there is an area that you are struggling with, I would be happy to pray with you. So I encourage you to use the information in the footnote to contact me and allow me to pray with you about your marriage or your relationship with the Lord.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, unlike anything we can see, or ever imagine, about the condition of marriages and Christian life in general today, I am convinced that You see and know every little detail. I humbly ask that You help us to overcome our carnal minds and worldly desires. Please help us to keep our minds fixed on You, and make decisions inspired by You and for Your glory. Happy marriages will result in happy couples who will have happy children. This is not the case today, even from our eyes dear Lord, so we know that You see the weaknesses evident in Your children who claim You, especially when it is convenient or needed. Please touch the hearts and minds of Your children today, beginning with me. I believe that as we draw close to You and refocus our desire to please You in all walks of our lives, then we will live according to Your Word, without It becoming burdensome to us. Our marriages and our families are in trouble Lord. We need You more today than ever before, to heal our land, revive Your very own children, and to melt the hearts of those spouses that do not know You as Lord. Marriage is instituted and blessed by You, and I question how this could be possible if a spouse raises the stop sign to not allow You in. We need You Lord! I know that You have this under control, please give me peace to leave You at Your job, knowing that You are the Master of all things! I love You Lord, and I ask all of these things believing, and in the precious 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!

Everything You Need!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Everything We Need, HolinessLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

3 Jesus has the power of God, by which he has given us everything we need to live and to serve God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus called us by his glory and goodness. 4 Through these he gave us the very great and precious promises. With these gifts you can share in God’s nature, and the world will not ruin you with its evil desires.

(Bible Translation and Location: New Century Version – 2 Peter 1:3-4)

Thoughts:

So often we use the excuse: “I’m so sorry, I just couldn’t help myself”, or we might say “the temptation was just too great” or we might even say “After all I’m just human”. These are generally excuses we might make when we have yielded to temptation, or done something that we have later regretted. According to these verses from 2 Peter, what could be missing from our lives? These verses say that if we have already accepted the love of Jesus and asked Him to be Lord of our lives, then He has given us everything we need to live and serve God. In fact, the gifts He has blessed us with actually allows us to share in the very nature of God and therefore build up a defense against the evil desires of this world used by Satan to ensnare us. So why do we fail, you might ask or wonder. Friends, in our marriages, if the only commitment we made to our spouses occurred at the altar, when we promised to love and care for them forever, then we went on living our separate lives and doing our own thing, what type of unity, love, or commitment would we have? Similarly in our Christian walk, if we do not seek communion with God – through prayer and Bible Study, and invite His Holy Spirit to lead and direct our paths daily, what do you suppose our carnal selves might default to? Of course we adapt to the ways of the world. We totally and intentionally leave God out of the picture and continue to ‘do our own thing’. I spoke with a friend recently who was very distraught over a relationship he had built with a man, only much later in the friendship to realize that he too was a Christian, in fact a Bible teacher and leader in his church. Friends, I may as well tell you straight out, if our Christian friends can’t see enough ‘fruit’ (evidence of our relationship with Jesus) in us, how will the world, who knows nothing about God and/or Christianity? Please be reminded that if we have it (the love of God) in us, it will show through us! Friends, God has never lied, and in His Word He told us that He gives His children EVERYTHING WE NEED to live a life pleasing to Him and a heart to serve Him faithfully! You have what it takes, now, are you using it like God intended?

Prayer:

Father, thank You for not only sacrificing Your dear Son, Jesus, to die on a cruel cross so that we may live holy lives here on this earth, and the assurance of living a wonderful life with You in glory, but also for going the extra mile and giving us the means by which we can live our lives pleasing to You. Wow, You have been awesome in thinking of everything to make this work for us, and I thank You sincerely. Please forgive me for the times that I still allow myself to ‘do my own thing’. This is ungodly and unbiblical, and I not only seek Your forgiveness, but also Your strength and boldness to stand firm in my faith and against the evil of this world. I pray that You might cause such an unrest in my soul when I’m tempted to give in, that I will quickly refocus my life on the One who loves me most. It is such an honor to be a child of the King, please help me to always be guilty of doing just that, and representing You without bringing any shame to You. Please also work in the lives of my friends that will meditate on this devotional today. May they also be refocused on You, Your love and Your expectation of them to live holy lives exampled after Your very own. I am asking this in the wonderful and powerful 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!

Who’s In Charge Here?

On By Ed AlgreenIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

The apostles establish the leaders’ complete lack of authority, whose intentions go against God and deserve no allegiance. In the book of Acts, we see where the apostles have gradually built the reputation and nature of Christ’s name. They first argued the leaders were ignorant (3:17). They then emphasized Jesus’ true authority and authentication of His sovereignty through the resurrection (4:1–12). Now, they lay out the implications of their argument: the authority of the religious leaders is false. The leaders cannot judge (compare 4:19) since they are not in the position to do so; they are not even on God’s side. Once again, the apostles assert Christ’s complete authority over all institutions. Peter now pits the authority of God against the authority of the council. Friend, how would you respond to local authorities if questioned in a very authoritative, condensating and threatening way? Will your church/ministry survive based on your reaction to authorities? It takes ‘guts’, but most of all, it takes being totally sold out to God. Are you?

Book cover

Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God, not men. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from death, after you had killed him by nailing him to a cross.

Do You Love Me?

On By Ed AlgreenIn UncategorizedLeave a comment
Anytime my wife asks if I love her, I realize a few things right away: 1) Has it not been evident that I love her through my words and actions recently? 2 Was I not convincing when I last told her that I love her? 3) We must need more quality ‘alone’ time together. Ever noticed how easy it is to brag on, and about your spouse when things are going really well between you two? In this verse we see where Jesus gave Peter some ministry opportunities, but He prefaced the assignments by asking Peter to really think about his love for the Master. Until Peter’s heart is committed, unified, enthused and totally engrossed in his Master, his ministry for Him would be half-hearted at best. Friends, Jesus wants our best as we minister for Him. He gave it all (His life) for us, why would we possibly limit what we are prepared to do for Him? Nothing compares to the gift given on the cross for us. Friend, do you really love the Lord? Are you ready to ‘feed His sheep’ from the depths of your heart?
Book cover

A third time Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”  Peter was sad because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” so he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you!” Jesus said to him, “Take care of my sheep.