Tag: Complaining

Active In Ministry, or Complaining?

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: Tursday, June 15, 2023, and I was blessed to be at O’Brien, 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 Contemporary English Version (CEV) IS FOUND IN Nehemiah 4:1-3

THE BIBLE TEXT IS: When Sanballat, the governor of Samaria, heard that we were rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, he became angry and started insulting our people. In front of his friends and the Samaritan army he said, “What is this feeble bunch of Jews trying to do? Are they going to rebuild the wall and offer sacrifices all in one day? Do they think they can make something out of this pile of scorched stones?” Tobiah from Ammon was standing beside Sanballat and said, “Look at the wall they are building! Why, even a fox could knock over this pile of stones.”

MY INITIAL THOUGHTS: Ministering in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ is not for the weak or for those who can’t handle ridicule. It’s not because our generation has become hardened, obstinate, or determined to destroy Christians, but merely because Satan is constantly seeking to destroy the work of God, and he brings his army into action to kill, steal and destroy the work of the innocent endeavoring to promote their awesome God. Unfortunately, this is not just a story from the days of Nehemiah, but it is still happening in our churches today. Let’s anticipate blessings as we study how God has already helped others in much the same way that we need His help today.

APPLICATION OF THE WORD: Some would say that you are only criticized if you are doing something worthwhile. I would add that if you are never being criticized, then, it could be that you are just sitting around doing nothing worthwhile. When you take a right stand, you are going to be criticized. Unfortunately, I believe that mankind is very challenged to criticize on something they are very passionate about, without displaying that passion through their questions, help and or suggestions. Passion often comes across as being upset, being frustrated with the individual, or even being angry with the individual. But in the case of our Bible story today, it seems like Sanballat, and his men, felt threatened by the Jews who were rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. Think about it, if you or I heard about an individual, or a group, who started attending our church, but they came with a history of successes in ministry or in life circumstances, we too would probably keep a close eye on them for any advancements, suggestions, or efforts to take over. Isn’t it unfortunate that we become satisfied in our rut? We realize that God could do a whole lot more through His people than we are prepared to put forth, but we’ve done all that we believe we should do, or we are just plain out tired and overworked, or we are just blinded to new visions of what God can truly do through us. Often lack of feeding on the Word of God will do this to us! But for the one who is diligent about the work of the Lord, let me encourage you, that what God has in store for you, no man can take it from you. Friends, I believe that if we are persistent in the Word of God, and faithful in our communication with the Father, He will fill us with more success in our ministry than we ever thought possible. There wouldn’t be a need for us to stop and pout about what others are doing, for we will be busy in accomplishing all that God has chosen to accomplish through us for His ultimate glory! There’s no time for complaining and whining before God, that’s a tool of the devil to impede the work and distract sinners looking for the peace and handiwork of God. As His agents here on earth, we must be about our Father’s work, not helping to add success to the enemy – Satan.

BLESSINGS WORTH NOTING: While others are waiting to tear down the work God has ordained for us, God is choosing to use us to touch the lives of sinners looking for peace in the midst of their storms of life. Be willing servants, and let God have His way dear friends!

PRAYER BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT OF TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Lord Jesus, I am thankful that You have chosen to work through simple, but willing servants such as myself. No seminary, and no special skills in the eyes of educated men here on earth, but a willing and surrendered soul willing to allow You to have Your will and way in our lives for the sake of the unsaved reaching out in desperation for a Savior who could redirect their path away from the sins of this world. Only You can save a soul, and only You can direct a man, used to the sin of this world, into the glories of heaven where You are. Please Lord, draw the attention of other believers and myself to remember and recognize the pain of sin that the unsaved may bear, for I believe that it is then that we might see their need for a loving Lord who sits ready to receive them, should they choose to surrender their life to You. The world is hurting, and as children of the Almighty God, we have the answer to this horrific pain. and we should be sharing with the unsaved at every opportunity. Please open their eyes, and humble our hearts as helpful children of the King. Allow the unsaved to see Jesus today. For I ask this in the name, and power of Jesus, my Savior and Lord. 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 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!

You Alone Are Our Hope

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Hope, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Trust, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Friday, 2022-04-22
WRITTEN AT: Citra, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Psalm 71:5-9
TRANSLATION: Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT: 5 O Lord, you alone are my hope; I’ve trusted you from childhood. 6 Yes, you have been with me from birth and have helped me constantly—no wonder I am always praising you! 7 My success—at which so many stand amazed—is because you are my mighty protector. 8 All day long I’ll praise and honor you, O God, for all that you have done for me.
9 And now, in my old age, don’t set me aside. Don’t forsake me now when my strength is failing.

APPLICATION: Although it seems like one of the great pitfalls of aging today is Alzheimers, another is probably just as prevalent, if we’re not careful – complaining! But if we’re getting older, rather than complaining about our aches and pains or the sorry state of society, what if we chose to talk about the Lord continually? Wouldn’t that be an awesome way to grow old gracefully and faithfully? But i’m sure many will ask how this can be done? Many people try to discipline their tongues, but Jesus said that it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). Therefore, the key to changing your speech is to change your heart. How? By allowing the Word of God to fill it day by day. If you do this, your heart, and therefore your words, will be filled with praise. Don’t you know that relatives and friends would much prefer visiting and being around you when you frequently praise the Lord and give Him thanks in all things that He has blessed you with? After reflecting on his blessings, David tells us in our Scripture today that it’s no wonder praise is continually in his heart and on his lips! As for you, sure you may encounter pain in your arms, but how do you feel when you look at a man who has no arms? I was tired and hurting in my back and legs, until I saw a man coming my way with both feet pointing inward, heavy braces on his legs and feet, yet walking along with a smile on his face. Oh Lord, please forgive me when I whine. But precious friends, when I meditate on God’s Word and am reminded of all that He did for our ancestors, and the love that He showed in extreme circumstances, my heart is filled with praises to my King for all that He has done, because He continues to do the same for me and my loved ones every day! Please try and join me each day in seeking out the blessings of God. We could read all that He did for David, and for Moses and the Israelites, but let’s look around and fill our hearts with joy as we observe all that He continues to do for us. Our God is so good, and we could never stop praising Him for His goodness! There is such encouragement and hope in admiring the handiwork of our God!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Let us learn to praise God every day! Enough with the griping and complaining, we serve an awesome all-powerful, ever-loving Savior who gave everything for our eternal salvation!

PRAYER: Oh Lord, teach us to set our minds on the great and awesome gifts that You bestow on us daily! Please help us to shun the desire to whine and complain about everything and everyone, but instead to look towards the heavens, read from the holy pages of Your Word, and reflect on the awesome power of our Lord, so that our hearts may be filled with appreciation that overflows through our lips as we sing Your praises and encourage others to know our Savior and Lord. Oh Lord, great is thy faithfulness and greatly You are to be praised and honored in every aspect of our lives. Minister to the lost today Lord, and open their eyes to Your goodness and mercy. 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!

Your Complaints Against God

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

DATE POSTED Thursday, 2022-02-17
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Exodus 16:6-8
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “By evening you will realize it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 7 In the morning you will see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your complaints, which are against him, not against us. What have we done that you should complain about us?” 8 Then Moses added, “The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and bread to satisfy you in the morning, for he has heard all your complaints against him. What have we done? Yes, your complaints are against the Lord, not against us.”

APPLICATION: So often we complain about the heat outside, without thinking that we are really complaining to God about sending too many sun rays our way. Other days we whine and complain about the cold, without thinking that we are really complaining about God sending such misery on us without any good reason. Perhaps the meals at home were not as good as we expected, or the bed wasn’t made just right, so we complain about the woman we married, without considering that she is a daughter of the King, and God wanted to bless us beyond measure with the best He could give to us. What do we think He did wrong?? At church, we get upset because the sermon was too long and pointed at us instead of all the other sinners who needed it much worse than us! Furthermore, where are the elders? Don’t they ever do anything worthwhile for the church? Friends, God went to great lengths to provide just the right pastor, and only those elders who He felt were worthy to manage the affairs of His ministry, so why again are we complaining to God about what He did?? I believe that by now you may have been reminded about how similar you are to the Israelites. We normally think that we are making the Pastor, Elders and household members accountable, and we really don’t want them to treat others without care and concern, after all you helped to approve the church budget and want the leaders to be accountable for their actions. Friends, I am reminded that God is not only our Provider of all things, but He also answers our prayers when we petition Him for the leaders we need. When we complain, we are really telling Him that He messed up and is still uncommitted to caring for our needs through them. Let us learn to be a thankful people, consistently praising God for all His goodness and for how carefully He watches over us and cares for us. Just because God decides to handle things differently to what we expect, doesn’t mean that He’s wrong or uncaring about us. God is in control of everything in heaven and on earth. We are blessed to be recipients of His blessings, so let’s accept His goodness, His ways, His direction and His constant love.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: We serve such a forgiving and loving God that He hears our cry for forgiveness even if we find ourselves as guilty as the Israelites in complaining.

PRAYER: Ashamedly I must acknowledge that I have been guilty of complaining about things that could ultimately be attributed to the works of my Master. Please forgive me Lord, and give me the strength to overcome such a degrading practice in the future. Please Lord, help my readers, listeners and myself always seek to honor You in every aspect of life. You placed us here to make a difference so that the world might see You more clearly and come to accept You as Lord. May we look, sound and represent You more fully every day, and may we live a life of love, forgiveness and thankfulness for all that You bountifully provide for us. 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!

Recognizing God’s Awesome Power!

On By Ed AlgreenIn All-powerful, Love, Love of God, Power of God, PowerfulLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Monday, 2020-06-25
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

Bible Reference: Job 38:4-9
Translation: The Message (MSG)

Bible Text: Where were you when I created the earth? Tell me, since you know so much! Who decided on its size? Certainly you’ll know that! Who came up with the blueprints and measurements? How was its foundation poured, and who set the cornerstone, While the morning stars sang in chorus and all the angels shouted praise? And who took charge of the ocean when it gushed forth like a baby from the womb? That was me! I wrapped it in soft clouds, and tucked it in safely at night.

OBSERVATION: Anytime we feel like God has abandoned us, the book of Job would be a good book to reflect on. Further, if there was ever a time when you may have felt like you really had this ‘life’ thing figured out, I believe that this particular chapter, and conversation God had with Job, would be a great reminder of how you need to get a grip on yourself, open your heart and mind to what God has to say and make every effort to surrender control of your life back to God.

APPLICATION: I believe that Job felt like God and everyone around him had withdrawn their love and relationship from him, so for several chapters Job had really been criticizing God and blaming Him for wrongful punishment. His friends had made attempts to love on, and correct Job, but it seems like he was really having a hard time snapping out of it. God finally had enough and decided to give Job some perspective on who He really is. Friends, I believe that We have excellent reminders here of how God carefully, intricately and powerfully put this planet together, then He created us to enjoy its many blessings. If He loves us that much, won’t He all the more take care of our problems, concerns and difficulties while we live here, if we would only humble ourselves and ask Him to? Friends, I was reminded in a recent sermon from Isaiah 40:7-12 that although this earth is made up of two thirds water, yet God said that the oceans and its water is held in the cup of His hand. The earth’s dimensions are measured across the span of His fingertips! Whom, or what then shall we fear? When old Satan tries to distract us with untruths we need to remind ourselves and Satan that our God is so much bigger than our largest problem or concern. I believe also that His love is greater than anything we could ever imagine. So with all this in mind, why would we ever follow in Job’s footsteps and worry about our problems, or blame God for our circumstances. It is so important that we learn to worship God before we ever start to ask Him for anything or complain about anything. When we praise Him, we remind ourselves of His awesome love and power. Don’t you suppose that our problems become less of an issue or worry to us when we remind ourselves of the awesomeness of our beautiful, wonderful, matchless, all-powerful God? I certainly believe so!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, please forgive me for often trying to take the reins of life from You. It is very obvious that You created me and all that is around me, so please forgive me when I whine and complain. I am but Your humble servant, You are the Potter, and I am but the clay that is moldable and usable by You. As I recognize You and allow you control of my life, I can actually be at peace, and my problems then would seem to disappear. Lord, I believe this is vital to our witness, for if the unsaved world see us worrying as much about the concerns of this life as they do, we are showing them that we are as lost and uncared for as they are. This is very wrong, so I ask forgiveness, and I ask for added strength every day to stay focused on You and Your wondrous love for me. For my friends that might meditate on this devotional today, please fill their hearts with Your peace, and the determination to overcome evil, and worldly problems with the love and dedication that only You can provide. Thank You Jesus for loving us this much! All this I therefore ask, in the matchless name of Jesus, my Lord, 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!