Tag: Concern for others

Finding Compassion: Reflecting on Jeremiah’s Message

On By Ed AlgreenIn Accept Jesus NOW, Acknowledge God, All have sinned, Awesome God, Compassion, Evangelize, God Cares For Us, God’s Word, Love2 Comments

DATE POSTED
Tuesday, January 21, 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
Quoted from The Message (MSG) and found in Jeremiah 9:1-2

THE SCRIPTURE READS
1-2 I wish my head were a well of water and my eyes fountains of tears So I could weep day and night for casualties among my dear, dear people.
At times I wish I had a wilderness hut, a backwoods cabin, Where I could get away from my people and never see them again. They’re a faithless, feckless bunch, a congregation of degenerates.

APPLICATION – as inspired by the Holy Spirit
Unless you are aware that Jeremiah is known as ‘The Weeping Prophet’, it may be challenging for you to understand where he is coming from in these first two verses of chapter 9 in the book he wrote, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Although I must be the first to say that I have not been led to tears over the sins of my fellow believers, I have often pondered if pastors ever get to this stage after seeing their parishioners continue to live in sin, in spite of the heartfelt, Holy Spirt-led teaching and preaching they do each week. I believe that we all can identify to some extent when we think about our children who continue in rebellion regardless of the lessons we have taught them and the life-examples we have lived out before them. As for these devotionals, I was once asked where do I find these on the internet so that I could share these through Nuggets From God’s Word. For those who read these carefully, you already know that these are from my heart as inspired by the Holy Spirit who lives inside of me. However, in my study on these verses, I was so touched by one of the commentators that I refer to often, that I feel compelled to share his teaching with you on these verses. John Courson explains: ‘Jeremiah didn’t deliver his prophecies condemningly, with fingers pointing. He delivered them from a broken heart and with tear-filled eyes. That’s why God chose him. Some people come into our lives and say, “Woe is you,” as they condemn and point their fingers. Not Jeremiah. He shared the message of God accurately, but not without weeping compassionately. I believe we have no right to judge any other person or situation if we’re not brokenhearted about it. If I don’t feel compassion and tenderness, brokenness and love, I need to keep my mouth shut. I don’t have any right to point out the dirt on another’s feet unless I’m willing to do what Jesus did—to get down and start washing. If I’m not willing to get involved in restoring, loving, weeping, and caring, I’m missing the mark entirely.‘ Friends, there are some principles in this, that if our church followed them, we might be as close as we could get on earth to having a righteous, God-loving, holy and caring church. One that the unsaved would feel more compelled to join, and learn together with us about the God that we serve. If they got the slightest inkling that God is impacting our lives in such a way, they would be so excited about also accepting His Son, Jesus, as their Savior and allowing Him to be Lord of their life. So why don’t we mourn over the sin and its effects on our family, neighbors and fellow church members? Could it be that we don’t care about them? Or that we’re afraid of how they might respond to us? Or, could it be that we are so on and off in our own relationship with God because we don’t have a living, daily, intimate relationship with the Savior who died for us so that we might have the chance of eternity in Heaven? Is the sin in your own life causing you to cry out before a holy and righteous God? Is your relationship with Jesus fueled only by the Pastor’s sermons whenever you attend church, or do you enjoy a daily, regular, intimate time with the Lord each and every day? Have you been accused by a friend of being Christ-like, or is that reserved only for your time inside the church walls? I believe we were designed to cry, or shed tears, for things that truly hurt us deeply. When we do all we can to lead someone to the Lord, it will hurt us to even look at them and see them continue in sin. This might very well trigger a flood of tears from the hurt we feel inside. Perhaps we should petition the Father to cause us to hurt for the things that bring Him reason to hurt. This might incent us to seek God’s help to fulfill His purpose in reaching the lost for Christ.

PRAYER
Precious Lord Jesus, thank You for creating us to hurt for the things You hurt for. I can only imagine how it must hurt You deeply when we allow Satan to intervene and take away our God-likeness, and harden our hearts to either gossip about our struggling neighbors or to put them down, instead of following Your example to love us, sacrifice for us and lift us up from our life of sin. Praise God for showing, and promising us the glories of Heaven, that’s fit for a child of the King. Please Lord, teach us to desire a living, daily, personal relationship with You, so that we may desire and aim for the same for those in our inner circle of family and friends. Jeremiah was known as the ‘weeping prophet’ because of his deep desire to see people know His God and live like His children. Please touch our hearts to desire the same thing You want for Your children who need a Savior and a close relationship with You. 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!

How To Improve Your Faith

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

DATE WRITTEN: Monday, 2020-11-09
WRITTEN AT: Ormond Beach, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: 2 Peter 1:5-9
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

BIBLE TEXT: 5 Do your best to improve your faith. You can do this by adding goodness, understanding, 6 self-control, patience, devotion to God, 7 concern for others, and love. 8 If you keep growing in this way, it will show that what you know about our Lord Jesus Christ has made your lives useful and meaningful. 9 But if you don’t grow, you are like someone who is nearsighted or blind, and you have forgotten that your past sins are forgiven.

OBSERVATION: When I was in the working world, I would have to undergo training for certain new products or programs so that I could help my employer do a good job of introducing our products to our customers. There are also good training seminars and conferences available to church leaders to help them sharpen their skills for the Lord’s work. But seldom do we think about pursuing our life of godliness and looking for ways to enhance our faith. Let’s stop and ponder this thought today based on the Scripture.

APPLICATION: As I read these verses today, I was reminded that, just as a car could move if it had an engine, it is up to the driver to direct it’s path. It is also important for us to look for ways to contribute to our individual walk with, and our faith in, the Lord, so as God fills us with His awesome power, and guides us with His diligent guidance, we might aggressively contribute to a growing faith. and a closer walk with God. Here are seven important qualities that Peter directed us to add to our faith, with God’s help:
1) Goodness – Some translations also refer to this as Moral Excellence. So this revolves more around purity and uprightness of character through our obedience to God. We must aim at fulfilling our God-given purpose in a manner that would be pleasing to God and directed by Him. If we do, others will see us as a ‘good’ person, otherwise we might be called insincere;
2) Understanding – Also referred to as ‘Knowledge’, because the idea here is that the Christian must do all they can to acquire knowledge of God’s Word, and to seek after His guidance for their everyday walk;
3) Self-control – A mastery of self! Be disciplined and strive to control your desires and your passion. Remember that we were born into a wicked world, and because we live in this world we tend to like, imitate and desire the things of this world. The Christian must seek God’s help to help stay focused on, and practice the things of God;
4) Patience – Some translations also refer to this quality as ‘Perseverance’ because God knew how challenging it would be for us to keep on keeping on in spite of adversity. Let’s consider this to be patient endurance in holiness, despite our circumstance or our various tempters. You could see how badly we need God on this one;
5) Devotion to God – This might also be referred to as ‘Godliness’. Now, imagine how important it is to focus on our behavior to ensure that it reflects the character of God, while still living among the wicked;
6) Concern for others – This is also referred to as ‘Brotherly Kindness’. Thoughtful consideration for others, in spite of how they may gossip about you or treat you. Love them like God loves you – unconditionally;
7) Love – The Bible refers to love in various ways, using different Greek words. This particular word refers to the highest form of love – God’s kind of love that seeks the welfare of others ahead of self. Love reaches out to all people, those like you and those who look different. Those who believe like you and those who don’t. Remember, God loved the whole world enough that He sent His Son to die for us. That kind of love. Don’t you know that only God could inspire and help us to love like that?
The Scripture says that if we enhance our faith through adding these qualities – doing our part, then we will become useful and meaningful for the kingdom. I would hate to know that I am just here taking up space and of no worth to those that I meet, won’t you? With God’s help, we can do this friends!

PRAYER: It’s amazing how much You love us Lord, and also how much You care for us and show us how we could be more like You. Thank You for speaking through Your servant Peter to cause us to have a closer look at our faith, something we often take for granted. Lord, we need You each and every day to guide our steps and draw our attention to aligning our life with Yours. Please continue to work on us and give the strength, boldness and desire to draw close to You and Be more like You every day, so that others will be drawn to You. May the seven qualities mentioned in our Scripture become prevalent in our lives. 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!

Jesus–The ‘Light’ at the end of your dark tunnel

On By Ed AlgreenIn Integrity, Prayer, PurityLeave a comment

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

Today’s Bible Reference: Job 8:5–7
Today’s Bible Text: 5 But if you pray to God and seek the favor of the Almighty, 6 and if you are pure and live with integrity, he will surely rise up and restore your happy home. 7 And though you started with little, you will end with much.
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: In reading the encouraging words from Job’s friend, Bildad, I believe that God gave me more wisdom to encourage and help those who have come through the past few years of discouragement due to losses – jobs, homes, families, vehicles, etc. For those who were blessed to keep their jobs, and therefore hang on to those things that are precious to us, it may be challenging for us to identify with these friends and/or family. Praise God, His Word is so applicable for every aspect of life, therefore I thank Him for directing me to this passage today and I am hoping this might especially encourage those folk who may have felt much like Job did, after losing everything. I am also hoping that this might also help those of us that God has chosen to walk alongside these individuals to encourage, and/or lift up, and/or restore, and/or redirect. For those that have, it is easy to say to those who have fallen: “Come on pull your socks up and move on with life” however, unless we can do that from a heart of love, or a heart burdened by God to really help that individual, our intended ‘encouragement’ may not be accepted as we hoped it would. Notice that Bildad pointed Job to God and gave him specific instruction on how to draw closer to God – the source of his help. This applied to Job, and could also apply to our friends seeking to overcome months and months of discouragement with loss of hope for the future. Here are tips given to Job by Bildad that I want you to consider:

  • Pray to God – Though earthly things may seem dismal, there is One who cares about every concern of His children. Pray, pray, pray to God;
  • Seek favor from the Almighty – God knows what you’re going through, but just as Jesus asked the blind man what was he seeking from Jesus, I believe He wants to hear your heart. Plead your case before Him. Ask Him for what you need in your life and the life of your family;
  • Put your purity and integrity in check – Our God is holy and righteous and pure. Please follow His ways and live your life in all purity and with full integrity as a child of God. Don’t let the circumstances of this earth interfere with the relationship you have with your Father. Live in such purity and integrity that the world will have no idea what you are presently going through. Even on the cross, and after suffering much cruelty and hurt, yet Jesus blessed the criminal hanging next to Him. Let that be your example friend.

Like Job, I believe that you too can see happiness restored to your home and your financial worth restored. My God loves you just as much as He loved Job. Let me encourage you to live like Job did, and see how God reacts to your dilemma!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I have no news for You today that You are not already fully aware of. Many of my readers and I have friends and/or family who are hurting because of the results of bad deals dealt to them by today’s society and perhaps bad choices by them. These are Your precious kids that You sacrificed Your life for at Calvary, so I beg You to touch them in a very special way today dear Lord. I dare not ask You how or why, but merely to trust in Your goodness to be the loving and caring God that You are. We will praise You tirelessly for Your goodness to these that we love and care about, AMEN!

Footnote: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

2016

How To Improve Your Faith

On By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, Like JesusLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – 2 Peter 1:5-9): 5 Do your best to improve your faith. You can do this by adding goodness, understanding, 6 self-control, patience, devotion to God, 7 concern for others, and love. 8 If you keep growing in this way, it will show that what you know about our Lord Jesus Christ has made your lives useful and meaningful. 9 But if you don’t grow, you are like someone who is nearsighted or blind, and you have forgotten that your past sins are forgiven.

 THOUGHTS: Whenever trials and/or temptations come, I believe we quickly reflect on how our faith is tested! However, we find directly from God’s Word how we might maximize our faith, so that we can be better equipped to handle the trials and/or temptations of life. Here’s what God instructs through His servant Peter that we add to our lives so that our faith might be improved:

  • Goodness – This refers to moral excellence. Where a Christian lives up to his/her calling as a child of God;
  • Understanding – Make every effort to know what God has revealed in His Word. I don’t know about you, but I am challenged in being able to quote book and verse references, but I believe God has blessed me with a keen ear to know when something is said that either lines up with His Word, or not. We must make every effort to learn and understand what God placed in His instruction Book for us!
  • Self-control – the God-given ability to master oneself and to control one’s desires and/or passions. Without this, we will be much too selfish to help anyone else, or to please God unselfishly;
  • Patience – We must seek this quality to be able to continue on in the faith in spite of adversity. Satan can easily hinder our walk and/or our witness when he finds us weak in times of trouble. Endurance is super important to our ongoing faith in Jesus Christ;
  • Devotion to God – A desire to please God, and a behavior that reflects the character of God;
  • Concern for others – Brotherly kindness. Being thoughtful about fellow believers. I have often found that as I’ve tried to encourage and/or help others, I am the one lifted up and encouraged! Intentional acts of kindness, or ways that we search out so that we can be kind to others;
  • Love – Not just a word that we may flippantly throw out in conversation, but to actually strive to love like God loves us.

So why do you suppose these are so important? I believe that in His infinite wisdom, God knew that if we didn’t strive for these qualities, we would be deteriorating in our faith – worsening, weakening, going backwards, and becoming less like Him instead of more like Him. Friend, are you like me, where I must really seek God’s help and guidance for a deeper growth in these qualities of my Christian life? I believe that the mission of God’s Word has been accomplished, for It has truly opened my eyes towards a stronger need for God’s strong hand on my life, my character and my faith. Let us therefore draw closer to God, so that He may freely draw closer to us and mature us in our faith.

 PRAYER: Dear God, I believe that You have created us in Your image so that our lives might reflect Your love for mankind and draw others closer to You, even unto salvation. It is obvious in the study of Your Word today that there is much that still needs accomplishment in our lives if we are to truly represent You. Please work on us. Draw us closer to You so that our faith might be enhanced and our lives made more pliable and usable by You. We want to be perfect representatives of the Savior that we love and adore, but we know this can only be accomplished when You have sovereign reign over our lives. Please help us to daily surrender ourselves to Your perfect will. I ask all this in faith, and in the name of Jesus, God’s perfect Son, AMEN!

 

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