Tag: Courageous

Biblical Keys to Success and Prosperity

On By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, Obedience, Prosperity, SuccessLeave 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 even us, to use His Word to nourish us for His glory! Read on and be blessed!………

The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)
The Bible Reference: Joshua 1:8-9
The Bible Text: 8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

My Take Away: Many are starting off this year with new goals of improving themselves in various aspects of their life. Some are beginning diets to help control their weight problem; some are starting gym memberships to try and keep their physical bodies in shape; while there are still others who have vowed to draw closer to God in 2016. In this passage of scripture today we read about how God tipped the Israelites for success in their new land that He had promised them. Now , stop for a moment and ponder why else would this be included in the Book, if not to give us direction on what to do as we march into the new areas of our life that the good Lord has given to us? I felt like a prime example would be applying this principle to our lives as we enter the gift of a New Year. We are told that if we want to prosper and succeed in everything we do this year, we must:

  • Study our Book of Instruction (the Bible) continually – this means that you not allow dust to gather on its covers. That you not wait for the sermon next weekend to hear the Word read, but that you deliberately setup a reading plan. May I suggest that you visit www.biblegateway.com for suggested plans;
  • Meditate on our Book of Instruction day and night – don’t just skim over the verses on the page. Highlight those words where God really catches your attention. Think them over, and how you might apply them to your own life. Please don’t try to apply them to anyone else, except yourself;
  • Obey everything in our Book of Instruction – Allow the Word of God to minister to you, and then follow, or obey its teachings. Consider it your roadmap for each day of your life;
  • Be strong and courageous, and
  • Do not be discouraged – Satan will challenge you at every opportunity. Be strong and courageous by applying the proven abilities of God to your current day situations and/or challenges. He’s a great big God and He will do great things for His children who He cares so much about.

Friends, I don’t know about you, but I have wished many friends every success, and prosperity in this New Year in which we now reside, but I now wish that I could have shared with them the success plan detailed by God. I pray that each one meditating on this devotional today will take note of these principles for success and prosperity in the remaining portion of 2016.

Prayer: Praise God that You are not just a God of the rich and famous, nor just for the Christian believer. In fact, I would begin by praying for the non-believer, because for them to avail themselves of the benefits, they must first belong to God. This means starting off the New Year in a new relationship – with the Savior of this World, Jesus Christ. Only then will the playing field be leveled, to allow you the same benefits as Christians who will benefit from following the Godly principles mentioned above for success and prosperity. Please God, soften hearts today for life commitments to be made, and for Christian hearts to be anxious about wanting to do Your will. You are my God, and I praise You for accepting me as Your very own child, with all of the benefits of heaven, and for success and prosperity here on earth. Please tender the hearts of those who do not currently know You personally, and provoke them to a decision to accept the gift of Your precious Son today, please? I ask these things in faith and believing in Your great power, 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

Our Legacy

On By Ed AlgreenIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

13 Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous (brave). Be strong. 14 And do everything with love.

(Bible Translation and Location: New Living Translation – 1 Corinthians 16:13-14)

Thoughts:

I believe that most of us have a desire to leave a legacy of some sort. Yes, but I can also assure you that the way we live our lives today will be remembered by those who know us long after we leave this world, whether we specifically aim towards a planned ‘legacy’ or not. Sounds scary, but consider that thought carefully! If we are prone to do good, we will be referred to, in comparison, when someone else also does good to our loved ones. Unfortunately, the reverse also happens. After reading Paul’s admonition to his fellow Christians at Corinth during his farewell wishes, God really spoke to me through these two verses. You see, to me, each of the short phrases in these verses carry a very important message. Let me explain:

  • Be on guard: Always be ready. We are often told that we should never go to bed mad at our spouse. How much more powerful are these words when it comes to our relationship with Jesus? Always be ready to defend your beliefs. Always be in such close communion with God that You are ready (without regrets) whenever He calls you home. I was reminded last night of a friend who was watching TV and fell asleep. He woke up in heaven. There was no time to clarify and/or correct any misgivings. We must be on guard, for the Bible says that Jesus will come in an instant for us! Be ready, and stay finely tuned with the Master!
  • Stand firm: Know what you believe and stand firm in that. There are numerous agents of Satan that will attempt to lead us away from the Truth. It may even look and sound like the Christian faith, but without full knowledge and a close relationship with the Master, we might be easily misled.
  • Be courageous and strong: Those with opposing views to yours, will try to trip you up, ‘beat you up’ and try to force their point of view upon you. Don’t lose hope brothers and sisters. Let God be your guide. Be brave and proud that you are standing on the Word of God and representing the King of all kings! You are royalty, because your Father is THE KING!
  • Do everything in love: I find it very interesting how one person can say something and it creates havoc in a whole audience, while someone else can say the same thing in a different tone of voice, in love, and convince the audience of their need for change. Friends, we have the wonderful love of Jesus living inside of us. We represent the One who loved us enough to sacrifice His only Son so that we might live eternally with Him. When we surrender our hearts to Him, He sends His Holy Spirit to live inside of us. Think about the agony He must feel when we allow sin to govern us, instead of the One living inside of us. When we can’t figure out how to say something loving, ask the Holy Spirit to guide you and give you the words. He’s as close as the whisper of His name. Friends, we must truly imitate Jesus if we stand a chance of impacting this world for Him!

If you are reading this and wondering how you might accept this Jesus of mine, so that His Holy Spirit lives within you, please read the footnote and allow a Christian Brother or Sister to help you. I would be honored to help!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You told us in Your Word that You did nothing without the direction of Your father, God. May we be Your faithful follower and do the same. Thank You for loving us enough for providing the means by which salvation is available. Thank You for assuring us of Your power and strength that can guide us lovingly through this life, yes even life today that is so filled with a multitude of sins that temp and bombard us in every walk of life. Your very nature is ‘LOVE’ and because You reside inside of us through Your Holy Spirit, we too can be loving in all we do and say. Please give us the boldness to do exactly that. May we be faithful examples of our Father and His Son, Jesus, because of whose we are! I ask this believing and trusting, 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!