Tag: creator

God’s Will, Not Yours

On By Ed AlgreenIn Discerning, God's Will, Submission, TrustLeave 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: 1 Chronicles 14:8-10
Today’s Bible Text: When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, they mobilized all their forces to capture him. But David was told they were coming, so he marched out to meet them. The Philistines arrived and made a raid in the valley of Rephaim. So David asked God, “Should I go out to fight the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?” The LORD replied, “Yes, go ahead. I will hand them over to you.”
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: I want you to imagine with me for a moment that you were faced with a very challenging situation in life where, if you didn’t take action, it would probably be disastrous for you. Next, I want you to assume the role of David where you are told that an army of giants are coming out to get you. Before long you look out and there is the army coming towards you, and your battalion of soldiers are ready to whip the army who is threatening you. May I ask that you consider what your next move would be? If you read the verses above, you know that David stopped, dropped and prayed, asking God what He wanted him to do. More specifically, David must have felt like it was pretty near impossible for him to fight such a great army, because he asked God if He was going to handle the battle for him. Now, imagine the confidence that David and his troops marched forward with. Imagine how David didn’t have to stress over the situation, because the same God that He had trusted before, was now in control of this battle, and furthermore David was content that he was doing precisely what God wanted him to do. Would this not be the same for us if, in our desperate situations – those that seem impossible to us, or leaves us totally helpless, yet gloriously we know that we could move forward in confidence, knowing that our God has the wheel! He’s in control of the situation at hand! He is capable of conquering the situation and delivering us, free from stress, and victorious! Can you handle that friend? Will you trust God like that, friend? He hasn’t changed, and He is definitely just as awesome and strong as He was for David, so there is no need to hesitate or doubt. Let us practice asking God before we jump into battle, not asking for His endorsement after you make your decision. Your decision is made from a human perspective and may often not be in the way that God would direct. His ways are perfect, friend! Let’s learn to do it His way at all times, won’t you?

Prayer: Father God. Almighty, all powerful and awesome Father who is filled with wisdom and knowledge. Thank You for getting our attention this morning to probably the greatest shortcoming of the Christian. For in our weakness, we feel like we are strong and could fight our battles alone, or at least until it’s time to call You in to our rescue. On the other hand, I believe that non-believers feel they could call on You in trouble, but have nothing to do with You the rest of the time. Lord, we are failures in our relationships, especially the all important relationship with You. Please forgive us Lord. Cause us to humble ourselves and ask for Your help before advancing in to the obvious, or our selfish desire. Please help us to learn from David, for twice in the same chapter of 1 Chronicles 14 did he recognize Your lordship and Your awesome power, so he asked You before making decisions. May we learn to be obedient to Your will oh Lord, and not default to our selfish and prideful will first. As You deliver our enemies to us, or are victories over our life-challenges, may we be ready to celebrate and use those moments as a testimony to our lost world. In love and awe-felt respect and honor, I ask these things 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. 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

Faultless Until Jesus Comes?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Committed, Dedicated, FaultlessLeave 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: 1 Timothy 6:11-14
Today’s Bible Text: But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things. Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the true faith. Hold tightly to the eternal life to which God has called you, which you have declared so well before many witnesses. And I charge you before God, who gives life to all, and before Christ Jesus, who gave a good testimony before Pontius Pilate, that you obey this command without wavering. Then no one can find fault with you from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: Timothy’s mentor, Paul, wanted to make sure that Timothy kept the faith and remained true to his calling. Is that any different to us, and the decisions that we make to serve God? We want to remain true and faithful in the decision we made to live like Jesus. So what can we learn from Paul’s advice that might help us? Paul instructed Timothy to:

  • Run from the appearance of evil – I believe that we tend to think that we are strong enough to stand firm even in challenging situations, and even when there is the appearance of evil. But then we are deeply trapped before we realize that we have been distracted in our Christian walk, and unable to easily escape. What if we intentionally stayed clear of those scenarios altogether?
  • Pursue, or intentionally go after: righteousness; a godly life; faith; love; perseverance and gentleness;
  • Fight the good fight for true faith – don’t just read about it, or speak about it, but fight evil and pursue after the faith that saves mankind, and that God has delivered you into;
  • Hold tight to eternal life that is yours in Christ Jesus – keep the end in mind when you are making decisions today. Don’t just say things and do things that might misrepresent whose you are. You’re a child of the King and living in anticipation of  the home He has prepared for you, where you will rejoice and praise Him throughout all eternity! Don’t be distracted in your walk towards that eternal goal!

Being faithful in these things will help you stay faultless before a generation whose aim is to tear you down and win you over to their evil ways and practices. The aim of the Christian is to live with Jesus one day, for eternity in heaven. To accomplish that, we need to live our lives today in honor of Him and for His glory. Are you there yet, friend? How about asking God to guide you, like Paul guided Timothy. Reading God’s Word and looking for characteristics like these presented by Paul in our scripture today is a start towards a life of holiness. May I encourage you to keep on reading and keep on looking for the character of Jesus Christ, our mediator and our guide to all things ‘God’ ordained!

Prayer: Thank You for Your Word oh Lord, and thank You for loving us enough to care about how we live. Thank You for giving us the guide to living life in accordance with Your desire for us. Please give us a daily desire to be more like You in every aspect of our lives. Please enlighten our minds as we read Your Word so that Your Holy Spirit might prompt us to overcome our weaknesses and faults. Lord, it would seem that we need to be faultless before our fellow man if we ever expect to be the hands and feet of Jesus, but we can only do that through Your strength, guidance and wisdom. Please work in us even today Lord Jesus, for I ask these things in Your strong and matchless 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. 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

A Better World

On By Ed AlgreenIn Accountability, Do our part, Personal InvolvementLeave 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: 1 Timothy 5:1-3
Today’s Bible Text: Don’t be harsh or impatient with an older man. Talk to him as you would your own father, and to the younger men as your brothers. Reverently honor an older woman as you would your mother, and the younger women as sisters. Take care of widows who are destitute.
The Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take Away: I believe that most of us could chime in with ideas on what it would take to see ‘a better world’ for us to live in. In fact, there was a song named just that in earlier days as well! I believe if our country’s leaders needed to know how to best govern its people, they should just ask you and I and we will have a word or two for them! I’m sure that our pastors probably get an ‘ear full’ almost every day on how to best run the church, because from where we are sitting we could give vast knowledge and insight on the matter! Yet in reading this part of the scripture this morning, I believe that God is speaking very clearly to us in telling us how we could be a part of improving our world, just by doing what He expects of us. Think about this friends, God knew what Paul needed to pass on to Timothy to improve the situation in the areas that he would minister. God also knew that by including this in His Word, this would also give much needed direction to His children in 2016 who would be looking at life from a lens of hopelessness as we look at failing country leaders; churches that are closing because of lack of attendance and failing spiritual leaders; and families falling apart because of selfish individuals who insist on doing life ‘their way’. So God gave us some principles on how to treat each other – how to get along. Imagine for a moment if we were to:

  • Don’t be harsh, but talk to, and treat older men as our father
  • Don’t be harsh, but talk to, and treat younger men as our brothers
  • Reverently honor older women as our mother;
  • Reverently honor younger women as our sisters; and
  • Take care of widows who are without help (destitute).

Imagine us doing this both inside the church, and outside. In other words, with everyone that we come into contact with. I dare say that we would build a ‘Better World’ without ever feeling the urge to get politicians, pastors, or anyone else straight! The challenge is, that if this is to be – it’s up to you and me. There’s no one for us to blame or try to straighten out. Are you willing to look to God and ask for His strength and direction to do this today friend?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are beyond anything we could imagine, for You not only created us, but You have given us commands, rules and instructions by which to live in accordance with Your intended purpose. Thank You for directing me to another section of these directions this morning. These have already been tested by Timothy, so they are tried and proven! Please forgive us for our selfish attitudes and the ways that we try to manipulate life into our own broken, and often failed ways. We have strayed a long ways off the path You have intended for us and we so desperately need reminding of Your perfect will for our lives. Lord, may we personally be found faithful, is my humble plea to You today. For I ask these things in the precious and all powerful 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. 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

Spiritual Fitness

On By Ed AlgreenIn Consistent, Spiritual Fitness1 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: 1 Timothy 4:6-10
Today’s Bible Text: You’ve been raised on the Message of the faith and have followed sound teaching. Now pass on this counsel to the followers of Jesus there, and you’ll be a good servant of Jesus. Stay clear of silly stories that get dressed up as religion. Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this. Take it to heart. This is why we’ve thrown ourselves into this venture so totally. We’re banking on the living God, Savior of all men and women, especially believers.
The Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take Away: I believe that a lot of money is spent on gym memberships, and a lot of time is well spent on physical fitness in order to keep our heart and muscles in great physical shape, due to the stationary, inactive lifestyles we have in our desk jobs or just the choices we make to watch TV or play on computer devices. So what if we did to our physical bodies what we do in our spiritual lives? You know, we may open our Bibles once a week when we attend church, or in some cases two or three times per year for special occasions. Do you suppose that we might see more physical deaths if we only exercised that infrequent? Do you suppose that this might be the reason we see so many spiritual ‘deaths’ in the church? If we only connect with the Master of this world on a very occasional basis, will that develop ‘relationship’ with Him? Physical exercise requires commitment to a designated time of fitness each day. It means sacrificing a warm bed for working out at the gym or jogging down a long, dark path, often until we feel like we are about to drop! It means ‘beating’ ourselves into submission, so that we can do it even when we don’t feel like it. Now, think about Spiritual fitness. Should it be any different? The results, or the outcome, is way more important, for it leads to an active, participating relationship with the King of this universe, One who sent His Son to die for us so that we might accept His sacrifice and therefore ultimately be with Him in glory one day. Physical fitness helps you condition your bodies to fight off diseases, have less pain and recover much faster from illnesses, and it may extend your life here on earth by a few years. Spiritual fitness opens the doors of heaven for you while here on earth and to life ever after with the Creator. It gives you hope, peace and love here on earth and rewards for eternity that are out of this world! Spiritual fitness is suitable for all walks of life, for those fit enough to do Physical fitness or not. Please don’t make excuses Brothers and Sisters. Seek to strengthen your spiritual lives so that you may be usable by God here on earth, until He is ready for you in Heaven. Each of us will face Him at Judgment Day, will you be prepared to smile and thank Him for allowing You to stay Spiritually Fit while here on earth? I hope there will be no regrets.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we are such a blessed people, because of Your persistent love for us, and the way that You show that in so many ways to us daily. Please touch the lives of each one reading this devotional today with a desire to enhance our Spiritual fitness so that we might be drawn closer to You in every aspect of our lives. Others are watching to validate that we are who we say we are. May we be so engrossed in Your Word, and have such a determination to follow Your teachings, that the evidence might be obvious in all that we say or do while here on earth. We want them to see Jesus. May we be fit vessels that You can work through to reach those in our realm of influence dear Lord, 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

Always Praising God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Glory of God, Praise, WorthyLeave 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: Psalm 75:9-10
Today’s Bible Text: But as for me, I will always proclaim what God has done; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob. For God says, “I will break the strength of the wicked, but I will increase the power of the godly.”
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: I wish that one day people will be able to look around and observe from the positive attitudes and the praising mindset, that certain folk are true children of God. Most folk are so accustomed to people whining and complaining that they almost expect it. In fact, we have to be extra careful that we don’t encourage it! I believe that we often need to take a closer look at those saints who preceded us. Take, for example Paul, who declared the glory of God even while in chains, inside of a cold, damp prison, and he won prison guards to the Lord! In our scripture today, David shares that he would always brag about what God had done, and sing His praises. Friends, David had some pretty trying times, but yet he vowed to honor God and praise Him. I believe that when we learn to praise God in ALL circumstances of life, we acknowledge that He is in charge, even when things don’t go our way. It also shows that we have confidence that our God will be with us through every phase of life here on this earth, until He calls us home to be with Him. Sinners will notice when we praise God even in our storms of life, for they are so used to the cursing, whining and complaining from folk all around them, when times are tough. They will instantly recognize the power of God in us. Let me be quick to follow this by saying that we don’t just praise for the purpose of showing others, for it’s through our sincere praise, and our worship to God that others will recognize whose we are. We should never have to tell anyone that we are a Christian, for it should be evident in our lifestyle, our priorities, our words and our actions. If Christ abides within, His joy, His peace, His love and His glory will exude from us in all aspects of our life. I trust that your praises, will be a meter to indicate how blessed you are by the King of all kings, our Lord and our Redeemer!

Prayer: Jesus, You are more than amazing, more than wonderful, more than worthy to me. I am blessed beyond measure and so amazed by Your love for me. Please touch the hearts of Your children today so that they may acknowledge Your presence in their lives, and then allow the overflow of blessings to pour forth from them, so that others may be drawn to You. Lord, You are worthy of our lifelong praise! May we be found faithful in lifting holy hands to praise You in love and sincerity of heart, because of who You are and for all that You do for us every day. May Your name be glorified today oh Lord, for this is my humble plea on behalf of myself and all of my readers, 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. 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

God Wants You!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Forgiveness, Salvation, SaviorLeave 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: 1 Timothy 1:14-17
Today’s Bible Text: Oh, how kind our Lord was, for he showed me how to trust him and become full of the love of Christ Jesus. How true it is, and how I long that everyone should know it, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—and I was the greatest of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as an example to show everyone how patient he is with even the worst sinners, so that others will realize that they, too, can have everlasting life. Glory and honor to God forever and ever.
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take Away: We hear about lots of evil that impact so many today, and we wonder when will God come to take us out of this mess. However, seldom do we stop and study what took place in the days of Jesus, and how His believers were impacted back then. We admire Paul as such a valuable servant of God, for we read about his bold witnessing, his imprisonment for witnessing in places where it was prohibited, and many other attributes of this saint of old. We are also blessed by the many writings of Paul in the New Testament. However, in these verses we are looking at today, Paul is reflecting on where God truly brought him from. For God stopped this persecutor of Christians right in his track, convicted him of his wrong doing (his sin) and showed him that through the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross, even he could be saved. I still hear people say today, what Paul must have thought and said back then, how could such an evil person as I (a sinner) stand a chance of being accepted by the pure and holy Son of God? Friends, I believe that God wanted me to share with you yet again today, that His Son was sacrificed on Calvary especially for those who question like this. For His sacrifice was made with full knowledge that we cannot save ourselves and, nothing, or no one else could stand in the gap for our sin, except the one true Savior, Jesus Christ. So there is no need to continue in sin dear friends. There just is no reason to continue carrying that load around any longer. Stop, drop and pray to the Father right now – right where you are at, admit your sin before Him, ask His forgiveness so that He could save you from your current path you are on to Hell. He WILL save you friend! Just imagine the thought of God sacrificing His only Son, and for us to reject that offer of love and continue on our journey to Hell. It must hurt our Father beyond anything we could imagine. He sent His Son so that all might be saved, so of course that includes you. Of course He desires a relationship with even you, for He loves you beyond anything words can describe, friend! Paul acknowledged that his changed life served as a witness to many others who needed Jesus. There may be others needing you to make your big step, to give them the boldness needed to move towards Jesus. Please don’t be a stumbling block for them.

Prayer: Thank You Father for loving us so much that You gave. It’s beyond me that You would give such a sacrifice for mere sinners – people You created to be like You, yet have chosen to do their own thing and live in total opposition to Your teachings, and Your will for their lives. Please forgive us Heavenly Father. Please forgive us for the lack of appreciation for the sacrifice You made Lord Jesus. Please soften the hearts of Your people today so that we might seek Your face, accept Your precious gift, and live according to Your will in full appreciation of all that You did for us. Lord, may this be a day of change for many, especially those who might stumble across this devotional today. I ask all this in the precious name of Jesus, my Savior and Lord, 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

Your Wish For The Church

On By Ed AlgreenIn Church, Testify, TestimonyLeave 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!………

The Bible Reference: 2 Corinthians 13:11-14

The Bible Text: And that’s about it, friends. Be cheerful. Keep things in good repair. Keep your spirits up. Think in harmony. Be agreeable. Do all that, and the God of love and peace will be with you for sure. Greet one another with a holy embrace……… The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you.
The Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take Away: I generally provide, what I believe to be, provocative thoughts for you from my Bible studies, hoping that as God had touched my heart while in His Word, my sharing might provoke you to search the heart of God for what He would say to you through the scriptures. Meditating on the closing wishes of Paul, in the highlighted verses, for his friends at Corinth, led me to think about something that may sound a little morbid to some, and it may sound like homework to some. However, Paul shared with his readers what was on his heart for them, especially now that he was closing his current communication with them. I want to encourage you to take a moment and write your responses to the following ideas, and if you’re really feeling bold, share these with your pastor. I believe it would be neat for your pastor to read these words at a service that celebrates your life on earth and your departing wishes for your fellow family and church members:

  • My life has been enriched by ________ (hopefully God) in the following ways: ____________________
  • Friends, I believe that for you to grow closer to God and to each other, you should: _________________________
  • Please do away with: _______________________________ and
  • Allow God to: _________________________________
  • I have prayed for you in these ways: _________________________ and,
  • Wish: ______________________ for you, until we meet again on the other side, God being your helper!

Try copying this into a word processor and completing the blanks, friends. What a testimony this would present of your time on earth and your heart-challenge for those you may leave behind!

Prayer: Lord God, You created us for a purpose, and You have placed us here on this earth with a purpose in mind. May we seek You and accept You as our Creator, and as our Savior and Lord, then may we seek to worship, love, adore and obey You all of our days here on earth. May our God-following lives impact others that we come into contact with, because of the clear evidence of whom we belong to, and from whom our speech and actions derive. It’s all about You Lord! It’s You that we strive to live for and strive to live with after our life is finished here on plant earth. Please mold our lives so that we may be usable by You to impact those who You are reaching out to from the inside out. With much love and affection I glorify You and seek Your face today and everyday oh Lord. Please impact the lives of all who will read this devotional today, so that You may impact the world through us. I ask these things in the strong and wonderful name of Jesus, My Lord and soon coming King, 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

Trusted and Proven Source of Help

On By Ed AlgreenIn Help, Surrender, TrustLeave 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! Read on and be blessed friend!………

The Bible Text: Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
The Bible Reference: Psalm 55-22
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: Generally when one hears words such as relayed to us in verse 22 of Psalm 55, they tend to brush it off thinking that it’s the same old religious lingo that they heard their forefathers talk about, but the idea is so out of touch with the issues they are dealing with in this 21st century. Friends, let me take you back to the beginning of this very chapter when David was pleading before God for help. In fact, it sounded pretty desperate to me. However some 21 verses later and David is bragging about proven results, for He is now telling us the awesome news of what we might expect when we place our burdens at the feet of Jesus, like he did in verse one. I believe that almost any child of God can identify with David, for there are times that we have felt, what appears to be, the weight of this world on our shoulders, yet when we take those concerns before our Lord, and surrender our weaknesses before Him, we quickly see where He intervenes and lightens that load for us. Notice I didn’t say that God removes the load. He never said that we would be free from concerns, He just assures us each and every day that no matter what the concern may be, we are to be comforted in knowing that we know who holds tomorrow, and we know who holds our hand. So for my friends reading this who have not accepted Jesus as Lord of your life, may I give you the good and the bad news? Verse 23 goes on to tell us that God is honoring your choice to run your own life without His help. The good news is that His ear is always attuned to your cry for salvation, so may I encourage you to first recognize that the missing factor is a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe. Just as you won’t walk up to a stranger and ask for something, I would impress upon you to know my Lord and Savior personally before discussing your needs with a stranger. God loves you so much that He allowed His one and only Son, Jesus, to die on a cruel cross at Calvary. This was the sacrifice He made for you friend. Won’t you accepts His gift of salvation today? He cares for You, and He wants to be available to help you through your daily challenges. However, He is a perfect gentleman and will only respond to you, not barge in on the desire of your heart to do life all by yourself. I am thankful that I can identify with the words of the Psalmist and thank God daily for His hand of protection, love and uplifting each and every day! He is available to you also friend!

Prayer: Oh Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder, consider all that You have done for me and provide for me each day, I can only shout and praise You for Your awesome goodness. Please touch the hearts and lives of my friends reading this devotional today, so that they also may know and believe in You. Lord may they surrender the vast concerns of this challenging world to You and allow You to be God over ALL things, especially over us individually. Lord, may unbelievers come to know You as Lord today, and may your children be drawn to a closer walk with You, for this is my humble prayer that I ask in the name of Jesus, my Lord, 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

Your God-Tools For 2016

On By Ed AlgreenIn Give it up, God tools, Let go and let God, SurrenderLeave 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 nourish us for His glory! Read on and be blessed!………

The Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)
The Bible Reference: 2 Corinthians 10:3-6
The Bible Text: The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.

My Take Away: I was blessed to be a part of a group last night that watched the movie ‘War Room’. In that movie we were taught a similar principle as is taught in this passage of scripture today, that the Christian has at least one major God-tool at our disposal, and that we should take every opportunity to use it for the glory of God. As Paul indicated to the Corinthian church, there are tools of Satan in place all around us that we are powerless to face and challenged with on our own – that’s why they are so successful in this world with non-Christians. Often we can fight those things that are seen, and or obvious to us, but when we see our God-given marriages, children, extended families, neighbors, friends and churches failing, we quickly deduce that we are so helpless to do anything about those things. Friends, I was reminded that it’s not our marriages, children, extended families, neighbors, friends and churches that we are fighting, but instead it’s the Evil One that is trying very hard to kill, steal and/or destroy God’s chosen people – you and I. There is only one way to fight Satan, and that’s on our knees, crying out to God and pleading our case before our awesome, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-encompassing creator and Lord over everything – Jesus Christ. I believe that it is so important to remind ourselves daily who’s in charge, and that our God has the power to handle everything that we are willing to surrender to His control. I believe it is only then that our minds will be fresh. May we never forget to call on God when we sense an act of Satan that hinders our walk, our talk and our glorifying of the Lord Jesus Christ. Friends, these tools of Satan is nothing that the untrained should ever approach, these are God-sized, and can only be handled by Him. Let’s not waste time trying, or permitting the risk of us being sucked into, or wooed by Satan. Let’s surrender to God the things that we know should be handled by Him. No experimenting or trying to do it yourself. God’s got this, and we just need to humble ourselves and surrender our lives totally into His care. I believe that He loves us enough that He truly desires to be our Father!

Prayer: Father we are really quick to grab the right tools and physically take care of issues around our home, but then we fall apart when we have emotional or sin issues that impact our Christian walk, or our relationships. Thankfully You have provided tools for us to communicate with the Creator of this universe, and of mankind; the Great Physician; our Healer; the only Son of God; the Redeemer of mankind and the only One who can save us from our sin-riddled life, and bring us before the throne of grace, that we are so undeserving of. You loved us enough to die for us, Lord may we love You enough to totally surrender and dedicate our lives to You. May You find open, accessible lives that You can use for Your glory in all that You permit us to be a part of here on earth. This is my heart-cry today Father. May Your will be done in my life and in the lives of those who will meditate on this devotional today, is my prayer that I ask in the strong 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. 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

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