The Faithfulness of God

On 2016-08-18 By Ed AlgreenIn Committed, Faithful, FaithfulnessLeave a comment

Thursday, 2016-08-18

Scripture

Bible Reference: 2 Thessalonians 3:3,5

Bible Text: 3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. 5 May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

Throughout the books written by Paul, it is very obvious of his love and concern for the people that he ministered to. At the end of each book, during Paul’s parting thoughts with each of the churches, he often shared his thoughts on what bothered him most about leaving a town. Unfortunately, Paul’s concerns, are still areas of concern today for most ministries, for the people do well while the heat and excitement of revival continues, but the sincerity of the people become evident when the evangelist leaves town and they are left on their own. I believe that these parting thoughts and prayers were not just for the benefit of the people, but represented the deepest concerns that Paul had for their spiritual self preservation. These thoughts could also serve to benefit us today friends. For when we feel like we are getting sucked into the temptations of this world, or that the evil one is working overtime in our lives, I believe it is important that we remind ourselves of what Paul shared in verse 3: our Lord is faithful, and we can depend on Him to strengthen us and protect us from the evil one. Let us therefore look to God for all things, especially when we feel like we are being pulled away, or distracted in our relationship with God. In Paul’s prayer, he is also reminding us that the same God who expressed His love for us by sacrificing His very own – His one and only Son, so that we might live eternally with Him, this is the same God who we can depend on to lead our hearts into a full understanding of His mercy and grace. I also love the conclusion, for in Paul’s prayer, we are reminded that we are to continue depending on the faithfulness of God until the time His Son returns to take us home to glory, so be patient as you wait! My encouragement to each reader today, is that we remain faithful to our Lord in every way, each and every day, for He’s coming back again real soon, and this time it will be for those of us who know Him and have been faithful to Him. How are you doing with that friend?

Prayer

In all aspects of life, may You find us faithful dear Lord. Thank You for this reminder today Heavenly Father. May we always remember the source of life itself, and may we always be faithful to the Sustainer of all life, until the day we are called home to be with You, our eternal Father, 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!

Confident Faith In God

On 2016-08-12 By Ed AlgreenIn Confidence, Faith, Faith in Action, Genuine FaithLeave a comment

Friday, 2016-08-12

Scripture

Bible Reference: Daniel 2:19–23

Bible Text: 19 That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven. 20 He said, “Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. 21 He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. 22 He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light. 23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded.”

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

At many workplaces there is a bonus given for referring prospective employees to the company. However, the bonus is only paid after the individual is hired and after they have passed their probationary period. Kind of making sure that this is a ‘sure thing’ with this new employee! Also, consider this: if someone told us something that they believe about a person, and then asked us to take action on that ‘belief’, we would probably be very hesitant to take any action until we could verify the facts, right? Well, in our scripture today, we read about how the lives of Daniel and his friends, plus many more, were threatened by an order from King Nebuchadnezzar, where they would be thrown into a fire pit if they couldn’t tell him what his dream was or what it meant. We read about the sincere prayer of these men, asking God for a revelation and the wisdom to understand the meaning of the dream. What I found most interesting is that after Daniel’s vision from God, there was no anxiousness for Daniel to run to the king and see if he got it right, but rather, Daniel had a time or praising the Lord for answered prayer! There was no doubt! There was just plain confidence, that God had given him THE answer! This was again evident as Daniel went before the king, for he TOLD him what his dream was, and what it meant. It was not presented as a question, or with any sense of doubt. I encourage you to read the rest of this chapter, because this had an enormous impact on the king. So how can this be applied to our lives? Friends, if we truly have faith in God and if we truly believe in the awesome power of our God, then I believe that we will trust Him to lead us aright. Our God has proven Himself over and over again! There is no reason to doubt! Have faith in God! Lets work at developing such a prayer life that our confidence in our God will be maximized, and that He will receive all the glory from every prayer that is answered for us!

Prayer

Father, I would imagine that You must look at us sometimes and wonder why do we bother to pray, since we are such sceptics. We have been reminded of Your awesome power again today in the scriptures, but we have also been reminded of the great confidence of Your faithful servant, Daniel. Lord, may we be faithful in our prayers, and also faithful to believe in the responses from You, the One to whom we are praying. I believe that You are still alive, and I believe that You still answer our prayers. Please help us to remove all doubt and to place our faith and trust in the King of all kings, and Lord of all lords – the Creator of this universe and the Sustainer of all life! You are my God and I praise You for all things, and for all You do for me every day – especially in Your answered prayers! AMEN!

Footnote

Treated Unfairly?

On 2016-08-02 By Ed AlgreenIn Love of God, The Father's Love, The love of God, Unconditional loveLeave a comment

Tuesday, 2016-08-02

Scripture

Bible Reference: Job 37:23–24

Bible Text: 23–24 “Mighty God! Far beyond our reach! Unsurpassable in power and justice! It’s unthinkable that he’d treat anyone unfairly. So bow to him in deep reverence, one and all! If you’re wise, you’ll most certainly worship him.”

Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take

I believe that way too often we tend to look inward and feel sorry for ourselves. Way too often we tend to look at others, and quickly become envious of all that they have, compared to what we recognize in our gifts, talents and possessions. Then we tend to ponder why we are so undeserving. We identify with how Job was feeling after his ‘world’ was stripped away from him. Throughout this book of Job there are many lessons for us. In today’s verses, I believe it is important that we see that true friends are very honest with us, and they may not just tell us what they think we want to hear. It would have been much easier for Job’s friend to go along with the way that Job was feeling; or to make promises to Job that he may, or may not be capable, or willing to make a reality. Unfortunately, we do this all the time friends. We feel sorry for folk and tell them things like: “Don’t worry, everything’s gonna be alright”; or “I will pray for you”; or “I will come and visit you so we could talk”; or “You look so good that no one would ever imagine that you are serious ill”. However, when we are hurting, we tend to look inward and feel sorry for self. Like the world is against us, and that we are being treated so unfairly. I believe that the best thing a friend can do, is to help us get our eyes refocused on Jesus, and His undeniable love for us. We may never understand, at least at the time, why things are going the way they are, but if we can refocus on the love of God for us, that it is unchangeable, and unshaken by circumstances, and that He made us with great purpose in mind, then we might begin to remember all the ways that God has blessed us, and is continuing to watch over us and care for us. Friends, the adversary (Satan) is doing his very best to distract us from the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ, and the many ways that Jesus loves us. What better way to do this than to tap away at our mind and try to tear down the very blessings that God is showering upon us every day? Jesus loves us more than anyone or anything we could possibly imagine, and this was not just for the period He sacrificed His life for us on the cross, but right straight through eternity. So let us therefore, always fix our eyes on the Author and the Finisher of our faith; the Alpha and the Omega; the beginning and the end; JESUS, the Holy Son of God!

Prayer

Lord, thank You for reminding me that “poor me’ is not a term used by folk who are children of the most high God; the King of all kings; the Savior of this world! We are so blessed and set apart as such a holy people, that we must always keep our eyes fixed on the Author of all these blessings. There is a lot of ‘Light’ at the end of this sometimes ‘dark’ world that we live in – the Light of the world, is Jesus! As our Light; our Savior and our Lord, please help Your humble servants to keep our eyes and our minds fixed on You, and not allow Satan to interfere with our happiness. We need You daily Lord, and we look forward to eternity with You loving Father, AMEN!

Footnote

The Consequences for a Watchman

On 2016-08-01 By Ed AlgreenIn Evangelize, Share God’s WordLeave a comment

Monday, 2016-08-01

Scripture

Bible Reference: Ezekiel 33:7–9

Bible Text: 7 Ezekiel, I have appointed you to stand watch for the people of Israel. So listen to what I say, then warn them for me. 8 When I tell wicked people they will die because of their sins, you must warn them to turn from their sinful ways. But if you refuse to warn them, you are responsible for their death. 9 If you do warn them, and they keep sinning, they will die because of their sins, and you will be innocent.

Bible Translation: The Contemporary English Version. (CEV)

My Take

Some translations refer to the responsibility title given to Ezekiel as a ‘Watchman’. Because this position brought with it the responsibility of reinforcing God’s Word to His people, it really reminded me of the positions that today we refer to as pastor, evangelist, revival speaker, elder or other church leader. In fact, even us as Christians we have a responsibility to share the love of Jesus with our lost loves ones. Let me challenge you to look at the job responsibilities laid out by God for Ezekiel and note the similarities. Friends, we would never think of keeping the news inside of an impending hurricane, as we want our friends to seek shelter and avoid danger and possible loss of life. Yet we know of the imminent return of Jesus Christ, and that those who have not prepared themselves for His return, are destined for Hell, and we do nothing, because of our fear of rejection or a hundred other excuses. What if we took the consequences, or options given to Ezekiel and owned them? Realizing that if we fail in our responsibility and the people perish, we will be held responsible by God? Do we really want to continue living foolishly in keeping our knowledge and responsibility bottled up inside, knowing full well that there will be consequences ahead for us?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, You exampled a perfect life for us to follow. A life filled with evangelizing the lost, and correcting and encouraging the saved. As Your followers, and especially after being jolted back into reality with the story of Ezekiel today, Lord may we be found faithful today and every day of our lives. If You allow us to leave our homes and get to work, we WILL find unsaved friends. These are folk that You have placed us as a ‘Watchman’ over, because they need correcting and redirecting. Lord, may we present the gospel to them, which has the power to save them and see them into heaven. How will they know, if we keep it bottled up inside of us? Lord, please work through us today so that Your Holy Spirit might work mightily in the lives of our family and friends. May heaven become richer today because of our obedience to Your call on our lives. AMEN!

Footnote

The Greatness of God’s Power

On 2016-07-30 By Ed AlgreenIn Awesome God, God's Guidance, God's PowerLeave a comment

Saturday, 2016-07-30

Scripture

Bible Reference: Job 37:2–5

Bible Text: ²Listen, listen to the thunder of his voice. ³It rolls across the heavens and his lightning flashes out in every direction. ⁴Afterwards comes the roaring of the thunder—the tremendous voice of his majesty. ⁵His voice is glorious in the thunder. We cannot comprehend the greatness of his power.

Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take

In just reading this scripture my mind wanders to the song by Christ Tomblin, ‘How Great Is Our God‘. Here we see where a man of God, Job, was tempted and tried to a point where he lost almost everything he owned, and at a certain point Job went and sulked in the corner to himself wondering if God had forsaken him. The last of his three friends to try and console him, is now trying to refocus Job to the awesome power of the God that Job always loved and served. Friends, could that be our problem at times when we feel like the world is against us and that every option is closing in on us? Perhaps we may have lost focus of the only One who cares and the only One who could help us through our trying times? Friends, when we feel all alone and dealing with all aspects of life with just our simple, inadequate, wisdom; guidance and power, it is very clear that we are very limited in our abilities. May we all be reminded of the advice given to Job, and may we be encouraged by the word’s in Tomblin’s song, so that we may come to our senses and refocus our attention towards God – the Author and Finisher of our faith. It is through the greatness of His awesome power that we are able to do all things through Him who strengthen us!

Prayer

To the Awesome God that I serve: thank You for expressing Your power in so many ways for my benefit. There are many times that my friends reading this devotional probably feels much like me, where we’re just not sure what else we could do to improve our position in this life. This scripture has reminded us that when these times of discouragement comes, we must quickly realize that it is then that we are trying to handle things on our own, instead of depending more completely on the powerful hand of Jesus. Lord, You’ve proven Your love for us, and You’ve shown Your awesome power in so many ways. Please help us to stay close to You daily, as we badly need You in every aspect of our lives. For I ask these things in the strong name of Jesus, AMEN!

Footnote

God’s Way of Getting Our Attention

On 2016-07-272016-07-30 By Ed AlgreenIn Follow Christ, Follow Jesus, Listen to the Word of God, ObedienceLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2016-07-27

Scripture

Bible Reference: Job 36:15–16

Bible Text: 15 Hard times and trouble are God’s way of getting our attention! 16 And at this very moment, God deeply desires to lead you from trouble and to spread your table with your favorite food.

Bible Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

My Take

My dad had a 30-year old nephew electrocuted while working high up on a power poll one Sunday afternoon. This ultimately influenced my dad into asking Jesus into his heart. An extremely sad time for this young man’s mother, yet God used it to open the eyes of my dad. Praise the Lord! Job was an honorable man who loved the Lord and obeyed His commands, yet God allowed Satan to run him through some extremely trying, tough times. As his friends tried to console him and help him through this rough time in his life, the words of these verses were shared with Job. Friends, what do you suppose it would really take to get our attention sometimes? I believe that because God loves us so much, He is very patient in trying to lead us in the right direction and towards right decisions. However, because we are so stubborn, He often has to resort to some very serious actions at times, just to get us thinking outside of our ‘box’ that we consider ‘right living’. Let me remind you friends that you could never be good enough to get into heaven, or to be like Jesus. That’s just doesn’t work. It is interesting though that once we have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and we are obedient to His Word, how we seek to become ‘better’ citizens of earth! In fact, following the teachings of Christ will create in us a clean new heart, where we tend to do things just like Jesus did – loving, kind, respectful, obedient, caring and sacrificial. These things are very opposite to the teachings of the world, that is directed by Satan. When bad things happen, may I encourage you to seek the face of God and ask if He is trying to get your attention on some aspect of your life? Also, please note that the response might be totally opposite to what the world will do, so be careful to follow the right path on this!

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for being persistent to get my attention to my lost condition. You created us to be holy, just like You, yet we have allowed the ruler of this world to tempt us with his many vices and evil deeds, that have caused us to look more like the world. Lord, I have many family and friends that I love dearly, and would love to see the very best for them while allowed to remain here on earth. Please gently get their attention again today so that they may be encouraged to surrender their lives wholeheartedly to You. Please also touch each reader of this blog today, so that Your Holy Spirit may be actively working in their lives to draw them closer to the cross. May we all be better prepared to handle the events of this day, week and year as a result of Your activity in our lives, and may we praise You like never before for all that You accomplish in our circle of influence, AMEN!

Footnote

Hope Even In Your Storm

On 2016-07-262016-07-26 By Ed AlgreenIn Hope, Peace, TrustLeave a comment

Tuesday, 2016-07-26

Scripture

Bible Reference: Matthew 14:28-31

Bible Text: ²⁸Then Peter called to him: “Sir, if it is really you, tell me to come over to you, walking on the water.” ²⁹“All right,” the Lord said, “come along!” So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. ³⁰But when he looked around at the high waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted. ³¹Instantly Jesus reached out his hand and rescued him. “O man of little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take

Many of us face situations that seem virtually impossible to us. Our challenges appear so far out of reach that we often worry if we could ever overcome them and go on to live a ‘normal’ life. Let’s look at some attributes of Peter in the story told through the few verses chosen today, for he also faced some challenges that seemed way beyond human ability. Have a look at how Peter’s situation was handled and apply them to your ‘storm’ today:

Have courage – Peter knew that he served an awesome God, so stepping out of the boat onto water, which he had been around long enough to know that it was not of the consistency to walk on, yet because he knew Jesus, and because Jesus said ‘come to me’ then he was confident that Jesus would provide the means. May I encourage you to trust the Master more than what may appear obvious from your circumstances? Have courage to step out in faith and do what Jesus commands of you;
Have faith – To have have faith in God is to be ready to follow what He commands you to do, not what seems logical or practical to you. You may have messed up already and therefore in the position you are. Ask God what He would have you to do, then place your faith totally in Him and do as He commands. Because of his faith, Peter walked on water! What will you be willing to do?
Stay focused – The distractions of this world often gets us in the bad positions where we feel hopeless, so it is important that we keep our eyes on Jesus and not let the world mislead and distract us back into a state of hopelessness. When Peter took his eyes off Jesus, he began to sink – falling back into his human, hopeless state. Only in Christ will we find our answers friend.
Doubt – When we take our eyes off the prize – the encouragement and confidence of having our hand supported by the Creator of our universe, we submit to the mere power of self, and return to doubting if there truly is a better way. There’s no need to doubt friend, we serve a God who placed this world into existence, raised the dead back to life, caused the blind to see again and made the lame to walk again, to name just a few of His miracles. This is the same God that we serve and depend on, and there is no need to doubt His love or His abilities.
Praise God – There’s a really neat song entitled ‘Praise You in the Storm‘. Let’s pray that our hope in Christ will be so strong that we could praise God in the good times, and in our storms. If we have faith in Him, and we know His awesome abilities, then we can do this friend! Our situation may seem impossible and hopeless, but our God is not. Let us therefore keep our eyes fixed on Him, the author and finisher of our faith!

In this life there will be storms, but be reassured friend – there will always be our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who has demonstrated His love for us on the cross, and will continue to demonstrate that love everyday as He watches over us! Trust Him, won’t you?

Prayer

Lord God, You are our strength; our stable, proven force; our fortress and our deliverer in whom we can place our faith and our trust. We are Yours Jesus, and yet we doubt. Please forgive us, and renew a right spirit within us oh Lord. Our situations are varied, and some seem very impossible to us. As we come to You, our Rock, may fear and doubt be overcome with faith and confidence. Please touch Your children once again today dear Lord. I ask these things in Your holy and precious name, AMEN!

Footnote

Is God Pleased?

On 2016-07-25 By Ed AlgreenIn Missions, Pleasing to God, Reaching the LostLeave a comment

Monday, 2016-07-25

Scripture

Bible Reference: Ezekiel 22:30–31

Bible Text: 30 “I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one. 31 So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them with the fire of my anger. I will heap on their heads the full penalty for all their sins. I, the Sovereign LORD, have spoken!”

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

There was so much going on in the day of Ezekiel, that God was hopeful that He would find a good cell of churches or Godly people that would convince Him not to destroy those who promoted the evil of the day. This led me to question whether God might feel like we (the church) are doing enough in our day that He might feel like the sacrifice of His precious Son was worth it. I am encouraged when I hear of what churches are doing outside of their four walls, but this is often limited to very few. Unfortunately, most churches are so caught up in denominational-ism that they are not allowed, or unwilling to tarnish their beliefs by joining hands with another group for the good of the community. In God’s statement through Ezekiel, He was looking for some hope that His message was penetrating the hearts of the people. Nothing was said about which ordinances we adopted or how we decided to administer them. Friends, I believe that we get so caught up in the small things of our specific churches, that we forget there are people in our community who have not accepted the simple love of Jesus, so they are dying and going to Hell without ever being told otherwise. Often we acknowledge needs across the world, and we send missionaries thousands of miles away to minister in God’s name, but do we do enough in our own communities to satisfy the concern of God? Are we truly bridging the gap in our own communities for God? Will God find us faithful to the tasks He has laid out for us, and indeed save our land? If we are satisfied that we have reached our communities, then we need to make sure that our state and our country is also in order. We need to be willing to let God work through us at all levels, so that all will hear and believe, God being our helper!

Prayer

Lord thank you for placing us in our respective communities with lots still to be done. How will the people know, if we don’t go out and tell them, is the thought offered in another part of scripture, that I feel is so applicable to what is taught in this lesson today. Please help us to continue thinking outside of the box of selfish desires and outside of the four walls of our respective churches, so that the world will know who Jesus is. Please make us keenly aware of the needs of our communities more than any other mission efforts we may undertake. For as our hometown people know and believe, we can join hands to reach the state, country and the world. Thank You Lord for the opportunity to serve in Your army. Use us now to be Your instruments of change. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!

Footnote

How to Find ‘Real LIFE’

On 2016-07-232016-07-24 By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Biblical Decisions, HeavenLeave a comment

Saturday, 2016-07-23

Scripture

Bible Reference: Ezekiel 20:11,13

Bible Text: 11 There I gave them my decrees and regulations so they could find life by keeping them.

13 ……. They wouldn’t obey my regulations even though obedience would have given them life.

Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take

No matter if we are talking to friends, listening to advice from our doctor or watching television, there is always tons of advice for us on how to improve our lifestyles, improve our health, enjoy our lives, look as good as the top model, etc. However, as with all other aspects of life, we have access to life’s Instruction Manual (the Bible), and It has answers for all walks of life for us. And I don’t know about you friend, but I would much prefer listening to God, who created us and loves us enough to have sacrificed His very Son for us, than to listen to a product manufacturer compelled to sell their product in order to save their company. So let’s take a peak into what God has placed in His Word for us. He reminded the prophet Ezekiel about His love, and all that He had done, for the Israelites. He also reminded him of how He had given the Israelites very special instructions so that they could preserve the awesome life He had brought them to. It was a simple thing of: here’s my instructions to life, now obey these and you will have all those aspects of ‘life’ that I have promised you. Does this not sound familiar friends? God created the beautiful planet of earth for His children that He would later create. He even took things into consideration that He knew we might find fault with, for there are various places where we can ‘plant our roots’ with just the right temperature that we enjoy! God then gave us life’s Instruction Manual – His Word – The Bible. Follow this, and you will not only find peace, love, joy and happiness while on earth, but you will also have everlasting joy in Heaven with our Father. Of course everyone in their right mind would assume that God’s children would automatically do these things, for ‘life’ could never get any better than promised by God. Unfortunately everyone with a sound mind will quickly recognize that we are still very much like the Israelites that God referred to in verse 13 above. In the greatest love that I can can possibly offer friend, I must warn you that the Israelites who disobeyed God and didn’t follow His decrees, never saw the wonderful gift of the Holy Land. This will be no different for those on earth who choose to disobey the Word of God – we will never see the gift of Heaven promised to all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and obey the wonder gift of God’s special instructions to us – The Bible. Where do you stand on this Brother? Will you receive the prize Sister? Why not settle this today friends? Speak with God about your decision, won’t you?

Prayer

Lord Jesus, thank You for providing the means for me to have eternal life in heaven with You and the Father one day. Thank You for my friends who are reading this blog today and have not only been rescued from sin, like the Israelites were rescued from Egypt, but I pray that unlike the Israelites, each of us will dig deep into Your Word each day and not just look for Your glorious promises, but also be challenged to live according to Your teachings/decrees. As this occurs, I pray that those that we come into contact with each day will be impacted with the love of Christ that will be evident in everything we say or do. It’s all about You God. May we look and act just like You. I ask these things in greatest humility and love, 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 http://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!

Accountability

On 2016-07-22 By Ed AlgreenIn AccountabilityLeave a comment

Friday, 2016-07-22

Scripture

Bible Reference: Ezekiel 18:30–32

Bible Text: 30 I will judge each of you for what you’ve done. So stop sinning, or else you will certainly be punished. 31 Give up your evil ways and start thinking pure thoughts. And be faithful to me! Do you really want to be put to death for your sins? 32 I, the LORD God, don’t want to see that happen to anyone. So stop sinning and live!

Bible Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

My Take

I want to try something a little different today in my blog, as I want to illustrate the various ways that we are held accountability, and the subsequent results, so that together we will get a better understanding why God also holds us accountable:

Home:
- Unless we take our roles seriously, and treat each one appropriately with love, respect, care and understanding, we could very easily lose our spouse or our children or even our parents. We are accountable to each other, or we lose them;
- For the safety of our homes, we lock doors and windows, and some may even have alarm systems. Unless we take time to do these things, we could attract robbers and wind up with injuries or losing the contents of our home;
Work:
- Unless we follow the rules and expectations of our employer, we could very easily wind up losing our jobs. We are accountable to them for satisfactory work, in return for the right of being paid a salary;
Church:
- Pastors and leaders have a responsibility to God to preach the Word and provide opportunity for their congregation to worship God. Failing to take this responsibility seriously could lead to personal discipline from God, but also result in losing the church because of missed opportunities to meet the needs of members and/or followers;
God:
- In the verses we are looking at this morning, God said that if we continue on sinning, we will be punished, and this may even lead to death;
- God also said that unless we start thinking pure and upright thoughts, we will sin and it will lead to His strong hand of discipline.

Friends, God is not pulling any punches here. He is very forthcoming in telling us that the consequences for our evil thoughts and our sin will lead to eternal death (Hell with Satan). Jesus provided for us the way of redemption, which is the way to eternal life and the glories of heaven with He and the Father. It just don’t get any better than that! So why not hold yourself accountable to doing the right thing. Accept the love offered by God. Ask Jesus to be your Savior and Lord, and aim to live victoriously in His grace and wondrous love. This can happen today friend! In fact, you are not promised a minute after the very time that you ready this blog, for we are promised only the very moment in which we find ourselves. The next minute could find you standing before the throne being held accountability for your decisions made here on earth. Make it count friend, and do the right thing – now, while you have the opportunity.

Prayer

Father, You’ve given us the rules for this life that could result in where we will spend the next life. Having also given us the will to make our own decisions, You hold us accountable for the choices that we make. Please speak to those who know you already, but that You are holding accountable to live the life prescribed in Your Word. Please also speak to those You have created and made Your Word available to them, but they have rejected it and continue to live in sin. Please encourage each one today with the truth of Your Word, and help us to make appropriate decisions that will draw us closer to You. I ask these things believing with all my heart that You can do all things! AMEN!