Tag: Deliverer

Saved… Now What?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Love, Love othersLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right?  May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for your blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: 1 Peter 1:22–23
Today’s Bible Text: You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation

My Take Away: In a Prayer Conference a few months ago we were encourage to sometimes say why we are praying for certain things. The way to pull that into our prayer is to use the words “so that…”. So I might pray for a missionary going to the Bahamas, so that the most hardened hearts might be touched with the gospel and that crime would decrease and the work of the Lord increase. Peter is reminding us that we should not only be thankful that we were touched by the Holy Spirit and redirected towards the Savior, but now that we are saved from our lives of sin and eternal damnation, we have an obligation to duplicate that love that reached down and loved us even in the self-destructive life that we were living, to now show that same love towards those that we come into contact with. In our attempts to duplicate God’s love for us, we should always be reminded that God loved us just the way we were – He didn’t change us first then love us. We too will be challenged to love those who may appear to be unlovable, or very challenging to deal with. Friends, God has commanded us to love one another – period! It’s a given that this will include those who are easy to love, and those who will challenge our real faith and trust in the Lord. Let’s remember that we are to trust in the Lord with all of our heart, soul and mind. As we do that, we will quickly realize that it is the power and love of God within us, that will reach out in love to those who may seem unlovable to mortal man. So I believe that we must love with all that is within us – especially the Holy Spirit. Because He first loved us, we have proof that He can also love the hardest person we know, through us. Through obedience to God and our dependence on His awesome Holy Spirit, we can love even the most challenging people, friends! Trust Him today and let Him be God through you in all that you do in His name, and for His glory!

Prayer: Dear God, thank You for loving each of us with such deep affection, that You were willing to give up Your Son in death on a very cruel cross, just so that we could have a chance at one day being with You in heaven. What amazing love, and what a sacrifice! Thank You Lord Jesus. There will be ones that will cross our paths today that we will stop and wonder how we could ever love them, or show them Your grace. With the same love that You showed for us, I pray that we will sincerely look to You for power and grace to love others. Thank You heavenly Father for using even us to touch the hearts and lives of others. May we be totally obedient and submissive today, all for Your ultimate glory, 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

Be Holy – Just Like God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Holiness, Imitate Jesus, ObedienceLeave 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 Peter 1:14–16
Today’s Bible Text: So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: From the time we are born, we start our training in obedience, or in modeling after our parents. As we grow older we realize that there are certain qualities that we really appreciate in other successful role models, so we start paying attention to those additional character qualities also. Sooner or later we start learning about the qualities of Jesus Christ, and hopefully at some stage of our lives we fell in love with Jesus, because of all that we learnt that He had done for us, and submitted our lives to His control and His will for us. It is at this stage that Peter is telling us that if we have surrendered our lives to the lordship of Jesus Christ, then we must live like His obedient children. In other words, this was not just a decision that we made for the sake of mom who had pressured us most of our lives to become a Christian, and it’s not about the one who may have walked the isle of your church in response to something that the pastor said that made you feel guilty. Peter is referring to a firm commitment you made that linked you with Jesus Christ, just like a woman is linked to a man in marriage. Just as in marriage we are reminded that the “two shall become one”, so it is in your relationship with God, through His Son Jesus. Friends, you want to become one with Jesus, and through obedience to His Word, allow Jesus to become one with you. When this happens, you become one – inseparable. You start acting like Jesus because you have filled your life with so much of Him (His teachings and understanding His character and qualities) that you could easily be recognized as a child of God. We become holy, just as He is holy. Are you there yet in your relationship with God? If not, may I encourage you to revisit the cross and make that relationship with Jesus a very personal and committed one. This is way too important to leave any doubt in your mind. For a true test, see if others are recognizing you as a ‘Jesus kid’. For if you are endeavoring to be holy as God is holy, others will see a pleasant change in all that you are.

Prayer: Lord You are holy, and we thank You for standing tall among all the rest in holiness and righteousness. I am humbled that You expect the same thing of us, for You have made it clear in Your Word that You want us to be holy, just as You are. I believe that this is a unique identifier, especially in a world that is so lost and headed in the wrong direction. There just is no time for double talk. If we claim to be Your child, then we must exemplify Your qualities. Please touch Your children in a very powerful way today so that we all may reassess our commitment to You. May our actions speak much louder than any words we could possibly say. May others clearly see Jesus in us through our words and our actions, as we strive to live in total obedience to You and Your Word. I ask these things in deepest humility and faith, through the strong name of the Holy One, 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

Tested, Tried and Proven

On By Ed AlgreenIn Protection, Protector, Proven, Tested, TriedLeave 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 Peter 1:6–7
Today’s Bible Text: 6 So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though the going is rough for a while down here. 7 These trials are only to test your faith, to see whether or not it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests gold and purifies it—and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold; so if your faith remains strong after being tried in the test tube of fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day of his return.
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take Away: I bet if you looked at the subject of today’s devotional and thought I was referring to a car, or a piece of equipment you were hoping to purchase, you would eagerly read on hoping that I might confirm that it’s OK to purchase that item, because it has been tested, tried and proven to be all that is claimed through advertisements! But now that you read on, I believe you may have been surprised to read the Bible text and see where Peter is telling his audience, and us, that there is a good chance that we are going through certain trials in our life in order to prove whose we are. Friends, isn’t it true that we find it extremely easy to worship God when everything is going like we want? Isn’t it true that we tend to feel like God really loves us when life is good and everything is going well, but then we tend to wonder if God has turned His face on us, or developed a deaf ear to us, when things are going poorly, even after much prayer on our behalf? I just heard yesterday in Sunday School that a certain nationality feels like something is wrong if Satan is not using his forces to attack them – they tend to wonder if they are truly doing everything the Lord desires of them. While this sounds far fetched, have you stopped to think that there is so little in common between the believer and the non-believer that there should be a great divide between the two, and a strong sense of uneasiness between the two? I can assure you that Satan is very actively pushing his followers to aggravate us, to tempt us, to push us to the limit, to test us beyond anything that he thinks we could handle on our own. So Peter is warning us that when these tests come, and when we feel the fiery trials targeted at us, we must be confident in whom we believe. We must be prayed up and united with the One in whom we believe and look to for our strength. We must always be aware that we are incapable of fighting in the fire all by ourselves, for it is only when we are in full armor and fully empowered by the Holy Spirit, that we can be victorious over Satan and his attacks. Remember, Satan has no need to heat up the battle for his own, he already has control of them, so we are prime targets for Satan. We can overcome, and be victorious, when we are actually as close to our Master as we lead on to be. Are you ready for battle today friend? May I encourage you to draw near to God and allow Him to draw near to you – with total protection against the evil one! Always be prepared friend!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You alone have the power to fight the evil one. Please help us to remember that each day, so that we might plug into the power source that will guard and protect us when evil comes. We acknowledge that we can’t handle the fiery trials that Satan will send our way, so we need You more today than ever before. My fellow believers and I want to come through this life victorious and standing firm in our faith, but we need You in everything we do dear Lord. Please be our guide, protector and strong deliverer today, and help us to stand firm in our faith, for I ask these things 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

Bring ‘em Back

On By Ed AlgreenIn Recover, Renewal, Return to ChristLeave 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: James 5:19-20
Today’s Bible Text: 19 My friends, if any of you wander away from the truth and another one brings you back again, 20 remember this: whoever turns a sinner back from the wrong way will save that sinner’s soul from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.
The Bible Translation: The Good News Translation (GNT)

My Take Away: I believe that James, in the conclusion to his letter, is telling us that we are to constantly be on the lookout for those who choose to walk away from the ‘Truth’. I believe that each of us can bring to mind someone that once flourished in their relationship with God, and because of something silly around the church, or something that someone may have said to them, or about them, they have totally walked away from the Lord. Now, I believe that some will ask you not to be too harsh, because the person really only walked away from the church, not from God. The tough thing for those of us who care, is that the person has lost that possible close relationship they may have had with God. The reason I believe this is true, is that when our hearts are right with God, we want to be around His people. We quickly realize and acknowledge that the person that may have been offended, is in the same boat that we are in, they are a sinner saved by God’s grace, and as long as they remain here on planet earth, they/we are a target for Satan. There is nothing that pleases Satan more, than when he brings division among God’s people, because then the wall of safety has been lowered and facilitates Satan’s entry right into the lives of those once controlled by God. So what then shall we do friends? Let’s look closely at the advice given by James: we are to go after them, and bring ‘em back to a comfortable position among the believers where we could encourage and support them. Isn’t it strange how we quickly run to the rescue of an individual if we know that they were hurt physically, but how afraid we are to run to their rescue when we know they are hurting spiritually? I am deeply hurt for a Brother who has walked away from God because life just didn’t go as he expected when he was involved in the church. It is very challenging to minister to this Brother because he is so bitter. Perhaps I need to imagine that he is hurt physically, then perhaps I will find ways to minister to him! I trust that you will join me in praying for my friend that God might soften his heart to receive His forgiveness and to recognize His love, that is so precious and geared towards him, even in his position against the traditional ‘church’. I will pray that my friend recognizes the love of God that is so strong for him even today, and in spite of how my friend feels about the ‘church’. When we get right with God, He helps us get right with each other. Can you think of at least one person that you need to pray for today and love them back to God? This is what James is preaching to us in this passage friend!

Prayer: Precious Savior, if not for the grace of God, any of us could be subject to the stronghold of Satan and his demonic attacks that may force us into making decisions to stray away from You. Thank You for protecting us, and thank You especially for giving us strength to help friends fight the battle of separation that they may be witnessing today. I pray that You might open the eyes of our friends that are hurting today, and running as hard as they can to distance themselves from Your children. Without judging, I am just plain afraid that they have especially distanced themselves from You dear Father, because from every appearance, there is the appearance of total separation. Please give us the words, the boldness and the opened eyes to see how we might help draw these ones back into the fold. Please begin a very strong work in their lives right now oh God, and please renew within the hearts of Your children a mind to fight hard towards helping our friends by loving them and drawing them back in, in spite of their feelings. Have Your will and way oh God, for I ask this all in the name of Jesus, my sacrificial lamb and every loving Master, 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

Strength Comes From Your Personal Experience With God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Boldness, Faith, Giants, Overcomers, Victory1 Comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: 1 Samuel 17:36–37
Today’s Bible Text: Sir, I have killed lions and bears that way, and I can kill this worthless Philistine. He shouldn’t have made fun of the army of the living God! The LORD has rescued me from the claws of lions and bears, and he will keep me safe from the hands of this Philistine.
The Bible Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

My Take Away: Reading this familiar story about David and Goliath might give you assurance that if God gave wisdom, boldness, stamina, and the ability to an ordinary shepherd boy like David to step out in front of the mighty warriors in the Israelite army, to fight a heavily armed giant, then just maybe God can help you in your everyday challenges also! And friends, this would definitely be a witness for you when you make a bold statement, in faith, that the same God who guided David is the same God that you depend on to guide you and give you wisdom about everyday challenges. But let me share what’s even more powerful: when you seek out those times in your life when it was very obvious that God had performed a miracle in your life! I want to encourage you to really search your memory banks, because at the time you may have heard folk saying things like you were one lucky man/woman. Or you may have been told that it was just happen-chance that you survived a wreck or perhaps another close call. Put all that aside and try to recall if you spoke to God about that particular need, or whether you asked a preacher, relative or close acquaintance to pray with you about your need at the time. Friends, way too often we go deep into prayer about something that really concerns us, but when the answer comes, we pawn it off to good luck, or your lucky day, or some other explanation that is generally used by the world. Notice that David gained his strength to face that giant, from his past experience with God in his everyday job. Don’t you know that if God gave David the strength to stand up to, and defeat, lions and bears, that He could just as easily give him the boldness and victory to face this huge man that could barely get out of his own way? Now personalize this Brother or Sister: based on successful scenarios where you have attributed miracles in your own life to the handiwork of God, and use these as your firm basis of faith as you face your next challenge. Use these experiences to help you face ‘giants’ that will challenge you to defy very successful people or very forceful critics and stand firm in your faith, knowing without a doubt that God can – because He already proved it to you!

Prayer: There is an old gospel song that comes to mind as I meditate on this today, ‘God on the Mountain’, for it tells of the same God from our mountain-top experiences being the same God available to us when we are dragging through our deep valley experiences, even when it seems like all hope is lost. Father, praise Your holy name, that this is the God that I serve, and this is the God that I call on each and every day to guide me through each day’s challenges, or ‘giants’. Thank You precious Lord for being there for Your children even at those times when we ask without knowing what’s ahead. My readers and I are mere mortals and have no idea of the giants lurking around every corner, so I thank You Jesus for being patient with us as we ask in advance for Your guiding hand of protection each day. We are very needy individuals, but praise God, we are constantly in awe of the all powerful, all knowing, ever loving God that we serve. Please have Your perfect will and way in my life today Lord, for I ask these things in Your precious and holy 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

We Have Not, Because…..

On By Ed AlgreenIn Ask and Receive, Envy, Jealousy, Prayer2 Comments

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: James 4:2–3
Today’s Bible Text: You want what you don’t have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You are jealous of what others have, but you can’t get it, so you fight and wage war to take it away from them. Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure.
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: I believe that many of us read these verses and sit back in disbelief that folk would actually do this! Whoa, wait a moment…. would we ever think that God had a message through James for everyone else…. but not for us? Something can’t be right with that analysis Brother, Sister, friend. So let’s look a little closer at this. I believe that fights, arguments and many evils in life can be traced back to times when we have felt that we were not treated fairly, or obtained our desires. In fact, we become downright envious, with a strong sense of covetousness, when we look at what others have, compared to what we have, or can afford, or perhaps that we didn’t see as a priority to purchase. Our lacking could also be a scripturally based issue, for perhaps we never saw the need to ask God for it! But what normally happens when these resulting feelings well up inside of us? Friends, this is the root of conflict and strife. In fact, there are feelings that sometimes overtake us and opens the door for Satan to push us into actions that we never thought possible. It might be quarrelling, fighting, or even conspiring to do things out of spite that could lead to crimes we never thought possible. But catch this thought friends, James is suggesting that we don’t have because we simply don’t ask God for it. Is he kidding? Of course we told God what we had to have? Ooops, did I just say that??? Friends, I believe that God is warning us that instead of looking horizontal at what others have, we need to start looking up – to God, for all that He would bless us with. Remember, we are His child, so He knows exactly what we need, and what we could handle, that won’t cause us to lose track of the important things in life. You see, we should never have those things that will distract us and cause us to lose our witness, so can we learn to give Him thanks in ALL things and in all of life’s circumstances – please? I believe that most often we tend to try and satisfy our deep, selfish desires when we ask God for things. It might even sound legitimate, such as more time, more money or more energy so that we could do the things we desire to do for God. But what if we asked instead for more desire for what God promises or commands of us? What if we asked for less desire to do those things that are contrary to His will for us? Which of these might bear the motive that best aligns with God’s will for us? It may be time for us to ‘Have A Little Talk With Jesus’ – a sincere and honest talk with Him as we seek His will, without any personal desires getting in the way of that. 

Prayer: Dear God, we are so twisted, and distracted by the things of this world, and our selfish desires. Is it any wonder why we often feel so unworthy of being used by You? Lord, You created us to worship You, obey You and example Your ways before a lost and dying world. Please help us to refocus on Your will for us, instead of our selfish desires for things that we think will benefit us. Please help us to make the adjustments necessary to focus more fully and more obediently on You and Your perfect will for us. Please help us to put self aside and allow You to minister in and through us to those who need You as Lord of their life. Please touch the lives of Your children – Your followers – Your servants today, so that we may be usable instruments in Your hands. I ask these things in the matchless 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

Your Character Qualities Show Where You Gain Your Wisdom From!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Character, qualities, Witness2 Comments

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Please read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: James 3:14–18
Today’s Bible Text: If your heart is full of bitter jealousy and selfishness, don’t brag or lie to cover up the truth. That kind of wisdom doesn’t come from above. It is earthly and selfish and comes from the devil himself. Whenever people are jealous or selfish, they cause trouble and do all sorts of cruel things. But the wisdom that comes from above leads us to be pure, friendly, gentle, sensible, kind, helpful, genuine, and sincere. When peacemakers plant seeds of peace, they will harvest justice.
The Bible Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

My Take Away: Often we will hear someone say that we don’t need to tell them who our parents are, because they had already determined that, based on the character qualities that they observed in us! Similarly, James is warning us that our character qualities will prove who we are being influenced by spiritually. Look at the qualities in these two columns and determine what the majority of your character qualities are telling the world about who is leading your life:

From The Devil From Above
Bitter jealousy Pure
Selfishness Friendly
Earthly Gentle
Jealous Sensible
Kind
Helpful
Genuine
Sincere
Will cause trouble & do all sorts of cruel things Will harvest justice (peace and righteousness)

Friends, I could only imagine that you may be feeling a lot more transparent than you ever planned to, but the Word of God is very clear. Another scripture tells us that by your fruits they will know you. May I remind you that these qualities of which we are studying about, comes from hanging around the key players. If you hang around God and His Word, you will learn and practice His characteristics automatically, because You want to become more like Him. I believe you are plenty smart enough to figure out what happens when you don’t hang around God, or read His Word, or try to live by the things taught in His Word, but please take particular note of the last line in each column above. Those are the results of the character qualities that you produce. We have both kinds of people in our world today. Which column do you fall into? Only God can help you improve your life qualities, if you’re not happy with where you are at. Please consider allowing Him to do that.

Prayer: Lord God, it’s You that I long to be like in every aspect of my life. Being reminded today of how glaringly obvious this is to everyone I come into contact with, drives me to a greater determination to make sure that they only see Jesus and your rich qualities that will draw mankind to Yourself. Lord, I pray that my readers will join me in saying that this life would be meaningless if we travel through it without impacting individuals for Your kingdom. Lord, may Your perfect will be accomplished in and through Your humble servants today so that the lost might see the King of all kings, even in us. You alone are holy Lord, so please have Your will and way in our lives, so that the unsaved may see and yearn for Your holiness. I ask these things in the precious and holy 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

Let God’s Word Guide You

On By Ed AlgreenIn direction, Guide, ObedienceLeave 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 119:105–112
Today’s Bible Text: Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path. I’ve promised it once, and I’ll promise it again: I will obey your righteous regulations. I have suffered much, O LORD; restore my life again as you promised. LORD, accept my offering of praise, and teach me your regulations. My life constantly hangs in the balance, but I will not stop obeying your instructions. The wicked have set their traps for me, but I will not turn from your commandments. Your laws are my treasure; they are my heart’s delight. I am determined to keep your decrees to the very end.
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: On a bright sunny day we seek direction for the right path to travel and the right way to get there, all for the sake of timeliness, safety and to be sure that we are in the right place at the right time. On the darkest night, we use a light source to light our path so that we are not obstructed. It is super easy to get lost at night, because we don’t have the benefit of seeing everything else around us that we would normally see in the daytime. The Psalmist shares with us that he found the wisdom of God’s Word to be a treasure, and that his heart was delighted to acknowledge that it was God who was taking the lead in his life. Friends, it seems like especially in our day there is so much happening that we tend to sit back and marvel over it all, and we are amazed by the wonder of God’s awesome power to control everything – even the newest technology, so that His people might be blessed, protected and comforted to know that Our God Reigns – period!! I believe that the key to us allowing God to reign in everything that touches His children, is a matter of total surrender. Notice that the Psalmist wrote that he had promised to obey God’s righteous laws, and that he would commit to that all over again and again. Notice that he vowed to obey, in spite of suffering and his life hanging in the balance at times. In other words friends, we must be determined to dig into God’s Word, seek His face and commit to His commands in the best of times and in the worst of times. Let us never be guilty of only being ‘fair weather’ Christians, but let us commit to obeying God when we feel certain about our path, and at those times that we are just advancing in faith, because we absolutely need God’s guidance for the next step in our life. The Psalmist shared that he was determined to obey God’s decrees to the very end. Will you commit to do the same friend? Let God be your Master and your Friend and your Guide everyday, and in all circumstances, won’t you?

Prayer: Precious Father, thank You for loving us unconditionally. Thank You for accepting us on our best days and on those days that the world may wonder what has gotten into us that is causing us to act so strangely! You are the same yesterday, today and forever precious Lord. I pray that we will never forget that and always strive to be committed to obeying You and serving You faithfully every day, in spite of what may seem questionable in the way You choose to lead us. Lord, may we commit to serve You faithfully and obey Your commands consistently each and every day. May we recognize and always be reminded that You are God over all things each and every day, and we need to adjust ourselves to accept that and obey You in spite of ourselves and our circumstances. Thank You for being that kind of awesome, powerful God oh Lord, my Rock and my Salvation. 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

Determined To Achieve The Goal

On By Ed AlgreenIn Forgiven, goal, SavedLeave 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: Hebrews 12:1–3
Today’s Bible Text: Such a large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won’t let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to a cross, because he knew that later on he would be glad he did. Now he is seated at the right side of God’s throne! So keep your mind on Jesus, who put up with many insults from sinners. Then you won’t get discouraged and give up.
The Bible Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

My Take Away: I was intrigued to learn that one of my Sunday School students had shaved all the hair from his arms and legs so that he might gain a few seconds in a swim meet he was about to undertake! I have similar stories about boat racing, where the owners would find the best possible paint for the bottom of the boat to ensure that the boat would move along effortlessly in the water on race day. Cars are very similar, because we are cautioned to remove any unnecessary weight in order to facilitate the best gas mileage. In this scripture today we are reminded that we should keep our eyes fixed on those saints that have gone this road already and have set great examples for us to follow. I believe the Word is declaring that we should be ready to set aside the many excuses that Satan will fill our minds with, about why we can’t be an effective witness. I’m sure that you have also heard folk say things like: well you know, if we had the power of that staff that Moses carried, then perhaps we could also prove to our listeners that God is alive and active – but how many of us could survive the ridicule, the mocking or the ungratefulness displayed by the very people that Moses helped? How about the faith of Peter to step out of the boat, and on to the water because Jesus was beckoning him to come to Him – that would help us to prove the awesome power of God, right? But we all know the weaknesses of Peter before and after that moment. Friends, I agree that we have a lot of great witnesses that have proven the tremendous power of the God we serve, but these verses today are suggesting that we must begin the shedding process if we ever expect to turn loose of the temptations and trials of this world help us hostage to. You see, God wants (and deserves) our undivided attention. He wants us to throw away the cell phones, for example, so that He could speak to our hearts clearly – undistracted by anything else. When we surrendered our sinful lives to Him, we left our sin and our previous life at the cross. He promised that He would wash us white as snow and take away our burdens. We could never be totally devoted and attentive to Him if we insist on trying to help God out by carrying those same sins and burdens around, that He promised to take control of. If we are concerned that the very hair on our limbs will slow us down in the water, can you imagine what impact the ongoing, surrendered, guilt of family arguments; divorce; murder; lying; stealing; etc. would have on our ability to witness to others, or to have a right relationship with our holy and righteous God? The Bible says that God will separate our sin from us as far as the east is from the west. Let’s allow God to be God, and stop trying to help Him do His job. Let’s learn to feast on His goodness; His forgiveness; and His unchanging love for us. Perhaps then we may feel ‘whiter than snow’; righteous; holy; and a ‘child of the King’. Perhaps then God can truly use us to do His work!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for loving us enough to accept us just the way we were, and just the way we are. Thank You for dealing with the sin that we brought to the foot of the cross. Please help us to forgive ourselves, and accept Your offer of cleaning our slate of those very things that we sought Your forgiveness. I pray that we will never pick the weight of those sins back up again, so that we may be free to display the freedom in knowing You as Lord and Savior. Lord You are good and Your mercies endures forever! Blessed be the name of the 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

Faith That Leads To Action

On By Ed AlgreenIn Confidence, Faith, Faithful, HopeLeave 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: James 2:17; 21-22
Today’s Bible Text: 17 So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. You must also do good to prove that you have it. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good works is no faith at all—it is dead and useless…..   21 Don’t you remember that even our father Abraham was declared good because of what he did when he was willing to obey God, even if it meant offering his son Isaac to die on the altar? 22 You see, he was trusting God so much that he was willing to do whatever God told him to; his faith was made complete by what he did—by his actions, his good deeds.
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take Away: I believe that many may find reason to argue over this particular scripture, but then I also believe that Satan looks for opportunities to put Christians in a mode of confusion when it comes to reading Truth, and applying it to their lives, for it presents greater challenge for Satan to complete his work. Friends, God spoke through His humble servants, such as James, to help clarify questions and/or doubt that He knew would cause us to ponder. I believe that often we would disagree with James because we might tend to swing this truth all the way around and think that perhaps James may have been saying that ‘faith’ is unimportant – as long as we show our works/deeds. There is no need to try and change the context of what James is saying here. He is merely telling us that faith is not just an event that occurred in our lives, but rather it is a change of character and mindset. For, because of our unique relationship with God, we have developed a confidence in Him, or totally enhanced our faith in Him, so that we know that we are changed because of His awesome, powerful, all-sufficient, Holy Spirit that dwells inside of us. We’ve read about and may have even seen the miracles performed by God, so do we have faith to believe that He can miraculously heal us or someone we love? Of course we do! We believe the Word of God where we learned that Jesus walked on water, raised the dead back to life, healed the blind and much, much more, so are we prepared to step out in faith and allow Him to once again miraculously work in us and through us? Of course we would! Jesus is very much alive, and for those of us who have placed our faith and trust in Him as our living Lord, we KNOW that we can step out in faith through whatever action He directs! We have moved beyond just talking about it, we can act on what we know to be true, secure and filled with the power of our God! Our faith is secure in knowing the God of all power and truth!

Prayer: Thank You Lord for Your Word. Thank You for the awesome obedience of Your faithful writers who shared Your experiences here on earth, and who were obedient to the inspiration of Your Holy Spirit to pen the words that You knew we would need to better understand Your mighty works, and to grasp what faith in You is all about. Please touch the hearts of Your people as they meditate on this devotional today. May this help to clarify, and not confuse what You would have us to know. Lord, may our faith grow so strong that our actions will show evidence of our faith, so that others might see and believe. I ask these things, in faith, and through the awesome 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