|
Post Date: |
Tuesday, 2017-07-18 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Luke 8:45-48 (TLB) |
|
Text: |
45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, so many are crowding against you. . . . ” 46 But Jesus told him, “No, it was someone who deliberately touched me, for I felt healing power go out from me.” 47 When the woman realized that Jesus knew, she began to tremble and fell to her knees before him and told why she had touched him and that now she was well. 48 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has healed you. Go in peace.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Jesus was on a mission headed towards the home of Jairus to meet the need reported to Him by this father. While enroute, there was a large crowd following, and they pressed in on Jesus’ personal space because they didn’t want to miss anything that He did. By this time, many had heard so much about the power of Jesus, that they were willing to do things such as merely getting close enough to touch His clothing, such as noted in the verses today. This took real faith! Do we have what it takes? | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| As I read this Scripture today, I believe that Jesus prompted me to reflect on how we might go about ‘touching the hem of His garment’ in our world today. Think about it friends, we often think of a ‘touch from God’ when we’re sick, or about to face surgery, or lost a loved one, or can’t see ourselves through financial struggles, or things at work seems impossible, but there is no ‘hem of Jesus’ garment’ for us to go and touch, is there? Well, let’s reread the verses again and see if the answer came in touching Jesus’ garment. In verse 48 Jesus actually tells the woman what actually healed her. It was her faith! I believe this lady knew Jesus, knew of His awesome power and compassion on those in need, and I feel pretty sure that she probably knew the miracles He had already performed. So do you suppose she left her home that day with a good luck charm hoping that these rumors she had heard about Jesus could also possibly touch her life? Do you suppose that the thought may have crossed her mind that she perhaps could stay at home in her bed and if Jesus wants to, He would heal her? Let me share with you what my thoughts are: I believe this lady knew Jesus personally, and I believe she had lots of faith – enough to believe that Jesus could do for her everything that she had heard about Him ever doing for anyone else. However, I believe she wanted a close-up experience with her Master. Seeing that Jesus was thronged by so many people, she felt like she could never get His personal attention, but she knew that if she could only manage to get close enough to touch Him or any part of His clothing, she would be healed. Friends, that’s a lot of faith! That’s like us having faith to call on Him in our time of need, or asking our church elders to pray over you with oil, as spoken of in the New Testament. May I remind you again today that Our God’s Not Dead, Nor Has He Lost His Power To Heal! If He’s your God today friend, call on Him in your time of need. Celebrate Him when You remember His goodness and recognize His miracle working hand. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, we are so amazed by Your awesome power, and often wonder why You would consider even us for Your miraculous work. Please teach us the wonder of faith and the unlimited power of our wonderful God. May we always come to the Savior for salvation; the Healer with our illnesses and to our Eternal God with our desire for eternity in Heaven with You. Thank You for loving us so much dear God, our Heavenly Father! AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Tag: faith
Here’s The Reason Jesus Came
Sunday, 2017-07-16
Scripture
Bible Reference: Mark 2:17
Bible Text: 17 When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)
My Take
The attention given to the unrighteous, reminds me of a friend who is attracted to the one who sits at the back of the church and may be feeling dejected. I am also made keenly aware of why our churches are not reaching many of the unsaved in our communities. Think about it, who do most of our church members hang around? Fellow Christians, right? What happens to a pastor or church leader who may be seen hanging around a questionable crowd? Jesus said that He came for those who know that they are sinners. Wouldn’t that be a bold statement for a church to acknowledge that they exist for the sake of the unsaved? Who generally devours most of your pastor’s time, the saved or the unsaved? Where do most of your budget dollars go – towards reaching the lost; or patting the backs of the saved, and keeping them entertained? Will the unsaved feel welcomed at your worship services, or will they feel looked down on by the masses? Are you a part of a ministry that imitates the desire of Jesus, seeking to reach those who know they are sinners? If we are to be about our Father’s work, I believe we should be busy doing exactly what He showed and taught us to do. Can you handle that friend?
Prayer
Lord, may we Your children be willing to minister to those in need of a Savior more than just ministering to those just like us, or those we like. You came so that the lost might be saved and see the Kingdom of God. Please help us to keep that as our focus of ministry. 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!
Attributes To Help You Be Useful To God
|
Post Date: |
Thursday, 2017-07-13 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
2 Peter 1:5-8 (ERV) |
|
Text: |
5 ……do all you can to add to your life these things: to your faith add goodness; to your goodness add knowledge; 6 to your knowledge add self-control; to your self-control add patience; to your patience add devotion to God; 7 to your devotion add kindness toward your brothers and sisters in Christ, and to this kindness add love. 8 If all these things are in you and growing, you will never fail to be useful to God. You will produce the kind of fruit that should come from your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Peter started off his book by telling us how blessed we are to be called children of God. He shared that we are truly a very blessed people, and because of these blessings we should be careful to make every effort, and with the help of God, add attributes to our lives that would make us more like Jesus and useful for His service. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Wouldn’t it be a really neat thing to look around your Sunday School class, or even your church and recognize one or more of the attributes mentioned in these verses, in different folk. We hear preachers say all the time that they don’t want us to attend church services to soak and sour. But don’t you know that God’s heart would be gladdened if He saw each of us striving more and more each day to welcome one of these gifts from God and then work hard to develop and apply them to our lives? Don’t you know that we would see a reduction in gossiping, insults, ill-feelings and hatred going on in our churches? Wouldn’t it be really encouraging to see the lost flocking to our doors because they ran into a church member during the week and saw these attributes of God alive and active in their life, so they followed up by attending to see if they could also attain those same gifts from God? Friends, if the Holy Spirit is truly living inside of us and we have given Him full reign of our lives, I truly believe that He will guide us into all righteousness and to act more like God every day. When people see this, they immediately think of God. If it takes us telling the average person that we are a Christian, then I believe that very quickly they will see through our flaws or our hypocritical lifestyle. Let me encourage you to join me in striving for righteousness; faith; goodness; knowledge; self-control; patience; devotion to God; kindness and love, for as God blesses us with these attributes, we will become truly useful to Him! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord God, You are awesome in every way. You took ‘pieces of clay’ and made them Your perfect creation, so that we might love, serve and worship You. Seeing that we are still a work in progress, these gifts that you encouraged Peter to share with us today, will only serve to draw us closer to you; be more like You in every way; plus, encourage and motivate others that we come into contact with. Strengthen us today Lord, so that we may serve You better and encourage others along the way. I ask these things, all for Your glory, AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Our Greatest Need
|
Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-07-03 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Luke 5:18-20 (TLB) |
|
Text: |
18-19 Then—look! Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to push through the crowd to Jesus but couldn’t reach him. So they went up on the roof above him, took off some tiles, and lowered the sick man down into the crowd, still on his sleeping mat, right in front of Jesus.
20 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “My friend, your sins are forgiven!” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| There are a few powerful lessons here in this Scripture, beginning with the audacity of the paralyzed man’s friends to get their friend in front of Jesus in spite of any obstacles that might present itself. The second thing is to notice that Jesus’ first priority was to meet the man’s greatest need – forgiveness of his sin. Let’s apply this to our challenges of today…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| I am very convinced that Jesus is the same today as He was yesterday. I am therefore convinced that when we are called on to pray for someone’s health; someone’s battle with evil; or someone’s battle with finding a job. In fact, no matter what the request is for prayer, we who know the Lord personally, must take the example of Jesus and seek to know the spiritual condition of the individual first and approach God for their greatest need(s) before any other physical need they could possibly have. Although given the facts in this Scripture today, let me encourage you to think this through in a logical manner also. What would it profit a man to be healed, if his soul is destined for eternal damnation in Hell. Miracles happen so that the Son of God might be glorified. What glory might God receive for an unbeliever to be healed and then attribute his ‘miracle’ to happen-chance, or some other good luck charm, or ‘positive thoughts’ from a friend? Would this not be making a mockery of our Lord Jesus? What impact would healing have on a person whose soul is destined for Hell? Jesus immediately recognized that this paralyzed man wanted to be seen by Him, because the man allowed, or possibly even asked his friends to place him at the feet of Jesus. But Jesus also knew that the man’s greatest need was to have his sins forgiven so that he might be assured of his eternal destination, whether lying on a mat or walking about like you and I. Friends, many folk may present their needs to us today in hopes that we would pray for them. Unless you know about their spiritual relationship with God, may I suggest that you pray for that most urgently, then possibly for their physical needs? I believe that will fall more in line with what we were taught in the Scripture here today. In closing, let me suggest that we remember the determination of these friends to get the paralyzed man at the feet of Jesus. The didn’t let things like: his weight, their back issues, the crowd, possible security at the entrance of the meeting place, or even a means of how to get onto the roof interfere with their far-out alternate plan. Remembering this determination might help us the next time we are looking for excuses not to attend church and worship the Lord corporately, or going to the hospital to pray with a friend. We come up with lots of excuses that may sound OK to a friend, but let me assure you that God knows your heart, and the very thoughts that run through your mind! Make Him priority in your life, if He truly is your King! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord God, thank You for Your faithfulness to us. Thank You for Your healing power displayed to the paralyzed man in this Scripture today. I am confident that the same love and power shown to this man, is only a glimpse into what You can actually do for us. Please help us to daily recognize Your amazing grace and miraculous works in our lives. Please help us to also be much more mindful about what others truly need first and foremost in their lives, in spite of what they may have called us to do for them, or pray with them about. Thank You Lord for saving my soul, and thank You for Your miraculous touch in my life through many circumstances way beyond anything I or the doctors could do for me. Lord, may You continue to amaze me with Your power and invincible hand, for I ask these things in and through the precious name of Jesus, my Lord, AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
You Know One Is ‘Religious’ When….
Friday, 2017-06-30
Scripture
Bible Reference: Acts 17:22–23
Bible Text: 22 So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: “Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, 23 for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’
Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)
My Take
If you walked into a young man’s bedroom, and he had the walls plastered with large posters of young ladies, some dressed and some barely clothed in a swim suit, might you conclude that the young man is a true ladies’ man, or that he is a good, loyal, faithful husband? How about if this was a young man from your Sunday School class, would you be more, or less convinced that he is a religious person? If you met a store clerk who wore a cross on her chain and appeared to have a great attitude, might you conclude that she was a very religious young lady? How about when you walk into a church on the weekend and see hundreds of attendees, surely they are religious, right? Friends, Paul had to address this misconception of acting ‘religious’ as it could mislead someone into believing that they are a born-again Christian. I believe that the Holy Spirit prompted me to remind this audience that there is only one way by which you are saved, and the only way into heaven is when God is convinced that you are saved. The one way that you are saved is by getting before the Lord Jesus Christ, asking for His forgiveness of your sin, and inviting Him to take charge of your life – total surrender on your part. This is totally scriptural and can be supported by scripture, so it is gospel truth. Somehow, I believe you may have concluded that none of what I have described to you above, matches the biblical description of what a Christian is, or acts like. However, they may sound like the individuals may be ‘religions’, at least in the eyes of some, right? Friends, your connection to the Master of the Universe, and your personal relationship with Him, matters first of all to the Master, then you, then should be obvious to all those you come into contact with. Acting, or pretending to be religious, may very well come across to your friends as you trying to be something that you’re not. When your relationship with Christ is in order, there will be something about your life that others will immediately recognize, without you saying a word, or acting any differently. When the Holy Spirit resides inside of you and works in and through you, your whole demeanor will change and others will see and believe! Please don’t get me wrong friends. I am not saved to prove anything to my friends who truly love me, but because I am saved they can tell from the life I live and the hope that is evident in my character, that I have a hope, I have a future, and it is in heaven with my precious Lord and Savior. Would you please put your mind at ease, and the concern of your friends and family, by seeking out Jesus today? Enough with trying to be ‘religious’. Seek the face of Jesus, look full in to His wonderful eyes, and the things of this world will grow strangely dim!
Prayer
Father God, You are so awesome that You not only created us and gave us a very successful life to enjoy here on earth, but You went a step further by providing the means for us to be assured today about our future with You. Although not automatic, yet You knew that it was not something that we could attain on our own, so You provided Your Son as a living sacrifice for our sin. So that through Him, we might become sons and daughters of the most high! Thank You for loving me with such passion and grace! Thank You for assuring me that it’s OK to share this message with friends who can make the same decision as I did, so that they too might be assured of their salvation. Lord, may this be the day of decision for all who reads this devotional. 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!
Faith Leads To Obedience
|
Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-06-14 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Luke 1:38 (TLB) |
|
Text: |
38 Mary said, “I am the Lord’s servant, and I am willing to do whatever he wants. May everything you said come true.” And then the angel disappeared. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| A virgin girl approached by an angel with an unheard of proposition from God, was immediately convinced of the awesome task that God had chosen her to partake in. There were no excuses, or running away to avoid the proposition, but simply an openness to allow God to have His way with His humble servant. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| I would imagine that just like at my church, you are probably not hearing too many stories similar to the very familiar story of Mary, the mother of our Lord Jesus, in the Bible. For in faith she accepted the word from God and conceded to His perfect will for her life, regardless of any possible negative reflection on her by the questioning world. For us today, it often seems like asking a person, where you felt compelled of God to ask them to share in the ministry, is like asking them how many excuses can they find to not follow God’s command to serve in His church. Fathers, may I ask you to personally imagine your virgin daughter approaching you (an elder in your church) boldly with the news that she is pregnant? Adding that “Oh, and by the way, this is by the holy spirit of God” adds no comfort to you, because you have never heard of such a thing before. As for the fiancee, he may also have faith in God, but having never heard of such action by the Holy Spirit before, he is silently questioning as to whether the baby inside is for another man. In the case of Mary and Joseph, thank God that He sent the Holy Spirit to Joseph as well, to prepare him in advance for the news he would receive from Mary. Friends, I believe that what we are being taught in this Scripture today is that when we have an intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus, and we make every effort to follow His commands and His will for our lives, there may be times that He will summon us to do things that are way outside of the realm of our selfish, finite minds. As Christians reflect back over life, we can often see that many of the decisions we made and things that we did, that seemed way out of the ordinary at the time, we could now reflect and see what God had in mind for us the next day, week, month or years. Let’s be careful to remember that His ways are not our ways, so He may ask us to do things that is extraordinary in our eyes, but very purposeful in His eyes. Build a personal relationship with the Lord, friend. Listen to His voice and His direction for your life, and be willing to jump, move or speak when He commands you to do it. He will receive glory, and you will be overwhelmed in joy! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord, I pray that each one reading this blog will join me in committing ourselves fully to Your perfect will. Whether our actions result in our personal joy, or that of a friend or relative, please help us to commit to being faithful to You and therefore obedient to Your every command. May Your perfect will be fulfilled in our lives and in the lives of others as we remain faithful and allow You to bless and work through us to touch others. Thank You for Your willing, obedient servant Mary, may we join her in also being faithful to the end, so that You may be glorified in all that we do, AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Accept THE GIFT Like a Child
|
Post Date: |
Tuesday, 2017-05-16 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Mark 10:14-16 (ERV) |
|
Text: |
14 …. So he said to them, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because God’s kingdom belongs to people who are like these little children. 15 The truth is, you must accept God’s kingdom like a little child accepts things, or you will never enter it.” 16 Then Jesus held the children in his arms. He laid his hands on them and blessed them. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| The disciples did exactly like we would still do today. When the crowds came pressing in on the center of attention, Jesus, they thought to begin reducing the confusion by keeping the children at bay. Surely Jesus would want to speak with the town authorities, or possibly the indigent, or even the known rebels in the town, But to their surprise, Jesus got upset at them, because He wanted the children to come to Him. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| One translation reads that adults must learn about and accept Jesus in the simplicity of a child. I know that some adults still get pretty excited on Christmas morning, but really nothing to compare to the excitement of a child. Ever notice how a child never meets a ‘stranger’? For those that are not too sheltered, they will walk up to a total stranger and talk to them just like they would to a family member. Ever notice how children absorb everything they are taught, while adults must prove it first? Google has become our greatest friend, because when we can’t trust what the pastor said in church, we could prove him wrong by checking it out on Google! Our children are so trusting that we have to teach them at a very early age that there are some bad people out there that they must be careful of. Adults often have to be retrained that there are some good people out there that they can trust and befriend! In our text today, Jesus is teaching us that adults are to receive kingdom things like little children, with trust and dependence on Him. Our personal abilities, riches, or effort does nothing to enhance our personal relationship with Jesus. Ever notice how within a few days of being with their school or Sunday school teacher, a child will greet them each time with a great big hug and a smile, because they have found someone who cares for them and loves them in return. That’s the same way it is with Jesus Christ. He has already proven His love for us, for with arms stretched from east to west on the cross at Calvary He showed us how much He loved us. And although our eternal life was very costly to Jesus, He made the sacrifice so that we would not allow personal cost to be a hindrance to accepting Him and entering heaven’s portals. Spend some time around a child today and at the end of the day, review your relationship with the King of Glory in light of the faith, trust and love that you witnessed as you observed that child. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Heavenly Father, You created us as children so that, as adults, we could appreciate the qualities in little people. I’m sure that as You grew us into adulthood You expected us to maintain some of what we learned as a child, but I believe that we have taken on so many bad qualities of this world, that we have lost much of our faith, trust, humility and love. These are not only qualities we see in our children, but they are key qualities we see in our Savior, and qualities that help us to draw close to You, dear Lord. Please continue to draw us to yourself and please continue to strengthen the qualities that we need in order to draw close to You and be a living witness of You with all that we come into contact with. We are Your children Lord, please help us to love, trust, honor and worship You as child would, AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
What Can Jesus Do For You?
|
Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-03-06 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Matthew 20:31-34 (NLT) |
|
Text: |
31 “Be quiet!” the crowd yelled at them. But they only shouted louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
32 When Jesus heard them, he stopped and called, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 “Lord,” they said, “we want to see!” 34 Jesus felt sorry for them and touched their eyes. Instantly they could see! Then they followed him. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| In this story we see a few things: First is the determination of the blind men to get Jesus’ attention. Although told by the disciples to be quiet, they shouted all the louder; Secondly, I am always shocked how Jesus would ask two blind men what he could do for them! He didn’t assume that they were there to have their sight restored, for they may have had much deeper needs that only the Master could resolve for them. And thirdly, their miracle led to them becoming followers of Christ! | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Throughout the gospels we can read story after story about the extremes that some folk went to in order to see, touch, or plead with Jesus about their situation. I am saddened by our current day believers who either wait until their very last option to seek Jesus and ask Him for help in their respective scenario, or because they have listened to Satan and the world, and have chosen to not follow Christ, they therefore might opt to not ‘bother’ Him in their time of need. Notice that the blind men did not let pride get in their way of getting close to Jesus and asking Him for a miracle. They weren’t concerned about friends trying to turn them away because they never wanted anything to do with Jesus. I want you to also notice that although these men were not follower of Christ, He stopped, listened to their plea, and delivered them from their blindness. Friends, this is another reminder of how deep the love of God is for His children. Notice also that Jesus teaches us to never assume what the needs of another person might be. Wouldn’t you have thought that two blind men waiting to see Jesus, were probably there to ask for restoration of their sight? However, Jesus still asked what they wanted of Him. Friends, let’s learn from this that we are to be specific in our asking of God. So I believe the important question that Jesus might have for you today is: What is your greatest need that you would have me attend to for you? This should be the item that you are daily pleading to God for, and is first and foremost on your mind. Be determined as the two blind guys, knowing that the same Jesus that they called out to for mercy and healing, is still available, able and ready to also hear our cry for help. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Dear Lord, we serve the awesome Creator of this world, and You have proven yourself over and over again, yet You are often the very last person that we call on in our times of trouble and despair. As we were reminded by this Scripture today, please teach us to be persistent in asking, knowing that You are ruler over all things and that Your awesome power is just as prevalent today as it was when You gave the command to restore eyesight to the two blind men. Lord, please touch the hearts and lives of all who might read this devotional today, and please especially touch the lives of my family at this time so that we all might be reminded of the King of all kings and Lord of all lords, and Your awesome love and power. For I ask these things in Your wonderful and matchless name, AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Your Response to ‘Impossible’ Tasks
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Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-03-01 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Exodus 3:10-12 (Voice) |
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Text: |
Eternal One: 10 So go. I’m sending you back to Egypt as My messenger to the Pharaoh. I want you to gather My people—the children of Israel—and bring them out of Egypt.
Moses (to God): 11 Who am I to confront Pharaoh and lead Israel’s children out of Egypt? Eternal One: 12 Do not fear, Moses. I will be with you every step of the way….. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Moses was challenged way outside of his comfort zone, because he was being asked to do something he had not been trained for, and that he felt very unqualified for. As we ponder the ‘application’ of this Scripture reading today, I want us to think about exactly what it would take for us to agree to such a task! | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| How many times have you been asked to take on a job that you have received no training for? How many times have you been invited to a meal or a meeting with top government officials, and you turned it down because of shattered nerves or 1001 other excuses that you quickly came up with? In my work field we have customer interfacing employees, and we have support staff that strictly work behind the scenes making sure that the front line staff could perform their jobs well. We find that if an employee whose makeup best suits dealing with customers is placed in the backroom, they are seldom happy in their jobs. I believe that Moses was like that! To be asked to go and see the king was a huge challenge for him, and to further be asked to confront the king with demands that anyone could guess would be confrontational, just caused Moses to pull back and try every which way to escape his assignment. Been there and done that?? I bet that we all may have faced similar challenges before, and we could probably identify with Moses. So is there anything we can do to prepare ourselves for these types of challenges? Friends, I believe you will agree that you will very easily do what your parent or spouse tells you to do, and almost anything that a sibling might ask you to do! Why? Because you trust them, and you know that because they love you, they would never ask you to do something they know you would fail at, or that would bring harm to you. So I believe that brings us to the point of obedience to God. Trust is built based on relationship. So I believe that we must first look at how well we know the One (our Father) that we are wanting to follow and/or obey. In building this relationship we will also develop a sense of what all the One, who we are wanting to trust, is capable of doing. May I remind you that the God we place our faith and trust in, has been proven over and over again, but I also believe that He will quickly give you the assurance that You need as well. I would gladly and unreservedly assure you friend, that my God is not only the Creator of this earth and each of us, but He loves us above and beyond anything we have ever experienced here on earth. In fact, He proved that love for us by sacrificing the life of His very own Son, Jesus, so that we might have a clear path to the Father and His heavenly home. I accepted Him over 40 years ago, and without hesitation, will highly recommend Him to anyone reading this devotional. Please read my ‘Footnote’ for more information on how you might know Jesus personally. That’s the beginning of a relationship with Him! May you accept Him as Lord, trust in Him as your Savior, worship Him as God and live for Him as a living sacrifice and witness to a world that is lost and going to Hell if they are not introduced to our Savior. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Thank You Father for loving us enough to sacrifice Your very own Son to save us from our sin that seperates us from You. Thank You for hearing our cry for help, and for challenging us with assignments that cause us to trust You more, and to depend on You as our sole Provider; Healer; Friend; Deliverer; Savior and Lord. Please touch the hearts of my readers and I so that we might develop the faith of Moses, and be willing to do as You command for the salvation of Your people. In thanksgiving, and desiring more faith from You, I glorify Your holy name. AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
A Test of Your Faith
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Post Date: |
Thursday, 2017-02-23 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Matthew 17:19-21 (Voice) |
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Text: |
19 Later, when they were away from the crowds, the disciples asked Jesus why they hadn’t been able to drive out the demon themselves.
Jesus: 20 Because you have so little faith. I tell you this: if you had even a faint spark of faith, even faith as tiny as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and because of your faith, the mountain would move. If you had just a sliver of faith, you would find nothing impossible. [21 But this kind is not realized except through much prayer and fasting.] |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| One could only imagine the frustration that the disciples must have felt when they kept receiving hints from Jesus that they could do what He does, and yet they felt so powerless at times. This particular incident was one of those cases, for a man presented his epileptic son for healing, and the disciples were totally helpless. Let’s examine why… | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| There were so many things that Jesus did that might be compared to magic today. It may seem to some that they merely say the word and the lame will walk again and the blind will once again see like you and I. However, I believe that Jesus clears this up for us in these verses. If the power was truly given to us to bring about healing, why would one need Jesus, or to know about His Father? First of all, we must remember that as His children, we are merely messengers of the Almighty God. Meaning that God still does the healing, and not us. Often mankind is out to win the battle and claim the victory personally, and that is not the way that God works. I remember gathering with others to pray down God’s blessings on upcoming revival services, and that hearts that had become hardened, would be touched by God and drawn back to Him. By the time the revival services began, I remember looking down the aisle with expectation and anticipation of individuals walking the aisle who we had prayed diligently and desperately for. The praise and rejoicing went to the Father as we saw results though, because we prayed to Him asking Him to move in their hearts. So to see ones walk the aisle meant that God had accomplished His work as a result of our prayers and His perfect will for the individuals we prayed for. In the verses we are looking at today, we are reminded that verse 21 was not included in some ancient manuscripts, but I believe it was inserted later to help us understand that miracles are still a work of the Almighty, and if we are sincere about our requests to Him, then we must be earnest in our prayers to Him about the individual or the situation. Friends, when we are willing to do more than just mere words. When we are deeply convicted and are ready to seek God’s face over a situation. When it becomes a priority to us, enough that we are willing to seek His face more than some other pleasure in life, then I believe Jesus recognizes the earnestness of our prayers and the deep desires of our heart. Are you ready to take a need before the Lord in such earnest today? If so, God assures us that it could be as big of a challenge as moving a mountain from one location to another, for nothing is impossible with God! Let’s get serious about the needs that we pray about, and be willing to commit more than just words to the need. Our God is able, if we are willing! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Dear God, we have become so trivial with our promises to pray, that our promise to pray for a Brother or Sister just rolls off the tongue. Sometimes we make promises to pray, and then allow the busyness of life to take over, and overwhelm the promise we made to pray. At other times we are challenged to put our all into the request because of our lack of concern, or perhaps because of our lack of faith in the Father who can do ALL things. Please forgive us Lord, and fill us with hearts like Yours, where we are willing to sacrifice, or fast, and pray to the Father over the needs we might have. Thank You for the awesome powerful God that You are! Please give us renewed strength, boldness and power to pray as You did, Lord Jesus. AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Nuggets From God's Word 