Tag: gifts

Fully Funded Projects

On By Ed AlgreenIn Gift, Giving, Obedience, Offering, TitheLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Living Translation – Exodus 36:4-7): 4 Finally the craftsmen who were working on the sanctuary left their work. 5 They went to Moses and reported, “The people have given more than enough materials to complete the job the Lord has commanded us to do!” 6 So Moses gave the command, and this message was sent throughout the camp: “Men and women, don’t prepare any more gifts for the sanctuary. We have enough!” So the people stopped bringing their sacred offerings. 7 Their contributions were more than enough to complete the whole project.

THOUGHTS: When was the last time your pastor stood in your church pulpit and followed Moses’ words in telling the people that a project was fully funded and it would not be necessary to continue giving to that project? In this sense, project may sound fairly insignificant in size, but what if the project was building your next sanctuary? Do you remember the last time you may have heard a pastor tell you to lay off giving to that project because the church has more than enough to complete it? So let’s consider why things may have changed. First of all, the scripture is clear that not all of the people freely gave to the cause. In 2:21 we are told that those whose hearts were stirred by the message from God through Moses, responded to the plea for help in providing material for the building project. This sounds pretty much like our churches today, don’t you think? As a result of surveys, we are told that less than 20% of the people do more than 80% of the giving! So why have the others ignored the plea? Friends, I believe that the Word of God is clear on this. Just as the Word tells us that if we humble ourselves and pray, then God would save our nation, I believe that many of us need to humble ourselves to recognize that we have nothing personally to brag about. It is because of God’s grace that we have the health to work, the job to go to, and the income to survive. If we truly acknowledge that fact, why would we withhold giving to Him in proportion to what He has blessed us with? The Word gives us guidance – at least 10%. Because there are other biblical references to ‘first fruits’, I believe that the guidance actually refers to 10% of your gross income. Now because our relationship is one built around love, I don’t believe that we would dare use this as a legalistic demand. People ‘in love’ will generally give freely, and way more than might be expected of them. In a love relationship, there is no such thing as excuses why we can’t give 110% of ourselves to our mate. Should there be when it comes to giving to our Lord and His earthly work? Don’t you know that if each person in our congregations gave like this, that our pastors would frequently be faced with an overflow of income, where pastors and church leaders could decide to expand the ministry after meeting all the needs that they are aware of? I believe that the stress level on our pastors will be drastically reduced, when they don’t have to worry about funding the projects that God has shown them might be necessary to grow the ministry. When we receive our paycheck, there is no negotiating on amounts taken out for government taxes, why should there be constant decision making on how much to give towards God’s work? Determine in your own heart how much you will give and stick to the plan Brother and Sister. We are promised that we will receive more than we could ever imagine or expect. Furthermore, we will receive in proportion to what we have given. May I encourage you to always expect more from God, knowing that you have given in abundance towards His work? Furthermore, rejoice, knowing your loving and all powerful God will abundantly bless you and meet your needs!

PRAYER: Father, it is exciting to see how You work. We give to bless others, yet You wind up also blessing us in return! There just isn’t a way that we can out-give You! Thank You for being so generous, loving and kind to us! I would say that we are so undeserving, but then I am reminded that even while we were undeserving, You sent Your only Son as a sacrifice for us, so that we might have a chance at eternal life in heaven with You. Thank You Father! Thank You Jesus, Son of God! Lord may we learn to give in similar fashion – regardless of whether we feel the receiver or the project is worthy of our love, may we react in obedience to Your will for us. Please bless us as we give, so that our own needs may be met each and every day. May souls be touched for You because of our obedience in giving. I ask these things humbly, yet undeserving, but in the powerful name of our all-giving Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, 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 read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Accountability Matters

On By Ed AlgreenIn Faithful, gifts, ObedientLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The New Living Translation – Matthew 25:19,29): 19 “After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.

THOUGHTS: In today’s society we are very investment conscious, because we want to see our retirement dollars stretch as far as possible. To make sure that this occurs, we are trained to look for the best investors – people we can trust to achieve the same goals that we set for ourselves, and we hold them accountable to do just that for us, or we consider changing to a different investor. This is similar to what occurred in this story, for Jesus used an illustration of giving three individuals money, then returning to see whether they were responsible with the money. May I suggest that God has also given each of us great talents, gifts, abilities and opportunities and He will one day look for our response on how well we’ve done with those gifts? There’s a popular saying that if you don’t use a gift you might lose it. I wonder how many of us have already lost most of what God has blessed us with, because we have refused to invest our lives into the needs of others. When we give a gift to a kid, then see them abuse it and destroy it in no time at all, it often frustrates us and makes us angry. Do you suppose that God should feel any different? In verse 29 Jesus said that if we choose to ignore and not use the gifts we are blessed with, we will lose them. Please consider using all that you have, to bless as many as you can. I believe it is clear from verse 29 that our remaining gifts will be multiplied, not the opposite like the world might expect. It matters to God what we do with our gifts, He holds us accountable. Let’s make Him proud today as we seek to serve Him by helping others.

PRAYER: Thank You Lord for Your blessings on me! Thank You for the gifts You shower on me and thank You for opportunities every day to use those gifts to bless others. Please touch the hearts of those who will meditate on this devotional today. May we all recognize our gifts and be willing to see them multiplied, by helping others in every way possible. We want to hear your words of affirmation “Well done good and faithful servant” when challenged by you with our accountability question. Please grant us grace to be obedient in every way to the needs You present to us every day. Thank You Lord for being so good to us. May we be faithful to You. For I ask this in the strong and faithful 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 read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Accountability for Gifts Given to Us by God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Spiritual GiftsLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

7 The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers. 8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. 10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.
11 Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

(Bible Translation and Location: The New Living Translation – ! Peter 4:7-11)

Thoughts:

I believe that the easiest way for us to explain gifts from God, is to explain the attributes of one another, or at least those of a saint that we look up to and admire. However, I believe that the Holy Spirit, through Paul, is seriously wanting us to internalize the fact that God has blessed us each with a divine gift that we should seriously strive to use for Him every day. When we, individually, can be accountable for our own gift, don’t you suppose that we might be less apt to find fault with the other person’s use of their gift? Think about the way that we grill our children when we pick them up from school, on how good they were that day or how pleased the teacher was that day with their behavior or scholastic achievements. Wouldn’t it be interesting for us, as adults, to grill each other on how we may have blessed someone that day because of the wonderful, and undeserved gifts we have been blessed with? Do you suppose that way too often we hide those talents in order not to be teased by our fellow workers or friends? Or do you suppose that way too often we undervalue the power of God and consider ourselves unworthy of any special gifts that God could really have blessed us with? In verse 11, Paul gives two examples of God’s gifts, and how they might be used for His glory. May I challenge you today to look inside at all that God may have blessed you with, and be determined to use your gift(s) as an instrument of blessing to someone that you may come into contact with? Let’s learn to acknowledge God’s power and gifts, even through us, so that He may be praised and glorified by someone today, because of our obedience! Our God is holy, loving and caring, and deserves all of our praise! Let us bring glory to God today because of His gracious gifts to us!

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, I have so much to be thankful for, and I praise You with all my heart today! Thank You for giving me hope for a future with You in heaven! Thank You for considering me worthy of the gifts that You have blessed me with. Please forgive me for the times that I sit back and think that I have no gifts, and would just as soon see someone more gifted do the work that You have set forth for me to do. Please redirect my thoughts and my praise to You for all that You have given me, and for all that you have used me to do. Lord, I humbly ask that You bless me each day with Your power, and the encouragement to reach out and touch You, so that Your divine power might be evident in and through me. I believe that I may not be alone in finding excuses not to fully serve You with all of my heart and blessed by Your awesome hand. Therefore, I ask that You would bless all who might meditate on this devotional today, so that we each might be renewed in our trust and understanding of Your gifts that are so prevalent in our lives, and that we might freely allow those gifts to pass through us to be a blessing to all that we might come into contact with. People Need the Lord, but how will they know Him if we hide His divine nature from them. Please bless us with Your power, is my humble prayer today that I ask in the precious, and all powerful name of Jesus, my Lord, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day‘s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL!

Let The Church Be The Church

On By Ed AlgreenIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

The Holy Bible – The Good News Translation

1 Corinthians 12:12-13

12 The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13 Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.

My Thoughts:

Yesterday I finished my remarks with a sentence “Let the church be the church”, and after allowing God’s Holy Spirit to speak to me this morning, I was pointed to these two verses with a similar theme to what I ended with yesterday. I’m sure that Paul was, in a lot of ways, very similar to pastors and church leaders today, where they are probably sick of the ‘hand’ telling him (the pastor, or Paul) what the ‘feet’ should be doing and how they should be doing it, or least telling him every time they have stumbled. I believe the message from the Holy Spirit to churches today is that you are enormously blessed of God, you have members who have been gifted to help you achieve the ministry needed in your community that is desperately in need of the Savior. Have them respectively do their part to ensure that the combined body will be effective. To the members, I believe that the Holy Spirit would compel us to ask the Master for the wisdom, strength, boldness and power to do your part well, and pleasing to the Master, and oh, please pray for the other parts (members) to also be diligent about their part of the work, so that you can come back to your weekend service and fill your church building with worship, praise and thanksgiving to me (God). I believe that we must each discern our gift, with the help of the Holy Spirit and get to work, for the time that we have to accomplish this all is very short. Friends, fellow Christians, there is no indication that we are to gossip about our brother who may not be as strong as us; no indication that we are to get our fellow Christians together and gloat over the work that our remaining brothers are doing and how they are filling the gap for what we should be doing. Otherwise, what will you celebrate at your next church service? Yes, we can praise God for all that others have achieved, but won’t we be embarrassed and disappointed to apologize for us doing nothing for the glory of God? There’s a song that I started to hum as I paused, and the words included in that song are: “There’s a Work for all to do”, and friends, this is exactly what I discerned from this passage in 1 Corinthians 12. If you are not doing something to compliment the work of the Lord, your stagnancy can almost be considered a deterrent. Will you commit to do your part today towards building up the kingdom? You may not be the preacher or the teacher, but as a child of God your work is assigned to you! I encourage you to do it with every fibre of your being and with the help of the Almighty!

My Prayer:

Lord Jesus, Master and Almighty God, please forgive me for not always doing my part in the work of Your church here on this earth. Please give me guidance, wisdom and direction on all that I might do to edify, encourage and challenge all those that I come into contact with, so that they may feel a touch from You. I’m a part of Your enormous work here on this earth and in all walks of life I am reminded how badly ‘People need the Lord’. I can’t sit back and wait for my Brother to speak with, or impact the lives of my friends, I must use the gifts that You have blessed me with so that together with my Brother, we may impact a life for You and direct them towards the cross, where You might also give them the gift of eternal life. Please speak to Your church once again and open our eyes to the gifts that You have given to us and clearly enlighten us of the ways that we can use those gifts to bring You glory. Lord, may the church once again be the church! I ask this in the precious name of Jesus my Savior, AMEN!
**If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray.