Tag: God honors his obedient servants

Pastors, Workers and Servants Praise The Lord

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Church Leaders, Needs, Pastors, Praise, Recognize God, Servants of God, The Church, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Wednesday, 2023-02-08
WRITTEN AT: O’Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Psalm 135:1-3
TRANSLATION: New International Version (NIV)

BIBLE TEXT: 1 Praise the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord; praise him, you servants of the Lord, 2 you who minister in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. 3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing praise to his name, for that is pleasant.

APPLICATION: I have never served as ‘Pastor’ of a local church, but I have filled many servant positions in the local church, so I can speak to the ways that I have seen where this has worked well and also stories from friends where this was a challenge. Before reading on, perhaps stop and have an internal discussion between you and God as to why the Psalmist may have seen importance in this, and because God saw need in having it be a part of His instructions to every generation, why does He see it as important for us. Friends, I firmly believe that in order for me to properly address this, I will need to borrow the words from 2 Chronicles 7:14, because I believe this may be the heart of our God for His people:

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Hopefully all church workers are ones who know God and call Him by name each and every day. But think carefully about this, dear ones, when thinking of ministry servants and leaders at your church. Hopefully this includes many in my readership. Remember, applying this personally, we should consider: If we know God personally; if we call Him by name; if we turn away from our wicked ways; if we seek His face, and we are not always after just His gifts to us; is there anything else that might prevent us from being on the same page as God and also hearing from Him? Think about the Sunday School teacher who stands in front of you on Sunday, and they have not done like the Psalmist said, or as was given to us in 2 Chronicles 7:14. Are they truly prepared to share from the depths of their heart relationship with God and the time spent in His Word that week? Could they sahre how we could truly incorporate such blessings into our lives in the following week? This is not picking on Sunday School teachers, because many churches are blessed with dedicated teachers who love the Lord and depend on Him each week in their obligation to fulfill their teaching role. But, just as the Psalmist shared, this example applies to all servants of the Most High God. If our pastors are not enjoying time together with the Lord and lifting up praise to Him in unison and in an effort to place the burden of their ‘sheep’ into the all-powerful hand of Almighty God, can we expect any better on Sunday morning when we show up and depend on them to help uplift our spirits and help us draw close to this God, that they themselves may not be close to? Few churches have choirs these days, but whether it’s a choir member, or a praise team member, if the spirit of our Holy God is not familiar in their hearts from a week of praising and drawing close to God, what is there that’s inside them to share with us on Sunday that would help draw us into worship? Pastors and teachers have an awesome responsibility to their members, and even as the Word says, it is not a position that one should desire. Instead, it must be one to which they are called to by God. In my almost 50 years of banking. If I spent most days doing everything else that was unassociated with my particular position, do you feel like I would have grown in my position? I feel like this is the same with our servants and leaders, and I feel that for all those who are not on the actual team, we have a deep responsibility to pray in earnest as we seek the face of Almighty God and beg His touch on our workers/servants/teachers/pastors of our churches. For what they have in them, from their week of experience and relationship with God, is what will be evident on Sunday morning when we get to church. Both the passage in Psalms today, and the one referenced in 2 Chronicles, apply to all of us. For although we may not have volunteered or been chosen as a named church leader, God chose us collectively in Matthew 28 when He commissioned us to go and tell the world about His saving grace and His love for all humanity. So, take from this today that we all should worship our Master every day, and never neglect humbling ourselves before God, praying, seeking His face, turning from our wicked ways, and watching for His mighty hand as He hears from Heaven and heals our land!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Blessed be the name of Lord! The more we praise Him, the more joy will bubble from our hearts as we join with others in corporate worship!

PRAYER: So often we give the excuse that we just don’t have time for more activity in our lives, but I thank You Lord for teaching me that the truth of this whole matter is really that we will not give You the priority in our lives that You deserve. It’s easier for us to tell others it’s a matter of time, and then later sit with You in prayer and meditation and apologize for not making You a priority. Forgive us Lord. In the closing sentence of my ‘APPLICATION’ I named a few things that I believe Your Word made clear to my readers, listeners and I today. This can only come about if we commit ourselves to You with all our heart, soul and mind, and if we humble ourselves, pray and turn from our wicked ways. Please grant us Your power to accomplish Your will for us this day, so that we in turn we may honest, sincere and solid believers who will demonstrate Jesus in every word and action. 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 might 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 subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

God Honors His Obedient Servants

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Honor, Needs, Obedience, Obedient, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Wednesday, 2022-12-21
WRITTEN AT: O’Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 2 Kings 18:3; 18:5-7; 19:25;
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

BIBLE TEXT: 3 Hezekiah obeyed the Lord, just as his ancestor David had done. 
5 Hezekiah trusted the Lord God of Israel. No other king of Judah was like Hezekiah, either before or after him. 6 He was completely faithful to the Lord and obeyed the laws the Lord had given to Moses for the people. 7 The Lord helped Hezekiah, so he was successful in everything he did. He even rebelled against the king of Assyria, refusing to be his servant.
25 Sennacherib, now listen to me, the Lord. I planned all this long ago. And you don’t even realize that I alone am the one who decided that you would do these things. I let you make ruins of fortified cities.

APPLICATION: The two chapters referenced are extremely encouraging and exciting, as they remind us of our awesome God who is very much alive and responding to our commitment to Him. Please take time to read these two chapters again today. I was intrigued by the level of commitment by king Hezekiah. Let’s remember that many kings decided to not ‘rock the boat’ and change any of the evil practices of their countrymen. However, David was a standard bearer, as new kings were always compared to their ancestor, David. Changing the ‘norm’ is something that will raise up the people against their leaders, for they are comfortable with doing the same old, same old. Yet Hezikiah decided in his heart that he would continue to be faithful to his God, whether he was king or pauper. I wonder how often we let down our guards just to go along with the crowd, and not stand out by being different? Hezekiah must have often questioned whether it was worth it to be different and stick to his principles as taught by God and his ancestors, because he was challenged on many fronts. However, I was blessed to see how God took care of Hezekiah and his people! Hezekiah may have gotten nervous when the powerful Assyrian king threatened to wipe out he and his country, just as we get nervous when we listen to the news and hear about world threats that could easily escalate to include our own country. But notice how the similarities may end when Hezekiah sought the advice of a godly role model in his day – the prophet Isaiah. Notice how Hezekiah never cursed God, but instead went to the temple and prayed even harder. Notice how Isaiah shows nothing but sincerity in relaying to Hezekiah exactly what God told him, without adding any of his personal ideas or recommendations. Notice how, through God message to Isaiah, He revealed to Hezekiah that these challenges from the Asyrian king was not a surprise to Him, but it was all in God’s plan! Notice how, even when things we read in the Bible, or in prophesies revealed to us, things may seem so far out that it’s hard to imagine the plan of God, yet we see through yet another situation where God will never withhold His blessing, or reserve His mighty plan, but instead He will do what He promised. Things beyond our control often seem impossible to us, but with the grace of God, and in His mighty power, God will never renege on His promises – He will take care of us! Let me encourage you, dear friends, to trust in the Lord your God, with all your heart, soul and mind, and He will make your path straight (Proverbs 3:5-6). He did it for Hezekiah and He will do it for you!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Overnight the Asyrian army lost 185,000 men, while Hezekiah did nothing but trusting, obeying and believing. There’s no army too big, or battle too complex for our God to handle – all by Himself! Believe in Him and watch it happen!

PRAYER: So much seems impossible to us today, Lord. The economy, war, hatred, politics, family squabbles and more. Yet we are reminded in today’s Scripture that You are a God who specializes in impossibilities for those who trust in You! Praise God that You saw me in my sin. You rescued me and saved me from sin and gave me eternal life with the Father, His Son, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. While remaining here on earth, I tend to see in my human strength. Thank You for reminding me of the supersized challenges that You overcame for Hezekiah, who had fully committed His life to You. Because You proved Yourself over and over again in the Bible, I believe that my readers, listeners and I could stand at ease, knowing that we serve a God of miracles, and that Your power is much greater than anything we could ever imagine. Instead of panicking over issues that seem so huge to us, please help us to always turn to You as our Savior, and also as our all-powerful King over all heaven and earth. Nothing is too big for You, for You made it all and You have every right to do whatever You want with it. May our faith grow each day so that we may place our faith and trust in You, being confident that You can handle every situation just as You had planned for it! 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 might 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 subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!