Tag: God

Will God Find You Faithful?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Faithful, Pure, TrueLeave 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! Read on and be blessed friend!………

The Bible Text: 20 For I am afraid that when I come I won’t like what I find, and you won’t like my response. I am afraid that I will find quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorderly behavior. 21 Yes, I am afraid that when I come again, God will humble me in your presence. And I will be grieved because many of you have not given up your old sins. You have not repented of your impurity, sexual immorality, and eagerness for lustful pleasure.
The Bible Reference: 2 Corinthians 12:20–21
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: If someone catches us doing something we shouldn’t be doing, we tend to get embarrassed because of our guilt. However, there are times that we could be fired for being caught doing something that we shouldn’t be doing. Ever got downright angry at a child, or maybe even an adult, when you caught them doing something that you specifically told them not to do? Our scripture reading today illustrates how Paul shared with the Corinthians about his fears in what he would find when he returned to them. Friends, I believe this was placed in the Book to not only show us the heart of Paul, but also help us understand how God might feel if He returned to gather His church together today. For some, I believe we would really wish that God would come right after our devotional time in the mornings, or perhaps right after church on the weekend. The reality is, that God could return to get His church at anytime He chooses to, for He’s in control of that. Paul listed a number of qualities he was afraid he would find when he returned. What would you be embarrassed to have God return and find you doing today friend? What character qualities are you ashamed of, especially when backed up against a wall? Which of your relationships are less than pleasing to God? Paul may have asked that some be excommunicated from the church. However, God may cause you to question if you ever really gave Him control of your life. Remember, He is either Lord of all, or not Lord at all to you. He could return to take you home even today friend, won’t it be joy to hear the words from our Father, “Well done good and faithful servant, enter now into the eternal glory of heaven with my Father and I”. May I encourage you to either make a decision to accept Jesus as your Savior today, or to renew and refresh Your relationship with Him if you are already a child of the King? May I also encourage you to seek the face of God and ask for forgiveness of the sin in your life, and for strength, guidance, and wisdom to overcome the temptations of this old world, so that you may remain faithful to Him until He calls you home? We need to be ready at all times friend!

Prayer: Lord God, thank You for loving us enough to provide the means for our forgiveness of sin. Thank You for providing Your living Word to show us the way to live here on earth, while pleasing You who art in heaven.  Please forgive me for allowing the things of the world into my life that distract me and cause me to stumble along my path of trying to please You. Please touch the hearts of Your children today and help us to be reminded of the urgency in which You can easily come to take Your church home to be with You. Please help us to live holy lives, even as You are holy. Please help us to stay so connected to You and Your Word that we can know right from wrong, and that we may gain strength to go on without giving in to the temptations of this world and its master, Satan. Your love is amazing dear God, may our love for You in return be evident by the way that we choose to live. For I ask these things in the strong and wonderful 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

God’s Grace Is All We Need

On By Ed AlgreenIn Grace, Humility, Submission, Sufficiency, SurrenderLeave 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! Read on and be blessed friend!………

The Bible Text: (Paul speaking)… Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,
My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.
The Bible Reference: 2 Corinthians 12:7-9
The Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take Away: I was recently speaking with a friend who showed me a collar he had purchased for his dog who, would normally pull you off your feet when you tried to walk him on a chain. This collar would now pinch together more and more whenever pressure is applied to it. So the harder the dog pulls the more the collar would pinch, therefore causing the dog to stop pulling so hard. I hope you will forgive me for using that as a demonstration to show what I believe Paul meant in this passage of scripture. Think about it, Paul was thanking God for his infirmity, because he felt like whenever he was tempted to ‘take the wheel’ and assume responsibility of a situation, his infirmity would limit him, and therefore cause him to deflect and plead with the God of this universe. And rightfully so friends, for God, and God alone has the power to handle all of life’s challenges, or deal in the hearts of man and draw mankind to Himself.

Application: So, how then should we apply this to our lives when we are so sure of how every situation should be handled, or how the church should be run, or when we feel like our heads will explode if we had to deal with one more crisis? Friends, the Words of our Savior quoted by Paul, are still very applicable to us today, for I believe God is constantly reminding us that His grace is sufficient for everything we need. In fact, God’s grace works best for us when we surrender to our weaknesses and submit our concerns to God. It’s at the feet of Jesus where miracles occur, where His wondrous acts occur, where it becomes extremely evident that it is God who is in control and that we are merely servants ready and willing to carry out His commands. Let’s be careful to never try and assume God’s roll, for we must never de-throne God. He’s our guide, and He’s our friend, BUT He will always be God and He will always rule in majesty, not just over us, but also in every circumstance of our lives. Let’s never be too ‘big’ to take even the ‘little’ things of life before Him, for it is in every answer by God that we gain our confidence and increase our faith. This encourages us to submit  even the ‘largest’ things (those things that seem downright impossible to mere man) to God for His divine intervention. Remember, His grace is sufficient, and it is all that we need for situations today, or that we will ever need. For He is… our great BIG wonderful, miracle working, awesome, sacrificial, Son of the Almighty God of this universe, and of you and I!

Prayer: Lord God, thank You for Your awesome power, yet Your humility to be concerned about our every need, and especially about our humanly impossibilities. Thank You for taking the impossibilities and challenges of Your servant Paul, to remind us that Your grace is still sufficient for even us, and even in our modern day world of technology and human accomplishments. Each and every day we are presented with situations that we wish we could do something about. Please help us to always stay true to our role as Your servants and allow You to be the awesome God that You are. I ask these things in all humility, and in the precious name of Your Son, 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

How To Control What You Receive

On By Ed AlgreenIn gifts, Giving, LoveLeave 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! Read on and be blessed friend!………

The Bible Text: 36 Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.37 “Do not judge others, and God will not judge you; do not condemn others, and God will not condemn you; forgive others, and God will forgive you.38 Give to others, and God will give to you. Indeed, you will receive a full measure, a generous helping, poured into your hands – all that you can hold. The measure you use for others is the one that God will use for you.”
The Bible Reference: Luke 6:36-38
The Bible Translation: The Good News Translation (GNT)

My Take Away: Way too often we whine about how ‘lucky’ others are, and we may even complain about how little we receive. I believe in these verses we see some prerequisites in order to receive all the blessings that God might have in store for us. Here are some things we need to improve on, if we ever expect to receive the full extent of the blessings God has in store for us:

  • Be merciful just as, and because, God is merciful – This is powerful, because it does not clarify that we are to be merciful to only those who, we feel, deserve it. God made us all, and I don’t believe He created any distinction on who He would be merciful to. He expects the same from us, friends!
  • God will not judge or condemn us, if we simply practice the same restraint when dealing with others!
  • God will forgive us, if and when we forgive others!
  • God will give to us, as we give to others. – If we are stingy in our giving (monetarily or otherwise), then don’t expect a lot from God. However, if we give generously in response to the blessings that God  has blessed us with, then we can expect God to give generously in return to us. For it is the same measure that we use in our giving, that He will use to bless us in return.

Isn’t it neat that God has given us the rules and the conditions that control how generous He will be to us? Let’s dig deep into our hearts and evaluate whether we are doing all we can, to receive all we can from our generous and loving God!

Prayer: Father God, You are so good to us each and every day. I can’t imagine how You can possibly bless me more than You do already. But after reading these verses today, I am reminded that I do not give of myself or my other possessions, near as much as You bless me with each and every day. Thank You for reminding me and my readers about the importance of sharing our gifts with others. It’s all Yours Lord, as we would have nothing without You. Please help us to freely share all that has been freely given to us, and I thank You in advance for Your promise to shower even more upon us in return. I love You Lord for You are so gracious, loving and kind to all of Your children. May You be worshiped and praised in return this wonderful day, is my humble prayer that I ask in the 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

What’s Inside Us Will Exude From Us

On By Ed AlgreenIn Imitator of Christ, Light, Reflection of 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! Read on and be blessed friend!………

The Bible Text:

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! Read on and be blessed friend!………

The Bible Text:
The Bible Reference: 1 John 1:7
The Bible Translation: New International Version (NIV)

My Take Away: Ever heard friends say that they would never agree to put a  bumper sticker on their car with a Christian message, because they know what it looks like when a driver passes you in a fit of rage, pointing his finger and all, only to look on his rear bumper and see a fish symbol or a church bumper sticker? Is it any wonder then why we see churches split and huge divisions in the church among Christians? For breaking man’s laws, is in direct conflict with God’s law. John shares with us in the surrounding verses of this scripture that God himself is light, and that there is no darkness in Him. If we live in Him – obeying His commands and imitating His walk while here on earth, then other like Brothers and Sisters will sense that communion and there will be great fellowship together. Does this not conclude then that when there is not that sweet fellowship, or when there is rumblings, or when we are acting like children of Satan, that we are not walking in the ‘Light’? Friends, please note the subject of this devotional, and also re-read the text. I believe you can easily discern that if we have the Light of the World in our lives, directing our paths, controlling our tongues and leading us to His Word for our ‘daily bread’ (our inspiration for every aspect of our lives), then wouldn’t it make sense that our lives will reflect that ‘Light’, and that our actions will impact lives because they are imitating the teachings and example of Christ? For the Christian, our speech and our actions can also act as a thermometer, if we are totally honest with ourselves, because when we speak and/or act like the Devil, we would quickly realize that we have permitted way too much darkness to enter our lives, and that we must diligently strive to reunite and/or realign our lives with Christ. The secret is, that we spend time in the Word, and pray to our Father daily. Only then will our lives truly take on the character of Jesus and therefore permit our lives to honestly reflect Him before mankind. So the challenge today is: based on what you see exuded from your mouth each day, and based on your actions, who exactly is it that you serve? Who is inside, controlling what you preach and/or example to others? If it’s Jesus, the world will know and believe, because of your interaction with them, and your witness to them! When you have a desire to serve only Jesus, I believe that He will fill any gaps or shortcomings that you may be sensitive to. He just needs your availability, He will take care of the necessary abilities!

Prayer: Father, may Your light, Your character, Your commands and Your love fill our lives to overflow, so that we may become more like You in every possible way, every day and in every circumstance. Lord, we want others to know You personally. I pray that they will see so much of You in us, that they will be assured of Your existence, and have an undying desire to know You in a very personal way. I ask these things in the precious name of Jesus, and for Your glory oh 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


The Bible Reference: ^
The Bible Translation: ^

My Take Away: ^

Prayer: ^

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

Needed–A Pure Heart and A Right Spirit

On By Ed AlgreenIn Cleanse me Oh God, Forgiveness, Heart, Right SpiritLeave 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! Read on and be blessed friend!………

The Bible Text: 10-13 Create in me a pure heart, God, and make my spirit right again. Do not send me away from you or take your Holy Spirit away from me. Give me back the joy of your salvation. Keep me strong by giving me a willing spirit. Then I will teach your ways to those who do wrong, and sinners will turn back to you.
17 The sacrifice God wants is a broken spirit. God, you will not reject a heart that is broken and sorry for sin.
The Bible Reference: Psalm 51:10-13, 17
The Bible Translation: New Century Version (NCV)

My Take Away: Sin is something we do, or say, or think, that is contrary to the command and will of God. David had just committed sin through an unlawful act with Bathsheba, that resulted in the birth of a child, and the child being taken by God as punishment to David and Bathsheba. Now, after just what I’ve written so far, most of us would dismiss any conviction of sin in our lives, because most of us would probably say “thank God, I’ve never done anything quite that bad”. Before you get too pious friend, let’s be reminded again about what sin is. You see, we are quick to compare our acts, thoughts or deeds to the guy next to us, or the lady across the street, or even David, as described in God’s Word. But I must humbly remind you that sin is something against God, so when you go before a righteous and holy God, there is no need to compare yourself to anyone else, and no need to tell God about the provocation by the other person that may have caused you to sin. He only wants to hear how your heart got out of sync with Him, His design and His commands. Getting our hearts right again with God will return a ‘right spirit’ within us and cause us to desire reaching out to teach others the ways of God, so that they may surrender their hearts to God. Verse 17 reiterates that God will not reject a heart that is broken. One that is sad about the sin that has occurred in our lives. There’s a song that is written based on these verses, click here to listen to it as you continue to meditate on this devotional today! I pray that today you will get together with God and ask that He renew a right spirit within you, and that you will be willing to ask Him to cleanse you of any sin that might prevent that ‘right spirit’ within you.

Prayer: Dear God, no matter how hard we try, we will not succeed in sharing Your love and Your forgiveness with others, especially when there is enmity and sin in our hearts. This is not what we want oh God, for we want sin removed and we want the temptation of sin to be taken away from us. Please create in me a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within me. Please return to me the joy of my salvation, and may that joy overflow in me so that others might see and believe in You. Its all about You God, but please cleanse my heart so that You can easily and freely use me as Your instrument to reach those around me. I pray the same for me readers today Lord, for the world needs more of You to be seen in more of us. I ask these things of my awesome God, through the name of Your awesome Son, 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 God-Tools For 2016

On By Ed AlgreenIn Give it up, God tools, Let go and let God, SurrenderLeave 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 even us, to nourish us for His glory! Read on and be blessed!………

The Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)
The Bible Reference: 2 Corinthians 10:3-6
The Bible Text: The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.

My Take Away: I was blessed to be a part of a group last night that watched the movie ‘War Room’. In that movie we were taught a similar principle as is taught in this passage of scripture today, that the Christian has at least one major God-tool at our disposal, and that we should take every opportunity to use it for the glory of God. As Paul indicated to the Corinthian church, there are tools of Satan in place all around us that we are powerless to face and challenged with on our own – that’s why they are so successful in this world with non-Christians. Often we can fight those things that are seen, and or obvious to us, but when we see our God-given marriages, children, extended families, neighbors, friends and churches failing, we quickly deduce that we are so helpless to do anything about those things. Friends, I was reminded that it’s not our marriages, children, extended families, neighbors, friends and churches that we are fighting, but instead it’s the Evil One that is trying very hard to kill, steal and/or destroy God’s chosen people – you and I. There is only one way to fight Satan, and that’s on our knees, crying out to God and pleading our case before our awesome, all-powerful, all-knowing, all-encompassing creator and Lord over everything – Jesus Christ. I believe that it is so important to remind ourselves daily who’s in charge, and that our God has the power to handle everything that we are willing to surrender to His control. I believe it is only then that our minds will be fresh. May we never forget to call on God when we sense an act of Satan that hinders our walk, our talk and our glorifying of the Lord Jesus Christ. Friends, these tools of Satan is nothing that the untrained should ever approach, these are God-sized, and can only be handled by Him. Let’s not waste time trying, or permitting the risk of us being sucked into, or wooed by Satan. Let’s surrender to God the things that we know should be handled by Him. No experimenting or trying to do it yourself. God’s got this, and we just need to humble ourselves and surrender our lives totally into His care. I believe that He loves us enough that He truly desires to be our Father!

Prayer: Father we are really quick to grab the right tools and physically take care of issues around our home, but then we fall apart when we have emotional or sin issues that impact our Christian walk, or our relationships. Thankfully You have provided tools for us to communicate with the Creator of this universe, and of mankind; the Great Physician; our Healer; the only Son of God; the Redeemer of mankind and the only One who can save us from our sin-riddled life, and bring us before the throne of grace, that we are so undeserving of. You loved us enough to die for us, Lord may we love You enough to totally surrender and dedicate our lives to You. May You find open, accessible lives that You can use for Your glory in all that You permit us to be a part of here on earth. This is my heart-cry today Father. May Your will be done in my life and in the lives of those who will meditate on this devotional today, is my prayer that I ask 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

Biblical Keys to Success and Prosperity

On By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, Obedience, Prosperity, SuccessLeave 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 even us, to use His Word to nourish us for His glory! Read on and be blessed!………

The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)
The Bible Reference: Joshua 1:8-9
The Bible Text: 8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

My Take Away: Many are starting off this year with new goals of improving themselves in various aspects of their life. Some are beginning diets to help control their weight problem; some are starting gym memberships to try and keep their physical bodies in shape; while there are still others who have vowed to draw closer to God in 2016. In this passage of scripture today we read about how God tipped the Israelites for success in their new land that He had promised them. Now , stop for a moment and ponder why else would this be included in the Book, if not to give us direction on what to do as we march into the new areas of our life that the good Lord has given to us? I felt like a prime example would be applying this principle to our lives as we enter the gift of a New Year. We are told that if we want to prosper and succeed in everything we do this year, we must:

  • Study our Book of Instruction (the Bible) continually – this means that you not allow dust to gather on its covers. That you not wait for the sermon next weekend to hear the Word read, but that you deliberately setup a reading plan. May I suggest that you visit www.biblegateway.com for suggested plans;
  • Meditate on our Book of Instruction day and night – don’t just skim over the verses on the page. Highlight those words where God really catches your attention. Think them over, and how you might apply them to your own life. Please don’t try to apply them to anyone else, except yourself;
  • Obey everything in our Book of Instruction – Allow the Word of God to minister to you, and then follow, or obey its teachings. Consider it your roadmap for each day of your life;
  • Be strong and courageous, and
  • Do not be discouraged – Satan will challenge you at every opportunity. Be strong and courageous by applying the proven abilities of God to your current day situations and/or challenges. He’s a great big God and He will do great things for His children who He cares so much about.

Friends, I don’t know about you, but I have wished many friends every success, and prosperity in this New Year in which we now reside, but I now wish that I could have shared with them the success plan detailed by God. I pray that each one meditating on this devotional today will take note of these principles for success and prosperity in the remaining portion of 2016.

Prayer: Praise God that You are not just a God of the rich and famous, nor just for the Christian believer. In fact, I would begin by praying for the non-believer, because for them to avail themselves of the benefits, they must first belong to God. This means starting off the New Year in a new relationship – with the Savior of this World, Jesus Christ. Only then will the playing field be leveled, to allow you the same benefits as Christians who will benefit from following the Godly principles mentioned above for success and prosperity. Please God, soften hearts today for life commitments to be made, and for Christian hearts to be anxious about wanting to do Your will. You are my God, and I praise You for accepting me as Your very own child, with all of the benefits of heaven, and for success and prosperity here on earth. Please tender the hearts of those who do not currently know You personally, and provoke them to a decision to accept the gift of Your precious Son today, please? I ask these things in faith and believing in Your great power, 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

Solid As A Rock

On By Ed AlgreenIn Dependable, Faithful, Solid, TrustLeave a comment

The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)
The Bible Reference: Deuteronomy 32:3-4
The Bible Text: I will proclaim the name of the LORD; how glorious is our God! He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!

My Take Away: To all my followers of ‘Nuggets From God’s Word’, please allow me to wish you and your families a very Happy New Year! I pray that you were blessed as you read one or more of my ‘Nuggets’ posted last year, and that you will come back often in 2016! Please remember to read these as inspirations from God, not some tangent that the writer is running on about! Therefore, I would suggest that you ask God to show you what He is saying to you through my postings. For some, accepting my wish for a ‘Happy’ New Year, will be an extreme challenge to even think about, as you may be bringing with you a lot of the unpleasant ‘baggage’ that you dealt with in 2015. Unfortunately, this may have probably shaded your perspective on what good, or happiness, could possible come forth in 2016, especially as you reflect on 2015. For other readers, you may be on a spiritual high, and your expectations for a brand new, clean-slate, kind of New Year is probably something that You have been pleading with God about for weeks, because You want to see the powerful hand of God work through you in brand new ways, and in ways that God would be glorified. Friends, please remember that our God is not One to take sides, or play favorites. In His eyes, He sees no particular religion, or denomination, or gender or ethnicity, for He sees children that He created, and that He allowed His very own Son to die on a cross for their salvation. I believe where we are weakened in our faith is when we pray like people in charge, for we must always remember that we are nothing – pleading before a God who is everything, has all power, and is very willing to deal with any little thing that may seem like a mountain to us. Where we often go wrong is that we lose hope when God doesn’t handle things exactly the way that we ask it of Him. May I encourage you to continue into this new year with every confidence in the God that made this universe, that created you and I, that causes the sun to shine each day, that brings the beauty of each season for us to enjoy? Friends THIS is the God that we serve! Can we place our faith and trust in THIS God? I will gladly acknowledge that my God is solid as a Rock; In Him I am well grounded, and in Him I know that I can depend on His responses to things in my life, whether it’s in the form I asked for it, or better – because of His foreknowledge and His love for His children. Won’t you consider placing your hand in the hand of the One who calmed waters when His children were in trouble; healed the sick when they merely touched the hem of His garment; and even brought back to life those who had been dead for several days? I have accepted, and willingly serve this awesome God, and I want you to consider accepting Him as your Savior, your guide, your protector and your friend today!

Prayer: Father, as we enter into this New Year that is only several hours old, may we reflect on the lessons learned in 2015, and may we reaffirm the strength that we have found in You. Moses described You through the image of a rock – solid, unmoving, durable, unchanging, supportive and no respecter of persons. May we draw closer to You oh God, and may we find even more value in the awesome God that we serve. Not for selfish reasons oh Lord, but that others might see, hear, touch and believe in the One true God. I commit myself to You in 2016 and look forward to serving You in ways that would impact others for You. I ask these things in all humility, and with all dependence on You oh 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 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 Source of Strength and Guidance for 2016

On By Ed AlgreenIn King, SaviorLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – The Good News Translation (GNT)~ Psalm 44:4-8 ~You are my king and my God; you give victory to your people, and by your power we defeat our enemies. I do not trust in my bow or in my sword to save me; but you have saved us from our enemies and defeated those who hate us. We will always praise you and give thanks to you forever.

THOUGHTS: In this Psalm, David is recognizing that his ancestors made it into the Promised Land because of the victory and the power of their God, and because of the trust and faith of his ancestors. What is the difference for us as we face 2016? There will be some among us who will face the year on their own, because they have not chosen to follow our God and therefore cannot place their trust in an unproven being. There are yet others, who have accepted Jesus as Lord, but have never learned to lean on Him, or have never given their life totally under His control, so they still handle ‘life’ on their own and quickly call on God when trouble arises. My prayer today is that, there would be many out there who knows without a shadow of a doubt Who holds tomorrow, and the One who can prepare us for it and see us through it! This involves a totally surrendered life, friends, because we are acknowledging that we may not have all the answers, or have everything under control. Think about the Israelites. Their scouts had brought back news of the thousands of people, and the giants that they were, yet they were being told by Moses and Joshua to forge forward, because God was going to take care of them and protect them. We are facing a brand new year and again God is saying to us to forge forward in His might, His strength, His guidance and His will, because He loves us enough that He will prepare our way, and that we will be under His protecting hand. Friends, may I encourage you, that as you ask for this guidance and protection by God, be ready to look at every move, every success, every protection and every decision to quickly give God the praise and glory that He so deserves? Notice the last sentence of the scripture today, where David promised that “We will always praise You and give thanks to You – FOREVER”. Oh that we may follow in David’s promise, to always praise our God, and to give thanks always for His answered prayer!

PRAYER: Dear God, just as David recognized the source of strength and guidance for He and His ancestors, we are again reminded that You are still God, and that You are the source of strength and guidance for all who will place their faith and trust in You and surrender to Your lordship. Lord, I feel such a heavy burden for Your church today, because I believe that we are the ‘David’ and the ‘Moses’ that You used to lead Your people. For I believe that it is critical for Your church to be the hands and feet of Jesus, the voice of one crying in the city, just as John cried out in the wilderness. Many will make spiritual decisions in 2016 based on what they see of the church. May we be to them what You are to us, and what Your Word declares as truth for mankind. Many of the Israelites went into the Promised Land having encountered the hand of God in numerous ways, yet they quickly turned their backs on You. Please use us, Your servants, to be a strong witness for You, even when times appear to be rough and/or slow moving spiritually. You have always been as solid as a rock in meeting Your promises for us. May we follow that pattern as we commit to serving You faithfully in 2016. I ask these things in the same, powerful, name of the One who brought us through 2015, 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 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 Choice – Blessings or Curses

On By Ed AlgreenIn Blessings, Curses, TransformationLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – New Living Translation (NLT) ~ Deuteronomy 28:1-2 & 15 ~ 1 If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving -you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. 2 You will experience all these blessings if you obey the Lord your God: …. 15 “But if you refuse to listen to the Lord your God and do not obey all the commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come and overwhelm you: ….

THOUGHTS: I know, you looked at the title today and almost didn’t open this to read it, because you probably figured that this old man just lost his marbles (brains), otherwise why else would he possibly think that you would be interested in reading about ‘curses’? Of course you don’t want that, right? If you are one that is ‘fully obedient to the Lord’ and ‘carefully keeping His commands’, then I agree I am wasting your precious time by explain what you can expect in 2016 because of your disobedience. Oops, nothing is said in the text about 2016, right? But friend, why would God possibly bless us if we are disobedient? Do you suppose it was just the Israelites that He loved enough to discipline when they disobeyed? Perhaps I should remind you that it was us that God sent His only Son, Jesus, to the cross for our forgiveness, our salvation from sin, our peace about eternity with Him in glory. You see, through His servant Moses, God warned the Israelites that as they entered the Promised Land that He brought them to; that He cleared the path for; and that He prepared just for them; they had a choice to make. They could enter and choose: (1) To be obedient to God and keep His commands taught to them over the past 40 years – and this would result in blessings that it took the writer 13 verses to express to them. Otherwise, (2) To be disobedient and not keep the commands of God, and they could expect curses on every aspect of their lives. In fact, it took the writer the next 52 verses to detail all of the curses that would fall upon this chosen people. Friends, why would this be any different for us as we welcome another year in that God has led us to, and that He has prepared as a clean slate for us? In your wildest expectations, do you suppose that God would possibly bless a people that drag into a brand new year, all of the sin, disobedience and disregard that He absolutely deplores? If God tarries, we have at least a few days to think about this; to clean up our act; to spend time in prayer before the Father seeking His forgiveness and asking for His strength and boldness to obey under every circumstance of life. Without some obvious and intentional steps by us, and if God permits time to go on, we will enter 2016 under the same load of sin and punishment we have faced in 2015. I believe God is teaching us in this scripture today that it really doesn’t have to be that way. Our destiny can be changed, with God’s help, if we choose to be obedient children of God. Won’t you do that today friend? For the unbeliever reading this today, please know that God wants your heart first. Please read my ‘Footnote’ for tips on how to personally know my Savior. Only as His child, will He hear your cry for help, direction, and the promised blessings only He can offer you in 2016.

PRAYER: Lord God, thank You for providing the greatest gift ever, in the form of Your Precious Son – Jesus. You loved, protected and led the Israelites through 40 years of life-challenges, then You provided the wonders and the blessings of the Promised Land to them! You still love, protect and lead Your children today and You have promised an even greater Promised Land for those who truly know You personally. You had blessings in store for the Israelites who obeyed You and kept Your commands. I believe that 2016 can be a time period You are calling us into where blessings may abound for those who know and obey You, however You have promised us an even greater Promised Land – Heaven where we will meet with You and the Father eternally in worship, praise and adoration. Please bless us as we tarry on this old earth, so that one day soon we may advance to our ultimate Promised Land with You! Oh I long To See You, Look Upon Your Face, There to Sing forever of Your Saving Grace! Lord, please speak to the hearts of those needing discipline, even while still in 2015. May they receive a word from You today that will convince them of their sin and incent them to clean their act up and prepare to meet You in action in 2016 and be blessed by You in every way imaginable. May our blessings transform the lives of others as they gaze on Your goodness. I ask these things in faith, and in the strong name of Jesus, my Savior, 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 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!