Tag: God’s will

Sacrificial Love

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Love, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Sacrifice, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Monday, 2022-04-11
WRITTEN AT: Astatula, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Romans 12:1-2
TRANSLATION: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

BIBLE TEXT: 1 So I beg you, brothers and sisters, because of the great mercy God has shown us, offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him—an offering that is only for God and pleasing to him. Considering what he has done, it is only right that you should worship him in this way.2 Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.

APPLICATION: It seems like mankind is designed to try and return a favor when they feel like someone went out of their way to bless them in some way. In our Scripture, Paul reminds us that Jesus did something for us on Calvary that cost Him His life. God had demanded animal and other sacrifices from our ancestors for the forgiveness of their sin, but He later decided to send His very own Son so that He might not only live among us, but: Showed us how to love unconditionally; He not only taught us everything that God had given Him to share with us, but also demonstrated being a mouthpiece for His Father, and showing us how to live in a way that would be pleasing to the Father. Over the years, our forefathers decided to set aside certain days for us to celebrate: the birth of Jesus – Christmas; a day to remember what Jesus did on Calvary for us – a true sacrifice, because He could have called ten thousand angels to protect Him from the evil men that sought to kill Him – Good Friday; the day that we would celebrate the resurrected Jesus – Easter; and a day each week that we would set aside to worship our resurrected Lord! I wonder, what might we sacrifice, in return for the sacrifices of Jesus our Lord, by actively participating in the above days set aside for us? Jesus desired that the cup of punishment, that occurred that first Good Friday, be taken away from Him. But He quickly snapped out of that thought by submitting to the will of His Father, even if it meant a deep embarrassment as He was arrested, charged, beaten, marched through the city streets and hung on a cross in a public display that led everyone to believe that He was helpless. Jesus knew that His commitment to the Father, and His sacrifice in surrender to the wicked men of His day, was for the eternal benefit of all mankind. ‘Not my will, but thine be done,’ were the words Jesus uttered to His Father. When you fail to sacrifice of yourself daily, weekly or on the above mentioned special days, what do you suppose Jesus might be seeing or thinking of your commitment to Him? Whose will are you submitting to, yours or that of the Father? Remember, without a second thought, you will submit to the will of someone you love and are committed to!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Jesus loved us so much that He gave up everything and was crucified on a cruel, rugged, cross for our sin. Although we could never repay the debt He paid, our willingness to sacrifice the desires of this world would go a long ways in showing our appreciation for what Jesus did at Calvary.

PRAYER: Precious Lord, we could never adequately say thanks, nor offer to repay You for what You did for us at Calvary. Because Your love was pure, You never demanded repayment, but Lord I pray that my readers, listeners, family and Christian friends, would never consider our opportunities to worship, or serve, You as a ’sacrifice’ of our time, fun, activities, etc. Father, You sacrificially gave us Your very best – Your precious Son. Please help us to examine our hardened hearts the next time we find excuses that would cause us to miss opportunities to return thanks to You. In not sacrificing our time, efforts and money to spend time with You, and/or Your people who gather to worship You, might be an indication that You are not as valuable in our lives, and we are to You. Please forgive us for our lack of commitment, and help us to rededicate ourselves to sacrifice everything this world has to offer, so that we may spend time dedicated to You. Help us to seek Your will for our lives, and not our own selfish and prideful will. 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!

Be Consumed With What Brings God Pleasure

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

DATE WRITTEN: Wednesday, 2020-11-04
WRITTEN AT: Paul B Johnson State Park, Hattiesburg, MS

BIBLE REFERENCE: 1 Peter 4:1-3
TRANSLATION: The Passion Translation (TPT)

BIBLE TEXT:  1 Since Christ, though innocent, suffered in his flesh for you,[a] now you also must be a prepared soldier,[b] having the same mind-set,[c] for whoever has died in his body is done with sin.[d] 2 So live the rest of your earthly life no longer concerned with human desires but consumed with what brings pleasure to God. 3 For you have already spent enough time doing what unbelievers[e] love to do—living in debauchery, sensuality, partying, drunkenness, wild drinking parties,[f] and the worship of demons.[g]

OBSERVATION: For the couple who weds, and they are consumed with making their partner happy, they will probably enjoy a long, blessed marriage! So of course this will also be true in friendships, work environments and most of all – in our relationship with our Heavenly Father. To do this you will have to dedicate yourself to seeking God’s will. Let’s look into this today in our study.

APPLICATION: To know what brings pleasure to God, we must realize this means doing His will. May I be the first today to remind you that God’s Word is a compilation of instructions for us to follow, and He expects us to be in obedience to His will for our lives. So this means that it will bring pleasure to God if we know His Word and live in obedience to His laws and commands. It is very important that we take no shortcuts, such as waiting to see what the pastor says, instead of reading the Bible for yourself and diligently seeking God’s will for your life for each day. Why not let the Pastor do his job and teach you the Bible? I believe it is important that you analyze how many churches believe and practice the same thing differently. This means that they understand the Bible differently, or they try to soften the meaning with some of their own personal beliefs. A few cases in point: Baptism – sprinkled; dunked; baby or adult; Day of Worship/Sabbath – Saturday, Sunday or day of your choice; Dancing – yes or no; Pastors – Men only or either gender; etc, etc. The items mentioned will not be further discussed in this devotional, but I would highly recommend that, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, you study the Bible personally and see God’s guidance on what you should do in your efforts to bring pleasure to Him. Please don’t misunderstand me, there is nothing wrong with talking to your pastor for guidance on any biblical subject, but study to show yourself approved as a child of the King. And don’t overlook seeking God’s Help and direction even on what might seem to be small things, for you may very well grow from seeing God respond to those things as well as the very tough decisions that you feel are God-sized. I hope that you will be impacted as much as I was in reading the Scripture today. Imagine that you have spent your whole earthly life doing the things that family, friends and coworkers tell you to try, but when you accept Jesus as Lord, please allow Him to be Lord over everything in your life. Yes you will still have friends, but allow your yes and no responses to be guided by the Holy Spirit, so that you could please God, rather than continuing in the old life of trying to please your friends. The difference will be – that you will begin to look and sound like Jesus, instead of the same old sinful ways of your friends. God created us and He has a life planned for us, but we must listen and be bold enough to obediently follow His commands, if we want to follow His will.

PRAYER: Thank You precious Lord for creating us in Your own image, and for Your guidance each and every day to help us stay on course. Please teach us and remind us every day to seek Your will and to make it a priority, or be consumed with, bringing You pleasure through our obedience. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog at https://NuggetsFromGodsWord.org 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 or listening to this devotional, please go to 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. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and see all of my posts, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. 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!