Tag: Gullible

Easily Swayed

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Totally committed, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Sunday, 2022-08-14
WRITTEN AT: O’Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 2 Corinthians 11:3-4
TRANSLATION: Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT:  3 … I am frightened, fearing that in some way you will be led away from your pure and simple devotion to our Lord, just as Eve was deceived by Satan in the Garden of Eden. 4 You seem so gullible: you believe whatever anyone tells you even if he is preaching about another Jesus than the one we preach, or a different spirit than the Holy Spirit you received, or shows you a different way to be saved. You swallow it all.

APPLICATION: Please don’t let Satan tell you to skip over this devotional, because this may not be a subject that would impact or affect you. I believe the reason God got my attention so strongly on this today is because of the condition of the ‘Christian’ environment around me. Friends, when God places imperfect men, like you and I, in the middle of imperfect people, it is easy for him to be swayed by the popular belief of those around him. To be completely devoted to the God we serve, and the Jesus we accepted to be Lord of our lives, I believe there are some ways that we must be faithful so we could stay true to our commitment. Even after accepting Jesus as Lord, and in spite of the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us, if we ever allow the adversary sory to distract us on an ongoing basis, he will sway us to be unfaithful stewards. The more we lean towards that unfaithfulness, the more acceptable we become of the trash taught and practiced by those who belong to Satan. I am afraid that too many of us who claim Jesus as Lord of our lives, are living today based on our personal opinions and complete bombardments of a world who has no regard for the constant of God’s Book of Instructions He left for us. So many times in the Bible we come across stories of God leading His people into situations that seem impossible to us, but yet the success of their obedience reveals that God is loving, all-powerful, all-knowing, filled with wisdom, and deliberate in achieving the very best for the long-term benefit of His children. The awesome thing is that I believe He is still God and He still cares for you and I! So, what might be the cause of our distractions, or our losing sight of Gods instructions, or our ease of swaying from the truth of God’s Word? I would dare say that we have become so attached to our devices and televisions that we allow whoever occupies the screen to pour into us. The problem with this, as I see it, is that we think and speak from a heart that has been filled with political hatred, violence, alternative lifestyles, illicit sexuality, and we lose sight of what says the Word of God. Perhaps a test for today might be that you ask a friend ‘so where are we at today, and where are we headed?’. If their response comes from the Bible, then you are free to start praying for someone else. However, if from their favorite newscaster, or a quote from a recent movie, or from their favorite, passionate politician, then your suspicion will be affirmed that they are being misled by the things of this world, and no longer by the almighty hand of our awesome God. Friends, let’s learn to be God’s children first and foremost. When He says in His Word that He placed our governments in place for His purpose, and we are to pray for our politicians, who are we to reverse that? Children learn from repetitious teachings of parents, teachers and yes – even television shows. As adults, we tend to continue the same learning habits and we practice what we see and hear on a daily basis. Please consider joining me in an effort to not only accept Jesus as Lord, but to live according to His will and purpose, no matter what other doctrines, philosophies, politics, or scandalous news items are thrown at us. Let’s be persistent in our purpose to be more like Jesus in every walk of life and in every word that proceeds from our mouth. Let not our witness be marred by the very evil things that God warns us about in His word. May we welcome each other from all walks of life, no matter their color, political persuasion, or worldly beliefs, since we are all sinners begging at the feet of Jesus for mercy and forgiveness. May we boldly demonstrate Jesus in our actions and in our words, and not be a stumbling block to anyone in search of that same ideal.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: One way to be saved, and only one way to be righteous in God’s sight, so that we may continue to be a respectable witness for our Lord!

PRAYER: Thank You Lord Jesus for including me when You offered up yourself for the sins of the world. Please direct my path as Your follower so that I would never hinder the path of another beggar looking for the rich food of eternal life. Please Lord, direct my path each and every day to feed from Your Word, converse with You about my struggles, my weaknesses, and my desire to be all that You would have me be for the Kingdom. I believe that others reading this devotional today might be challenged in similar ways, so please tender the hearts of the unsaved, and the needy who might be reminded through this. May we all remember the source of our strength, and the One we aim to please, as we seek Your help to put self aside and the many voices that try to distract us daily. May the unsaved see and experience Jesus in us. 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!

Live In Constant Joy!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Joy, Thanksgiving2 Comments

The Holy Bible  (The Message – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22): 16–18 Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. 19–22 Don’t suppress the Spirit, and don’t stifle those who have a word from the Master. On the other hand, don’t be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what’s good. Throw out anything tainted with evil.

Thoughts:  I know that the subject sounds inviting, but I want us to be reminded that ‘Joy’ results from a happy heart – a heart filled with love for the Lord and from a heart stayed on constant prayer before the Master of this universe. This scripture reminds us to thank God in ALL things, I believe that this will result in an everlasting ‘Joy’ to bless us every day. Friends, I want to encourage you to always find something to thank God for. You may have a broken arm, but praise to the Almighty, you have a healthy arm to enjoy and help you through your day! Just last night I heard a brother praise God for allowing him to serve in the military many years ago. In spite of many who may have been hurt through their service, he was able to find reasons to praise God for his time in the service. May I encourage you to find reasons to praise God every day? Please let there be a word of praise always present on your lips and in your heart, that you are ready to praise God for, and bless another person with! I found it interesting to also note Paul’s explanation that showing a heart of thanksgiving is actually a responsibility of the Christian, in other words, it pleases God! Paul went on to remind us that we are not to quench, or suppress the Holy Spirit. Friends let’s think of the Holy Spirit as being a fire that burns. Paul is telling us to be careful not to throw cold water on that fire. The work of God, and His Holy Spirit is of utmost importance in the life of a Christian. When we feel Him tugging at us to do a certain work, or teach a certain class, or give witness to a certain work that the Spirit has performed in our lives, we wind up quenching the Spirit if we don’t follow through with what we felt He was leading us to do. Now for those of us who are very gullible, Paul teaches that we test and examine what we believe that the Spirit is instructing us to do. My advice is to: 1). Test it against the Word of God. For if it is Biblical, then you can be assured that it is God’s will; 2). If another believer (proven to be genuine over time) shares with you something similar to what you felt God leading you to do, then I believe that God is reaffirming His word to you; and 3). If confirmation comes through a sermon, or a Bible reading, then I believe that this is another indicator from God to reaffirm His word to you. Paul teaches that we are to act on the proven, and throw out the rest. Friends, as we witness God at work in our lives, we can be filled with the joy of the Lord to a degree that others will also be blessed by our words and by our actions, all for the glory of the only Master – Jesus our Lord!

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, our eternal Joy and Peace, my heart is filled to overflowing, knowing that in spite of my inadequacies and failures, yet the King of all kings loves me enough to bless me with pure, unadulterated love and joy! I am eternally thankful for this! I pray that as You bless me with these qualities, that I will be a conduit for others to receive that same joy, and that they will search for a closer walk with You. For my family and friends that do not know You, I pray that this everlasting joy in me will be so evident to them that they will have a deep desire to know my Savior. Please use this devotional to bless the hearts of those who struggle to find joy every day, for I believe that it becomes extremely challenging for a non-believer to see Jesus in the life of one who claims Him, but displays no evidence of the joy that relationship brings. Bless us today in ways that will force us to rejoice in You, and express that joy to others who need it! I ask all this in the precious and holy name of Jesus, my Lord, with thanksgiving, 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! 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!