Tag: heaven is my goal

Understanding Death and Faith: A Scriptural Approach

On By Ed AlgreenIn Accept Jesus NOW, Acknowledge God, All have sinned, Awesome God, Death, God Cares For Us, God’s Word, SalvationLeave a comment

DATE POSTED
Tuesday, June 10, 2025, and I was blessed to be at Mariposa at Hunter Road, San Marcos, TX when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find and read any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Read Ecclesiastes 9:1-3 in your Bible or click on it to read it online in the EasyEnglish Bible 2024.

APPLICATION – as inspired by the Holy Spirit
For many of you that will read this devotional today, you probably praise God each morning for His new mercies that allowed you to see another day, and although you may also praise Him during the day, hopefully at the end of each day you celebrate in thanksgiving for the day He has blessed you with. Similarly, in our Scripture today, Solomon also considers this. It seems like he took into account the many principles, lifestyles, and righteousness of all who would offer up similar prayers to what you may do each day. After all, there is only ONE God to whom we pray. But the other thing that Solomon took into consideration is that no matter what each of our lives look like here on earth, there is something in our future that we hold in common at the end of our lives here on earth – death. Something that many of us try to avoid thinking about due to its finality in what we know today as, life here on earth. I’ve heard preachers refer to ‘everyone being on equal footing at the foot of the cross’, and there is so much truth in that. Also, I’ve heard reminders from preachers about how we all, individually, must settle things with our Creator, as no one qualifies for heaven because of the goodness of our ancestors, or the position we may hold in society while we’re alive, or the good things we may have done for others and the church while alive, and I also give a 5-star award to those preachers. BUT, does it not seem like Solomon is short-sighted in not reminding us of what Jesus taught in the New Testament? In (John 11:26), Jesus said, “He who lives and believes in Me shall never die”. You can escape death by living and believing in Jesus Christ. But the human mind, human wisdom won’t bring you to that. If you’re only coming at life from the human level and trying to find God from the human level, you’ll never make it. God must reveal Himself to you by His Spirit. But God has also revealed Himself through His Word, where He revealed, “And this is the record, that God has given to us – eternal life and this life is in the Son, and he who has the Son has life” (I John 5:11-12).” He that lives and believes in Me, Jesus said, “will never die.” So, as we conclude today’s teaching, let us note that although death may be a marker in our lifespan, it is not final. For the believer in Jesus Christ, it marks the end to life on earth and the beginning of life in heaven with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit for all eternity! For those who have chosen to reject the Lord Jesus Christ, death marks the end of life here on earth, and the beginning of an even worse existence in Hell with your chosen ruler, Satan. The choice is yours dear friends, but it seems like a non-issue to me. Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved (Acts 16:31)

PRAYER
Dear Lord Jesus, thank You for the gift of eternal life to those who place their faith and trust in the Son of God, Jesus Christ! Thank You also for the reminder today that although death is a marker in everyone’s existence here on earth, yet for the believer it is a time of celebration of even better things to come – eternity in heaven with our Father, His Son Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The more frustrated we become here on earth, the more excited we become of our future prospects! Thank You for incenting Your servant Solomon to remind us that our position in society, or our status among all classes of people – rich or poor, that a day will come when we pass on from this world onto our eternal destination that resulted from our earthly spiritual decisions. My sincere prayer is that every reader of this devotional will ensure that their eternity is secure in knowing Jesus as their personal Savior, to guarantee that they are heaven bound. For those who have rejected You, please Lord, speak persistently to them about the time in which they live and the opportunity they have to change the course of their destiny. With thankful hearts, we rejoice in Jesus our Savior and Lord. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE
If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please take advantage of the information provided on my page ‘To Know Jesus’. Alternatively, consider speaking with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. One of God’s servants will pray with you and offer help and encouragement as you begin or continue your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals or subscribe to receive a daily email containing each new devotional, please visit NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. Friends, I encourage you to find a Bible teaching church home near your residence and attend as frequently as possible. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk while you make every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider being a part of that while also growing in your faith as you worship with fellow believers!

My Only Hope Is….

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Eternal Life, Hope, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Wednesday, 2021-07-14
WRITTEN AT: Casa Grande, AZ

SCRIPTURE FROM: Psalm 39:6-7
TRANSLATION: The Passion Translation (TPT)

BIBLE TEXT: 6 We live our lives like those living in shadows.
    All our activities and energies are spent for things that pass away.
    We gather, we hoard, we cling to our things,
    only to leave them all behind for who knows who.
7 And now, God, I’m left with one conclusion:
    my only hope is to hope in you alone!

APPLICATION: There was a gentleman who had his casket built, and it was stored in the room next to him at his home! Children dreaded visiting this gentleman with their parents because they were afraid of the idea of a casket being in the home! Now compare that to the dozens of people you know that fit the description given by David in verse 6. Many of us work ourselves into an early grave, as we strive to make the next hundred to save in our retirement, or purchase the newest gadget for our spouse or child. But what happens when their hopes are dashed by an accident that suddenly shortens the lifespan of that individual? I love the heart, and the writings of David in the Psalms. In the preceding verses he was rehearsing with God how much longer he would live. And I believe that we all think about that at times, but oh how I wish that we would come to the same conclusion that David did in verse 7: Regardless of all else, praise God I realize that my only hope is in the risen Lord, Jesus my Savior! Friends, we all want to leave for our children more than our parents left for us, but let me suggest to you something that matters most when an individual leaves this world: that someone was touched by your walk, or your talk, or your time with them, while you were alive here on earth, and that person found Jesus because of their association with you! Friend of God, I pray that your hope is in God – the same God that David referred to in our Scripture today. Where is your hope? What is your hope based on? Unless your hope is based on Jesus Christ, nothing you achieve will be of value to those you hope will benefit from your estate.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Our hope is in Jesus our Lord, the Creator of the earth, sun, stars, you and I. Anything else is temporal and may never be appreciated by those left behind.

PRAYER: Thank You dear Lord for the reminder that all you created will be taken care of here on earth and in the new heaven that You created just for us. Everything else is temporal and matters very little when we stand before You on Judgment Day. Please Lord, speak to the hearts of the unsaved and speak to each reader/listener of this devotional. May we all plan to be with You on that great resurrection morning! Please help us to fix our eyes on this very important part of life while here below, so that when our time comes for meeting you in the skies, we might sing with the angels: Oh That Will Be Glory For Me! 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!