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Post Date: |
Thursday, 2017-03-09 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Luke 23:43 (Voice) |
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Text: |
Jesus: 43 I promise you that this very day you will be with Me in paradise. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Two criminals faced certain death at the same time as Jesus. One was rebellious right to the end, the other was humbled and asked Jesus to remember him when He arose in glory. Jesus instantly accepted him and assured him of his final destination – ‘Paradise’! | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| If you are one of those who are quickly offended when we talk about death, because you are still among the living, then you may want to click away from this blog entry now. However, if you are unsure about where you will spend eternity, or if you would much rather hear about the option of ‘Paradise’ versus where you know you are destined to spend eternity in your current spiritual condition, then stay tuned. In the story of the crucifixion there were two criminals. One was rebellious right to the end, and the other realized his sinfulness and wanted to do something about it, even though he was very near the end of his life. Friends, there are three words that I underlined in this short verse, and I want to speak with you about their importance. The two criminals in this story had a planned appointment for their death, where a decision would be made about their eternity. However, that is not the normal case for us. A dear friend lost a 49 year old son to a severe stroke recently. There was no time for a last minute decision. A coworker was reading a local paper about a man who was run over by his own truck in a church parking lot this past weekend. There was no time for a last minute decision. I want you to see that Jesus didn’t question the criminal of every little bad thing that he ever did, He simply accepted him based on his sincere request. May I suggest that you order Satan away from your mind about you being way too bad for God to ever accept? A very popular Bible verse reminds us that Jesus is very clear that He died for all, and that anyone who calls on Him and believes in Him, will be saved. That includes YOU friend! In my ‘Footnote’ you will find information to help you cement this decision today, for we have no promise of tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation! If you decide to do nothing, like the rebellious criminal, then Satan has also prepared a place for you. Unfortunately, from everything we know about that place it’s just the opposite to Heaven. You make these two choices every day friend. My prayer and my hope is that I will see you in glory with our Heavenly Father, singing praises at His feet! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, we have been reminded that there is only one way to prepare ourselves for an eternity in ‘Paradise’ with You, and that’s to accept You as our Lord and Savior. For it was Your sacrifice that would redeem us of our sin and make us worthy to enter heaven’s gates. I believe that daily You touch the hearts of many who are unbelievers to convince them of their need for a Savior. I gave two examples above of how their time of prompting ended, and now they are either with You, or in the pit of Hell. Lord I sincerely pray that this warning will not fall on deaf ears today, but that decisions will be made where necessary to ensure our eternity with You. Thank You for Your willingness to accept even me, a sinner saved only by Your grace. 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 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 Nuggets From God’s Word 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! | |
Tag: Hell
Do You Believe?
THE HOLY BIBLE (New Living Translation – John 1:10-12): 10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. 12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.
THOUGHTS: Some of us tell stories about meeting our spouses, and those stories could sometimes sound somewhat like this passage. We struggled to get along with the person when we first met them, then they gained our confidence and we began trusting them. This followed with actually falling in love with that wonderful person and we wound up marrying them! With God, we tend to look at all the beauty around us; we hear of all the miracles He has performed, and sometimes we hear of the miracles performed in the lives of our loved ones even today. We come across folk who hate Him, yet we come across some who are crazy in love with Him. We just can’t escape knowing that God exist because of all the reasons mentioned but yet something still confuses us about wanting to fully accept Him for who people claim Him to be. Friends, may I tell you bluntly that Satan will do everything possible to distract you from trusting in his opponent, for when you believe in; trust in; and surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Satan loses. However, let me draw to your attention the truth of verse 12. The verse speaks to the glory of becoming a child of God, if you believe in Jesus Christ and accept Him as Lord of your life. But let’s really look at this from a perspective of what happens if you do not believe in Him and accept Him. Doesn’t that mean that Satan wins? Doesn’t that mean that you have chosen instead to follow the ways of Satan and agree that you would rather go to the pits of hell with him to be punished eternally? In life, smart folk don’t make those kinds of choices deliberately, friend. Why would you knowingly settle for that? In religious based movies we hear of people facing death by an evil person if they say they are a Christian. Please hear your friend carefully today when I tell you that there is no known punishment that you can think of that will compare to the pain, anguish and punishment that will be for those who stand before the Lord and say that they have chosen the evil one. The Bible tells us this friend. Granted, you would never deliberately surrender to Satan, right? I bring bad news friend, unless you surrender your life to Jesus Christ, you have decided to accept the alternative, and Satan will do with you what comes natural to him – punish you throughout eternity. Only you can change your destiny friend, and God will help you, if you let Him. He loves you that much!
PRAYER: Lord God, this short passage can be a treacherous one to think about today, or we can chose to see it as a bright and glorious opportunity we have in being called Children of God, because we have surrendered our life to You, through Your Son Jesus. May our choice be a wise one today as we meditate on Your Word? Many will quickly say that they never deliberately make bad choices. Please open their eyes of understanding Lord, so that they may realize that anything less than making a choice to accept You as Lord of their lives, is deliberately making a choice to allow Satan to control their lives. We need You oh Lord, for we have family and friends who still don’t understand the impact of the choice they have made up to this point in their lives. Because they have not been promised anything beyond the present time, I sincerely pray that their eyes of faith will be opened and their hearts softened to allow them to surrender to You before it is eternally too late. I ask all this in the name of Jesus, and because I know that You are the only One who can truly have a positive impact on lives, even today. All glory to You oh Lord, 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 read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, 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 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, 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!
The Rest of the Story!
THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Revelation 21:3-8): 3 I heard a loud voice shout from the throne: God’s home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own. Yes, God will make his home among his people. 4 He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever. 5 Then the one sitting on the throne said: I am making everything new. Write down what I have said. My words are true and can be trusted. 6 Everything is finished! I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give water from the life-giving fountain to everyone who is thirsty. 7 All who win the victory will be given these blessings. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 8 But I will tell you what will happen to cowards and to everyone who is unfaithful or dirty-minded or who murders or is sexually immoral or uses witchcraft or worships idols or tells lies. They will be thrown into that lake of fire and burning sulfur. This is the second death.
THOUGHTS: For those of you who have followed Nuggets for a while will remember that we covered from the creation of the world, to the birth of Jesus, through the miracles and life changing events that occurred during His short life, then through His death/crucifixion and resurrection. All of this happened in perfect timing, and this information has been widely available for years, to show that although we are born into a world of sin and perhaps little hope, we realize when we read the last book of the Bible that all these happenings were for a reason. They brought us hope and a promise, that if we surrender our lives to Jesus – God’s sacrificial gift to man, then we would be included in the family of God referred to in verse 3. The whole plan comes together friends! For those who wisely surrendered their lives to the lordship of Jesus Christ during their lifetime, we can look forward to having God live among us in an atmosphere of peace, comfort and tranquility – no more tears, death, suffering, crying or pain. Everything new! Everything as we know it today will be finished! Fortunately we are also warned about what will happen to those who choose to do life their own way. In verse 8 these folk are given just the opposite treatment. Friends, we know the Bible is true, for it is one of the most widely printed and studied books there is, plus its content has been proven over and over again. In the financial world, if we know of impending doom we try to avoid it by investing much more conservatively. In our physical environments, we try to protect ourselves when we are warned of hurricanes and/or other acts of God. I am very concerned for the millions of people who have chosen to accept the latter conditions mentioned in verse 8. There are choices that our family and friends can make to improve their eternal destiny. Are we praying enough, or encouraging enough, or doing enough to help them make wiser choices today Christians? The end of the story is very exciting for those who have made arrangements to be in the presence of Jesus and His Father! It can be the same for those of you reading this who are not sure of your position/destiny. Please follow the steps in my Footnote to receive help and sure up your position about heaven or hell as your destination, and God vs Satan for your eternal master. I would welcome the opportunity to help!
PRAYER: Thank You Father for providing everything for Your children. It is unfortunate, but we believe that there are still many who have chosen to ignore Your gift of eternal life and settle for the Lake of Fire referenced in our scripture this morning. Many of these are our family, friends and coworkers, and we are very concerned about their sanity in this kind of decision. I realize that Satan is busy at work, distracting his followers from the truth of which I have referenced here today, but I am blessed and assured to know that Christians are following the same Savior today as will lead us on that day referenced in verse 3 above! Oh Lord, please use Your saints to be an influence in the lives of those who do not call You Lord. Please keep us from being stumbling blocks, but to stay firm in our belief and always lift up the name of Jesus in all that we do and say. May lives be impacted for You today, is my humble plea oh Lord. All this I ask in the bountiful 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 read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, 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 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, 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!
God’s In Control of The Just and the Unjust
THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – 2 Peter 2:7-10): 7-8 Lot lived right and was greatly troubled by the terrible way those wicked people were living. He was a good man, and day after day he suffered because of the evil things he saw and heard. So the Lord rescued him. 9 This shows that the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their sufferings and to punish evil people while they wait for the day of judgment. 10 The Lord is especially hard on people who disobey him and don’t think of anything except their own filthy desires. They are reckless and proud and are not afraid of cursing the glorious beings in heaven.
THOUGHTS: I found it interesting how, within a few verses, God shows us that He cares for, and will protect and rescue those who claim His Son as Savior of their lives, yet He will be especially hard on people who disobey Him and are unjust. I found verse 9 as the most promising verse this morning, as it plainly comforts the Christian who is serious about their relationship with their Savior, by reassuring us that God is ever present with us, even in our suffering. This is reassuring friends, because although we can easily praise God during the good times of our lives, it is especially challenging to recognize God when we are suffering. In fact, in most cases we tend to think quite the opposite – it feels like God has abandoned us. So what about evil folk you might ask? Friends, even in the same verse (9) the scripture goes on to explain that God will punish evil people while they wait for the Day of Judgment. Only you and God know where you stand in your relationship with God, but friend I believe that there are only two types of individuals who would have read down this far in this devotional: 1). You have a personal, living, dedicated relationship with your Savior, or 2). God is dealing in your life and has directed you to read this devotional in light of something that He is ordering me to share with you. Whichever of these two groups you fall into, I believe that it would be very wrong for you to ignore the Word of the Lord, or take it lightly. My God loves us so much that He gave up His one and only Son to provide the means of rescue for us from this sinful world and the Day of Judgment that is promised to all. Please don’t trifle with this gift of God, for I would hate for any of us to face the fury of God that is referred to in verse 9. The critical thing that I really want to emphasize to you today is that, when we reach the age of understanding and hear the Word of the Lord and we refuse His invitation to accept His Son as our Savior, by default, we are headed towards Hell and stand subject to God’s punishment mentioned in verse 9. The only way to change your destination and/or eternal damnation, is to accept the free gift of salvation that God calls us to, and has provided the vehicle by which we are saved. So friend, I believe the path is clear, and I believe you can easily deduce that only you can make the decision and choose the path that You will follow today that will result in your final destination in eternity. If there is personal doubt as to where you stand, I would encourage you to read, and follow through with the tips in my Footnote, to reassure yourself of your final destination. It is THE most important decision you can make today!
PRAYER: Lord God, You have made it very clear in Your Word the importance of deciding today, and following through with open communication with You, so that our final destination in life can be guaranteed. If we book a flight today, we want to see our final destination on the ticket, nothing else. Yet in life we tend to think that our destination will change depending on how good, or bad we are, or some other irrelevant aspect of our lives. Your Word is very clear, and our study today is very clear. May we be obedient to Your call on our lives, so that our final destination will be guaranteed, and secured. Thank You Father for loving us enough to care about us during this lifetime and in the world to come after we depart this old earth. Please tender the hearts of my readers so that they may read, listen and obey, so that you may be lifted up and praised. I ask all this in the precious name of Your only Son, Jesus my Savior, 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!
Patience Without Limit
The Holy Bible (New Century Version – 1 Timothy 1:15-16): 15 What I say is true, and you should fully accept it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. 16 But I was given mercy so that in me, the worst of all sinners, Christ Jesus could show that he has patience without limit. His patience with me made me an example for those who would believe in him and have life forever.
Thoughts: I believe that these verses speak very loudly to both the believer in Jesus Christ, and to the non-believer (if they would read and accept the written Word of God).
To the believer: I believe that Paul is helping his associate, Timothy, know that he needn’t go into ministering and causing folk to believe that he is superior in faith to them. To us (believers), I believe that God wanted Paul to get across to us that sin is sin, and where God brought us from is no better than where we see those that we are witnessing, or ministering to. However, we are reminded that because of the grace of our Lord Jesus, He looked down in mercy, and because of our separation from God, our unholy lives bore no resemblance to His, however in mercy He heard our prayer, forgave us of our sin and crowned us as children of the King of all kings. As we constantly remind ourselves of where we came from, friends we will better identify with the needs of the unsaved, and we can more readily share with them the kind of loving, merciful, forgiving God that we are recommending to them. Just as Paul shared, we are plain evidence of God’s love and mercy, and we were no more special than the person we are witnessing to, other than we humbled ourselves and surrendered to His call. We gave up that old life and now stand as princes and princesses of the greatest King, only God and Creator, Jesus the only Son of God! Praise be the name of the Lord forever!
To the unbeliever: I believe it is evident that God wanted Paul to make it clear that the same power is available to the unbeliever today that saved Paul, a sinner who was feared by the church because of his undying desire to persecute the church and destroy anything or anyone who claimed the name of the Lord. Yes, in the eyes of many you may be considered a very bad person, but God sees you as His creation, one for whom He allowed His only Son to die on a cruel cross, and one for whom God loves way too much to see you die and go to Hell. Friend, I can safely and accurately tell you this from my personal experience, because I realized some 40 years ago that I needed Christ, and He looked down in love and accepted my plea for forgiveness and oneness with Him. He did it for me, for Paul, and I have every confidence that He will do it for you also friend. Jesus is patiently waiting for your word, what will it be today? Remember, no word at all means ‘No’, and I believe that anyone led to read this devotional today will not make that kind of decision! May God deal gently, but boldly in your heart today, is my sincere and humble prayer for you friend …. because I know that God loves you, and so do I!
Prayer: Jesus, thank You for going to such an extreme to show Your unswerving love for me and all of mankind. Please help me to never forget where You brought me from, in hopes that I can better identify with those that might be far away from You today. I am concerned for my family, friends, coworkers and church attendees who still have not accepted You as Lord, because I firmly believe that Your return is not only eminent, but will happen at any time. I want to meet around Your throne with all my family and friends present. I plead with You today to please melt their hardened hearts and create a desire in them to fully surrender their lives to You, like Paul did and like I and many others have already done. May this be the day of salvation for them today, please, dear Lord. May the unsaved see Your mercy and grace in action today through the many miracles You perform each day in and around us. I bring my praises, these petitions and awesome thanksgiving in the name of the only Savior, 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 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!
Choices Today Determines Future Destiny
The Holy Bible (The Contemporary English Version – 2 Thessalonians 1:8-10): Our Lord Jesus will punish anyone who doesn’t know God and won’t obey his message. 9 Their punishment will be eternal destruction, and they will be kept far from the presence of our Lord and his glorious strength. 10 This will happen on that day when the Lord returns to be praised and honored by all who have faith in him and belong to him. This includes you, because you believed….
Thoughts: I believe that the topic given to our study today could actually apply to any choice that we make today, but I want to zone in on the choices we make about whether we accept Jesus as Lord or not. First of all, I will break the easy, but worse news. If you make no choice about your salvation, then you are in the first group that Paul refers to in this scripture today. For Jesus will return for those who have made a conscious, clear and definite personal decision to accept Him as Lord. Unfortunately friend, when you decline the invitation to accept Jesus as Lord, you are openly accepting the call of Satan to be his follower, and this will lead to eternal damnation for you – far from the presence of our Lord Jesus. Not pretty. Very unfortunate. I would hate to see this for anyone that I know, care about or had opportunity to witness to. The only ones not fitting into this category, are those who have made a personal commitment to accept and obey Jesus while alive here on planet earth. These precious folk will represent the welcome party for the return of Jesus, for we will be the ones honoring and praising Jesus for returning to earth to take us home to glory with Him! Oh what singing, oh what shouting, on that happy morning! So I believe that it is evident that our choice about our eternal destiny is actually put in place while we are alive. Any idea how long you will be alive friend? Isn’t it astonishing how many young folk die through accidents or illnesses these days? Isn’t it true that we have no idea how much longer we will live here on this old earth? Doesn’t this leave you with a sense of urgency about securing your ultimate destiny while your life here is a sure thing – a current moment thing? Don’t delay friend, I would love to know that you will be among the praising and rejoicing before our Lord Jesus on the day that only His Father knows the details about!
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for yet another reminder about decisions that must be made while there is still life in our bodies – today. This is way too important for procrastination. Way too important, with so many unfortunate repercussions to not care about making such a commitment. Thank You for softening my heart to surrender my life to You some 39 years ago. I am concerned about family and friends that I don’t get to spend near enough time with here on earth. I love them enough that I want to see Your very best for them, and I care enough about them that I would never want to see them face eternal destruction in Hell. May I please ask that You soften their hearts, like You did to mine, and lead them to all Truth, all Grace and Your all-sufficient, sacrificial Love, provoking them to a decision to accept You as Lord today? I would be eternally grateful dear Lord. Please provoke Christians meditating on this devotional today to a deep desire to pray for their loved ones also. We want to see You dear Lord, and we badly want our loved ones to be with us on that all important day. Your grace is enough, oh Lord. So I place my faith and trust in You believing that Your ultimate will might be accomplished today, 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!
A Glimpse of Heaven!
The Holy Bible
Compared to what’s coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we’re tired of it! We’ve been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less.
(Bible Translation and Location: The Message – 2 Corinthians 5:2-5)
Thoughts:
I believe that as folk get nearer to retirement age here on earth, they begin to think about, they dream, and they start planning towards the day that they won’t have to wake up early every day to go to work, but more than that, to the good life ahead! I’m getting there, so I can tell you first hand!! Often when we visit Christians who are physically sick, they will share how praiseworthy it is to think about heaven with no main pain, heartaches or sickness. At farewell services for our loved ones, we often hear about the beauty of heaven and how Jesus is there to welcome His children home. In these verses today Paul is reflecting on his heavenly body and his eternal home. However compared to the real thing, our understanding from God’s Word mixed with our imagination and expectation of being with our Lord and Savior, is only like whetting our appetite! As I write this I am overly excited about the prospect of seeing my Savior, my Lord, my King and spending eternity with Him, how about you friend? So is this a place you can look forward to going, is the big question? In America, we will soon be voting to decide who will be our local leaders in government, and it is our combined vote that decides our future leaders. Very important stuff, because we could stand to see an improved government, or not. The deciding factor for which home we will find ourselves in at the end of this life here on earth is equally as precise, but much more important. Compared to one vote today politically, is the one deciding factor that determines whether you will see the glories of heaven, the face of our Savior and rejoice with the angels around the throne of God forever! The Bible tells us that we if make no decision (like not voting), then being born a sinner, we will unfortunately live, and deal with Satan, the deceiver, the evil on, the destroyer, forever in the pits of hell. However, if we decide to listen to that still, small voice, that speaks calmly to our soul about our spiritual condition, and we make a decision to accept the King of the universe, the Savior of this world, the Son of God, Jesus my Savior into your life and ask Him to forgive you of your sin, then you too will receive eternal life and can begin dreaming about and looking forward to one day retiring from this world into His kingdom with Him! This excites me friend! I hope that your life will be impacted enough to make a decision for Jesus TODAY, if you don’t already know Him in a personal way. Please use the footnote to receive help in your decision today. I would be overjoyed to help you and/or welcome you into the family of God, as we daily walk together towards the portals of heaven! How beautiful heaven must be!
Prayer:
Thank You dear Lord for this glimpse of heaven that I received as I meditated on Your Word this morning, and as I listened to the song hyperlinked. Thank you for not only sacrificing Your life so that I may have access to this wonderful place called heaven, but thank You for building that desire within my heart to accept You as my Lord and Savior. Thank You for blessing me with many family and friends who already know You as Lord, and thank You for the opportunities in also blessing me with family and friends that have not yet made this important decision. May I humbly ask that You bless me with the necessary love, boldness, words and actions to bless these ones with, that might encourage them towards making this vital decision. Here on earth we can make many plans and decisions for retirement, but we have no assurances of ever seeing it. You have assured us of our eternal home, based on our decisions today. Thank You Jesus! May we be smart, humble and obedient to You, is my humble prayer that I ask in Your holy and wonderful name, 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!
How’s Your Eyesight? Blinded?
The Holy Bible
4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.
(Bible Translation and Location: New Living Translation – 2 Corinthians 4:4)
Thoughts:
I believe that God has directed me to share this verse this morning for two reasons:
- To my friends who do exactly as this verse says – you struggle with believing in God. A God you can’t see, hear, feel or touch. Paul is telling you in plain words here, that the power of Satan is so strong in your life that he is actually blinding your spiritual eyes. In other words, he controls your mind and your heart so strongly that you have made the choice to dishonor the God of this universe, the One who created you, me and the whole world from the bottom up. In addition to just sharing this verse with you today, I want to share what might be a secret to you. There is another verse in the Bible that contains God’s Holy Word through its authors, and this verse actually says that God is no respecter of persons. He actually loves you as much as He loves myself and others I will address in point #2. You see in John 3:16, God had recorded in His Word that He loves everyone who will call on His name to be saved, and that they will actually receive eternal life with Him in heaven. Friend, in the earlier days of creation, there was a lot of sacrificing that was necessary to be accepted by God and to live a Godly life. God saw that this was an obstacle to many, so He ordained a young virgin woman (Mary) to be the mother of a Son (Jesus), so he later miraculously made her pregnant. This Son (Jesus) later became the sacrifice for us, and it is through Him that we have access to the Father (God). Friend that is unconditional and sacrificial love demonstrated in the purest form ever. Love in its most desperate form to win the heart of God’s children that He designed, protected and loves immensely. He desires a relationship with you friend. He loves you way too much to see you controlled by the Evil one and sorely distracted from the best thing that could very happen to you. Our communication with Jesus is through prayer (an open conversation with the very Son of God). Won’t you do me a favor and at least have a conversation with Him? Pour your heart out to Him. Let Him know how you feel, and what you would prefer to see with your life regarding your eternal destination. It’s either Heaven or Hell friend. Do nothing and know that you will one day join Satan and his demons in Hell. Instead, I plead with you to trust what I’ve shared with you and ask Jesus into your heart so that You might be one with Him, and look forward to a glorious time in heaven with Jesus, me and lots of other folk who have already made this important decision. By the way, Jesus will also be with you every day while here on earth, through every trial, temptation and even the very best of times. He wants to be with you and available to you at all times!
- To my friends who have accepted Jesus as your Master and Lord, please pray earnestly for your friends who you thought of as you read this verse. I’m sure that you are aware that the time remaining on this earth is drawing to an end. Meaning that your friends will not have much longer to make this very important decision of accepting Jesus. The Bible is clear, that without this reformation, they will not enter heaven. So your prayers are more desperately needed now than ever before. Remember, it is not sacrilegious to pray over and over for these lost ones. I want to see God’s very best for my loved ones, and I’m sure you feel the same. Let us therefore pray without ceasing, that God might break that hold of Satan on their lives, tender their hearts and give them the desperation needed to surrender unconditionally to Jesus. Like me, I’m sure that you are anxious to walk through the gates of heaven and see all of our family and friends there! Let us pray, friends, let’s use this primary tool in communicating with God about our heart’s desire.
Friend, if you would like to discuss how this devotional has impacted your life, or if you would like a prayer partner to help you make this important decision, please use the information in the footnote. Myself or any other Bible believing child of God would be ecstatic to pray with you or chat with you regarding your questions!
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for loving me so much! Thank You for humbling me, melting my wicked heart, convicting me of the hold that Satan had on my life that was keeping me away from You, and for loving me into a decision to accept You as my eternal King! What a glorious day! I believe that it is because of my happiness in You, and my love for my unsaved family and friends, that I am so moved in this reminder this morning. Please keep me very alert and praying for my friends that need to know You. Please keep them evident in my mind so that I may continually pray for them. Thank You Lord for saving my soul! Thank You for a place called Heaven, where I will one day join You around the throne of our Father! What a Day that will be! Jesus, my prayers are humbly placed at You feet asking that You honor my requests to day, for I ask it in Your precious name, 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!
Woe To You……
Scripture: Genesis 36 – 37; Matthew 11
OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)
20 Then Jesus began to denounce the towns where he had done so many of his miracles, because they hadn’t repented of their sins and turned to God.21 “What sorrow awaits you, Korazin and Bethsaida! For if the miracles I did in you had been done in wicked Tyre and Sidon, their people would have repented of their sins long ago, clothing themselves in burlap and throwing ashes on their heads to show their remorse.22 I tell you, Tyre and Sidon will be better off on judgment day than you.23 “And you people of Capernaum, will you be honored in heaven? No, you will go down to the place of the dead. For if the miracles I did for you had been done in wicked Sodom, it would still be here today.24 I tell you, even Sodom will be better off on judgment day than you.” Matt 11:20-24 (NLT)
APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)
I believe that too often we tend to think about how good we are as a church, or a nation, that God would surely bless everyone in it. I also think that we tend to take it for granted that because we go to this or that church every week we will also go to heaven. Friends, there is only one way to get there, and that is to accept Jesus as Lord of you life. Just like Jesus may have done numerous miracles in our church, or in our family, so we may be tempted to think that we too are among those blessed, and will surely reap God’s blessings. These verses tell us that although Jesus performed many miracles in these towns, yet they (the people) will surely die and go to hell if they don’t make personal decisions to accept Him. We too must turn to God, and not think for a moment that we can depend on our blessed lineage to also slip into Heaven. It just doesn’t happen that way. Woe to any that believe that way. A personal decision to accept Jesus is THE only way to ever see Jesus and/or Heaven. The one good thing is that, if you are able to read this devotional today, there is still time for you to make the type decision of which I speak about here. Don’t delay your decision friend, we are not promised one moment past the present breath. Contact me if you would like a friend to talk with about this decision. Directly from God’s Word I will find the words to help you in your decision to accept Jesus. Respond to this posting today, please?
PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)
Thank You Father for saving my soul. please help me to be sensitive to those who have yet to make this most important decision. Please direct me to someone today that I may help in their dilemma so that they may personally know that they will see You one day, regardless of what may go on around them. Thank You for making this provision for us and providing a means for forgiveness of sin and the promise of eternal life.
A Covenant Relationship
Scripture: Genesis 17
OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am El-Shaddai—‘God Almighty.’ Serve me faithfully and live a blameless life.2 I will make a covenant with you, by which I will guarantee to give you countless descendants.”3 At this, Abram fell face down on the ground. Then God said to him,4 “This is my covenant with you: I will make you the father of a multitude of nations!5 What’s more, I am changing your name. It will no longer be Abram. Instead, you will be called Abraham, for you will be the father of many nations.6 I will make you extremely fruitful. Your descendants will become many nations, and kings will be among them! Gen 17:1-6 (NLT)
APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)
Much is said in God’s Work about covenant relationships. In this particular chapter there were several covenant relationships made with Abram (Abraham) and they all were similar in form. God made a covenant that He would do certain things and this was either preceded, or followed by, certain things that would be required by Abram and/or his people. In this particular covenant God told his servant who was once fatherless, that he would become the father of countless descendants and of many nations, and to mark this his name would be changed to reflect the new him, because Abraham actually means ‘Father of Many’. Now prior to all this being revealed, God demanded of Abram that he vow to serve Him faithfully and live a blameless life. Throughout God’s Word He makes many promises to us, the greatest of which was the gift of His Son Jesus. In this particular covenant, God sent His Son so that those of us that believe on, and accept Him as Lord of our life, would have eternal life. At Christmas time we celebrate the gift that was presented to us. I trust that for all who may read this devotional, You would truly accept this gift and complete the covenant presented by God, for I guarantee you that He will live up to His part of the covenant by opening heaven’s gates and receiving us into eternity with Him. Friend I pray that your eyes will be opened to this invitation, because the alternative is not very bright for those who refuse to accept Jesus. An eternal life of damnation and the unpleasentries of Hell is not anything that I can imagine anyone wanting to set as a goal in their life.
PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)
Father I thank You for the greatest gift ever given – Your Son. I thank You also for touching my life and encouraging me to accept Your gift some 35 years ago. I am concerned about the numerous number of family and/or friends and/or co-workers that have chosen to ignore Your gift and the covenant You have offered to us. I pray that this will be an important Christmas weekend in the lives of those that You have touched my life through, because I pray that You will once again overly sensitize their hearts so that they will understand how hopeless life is without You. May they experience the real meaning of the reason that we celebrate Christmas as they surrender and submit their lives to You this week.
Nuggets From God's Word 