Tag: Help

Here’s Your Source of Strength for 2023

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

DATE POSTED Saturday, 2022-12-31
WRITTEN AT: O’Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Psalm 121:1-4
TRANSLATION: The Voice (VOICE)

BIBLE TEXT: 1 I look up at the vast size of the mountains – from where will my help come in times of trouble?
2 The Eternal Creator of heaven and earth and these mountains will send the help I need. 3 He holds you firmly in place;
He will not let you fall. He who keeps you will never take His eyes off you and never drift off to sleep. 4 What a relief! … 

APPLICATION: When sickness comes our way, we look for a doctor’s office, or even a hospital. When financial difficulties become evident, we tend to look for a banker. When businesses look at opening a new store in an area, they gather tons of analytical data, history of businesses in that area, the growth state of the population in that area, and they make assumptions about the future, based on past data. Is that what we should do as a new year dawns? Isn’t there a good chance that, based on past experience, the new year will come with its own set of challenges that are totally unknown to humans? So how does one prepare for that? Some might tell you that the mountains are huge, so why not go to the mountains and ask for a word. But David encouraged us to not stop there, for you could have a one-on-one conversation with the God who created the mountain, then you could ask Him! Some might advise that you go and see the Pastor of that huge church just down the road, get his advice, or have him pray for you, so that your eyes might be opened to the events ahead that you should prepare for. But since that Pastor goes to sleep on a regular basis, David encouraged us to seek out the God who created that Pastor, and who never goes to sleep. In fact, as you interact with God and enjoy relationship with Him, you will find that He always watches out for you, no matter what circumstances come your way. So, what is there to worry about? Yes, God may allow you to enter into a new year in a few hours, but isn’t there a lot to sit and worry over? Dear friends, I believe that God placed this Scripture right in our face for a very specific purpose today. After all, why worry about something, when we’ve been promised by the supreme God, the One who created heaven and earth, the mountains and even our own bodies, that He would take extra care in: keeping watch over us, directing our path, loving us unconditionally, and preparing a place in Heaven just for us? That’s a sure thing Brothers and Sisters! That’s something that we could ‘go to the bank with’! Remember, if you know Jesus as your personal Savior, and you worry, then you are basically saying to Him that you don’t trust Him at His word. Let me encourage you to enter into daily communion with Jesus Christ. Talk to Him in prayer – in your own personal words, as He wants to hear what’s on your heart. Listen for His instructions as you read His word each day. To have a relationship, it takes 2-way communication, and Jesus is quite capable of speaking for Himself as You attune yourself to His instructions in His Word. You’ve seen the bumper stickers ‘Jesus is my co-pilot’. Let me encourage you to enter 2023 with Jesus as your ‘pilot’. Only go where He directs and when He says so. Only speak what He leads you to say. Be obedient to His written instructions found in your very own Bible. Spend personal devotional time with the Lord every day – reading His Word and conversing with Him in prayer. Spouses learn so much about each other that they could finish each other’s sentences. Imagine it you could have that kind of relationship with Jesus in 2023!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: God created such vast and mighty things, but in the lives of simple humans, God is seeking relationship! With God as our ‘Pilot’ in 2023, we are in good hands!

PRAYER: Lord, I believe that we are on Your mind every day, just as we were when You hung on the cross at Calvary sacrificing Your life for the redemption of our sin. I also believe that You would never give up on us, especially after such a sacrifice. Please draw us to the cross each day, where we may be reminded of Your unconditional love, and Your supreme power. Having no idea what 2023 holds for us, yet we are confident that we can do ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthens us. Knowing that You will never leave us or forsake us, please give us strength and stamina to remain faithful as You hold our hand and guide us through the upcoming year. May each day be filled with obvious signs of Your presence, Your love, and Your overwhelming power over all things. Please continue to work miraculously in the hearts of those who are undecided about their eternal destiny, for we know that no decision on their part, leaves them with a destiny of Hell. You proved Your love for us, so that we could avoid Hell, if we accept You as Lord and Savior. Please Lord, send a revival in 2023 that will reopen the eyes of the church – Your children, and also continue to speak intently to the stubborn hearts of the unsaved, that their eyes would finally be opened to the hope that lies in knowing You personally. 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!

HELP, Lord, HELP!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Help, Needs, Our Help comes from God, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Wednesday, 2021-04-07
WRITTEN AT: O’Brien, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: Psalm 22:19
TRANSLATION: New English Translation (NET)

BIBLE TEXT: 19 But you, O Lord, do not remain far away.
You are my source of strength. Hurry and help me!

OBSERVATION: It is somewhat unfortunate that much of our time in communion with God is spent asking for His help in some form or fashion. After all, an onlooker might think that there would not be enough hours in a day to thank God and praise Him for His goodness. In fact many of us may feel like the Psalms consist mostly of songs of praise and thanksgiving, but they’re not. As we meditate on the Word today, let us remember that God wants to hear not only our heart of praise, but our needs and our wants also.

APPLICATION: I’ve heard where kids call on their mom so much that mothers have sometimes asked in response ‘child, don’t you know any other name?’. Looking in from the outside, this sounds funny, but a child learns that they could ask mom for anything, as she has all the answers, and could meet their needs on demand (Ha)! But doesn’t that childlike concept continue into adulthood? Don’t we often feel like God is something like mom also? Without hesitancy and without doubt, we could easily say to those around us that our God is all-powerful; all-knowing; Creator of the entire world; Healer of the sick; and Savior of the world. But in spite of being His children, we are still needy and want God close by, every hour of every day. I believe this may have been how David felt. You see, David was going through a situation where his enemies were down to dividing up his clothes, like the soldiers did to Jesus while He hung on the cross. It seemed like death was certain, and approaching very quickly. Although David had been extremely strong during his prime and very independent in his thinking and planning, yet he was at a stage of desperation where He felt like only God could help him escape and go on. You know, as we look at this and consider how David may have felt, how God must have felt, and how we feel today, I believe we could see where this plea of David’s was quite natural, and kind of what God expects. You see, David had grown up knowing that God was with him, directing his path, and protecting Him as necessary – much like how the child of God feels today. However, I believe that God placed David in a position, as He does with us today, where we realize that our God is still enthroned and wants us to recognize Him as Lord and Master over everything. To do this, God must sometimes show us that our power is limited without Him, and that we must still look to Him as our Guide, Protecter, Deliverer, Healer and Savior. Imagine how soon we forget when we are not reminded of someone? Imagine how cocky we would get if we thought that the whole world had no boundaries for us, for we had it all under control? My friends, we still serve an awesome God, and while He has blessed us with an awful lot, yet He is still God. Like David, we still need Him every day, so although we have become independent of our parents, yet we are always at the mercy and grace of our Lord. Let Him be God, for we are not, nor will we ever become God. But He is as near as the mention of His name. Thank Him for His unlimited blessings, and seek Him for all your daily needs. One day soon, we will bow before Him in limitless praise for all eternity!

PRAYER: Although the world may assume that we are liberated and no longer need to depend on Jesus, they could not be further from the truth. Thank You for saving our soul, and thank You for giving us power to overcome obstacles each day that may otherwise pull us away from the cross and lead us down a road of sin and destruction. Like David, we cry out to You oh Lord, knowing that only through Your power and Your immeasurable grace that we are forgiven of our sins and we stand ready for Your return, so that we could soon be worshipping You and the Father in Heaven. We place ourselves at Your feet and pray that You might continue to protect, heal, love and encourage us while here on earth. Please make us acceptable in Your sight, and worthy of being Your witness here on earth, so that You many be glorified on earth by all men, even as You are in heaven. 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!

Look No Further For Help

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

DATE WRITTEN: Wednesday, 2020-09-30
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: Psalm 121
TRANSLATION: Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT:  1 Shall I look to the mountain gods for help? 2 No! My help is from Jehovah who made the mountains! And the heavens too! 3-4 He will never let me stumble, slip, or fall. For he is always watching, never sleeping. 5 Jehovah himself is caring for you! He is your defender.[a] 6 He protects you day and night. 7 He keeps you from all evil and preserves your life. 8 He keeps his eye upon you as you come and go and always guards you.

OBSERVATION: My wife and I have a small dog who is deathly afraid of thunder, or any loud noise. The minute she hears a loud noise she immediately runs to an adult shaking uncontrollably, and looks for a way to get in the same seat and as close as she could get to one of us! I believe that humans are very similar and we run for cover and/or protection when frightened. I love the comparison David uses in this Psalm, for although he would be tempted to run to the mountains, or as some did, run to the mountain gods, but instead he knew the Almighty God who would welcome his cry for help. The God who made the mountains and the heavens! This help is also available to you!

APPLICATION: As I studied this Scripture today, I was made keenly aware that some look to family when frightened, or in trouble, or just need help. Others feel secure in their financial worth, others in their job, while others tend to feel secure in the nice home they own. However, I don’t believe that any of us would run to these mentioned here for help, since they tend to keep their distance from the needy, and they may have established limits on the degree that they would help others. Furthermore, should disaster come, all of these mentioned would be impacted just like we would, so they would be scrambling for safety or security in the moment also. But friends, I also realized that while those who know the God of this universe, will run to God for shelter in their time of storm, I don’t believe that those who have wanted nothing to do with God, or His Son Jesus, will call on His name. People realize that their rejection of God throughout their lifetime, has established a wedge between them, and they therefore refrain from seeking God when times are tough, when disaster comes, or when the battle is raging, because they just don’t have that type of relationship. So what do they do when they desperately need help? Friends, I know that if you are in the latter group that I mentioned, you may feel like God is there for everyone when times are tough. That may be the case, but why would you want God then, and not even recognize Him when everything is going well for you? Can’t you see where you can’t have your cake, and eat it too? Like David, I must remind you precious friends, that Jesus died so that ALL who believe on Him will be saved. If you insist on rejecting that offer then you really don’t know Him or His Father when you are backed into a corner and flooded with problems and issues. For those who, like David and myself, have invited Jesus to be Lord of our lives, then you have a personal Savior who loves you above all else, and He stands ready to be your God in times when you look to Him for mercy, help, protection, reassurance and everlasting love and hope. It’s yet another reminder that we should be in constant prayer and energized effort to introduce our friends to our Friend, Savior and Lord, for only He can save them from their sin, and only He has they power to be their help through every life-situation.

PRAYER: Oh Lord my God, how great You are? You made the mountains, the majesty of the prairies and the wide opened skies. There is no problem that You can’t handle and no giant that You can’t protect us from. So, like David, I ask that You shower my readers and I with your blessings, and Your hand of protection. We are constantly looking for protection and help in our unprecedented times, for You alone are God, and You alone have all the answers about what our tomorrows will consist of. Lord, we ask that You always protect us, always love us and always guide us through every step in this life. Please touch my unsaved family and friends who have refused to accept You as Lord. Oh that this may be another opportunity for them today as they hear Your call on their life. 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!

How to Defend Against Every Kind of Attack

On By Ed AlgreenIn Follow Christ, Imitator of Christ, ObedienceLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – Easy-To-Read Version (ERV) ~ 2 Corinthians 6:6-7 ~ We show that we are God’s servants by our pure lives, by our understanding, by our patience, and by our kindness. We show it by the Holy Spirit, by genuine love, by speaking the truth, and by depending on God’s power. This right way of living has prepared us to defend ourselves against every kind of attack.

THOUGHTS: There are many who accept the Lord thinking that all of their troubles will now be gone, as they will now associate themselves with ‘holy’ and ‘righteous’ people. Friends may I remind you that as long as we remain on this sinful earth, we will encounter sinful, hurtful people, as there are many who will cross our paths that have decided to stay clear of our best friend, our Savior and our soon coming King. Prior to the verses listed above, Paul had just shared with the Corinthians how much he and his team had endured in their ministry. Fortunately for us, Paul went on to tell them what he attributed his success to in dealing with sinful people and their deliberate attack on children of God. This is helpful information for us, as we are bound to find some awful, unfortunate, opposition as we seek to spread the Good News, and light, among a world filled with darkness, deceit and bad intentions. Here are some things that Paul teaches that might help us stay stronger in our faith and true to our Master, especially as we deal with the vices of Satan here on earth:

  • Purity – keep ourselves pure in God’s sight and our earthly opposition will see the evidence of a man/woman controlled by God. I consider purity to be a true and consistent witness for God. True to His teachings and always consistent in obedience to His Word no matter who our audience might be;
  • Understanding – Don’t be so quick to jump to conclusions that a person is wrong or unfaithful, but instead try to look at them through the lens of God. I believe He sees them as His very own creation that just needs a little encouragement, teaching and mentoring by one of His stronger servants at the time;
  • Patience – Isn’t it strange how we get so impatient with someone who is doing precisely what we struggled with just a very short time ago? Wouldn’t it be better to share with them a spirit of understanding because you can relate to their dilemma? Wouldn’t it encourage them to know that you are living proof of what our awesome God can do in the life of a messed up, weak individual?
  • Kindness – Part of the reason that the unsaved is having a second look at a Christian, is because they see where we have a sense of calm over us; a strength inside of us that they just can’t comprehend. While I believe that God can miraculously open their eyes to this, I also believe that unbelievers will see this through the characteristics of the believer. Kindness is especially important in this fast-paced, selfish, unkind world we live in. After all, why would we be ‘kind’ to a total stranger, or to one who is out to get us? This is a character of God that must be displayed in Christians, if we ever expect for the lost to see Jesus in our actions.

Fortunately, Paul went on to say how he gained the strength to do the above, so that we might also know how to gain and stay attuned to the blessings of God in and through the characteristics listed. Paul shared that he depended on the Holy Spirit; through genuine love; by speaking the truth, and by depending on God’s power. So friends, when you read the above and allow your minds to wonder into the question as to who can possible achieve such things, allow God to use the qualities Paul told us that helped him. Remember, God is all powerful, and that you and He can accomplish great things – greater than anything you could ever imagine!

PRAYER: Lord God, Your holiness and Your character is what we desire, so that the world might recognize to whom we belong. We have so many temptations and trials thrown at us every day, and we can only do this thing called ‘life’ – Christian Life, through the power of Your Holy Spirit, through our genuine love for everyone, by always speaking the truth in love, and through Your awesome power. It is only then that I believe we will stand a chance at defending ourselves against every attack of Satan. We know that greater is He that is in us than he that is in this old wicked world. Please have Your will and way in me today, and please touch the lives of those that will read this devotional today, for I ask this in the precious and holy 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 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!

Bursting Into Songs of Thanksgiving!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Praise, Prayer, ThanksgivingLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – 7 The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving. ~ Psalm 28:7 ~ New Living Translation (NLT)

THOUGHTS: David, the Psalmist, had such great results in his prayer life that he would often break into outbursts of praise, such as seen in this verse from Psalm 28. Was he always this pumped up about his prayer life? No, David was very much human, as we are, so he often became impatient, despondent and felt abandoned by God, especially when God’s timing and David’s immediacy was at odds. Friends, as we build solid relationships with God, perhaps we too may one day identify with the Psalmist in saying, Oh Lord…:

  • You are my strength – because so often I am overwhelmed by life and the circumstances that result from my being here. You help me to overcome and You give me strength to carry on;
  • You are my shield – for in every circumstance of life I am protected from the evil one, and you shield me from the wicked that would otherwise pull me down and destroy my witness;
  • I have learned to trust You – for you are my only constant in life. You are always there for me, and You love me enough to not answer all of my prayers in the manner in which I selfishly and ignorantly ask without any vision of tomorrow;
  • You help me – especially when I am weak, down and out. You have restored my faith in You and assured me of Your awesome power. You along are God!
  • I am so overwhelmed with Your goodness that – I can barely contain myself. My soul rejoices in the awesome God that I adore and serve, for You are God, and besides You, there is no other. I burst into thanksgiving right now as I reflect on Your goodness. Please help me to consistently thank and worship You, because even when I am weak, distraught and feel so far away from You, yet You are always there for me. Thank You Father! Thank You Lord Jesus for being my awesome and loving God!

Lord, may we daily burst into songs of thanksgiving as we recognize Your awesome power and love in our lives and through our walk with You. Lord, You are good and Your mercies endures forever!

PRAYER: Lord, may we daily burst into songs of thanksgiving as we recognize Your awesome power and love in our lives and through our walk with You. Lord, You are good, and Your mercies endures forever! You are so worthy of our praise, and we are so needy of our awesome, powerful, loving God. Thank You Lord Jesus! We are Your humble servants, so I ask these things in the name of our loving Savior and 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!

Promised Help From The Lord!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, Hope, PromiseLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Living Translation – Psalm 130:1-5): 1 From the depths of despair, O Lord, I call for your help. 2 Hear my cry, O Lord. Pay attention to my prayer. 3 Lord, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? 4 But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you. 5 I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word.

THOUGHTS: David was known as one of the great men of God in the Old Testament, yet he faced struggles and he needed help. I’m sure this sounds all too familiar, as each of us are face with challenges daily that are beyond our reach or ability to satisfy the need. This is why I believe that God drew my attention to verse 5 in particular. One translation actually relays the understanding that David called on God for help because He had promised it. This translation basically says that David was depending on, or had placed his hope in, God’s Word. Friends there is an old song that says something along the lines of, if I never had a problems, I wouldn’t know what God could do. I don’t believe this means that we intentionally invoke problems so we could prove God’s power, but like David, we should be so comfortable in God’s Word and in our relationship with God, that we could be reassured that even in our struggles, or hard times, or even challenging times, we know that God is there for us and has the power and desire to help us through our challenging times. I would encourage us to just remember that we serve an all-powerful God – the One that spoke this universe into existence, the One who raised the dead back to life, the One who placed Jesus into the womb of a virgin, the One who raised Jesus back to life after 3 days. What is the challenge you are facing again? Does it even come close to any of these examples I just listed? Yet we know the full story – that each of these overwhelmingly challenging things were met with resolution by our supernatural God! What an awesome God We Serve! Perhaps one of my readers might not be comfortable with placing your faith and/or trust in this God that I love and trust so dearly. May I recommend that you contact me so that I might pray with you about your relationship with God? Please use the information in my ‘Footnote’ to contact me and request prayer.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, You have promised that You would never leave us or forsake us. You proved Your undying love for us, by sacrificing Your one and only Son on a cruel cross so that we might be acceptable to Your Father and have the promise of eternal life in heaven with You one day. Awesome! Powerful! Love like we have never witnessed or seen demonstrated again. Thank You Lord Jesus! May we learn to place our faith and our trust in You and allow You to guide our daily footsteps and to have confidence that our life challenges require only a touch from You or a spoken word, as You did on the Sea of Galilee to calm the waters. You are an awesome Father, and I thank You for the love that You show to me and my readers every day that we are allowed to open our eyes and see the beauty and majesty that You provide for us. Bless us again today and help us to trust always in Your promises, for this I humbly ask in Your precious and strong name, Lord 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!

The Prescription For Help

On By Ed AlgreenIn Prayer, Prescription, TroubleLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (God’s Word Translation – James 5:13-18): 13 If any of you are having trouble, pray. If you are happy, sing psalms. 14 If you are sick, call for the church leaders. Have them pray for you and anoint you with olive oil in the name of the Lord. 15 (Prayers offered in faith will save those who are sick, and the Lord will cure them.) If you have sinned, you will be forgiven. 16 So admit your sins to each other, and pray for each other so that you will be healed. Prayers offered by those who have God’s approval are effective. 17 Elijah was human like us. Yet, when he prayed that it wouldn’t rain, no rain fell on the ground for three-and-a-half years. 18 Then he prayed again. It rained, and the ground produced crops.

 THOUGHTS: Most of us feel a whole lot better if we leave our doctor with a prescription in hand, don’t we? I believe that most of us also feel better when we read God’s Word, and walk away to face our day with renewed strength, encouragement or boldness to share the Word with others, or the joy that fills our heart! I’ve heard older folk offer me certain homemade remedies and they would say, take this for anything that ails you! I always thought that was funny, but I am more and more convinced that we can take in the Word of God, apply it to our lives (not the life of another sinner who, we feel, needs it worse than us!!!!) and then stand amazed of its many applications. I will break these verses apart to emphasize the prescription of each problem mentioned, with hopes that we will reflect on this as we are affected today, or sometime in the future:

In times of trouble Pray to your Father in heaven;
In happiness Sing praises to the Father, the instigator of our happiness;
In sickness Ask your church leaders to anoint you with olive oil and pray for you (olive oil was used in setting one aside for special attention by God);

Friends, we are further assured that the prayers of a righteous person (a person who has God’s approval) are effective, and the example of Elijah is a reminder of just how effective our prayers can be. So these are tried and proven actions that we can depend on, but just like any doctor or pharmacy today – if you don’t know them, or use their services, it is impossible to get the help that friends might tell you they received from them. So please allow me to introduce you to my Father, my Lord, my Provider, my Healer, my Counselor who will listen to my troubles and direct me in the right path, but most of all, He’s my Savior – for Jesus saved me in spite of my sinful life, when I invited Him to. Prescriptions are only acceptable by my pharmacy, if they come from my doctor. Similarly, the prescriptions noted above are only applicable to those associated with the ‘Doctor’ – Jesus Christ. He is within your reach friend! Please read my ‘Footnote’ below, especially the link to ‘How to Know Jesus’ and act on the instructions today friend. Let me know about your decision, so that I may pray with you as you make this change in your life! Jesus loves you, and so do I!

 PRAYER: Father, You are my Rock – a firm foundation in which I can depend and lean on in all aspects of my life. Thank You Lord God for being there with me through the good times of life and through the challenging times. My faith has been strengthened when my prescriptions have been filled and followed as You prescribed in Your Word. Thank You for caring for Your children, even when it has been impossible to get in to my primary care physician, or when we can no longer afford medical insurance or attention. Your love for us goes way beyond the cross of Calvary, for it is shown daily in Your watchful care and concern for us. Thank You heavenly Father! Please touch the heart of each one that may take time to meditate on this devotional today, or even to the one that might ‘stumble across this’ (divinely led by You!!) in search of help for circumstances beyond their control. Lead them to the Cross, dear God. Ignite within us a new flame that will be evident to those that we come into contact with today, so that they may have a burning desire to know the source of our true happiness. All this for Your glory oh God, for I ask this in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, 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 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 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!