Tag: Honor

Depend on God

On By Ed AlgreenIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

Who fills the sky with clouds,

    preparing rain for the earth,

    Then turning the mountains green with grass,

    feeding both cattle and crows.

    He’s not impressed with horsepower;

    the size of our muscles means little to him.

    Those who fear God get God’s attention;

    they can depend on his strength.

(The Message – Psalm 147:8-11)

Thoughts:

When we depend on God, several things occur:

  • We gain faith in Him: Imagine as a child you not would invite a friend over nor take something out of the refrigerator without first asking your parent(s). So it is with God. If we would learn to depend on God for His provision, and for His direction, and for His wisdom, can you imagine the faith that we would truly develop in Him? The truth is, God provides everything for us already, we just need to stop and recognize His goodness and His provision.
  • We learn to depend on Him: I have heard stories of missionaries who went overseas to teach folk how to farm, because they learned that as long as their church/group continued sending food, the people would sit and wait for the food to arrive. However when they taught them to farm, they actually taught them to depend on God for rain, mentioned in the first part of this passage, and to wait on God instead for His provision. Imagine if we would learn to depend on God for the simple things in life? I’m not advocating that we not try to help ourselves, but we should always acknowledge the role that God plays in our everyday necessities (the very air that we breathe, the good health to rise and care for our families, the precious love of Jesus when we feel so alone, etc).
  • We learn to fear God: Fear is another word for respect, or stand in awe of God. What if a farmer stopped being blessed with rain from above? What if we stopped being blessed with the daily provisions of God? When we depend on Him and recognize that we can do nothing without His powerful, strong hand upon us, then we grow to honor Him, stand in awe of His majesty, stand amazed in His love for even us, and respect Him for His very nature, for He is a loving and caring God to such an unloving world. I am overwhelmed by His love for me!

Friends, I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus, my Lord. His ways are not my ways, but always the best way! I honor Him, respect and fear Him and I have developed a great faith in Him. Please allow Him to work in your life, to love you, care for you and always provide for you. He truly deserves our praise!

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, You breathed life into mankind and each and every day provide the very things that we need to survive. Thank You for being such a loving and caring God. There is so much that I can praise You for each day. So much that can really serve to open my eyes to Your awesome presence and willingness to care for me. Lord, I pray that should one of Your children read this devotional today, who has not recognized the truth of Your goodness because they really don’t know You personally, that You will work in their hearts and make them curious enough that they might follow my tips in the footnote as they personally seek You and come to know You in a very personal way. I love You Lord! You are so good to me! I praise You and ask these favors in the wonderful 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 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!

What Are You Doing To Christ?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Holy, Holy Spirit, Pleasing to God, Purity, RighteousnessLeave a comment

The Bible – The Good News Translation

1 Corinthians 6:15–17

15 You know that your bodies are parts of the body of Christ. Shall I take a part of Christ’s body and make it part of the body of a prostitute? Impossible! 16 Or perhaps you don’t know that the man who joins his body to a prostitute becomes physically one with her? The scripture says quite plainly, “The two will become one body.” 17 But he who joins himself to the Lord becomes spiritually one with him.

Thoughts:

Many Christians cringe when they sit down and watch a movie about the crucifixion of our Lord. Many more abhor any type of disrespect of God, either in abusing His name, or dishonoring Him in either way. These things are honorable for the children of God, but how often do we stop and consider the abuse we are subjecting our Father to when we find ourselves in places where sin abound, or in a movie where there is no respect for man or God? Paul was addressing the subject of male prostitution that had become very prominent in the Corinthian church, and he reminded them that they should consider that they are not just abusing and disrespecting their physical bodies, but that God’s Holy Spirit has taken up residence in their holy temple, when they first accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior. I believe that this obvious sin is very clear to see friends, but what God challenged me in through this scripture, is to be extra careful about what I subject my eyes to, and what I subject my ears to, and what I allow my mind to envelope and ponder, and the things that I abuse and subject my body to, for the Spirit of the most High is resident in this body. Just for a moment, think about the idea of going out one morning and spray-painting the inside of your garage, with you brand new car sitting in the garage! Can you image what the paint job of your car will look like when you have finished beautifying the walls of your garage? OK, in the same way, our bodies are much like the garage, whatever we subject it to, we are subjecting/disrespecting God’s Holy Spirit to, that resides within this body. Shame on us? Ashamedly, I would say yes, very much so. I remember the words of an old saint who once found herself in a location that she regretted. She openly prayed, Lord Jesus, please don’t come now!! Funny? Yes, but like the car in the garage, the damage is already done. An old nursery rhyme or song is very appropriate here: “Oh be careful little eyes what you see ……”

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, I am especially thankful for Your Holy Spirit! I am thankful that You created me, and saved me so that my body might be the temple of the Holy Spirit. Please forgive me for the times that I’ve abused the residence and Lordship of Your Holy Spirit, for I am ashamed. Thank You for directing me to this passage of scripture, and sharpening my awareness of the abuse of this temple where Your Holy Spirit resides. I pray that I might concede to full obedience to Your Word, and that I might protect and preserve this temple, and never subject it to anything contrary to what is taught in Your Word. I believe that in such a condition, You will be free to accomplish Your work through me that You have in store for me to do while here below. I’m afraid that I’m not alone in this dear Jesus, so I ask that You speak words of wisdom and encouragement to all your children reading this blog today, so that Your holiness and mighty work might be preserved and accomplished here in this sinful world. Please have Your will and way in our lives today, is my humble prayer that I ask in Your precious and holy name, Jesus my Lord, AMEN!

 

NOTE: 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.