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Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-02-27 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Genesis 50:19-21 (TLB) |
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Text: |
19 But Joseph told them, “Don’t be afraid of me. Am I God, to judge and punish you? 20 As far as I am concerned, God turned into good what you meant for evil, for he brought me to this high position I have today so that I could save the lives of many people. 21 No, don’t be afraid. Indeed, I myself will take care of you and your families.” And he spoke very kindly to them, reassuring them. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Joseph had all the reason in the world to bring revenge on his brothers, and he had the power to simply say the word, and they would have been eliminated. Instead he chose to look at all that God had accomplished through him, in spite of all that his brothers had cruelly forced on him. A sincere man of God who showed the compassion of God under extreme circumstances. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| It takes a great man/woman of God to withold revenge when they’ve been hurt, and instead to give God glory for all that He did even through circumstances that seemed extremely awful to them. There is another excellent example of this given in my New Testament reading today. In Matthew 18:26 and following, we see the story of a servant who received forgiveness of a huge debt that he owed, yet he was unable to forgive his debtor who owed him money. Just the complete opposite to the example of Joseph. Notice the difference, one case ended in forgiveness and with a true example of God, the One who gave His very own Son to pay the price for our sin. Using His God-given strength, He could have avoided the cross, plus He had every reason to seek revenge against those who had Him crucified, but instead He did the Father’s will so that we might have eternal life. In the other example, we see the heart of bitter, ungodly men today, for this world does a great job in teaching mankind about selfish desires and ungodly revenge. Which of these are closest to the response you might give to those who seek to offend you? Hopefully you have decided to seek God’s face for His leading in your life to best handle situations that may portray His compassionate heart. Please allow me to introduce you to my Savior. I really want you to know about this awesome Jesus of mine who not only shows compassion to His followers, but also has the power to help us be more like Him in being compassionate to even the vilest offenders that may cross our path today. There is scripture included in the link behind the words ‘To Know Jesus’ below, please take time to read what the Bible has to say about your salvation. Otherwise, please feel free to contact me via email or see a local Bible teaching pastor who would gladly show you the way to heaven. Showing compassion to one another is a means of proving that your relaionship with the primary Compassionate One, is evident. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, I believe that the world is dying to see a difference in Your children, compared to the rest of this cruel world. Thank You for the lesson in being compassionate today, and the great example through Your servant Joseph, who had every reason to lash back at his brothers, and had every authority at his command to totally destroy them. Yet as a man under Your authority, seeking to be like You in every way, chose to humble himself and praise You for the work You accomplished through him, rather than paying back through revenge. Lord, I strongly believe that we must seek Your powerful hand to help us in circumstances like this, because even in circumstances of forgiveness we still want You to be glorified. Although I might be first at your throne today in response to this lesson, I pray that You might also touch the hearts of each of my readers today and fill us with a heart like Yours, one that will show compassion and God’s love in every response that we give today. I ask these things humbly dear Lord, but also boldly knowing that You can humble even the vilest offender. May Your children be great imitators of their loving and compassionate Savior today, beginning with me, for this is my humble prayer oh Lord, 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: Humble
Obedience From The Heart
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Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-02-01 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Psalm 119:33-34 (Voice) |
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Text: |
33 Eternal One, show me how to live according to Your statutes, and I will keep them always. 34 Grant me understanding so that I can keep Your law and keep it wholeheartedly. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| We know from the life of David that there were many ups and downs, or highs and lows in his life, and perhaps that’s why many of us can identify with David so much. However, David became pretty special to God though, and we can see from our verses today that David’s heart was one of humbleness before God. He had a desire to learn more of God Word, and His perfect will for his life, feeling like if he could only understand it, he would put his whole heart into being obedient to it. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Ever had a time in your life where you were about to get upset with a child because they were about to do something that you had corrected them on many times before? Then you realized that they were doing their very best to do what they probably understood from you, but just not as perfectly as you were hoping for? Isn’t that the way it is with God’s Word sometimes? You want to do things according to your understanding of God’s teachings, yet you become confused by all that is being taught from various pulpits, classrooms or media platforms. Friends, I believe that we need to pay close attention to the method used by David. Notice how he went to the Source to ask for wisdom and understanding? Notice how he had determined in his own mind that with this understanding and additional wisdom, came a determined heart to be obedient to whatever God revealed to him? I believe that often we become so hung up on wanting to hear an explanation of the Bible that fits our own personal desires and wishes that we tune out the teachings and explanations that are contrary to predetermined ideas. I believe that when we seek God’s face, like David did, we will often be led in opposite directions to what was determined in our minds, because God’s ways are so different to our ways. The bottom line for us though, is that only what’s done for Jesus will last. Only when we do what’s pleasing to Him and in full obedience to Him, will we truly align our lives with His will for us. So shall we seek to follow David’s example and seek God’s face, asking for Him to clarify exactly what it is that we need to do, so that we may be a pleasing fragrance in His nostrils? It’s not about what self wants or desires. It’s all about pleasing God in all that we do, friends, so that His perfect will might be accomplished through even us – His humble servants. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Father in heaven, You have demonstrated Your love for us by sending Your only Son as a sacrifice for our sin. Yet we love grudgingly and with many strings attached. You gave us Your Word – Your book of instructions for life, so that we might know the way to eternal life, and that we might know what pleases the Father. Yet we often choose to do our own thing, in hopes of selfish returns and personal achievements. Your servant David demonstrated through this Psalm today, that it’s not until we stop and surrender wholeheartedly to You, and Your perfect will for our lives, that we truly become a pleasing aroma to You and usable instruments by You to reach unsaved loved ones. Lord, may this be a day that You will be busy at work in our understanding of Your statutes and commands, whether we are sitting to ‘soak in’ the words from Your Holy Bible, or whether driving along being blessed by all that You have made, or whether through the spoken word of another believer. Lord, may Your will become perfectly clear to us today, is my honest plea and heart’s desire, with total thanksgiving for all that You will do today, 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! | |
How To Avoid Obstacles to Prayer
May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………
The Bible Reference: Psalm 66:16-20
The Bible Text: All you people who worship God, come and I will tell you what he has done for me. I cried out to him for help, and I praised him. If I had been hiding sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened to me. But God did listen to me; he heard my prayer. Praise God! He did not turn away from me—he listened to my prayer. He continues to show his love to me!
The Bible Translation: Easy-To-Read Version (ERV)
My Take Away: I believe it is obvious from this Psalm that David is sharing with us the secrets to successful prayer and the obstacles that might prevent answers to prayer. Here’s a few things that I believe comes through in this passage today:
- You must know, and have a relationship with the One you are praying to – If you don’t why do you suppose you would ‘cry out’ to someone you don’t even know? Why would you offer up praise to someone you don’t know? How would you know that they deserve your praise? Jesus said that His sheep knows Him and He knows them by name. That’s relationship, friend!
- Clear any sin from your heart – Jesus said that we should take the plank out of our own eye before praying for the speck in your friend’s eye. David said in these verses that God would not even listen if you were trying to cover up sin that’s in your heart. Remember, God’s Holy Spirit will not reside where sin resides. He and sin cannot co-exist. We must seek forgiveness of sin, invite Jesus to reside in sin’s place, then we would have relationship with Him and be able to pray to Him.
Praise God for who He is, and His importance in your life – The world will show you all that could be better in your life – according to their principles. God says that when you acknowledge Him, worship Him, praise Him and seek His face, then He will hear from heaven, supply your needs and heal your land! There is such power in knowing God and having a personal relationship with His Son, Jesus!
I believe it is safe to say, with confirmation from God’s Word, that anytime we feel like our prayers are not being attended to, we need to look for the ‘filter’ that is blocking our prayers from reaching the throne of grace. Let’s clear the cobwebs, the sin that separates us from God, so that we may hear from Him and receive His blessings.
Prayer: Lord, who are we that we could even come before Your throne of grace and seek Your face? You are so worthy, and we are so needy. Please help us to never get that order confused, so that we could always humble ourselves before You, worship You, seek Your face and praise You before we ever look for Your outstretched hand to meet our needs. Please forgive us for having approached your throne in an unworthy fashion. Please give us boldness and humbleness to always come before You as Your children and Your servants. You oh Lord are worthy. Please forgive us of our unworthiness so that we may bring our petitions before You oh Lord. I ask these things in greatest humility, and in the 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. 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 www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org 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!
2016
God Keeps Us Focused on Himself
THE HOLY BIBLE – The Message (MSG) ~ 2 Corinthians 1 ~ 12 Now that the worst is over, we’re pleased we can report that we’ve come out of this with conscience and faith intact, and can face the world—and even more importantly, face you with our heads held high. But it wasn’t by any fancy footwork on our part. It was God who kept us focused on him, uncompromised.
THOUGHTS: As I meditated on these verses today, I actually thought of additional words by Paul in 2 Timothy 4 where, right at the end of his life, he said: 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful. 8 And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing. This combination of verses made me realize that, like Paul, we also can remain faithful, and stay focused on the Lord, if we would keep our minds fixed on Him, our minds made up to serve Him faithfully, our determination to remain obedient, and our constant prayer of faith in the only One who can direct our path and keep our eyes fixed on Him. Paul’s words right at the end of our focused verse convinces me that we must live such a determined and consistent life that our friends will recognize it, and the Good Lord will know it, that we have kept the faith, uncompromised, and dedicated our lives fully to our Savior and the truth of His Word. Friends, it is this type of life that will touch the hearts and lives of our unsaved friends, for we are a lot more transparent to our unsaved friends that what we may care to think. They know when we are sincere and uncompromised, and they can discern when we are faithful and true. I believe that God will only use us when we are prepared to allow Him to be portrayed in and through our lives – our actions and our words. Where are you at today friends? What do you suppose that God would say, if you stood before Him today? And don’t be fooled friend, that face-to-face meeting could actually take place today. We have no assurance of tomorrow. Get things straightened out today, won’t you friend?
PRAYER: At this time of the year we concentrate on the greatest gift ever given to mankind, the gift of God’s only Son, Jesus. While we love to celebrate at Christmas, Lord, we must acknowledge that we feel so awesomely blessed each and every day by the works of Your hand in our lives through the many blessings that You bestow on us. We can hardly imagine that such an awesome God, would use the vehicle of mankind (my readers and I included) to spread Your Word, to witness to the unsaved, and to actually participate in convincing them of their need for salvation. Thank You Lord Jesus, thank You Father God! May You receive our uncompromised walk and talk today, is my humble request, and I ask these things in the wonderful, blessed 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!
Who Do You Think You Are?
THE HOLY BIBLE – Psalm 8:3-6 – The Good News Translation (GNT): 3 When I look at the sky, which you have made, at the moon and the stars, which you set in their places – what are human beings, that you think of them; mere mortals, that you care for them? 5 Yet you made them inferior only to yourself; you crowned them with glory and honor. You appointed them rulers over everything you made; you placed them over all creation:
THOUGHTS: I believe that most people who tend to be humble, would probably respond to the question “Who do you think you are?” by saying “Nobody”, because we tend to compare ourselves to many who seem to have their act together; or who are popular with the masses; or who are successful in their jobs; or who have, what appears to be, ‘perfect’ families – especially compared to ours. However, if we can get our noses out of Social Media, or out of computer screens or personal wireless devices, and take a good look at everything that God has created around us, then perhaps we might appreciate why David looked into the heavens and questioned God as to why would He think so much of mankind who, compared to everything else that God made, seem so imperfect and so easily distracted by evil, and who fail so often to follow God’s commands and desires. Friends, David did just this, for he records having looked into the glories of the sky long enough to admire its expanse, beauty and glory. He also recognized the moon and the stars – their perfection, their significance and of course, to just see them suspended in space. Yet our awesome, powerful and all-knowing God, created us – mankind, to be like Him and to be in charge of everything that He created. Can you even imagine how we could be rated so highly in God’s eyes? I wonder if the positive side of all this is just that God wanted folk, just like Him, to represent Him here on planet earth? To do the very things that He commanded, and follow the example that He set for us, so that like Him, we too might minister to the needs of others and lead them towards the knowledge and love of the Savior who died for them. I don’t know about you friend, but when I stop and consider how poorly I do in following Christ like He has commanded in His Word, I can hardly raise my eyes towards the heavens, for I am so ashamed of the ways that I must let my God down. In fact, if it was not for His love, and His promise of forgiveness, I wonder if I would even feel at ease approaching His throne. Friends, our God created us with an awesome purpose in mind. Let’s keep this foremost in our minds, and like Paul, let us set our eyes on the things before us, praise God for the awesome love that surrounds us, and let us press on daily to depend on Him more – with the goal of being more like Him in every way. Who are we? We are children of the King! We are very special and super loved by the Master of this universe! He’s our King! To God be all glory and honor, forever, AMEN!
PRAYER: Lord God, I thank You for creating me in Your image. There is so much to be done here on this earth so that no one will be left behind, for each one was made in Your image. I pray that my readers and I will draw closer to You today, so that we might be usable vessels here on this earth. We touch a lot of lives, so I humbly ask that You might anoint us to be worthy representatives that might impact lives for You. May we be more like You each day is my humble prayer that I ask in the 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!
Lord, Lead Me
THE HOLY BIBLE – Psalm 5:7-8 – Amplified Bible (AMP): 7 But as for me, I will enter Your house through the abundance of Your steadfast love and tender mercy; At Your holy temple I will bow [obediently] in reverence for You. 8 O Lord, lead me in Your righteousness because of my enemies; Make Your way straight (direct, right) before me.
THOUGHTS: I believe that there comes a time in each of our lives that we wake up one day and question ourselves as to why did we do, or say certain things the day before. For some, this may mean that you are now thinking with a sober mind about the occurrences while you were under the influence. For some, this may mean that because you were under the influence of the Holy Spirit, you remember words coming from your mouth over which you may recall not personally having any control or influence at all. I feel like David (the Psalmist) is reminding us here that it is only because of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that we could ever be worthy enough to enter into His presence and reverently seek His face. Let’s take a moment and consider the righteousness of Jesus Christ – He’s the One who was divinely sent by His Father through the miraculous virgin birth; He’s the One who mentioned over and over again in scripture that His words and His actions were those dictated by His Father (God); He’s the One through whom God chose to heal, and even raise the dead to life again; He’s the One who sacrificed His life on Calvary for our eternal salvation, but whom God brought back to life again on the third day. This, friends, is the Holy Son of God that we bow before in prayer. Who are we, to stand before such a holy, loving, miraculous God? Yet, as David discovered and recognized in verse 7, through the abundance of His steadfast love and tender mercy, He entertains our presence and listens to our prayers. Are you feeling humbled yet friend? I certainly am! So let us not come before our Lord and Savior flippantly, or irreverently, or with any pretense of authority over Him, but let us enter His presence humbly, reverently and with utmost respect for the God who He truly is, and the littleness and meekness of the creatures that we are. It is only in this humble attitude that we can ask God to lead us into the path of His righteousness, to give up our earthly desire to be like the best human we could think of, and to follow in His footsteps, obey His commands, and to walk a path and lifestyle that imitates Him in every way. I sincerely believe that it is only then that our friends will discern that there is a God and that He is alive, because they see evidence of that in our lives. Friends, when we put all the earthly stuff aside, we can more clearly see the path that Christ has exampled before us, and the greater our desire will be to follow that path as our Savior leads us to, God being our helper.
PRAYER: Oh God, You are our God, our Designer, our Provider, and You have not only placed this world into existence, but allowed us to live here, knowing that our very life depends on You and the guidance of Your Son. Lord, it is very apparent that if we are to ever expect to live with You in glory, then we need to be obedient to You here on this earth and follow Your path designed for our holiness and our witness to others. Thank You for your patience with us. Please continue to mold us to be more like You in every way, so that Your work may be accomplished through us, and that our lives might be better attuned to You even while still here on this earth. Lord, lead me so that I might imitate You today, and that I might be one step closer to the path You have prepared for me to follow. May others see Jesus in me and through the words that I speak today, and may this be evident in all those who meditate on this devotional today, for this my humble and sincere prayer that I ask in the precious 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!
Faith That Leads to Obedience
THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – John 4:47-50): 47 ..when the man heard that Jesus had come from Judea, he went and begged him to keep his son from dying. 48 Jesus told the official, “You won’t have faith unless you see miracles and wonders!” 49 The man replied, “Lord, please come before my son dies!” 50 Jesus then said, “Your son will live. Go on home to him.” The man believed Jesus and started back home.
THOUGHTS: There are several things about this story that caught my attention:
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Reputation: Notice that the official had heard about Jesus and His mighty works in the past, otherwise why would it have mattered if he heard that Jesus was coming to his town? People are burdened with needs today. Have they heard enough about Jesus and His mighty works in our churches and our families that they would become as determined as the official to take their concerns to Jesus? Is this our first stop – to take our deepest needs and concerns to Jesus?
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Need: The official recognized a need that existed in his family, and he wanted to have it resolved. I believe that when we glorify God for all the good that He does every day, then we will automatically turn to Him in our needs also. Furthermore, I believe it is vital that we redirect our attention from the small selfish things and concentrate on the needs of others – especially our family members. Jesus, our role model, was always more concerned about others than of Himself;
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Our view of Miracles: The official had predetermined ideas of what Jesus could, or could not do. Jesus chose to change His previous history of ‘hands on’ miracles, to merely heal the official’s son based on the faith of the father who asked and believed. That tells me that we must simply share our concerns with the Lord and not try to tell Him how, or when, to do His mighty works. God declares in His Word that His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts. He is the potter, and we are merely the clay subject to His molding every day. In His molding process, He can fix broken or marred pieces along the way;
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Faith and Obedience: Notice that the official didn’t turn away angry because Jesus didn’t do what he asked him to do. He had faith to believe in God and obediently follow His instructions. Will we just as easily turn aside and head back home with just a ‘go back home’ from the Lord? Where is your faith, friend? In this case, the obedience of the official resulted in extreme faith by he and his whole family, for in verse 53 we are told that they all placed their faith and trust in Jesus.
PRAYER: Dear God, Your Word is filled with proof that You are the great Physician; Healer and Miracle Worker. Yet You are also our Creator; our Savior and our Lord. Thank You for reminding us of being obedient to You even when You don’t respond exactly as we expect or may even demand. Thank You for the example of this official, for we are reminded that we are to be the obedient followers and not the demanding children trying to tell the Almighty God what to do or how to do it. This official simply followed Your command and great things happened. Lord, may we too be obedient servants, and simply let You be God. You know our needs and concerns today. Please have Your will and way in each of these and in growing us to be more like You every day, so that others may see, and believe in You. For I ask all this in the precious 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!
How Moses Became a More Effective Leader
THE HOLY BIBLE (The New Living Translation – Exodus 18:18-23): 18 “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself. 19 Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him. 20 Teach them God’s decrees, and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives. 21 But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten. 22 They should always be available to solve the people’s common disputes, but have them bring the major cases to you. Let the leaders decide the smaller matters themselves. They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you. 23 If you follow this advice, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures, and all these people will go home in peace.”
THOUGHTS: I believe that these verses today are especially directed to help those of us who lead in God’s work. I have found in my short lifetime that it is very easy to agree to more and more responsibility and leadership in God’s work, probably because we feel like the more we do the more pleased God might be with us as individuals/leaders. There are many problems with this philosophy though, for we tend to:
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Wear ourselves out, and therefore not energetic and enthused about the work we need to do;
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Feel like if we don’t do the work, it won’t get done – as if God has only one person qualified to do His magnificent work among so many;
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Not train others to take over from us, so we short them of opportunities – at our expense;
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Ignore, or fall way short in our personal responsibilities to our family;
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Not complete tasks with quality and care, because in our minds we have moved on to the next task that is often already running behind schedule;
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Not spend quality time with the Lord, because our minds are so busy worry about all that must be accomplished.
I trust that we can learn to share the load, resume our rightful place, and watch God be Himself in our lives and in the lives we touch! Friends, I believe that we must quickly realize that God’s work is of super importance, and it is huge. We must do our best to make sure that we don’t become another Moses, where God’s work is thwarted by our capacity to achieve something. While we may have the skill set to handle many tasks, we must learn to train others and rejoice in their successes. Teamwork promotes growth among team members, and helps the overall work reach so many more, because each team member will be especially effective among those within their realm of influence. Friends, There are no other gods, so let’s allow God to be God, as we humbly take our stand as His humble servants, and allow Him to accomplish His work through us as part of a team of servants, not as little gods. Let’s help folk see God for who He truly is, not see us for something we can never be.
PRAYER: Lord, please touch Your leaders today and help us to be better servants, so that we might improve our submission and leadership skills. Help us to follow the example of Moses and listen to criticism and/or suggestions from others, especially those whom we feel, are led by Your Holy Spirit. There is so much work to be done among our family and friends that we may tend to feel like it will be ineffective if we don’t jump in there and take control. Lord, please help us to always remember that it can only be Your job to actually impact hearts towards recognizing You and allowing You to become a part of their life. Please forgive us for trying to take control. May we serve You with every ounce of our being, but never cross the line of taking Your role as our Master and our Lord. We need You dear Lord, for only You can save the souls of mankind. May Your will be accomplished through me today – one of Your humble servants. For I ask this in the precious and powerful 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!
The Consequences of Disobedience
THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – Zechariah 7:9-14): 9-10 Well, the message hasn’t changed. God-of-the-Angel-Armies said then and says now: “‘treat one another justly. Love your neighbors. Be compassionate with each other. Don’t take advantage of widows, orphans, visitors, and the poor. Don’t plot and scheme against one another—that’s evil.’ 11–13 “But did your ancestors listen? No, they set their jaws in defiance. They shut their ears. They steeled themselves against God’s revelation and the Spirit-filled sermons preached by the earlier prophets by order of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. And God became angry, really angry, because he told them everything plainly and they wouldn’t listen to a word he said. 13–14 “So [this is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies said] if they won’t listen to me, I won’t listen to them. I scattered them to the four winds. They ended up strangers wherever they were.
THOUGHTS: I am fascinated how history repeats itself in spite of the lessons we should learn from our past. Much like Zechariah did when sharing the visions he was blessed with from God, our pastors today dig into God’s Word seeking what God might reveal to them that would bless and/or convict their church members. They share with us the consequences of disobedience by our ancestors, hoping that we would see the error of our ways, turn from our sin and obey God without the need for further consequences for us. A few sins were mentioned in verses 9 and 10, and not only do we still see these unfortunate sins recurring today, but they were also concerns mentioned in the New Testament. Several translations used the same verbiage in verse 11 that indicates to me that it is of grave concern to our Master. I believe that it truly concerns Him when He sees us plot and scheme against one another. When we look for ways to hurt one another. He announces this as pure evil and I believe this is something that we must not only be on guard for personally, but also look for ways to help each other fight against this awful sin. Let’s learn to pray for each other, that we would see the good in fellow humans and learn to celebrate it. Let us learn to pray for the parts of life where others find it challenging to do it just like Jesus would have done it, or perhaps expects of us. I believe the biggest thing that got my attention in these verses today, is the consequences of disobedience. The Word says “if we don’t listen to/obey God, He won’t listen to us” Oh my, oh my! Do you suppose that this is the reason we feel like we are hitting brick walls with our prayers, or feeling ignored by God? There’s an old spiritual that I learned later in life that I am reminded of as I meditated on these words today: “It’s me, it’s me oh Lord, Standing in the need of prayer“, it’s not my brother or my sister that I need to be most concerned about, but I need to get my act together first and take care of my personal cleansing before God first, before attempting to help a brother or sister where I easily see glaringly obvious sin. I don’t know about you friend, but I need God to listen to me, so it is imperative that I listen to Him and obey Him. Will you commit to doing the same? It is so critical that we have believers who are actually getting through to God with our needs and concerns. Let’s do our part in being obedient.
PRAYER: Dear God, please forgive us for so easily attempting to do Your job by zoning in on the wrongs of others, while overlooking the sin in our own lives. “It’s me, it’s me oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer – not my brother or my sister, but me….” I need thee every hour of every day, for in my own strength I cannot overcome the evil pull of this life. Please touch the lives of each one that will read this devotional. Please impact their lives with a desire to surrender full control of their lives to You so that we all may be usable instruments for Your kingdom work here on this earth. I humbly ask these things in the wonderful, and strong 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!
Chosen To Live Holy Lives
THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – 1 Peter 1:13-16): 13 Be alert and think straight. Put all your hope in how kind God will be to you when Jesus Christ appears. 14 Behave like obedient children. Don’t let your lives be controlled by your desires, as they used to be. 15 Always live as God’s holy people should, because God is the one who chose you, and he is holy. 16 That’s why the Scriptures say, “I am the holy God, and you must be holy too.”
THOUGHTS: One of the major differences between the way that parents think of their children today and how God thinks of His children, is that most worldly parents want to see their children excel and do way better than they did in life. We are often ashamed of some of the things that we did in our lifetime, so we try to impress upon our kids the importance of doing so much better than we ever found possible. God’s Word shows us how different God is in His expectations of us, for He was, and is, the only truly holy One that ever lived, and because He loves us so much, He wants us to be just like Him, especially in holiness. I find it beyond comprehension that God would look down over billions of people on this earth, and yet choose me. Friends, if you have ever surrendered your life to Jesus and accepted Him as Lord and Savior, then you have accepted the call of the One who also chose you. Think about that friend. In spite of our obstinate, disagreeable, sinful acts and thoughts and our unworthiness, yet God chose us! Wow! So if the holy God chose us, would it not make sense that He chose us to conform us to His likeness, His holiness, His attitude towards life and each other? Friends, if we act unholy and unrighteous and sinful in every way – characteristics totally opposite to our Father, should we not reassess our relationship to our Father? Did we truly answer the call of God on our life? Often we just need a wake-up call such as this scripture, or a sermon orchestrated by God, or something similar to draw our attention to our weakened spirit. God said that He is holy, and we must be holy also. So what needs to change in your life to enable you to stand before our all-knowing God and proclaim “Yes Lord, I feel like I am holy, much like I know of Your perfect and holy life”. This takes a lot of personal assessment, and constant realigning of our attitudes and actions, that seem so easily distracted by Satan and his cohorts. We live in a world that does not conform to the ways of God, but just as God has set us aside as His chosen vessel, we too can make deliberate choices to refrain from sinful acts and instead live like God has ordained – holy and righteous. It’s a choice, but can only be attained with the help of our Lord and Savior.
PRAYER: Father I thank You for Your Word, and its content, because It is orchestrated and inspired by You, therefore it allows You to speak directly to the hardened hearts of Your children. Thank You for choosing me to be Your precious chosen one! I believe that some will read this devotional today that may be a Brother or Sister in the faith, because they have also felt the touch of Your hand on their life, and accepted You as their Savior. We are daily challenged to stay strong in the faith Lord, but I believe that in choosing us, You have set us apart from this world and is available to us daily to help us deal with the Evil One. I also feel like You are still dealing with folk even today, for I have family and friends who have yet to accept Your call on their life. I pray that today might be the day of salvation for them. Please do Your miracle working thing in their lives and redirect their attention towards You. For Your children that should be living holy lives as indicated by Your servant Peter, I pray that You would not give up on us, but daily instruct, guide and strengthen us for the challenge of holiness in an unholy world that we are a part of. We need You Father, and we want You to be our God. Our desire is to be just like you in every way, especially in holiness. I ask this humbly in the precious and holy name of Jesus, and for His sake, 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!
Nuggets From God's Word 