Warnings Apply Right Up To The End of Time

On 2022-05-262022-05-26 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, End Times, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Warning, Warning Signs, Worship2 Comments

DATE POSTED Thursday, 2022-05-26
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 1 Corinthians 10:6-11
TRANSLATION: Good News Translation (GNT)

BIBLE TEXT: ⁶Now, all of this is an example for us, to warn us not to desire evil things, as they did, ⁷nor to worship idols, as some of them did. As the scripture says, “The people sat down to a feast which turned into an orgy of drinking and sex.” ⁸We must not be guilty of sexual immorality, as some of them were—and in one day twenty-three thousand of them fell dead. ⁹We must not put the Lord to the test, as some of them did—and they were killed by snakes. ¹⁰We must not complain, as some of them did—and they were destroyed by the Angel of Death.
¹¹All these things happened to them as examples for others, and they were written down as a warning for us. For we live at a time when the end is about to come.

APPLICATION: I pray that today your eyes will be opened to a few things:
1. That the Bible is so alive and applicable to us, even in these current days;
2. That we should try to apply the truth of the Bible in every aspect of our current-day life;
3. Learn to thank God for His warnings, and not just feel sorry for what our ancestors went through;
4. Know that the God who dealt with the Israelites, is the same God we pray to today; the same God who provides for us today; and the same God who is still capable of disciplining or punishing us today for our stubbornness and disobedience;
5. That the same God who provided a ’Promised Land’ for the Israelites, is the same God who has promised us a new world also – Heaven!
In acknowledging that the Bible is alive and how It speak to us, let me share with you that I have read the Bible in it’s entirety a few times, and yet today as I read this Scripture, it was anew and spoke very pointedly to me as if for the very first time I was reading it. In reading the Old Testament, we could easily get the impression that it’s a storybook and, after reading the New Testament and seeing all that God did for us through His Son Jesus, we may tend to feel like there is no way that God would deal with us like He did with the Israelites. But then today’s Scripture comes into view, and we see where God wants us to know that He is still God, and that He will not tolerate sin any better in our day than He did with the Israelites. Now before you share how you feel like we don’t do the sort of things like the Israelites did, such as making idols, let me remind you that an idol is ‘an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship’, or ‘a person or thing that is greatly admired, loved, or revered’. Friends, many churches are dying and some have even closed their doors, because too many of their members have found other objects to worship, and their admiration of persons or things have taken priority in their lives. It seems to me that Covid came along to test the sincerity of the hearts of our people. It worked, in that people had an excuse not to attend church. While out of touch with God (because so many use their church service as their only time to learn about God), our people have substituted that time with other personal ‘idols’ and therefore cannot get back into the habit of attending church, at least until another tragedy or scare hits them. I know, you have probably decided by now that I am way too opinionated, but let me be the first to say that my simple purpose is to point my readers and listeners to Christ through reminding them of His Word. If you discern anything other than that, then I would ask that you forgive me if I have misled you, and I would instead suggest that you personally dig into the Word of God and seek the will of God for your life. We are reminded right at the very end of today’s Scripture that the end is near. This is a reminder that you can only seek God and His righteousness while you’re alive. God said that there will come a time when He will end the world, as we know it today. The warnings for what we must do now, is evident in God’s Word. Please let me implore you to accept these warnings and redirect your life to live as Jesus desires of you through His written instructions. For the one who does this will enjoy eternity in heaven with God and His Son, Jesus. The one who chooses not to bother with this, will unfortunately endure the punishment of Hell and its Chief – Satan, for all eternity. I believe the choice is clear, but you must decide for yourself. Now it’s up to you dear friend!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: God rescued His people, the Israelites, and gave them freedom to live in a new place He had in store for them. God has offered to do the exact thing for us, if we permit Him to. Praise God for His offer of salvation!

PRAYER: Thank You Father for ministering to us today through Your servant Paul. What a true awakening and what an opportunity for us today. Lord, may each reader and/or listener make the right decision today and reaffirm their relationship with You, or come to know You as Lord for the very first time. In knowing You, may we all decide wholeheartedly to obey You and give You full control of our lives until You call us home to enjoy our long-term benefits – the likes of heaven with You for all eternity! Touch hearts today precious Lord, I pray that You will have no need for another warning directed at us. 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!

Promises Fulfilled & He’ll Do It Again!

On 2022-05-142022-05-14 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Promise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Friday, 2022-05-13
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Joshua 21:43-45
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: ⁴³So the Lord gave to Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. ⁴⁴And the Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had solemnly promised their ancestors. None of their enemies could stand against them, for the Lord helped them conquer all their enemies. ⁴⁵Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true.

APPLICATION: Often divorces are the result of broken promises; children disappear, and remain separated, from parents because they feel like mom and/or dad never kept their promises. Unfortunately, some may wander away from God because they feel like His promises were not fulfilled the instant they insisted on receiving results. If you ever read the books, chapters and verses preceding today’s focal verses, you will know that the promises God made to Abraham and the forefathers of the Israelites could easily have come under the heading ‘Unanswered Promises’, for many years had passed since God first vocalized His promises. Do you suppose that’s where we tend to quickly jump to conclusions about unanswered promised? Funny how Satan is always there to promote negativity in our minds, especially when it comes to something that God has in store for our good. However, this comes as no surprise to God, for He knows our heart and our intentions. He blessed the Israelites in so many ways. He put one of their own in the king’s court, so that when the famine came, Joseph would influence the king into helping his family stay alive. God saw their suffering as slaves to the king in Egypt, so He raise up a spiritual giant to lead them away from their deprivation and into a land He had prepared for them. Through Moses and Joshua, God led them across the desert and provided for their every need, even though they often turned aside to idol worship and other sins. But God had made a promise, and He wasn’t about to turn His back on that. At the time of Joshua’s writing of our focal verses, he was able to see with human eyes that God had indeed fulfilled his promises – every promise that God gave to the Israelite fathers! In our world today, Christians are mum about how they might respond to their unsaved friends or coworkers. Often this is because they lack knowledge, understanding, and familiarization with the Word of God. But even of more importance in bragging about our God to others, is our personal testimony of what God has done for us, it’s first-hand, non-refutable, evidence of the impact that God has been in our life! Of course, we can support our personal experience with Bible stories that stand out as we reflect on the Word of God. About the Israelites, and how God parted the waters for them to cross; how He worked miracle after miracle through His servant Moses; how His Son was miraculously conceived; How Jesus performed miracle after miracle, including His choosing 12 simple laymen to work and minister alongside Him; how He was crucified, yet He rose from the dead 3 days later just as He had prophesied hundreds of years early through His prophets of old; and in like fashion to what He did for the Israelites in providing a Promised Land of peace and bounty, He also promised us an eternal home of unequaled beauty with the Father and the Son for evermore! Dear friends, a pastoral degree is not necessary to share what you know; what has happened in your life; and the bright future that you are looking forward to enjoying when your time on earth as ended. These are all exciting promises, just like those that Joshua witnessed! Our friends need to know what has impacted our life, so they could decide for themselves if they are ready to stop the train taking them to the pit of Hell. As cruel as it sounds, if they have not invited Jesus into their heart, then they have indeed chosen to continue following Satan on a path to his kingdom – Hell. May the promises of God have an everlasting impact on you, and your friends as you lovingly share the blessings of God in your life with them!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: God’s promises are true and He will fulfill what He promised! Encourage each other towards a relationship with the King of all kings, as you confidently share His promises, knowing that He will always fulfill what He has promised!

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for reminding us that if You promised us something, You will fulfill it, just as You did for the Israelites! In spite of the ‘instant’ world that we live in – with microwaves, high speed cars, rail and jets, please help us to rest easy, but reassured, that Your promises are alway fulfilled in perfect timing. There’s no need for timers, or timely reminders, if You said it, we can ‘go to the bank’ with that, for it is true and will happen just like You said it would! Lord, we anxiously await fulfillment of a huge promise You made that one day soon, those who are Yours will leave this hardened, cruel and tumultuous world, and enter into our heavenly home. that You have prepared for us, as we take up our eternal residence with the Father and the Son for evermore! Oh, what a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see! Please Lord, place us in situations where we could share that promise with others who need You as Lord and Savior. AMEN!

Know That The Lord, He is God!

On 2022-04-082022-04-08 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Friday, 2022-04-08
WRITTEN AT: Astatula, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Deuteronomy 4:35-39
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: ³⁵“He showed you these things so you would know that the Lord is God and there is no other. ³⁶He let you hear his voice from heaven so he could instruct you. He let you see his great fire here on earth so he could speak to you from it. ³⁷Because he loved your ancestors, he chose to bless their descendants, and he personally brought you out of Egypt with a great display of power. ³⁸He drove out nations far greater than you, so he could bring you in and give you their land as your special possession, as it is today.
³⁹“So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The Lord is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other.

APPLICATION: I believe that if we thought for a moment that some in our church were acting like the defiant Israelites, we would probably shun them so as not to become infected by their sin. However, Moses had a heart for the people God had directed him to lead out of slavery, and it appears evident that Moses would have done anything to help them recognize their shortcomings and instead draw close to the God who loved them. The encouraging words shared by Moses should help us today also, for if God went to great extremes to help His children then, we can be confident that He would do it again for us. Think about it – God heard the cries of His people enslaved in Egypt. These were the same people God had promised would be blessed to populate the whole earth, but if they were not free to do so, and if they were constantly beat down and downtrodden, what good would they be to anyone else. But there were some who prayed, and some who wanted to be freed from their oppression. So God began the process by finding a good leader – Moses and his brother Aaron. After years of hard lessons in the wilderness, God found it necessary to awaken the people from their sinful stupor and from their stubbornness in recognizing, praising and worshipping the awesome God that singlehandedly took care of them over their years of freedom. Doesn’t that sound a lot like our world today? We have been blessed beyond measure, yet mankind has used every vice to pull away from the God who loves them. Covid is the latest vice. Especially at church time, many are now using the excuse of sleeping in, or staying at home, because they don’t want to catch the ‘germ’ from the crowd at church. The same crowd that they welcome into their businesses during the week, dine at the same restaurants with, and attend the same social functions as they do. God has been actively working in the lives of our people, although not as severely as He did in the wilderness when our ancestors chose to follow their own vices instead of honoring the God who took such awesome care of them. Read today’s Scripture again dear friends, and be reminded of all that God did for our ancestors. Stop the busyness of your life long enough to evaluate the awesome gifts God has blessed you with, and dare to honestly question yourself if you have any reason to fall short in glorifying the God of this universe who loves you beyond our wildest imagination. Let me encourage you to lay aside the devices and the noise of the television, or even family interaction, for just a few minutes each morning, so that you could dedicate that time to: speak to God – in prayer; hear from God – thru Bible reading; and praising God – because of His infinite mercy, provisions and blessings. I believe you will come out on the other side of that time realizing that there is no other God, for you have been in communion with the One True God and He is in charge of your going forth that day, and your coming home that evening, and everything in between. Learn to give Him recognition for who He is, my friend, because He has proven His love for each of us through His sacrifice on Calvary. There is no greater love than that.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: When life is not going the way we would like it to go, we need reminders such as the ones given to the Israelites, to know that God’s got this – every aspect of our lives today. We can then stand firm in the faith!

PRAYER: Thank You Lord Jesus for being so good to my readers, listeners and I! Unfortunately it seems normal for us to get bogged down and caught up in the worries, concerns, gossip and fault of the unsaved world, even though we know who’s in charge, and all the good You have already proven to us. Forgive us Lord for our unwillingness to stop and recognize You as our Master, Lord, and giver of all good things in life. Please help us to stop following the world and its losing battles here on earth, for we have the ruler of this universe who loves us, cares for us and beckons us to come unto You all that are weary and heavy burdened. Lord, we surrender all. Helps us to spread the Good News to all that we come into contact with. AMEN!

Nothing Too Big For Our God

On 2021-08-212021-08-21 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Healing, Miracles, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Saturday, 2021-08-21
WRITTEN AT: Hattiesburg, MS

SCRIPTURE FROM: Joshua 3:14-17
TRANSLATION: The Message (MSG)

BIBLE TEXT: ^14-16…. The people left their tents to cross the Jordan, led by the priests carrying the Chest of the Covenant. When the priests got to the Jordan and their feet touched the water at the edge (the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest), the flow of water stopped. It piled up in a heap—a long way off—at Adam, which is near Zarethan. The river went dry all the way down to the Arabah Sea (the Salt Sea). And the people crossed, facing Jericho.
¹⁷And there they stood; those priests carrying the Chest of the Covenant stood firmly planted on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground. Finally the whole nation was across the Jordan, and not one wet foot.

APPLICATION: Many stories come to mind as I am reminded of individuals who approached Jesus with situations that seemed ‘impossible’ to every one around them:
– -> A man crippled from birth – he wanted to walk like everyone else, but doctors, family and friends knew that there was no earthly way that could happen;
– -> A child whose sickness led to her death – her dad (Jairus) searched for Jesus when all earthly efforts proved empty;
– -> Over 1 million people faced a crossroads of either continuing to suffer in slavery, or listening to God’s messengers (Moses and Aaron) to follow them – through the Wilderness, with God as their provider of all necessary provisions;
– -> The Israelites stood at a further crossroads in life when Pharaoh’s army was right on their heels, and the Red Sea ahead of them. BUT God provided a miraculous way for them, even when there appeared to be no way; and
– -> In today’s testimony of our miraculous King, the Israelites followed the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant right up to the overflowing Red Sea, hoping that God would provide a way – another miracle?
These are exciting stories to read, but are they fairytales, or are we to think that this same God of Bible miracles is the same God that we serve today? For we awake each morning with increased challenges to our faith and wonder if Jesus will return today, or will He perform yet another miracle for our family/friends/loved ones? Some reading or listening to this devotional today may have awoken to news of yet another family member stricken by cancer, or Covid; Some may have loved ones in Haiti where increasing numbers are reported dead every day from the recent earthquake; Some may have loved ones trying to get out of Afghanistan, but from the scenes shown on the news each day, you just don’t know if they will survive the mobs fighting for their life. So like the Israelites, we also stand at a crossroads about what today may bring. Will God heal our loved ones? Is God in control, even in a distant land like Haiti or Afghanistan? Can God truly do what is impossible in the eyes of mankind? Friends, let me encourage you today to look at the faith, and the outcomes, of my above examples: God provided direction, food, water and protection for the Israelites; The crippled man took up his bed and walked, when commanded to do so by Jesus; In spite of the crowd jeering at Jesus when He said the child was just asleep, yet at the command of Jesus, the daughter of Jairus stood up and greeted her father; And, because of their faith and at the instruction of the Master, the Israelites crossed the Red Sea on dry ground without any threat of drowning. But to apply this to our purpose today, let me ask you where is your faith? Have you recently petitioned the Father for anything that seems impossible to man? Through your eyes of faith, are you able to see beyond the realm of man’s knowledge and expertise, and instead look into the eyes of Jesus who specializes in things thought impossible by man? There is hope my friend! You may be looking at situations that seem impossible in every sense of man’s abilities, but God may be waiting for you to look through eyes of faith and ask Him to intervene on your behalf. If you haven’t done that yet, may I encourage you to never give up on the power, strength and abilities of our Father, for NOTHING is impossible with God!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Our Father will create a path where they seems to be no way. He can respond to situations thought to be impossible to man. Have faith!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, if there ever was a time that we needed You, it’s now. Life itself seems out of control as we sit helpless as family members contract dreaded diseases for which there may not be a cure. In fact, there are so many uncertainties that we often stand in a quandary about what tomorrow will bring. I pray that all who read or listen to this devotional will take time to examine their own heart and, through a test of their faith, be willing to seek the face of the only One who has answers to, or can do anything about, current circumstances. Lord I thank You for reminding us of the awesome God that we serve. May our faith be strengthened and, as we are tested, learn to look into the eyes of the only One who can do what others feel is impossible. What an awesome God that we serve! Thank You Jesus for hearing our cry, seeing our desperation and be willing to extend Your power once again in our desperate moments. AMEN!

Choose Life!

On 2021-08-142021-08-14 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Eternal Life, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Saturday, 2021-08-14
WRITTEN AT: Hattiesburg, MS

SCRIPTURE FROM: Deuteronomy 30:19-20
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹⁹“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! ²⁰You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long….

APPLICATION: Some may take my subject for today’s devotional as a pro-life theme, while others may ask ‘who wouldn’t want to choose life over death?’ But I would encourage you to look beyond your assumptions today and consider the message that Moses gave to his people. He not only gave them the choice of life over death, but he clearly showed them what they needed to do in order to have life, and have life more abundantly. Since these things still apply to us today, I believe that it is worth our while to spend some time to understand them and to seek ways that we might apply them in our lives:
——> Loving the Lord – In other Scriptures, Jesus admonishes us that if we love Him: We will serve Him; We will worship Him; We will tell others about Him; We will desire to be with Him. These words are not strange to us, for our spouse will frequently tell us that if we love them, we would…. You see, there is always evidence of our love for God, and for each other. So love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul and all your mind, and all these things will be given to you!
——> Obeying the Lord – To disobey your God, your spouse, your boss or your friend, shows that you have no respect for them or their authority over you. To obey what they ask or tell you to do, shows that you love, respect and honor them, so you will do whatever they ask. So show you love for the Lord by obeying His commands!
——> Committing yourself firmly to the Lord – To whom do you belong? If it’s God, then firmly commit to Him in every aspect of life. I don’t know that it’s possible to say that you love the Lord and you obey the Lord, but you have not fully committed your life to Him. Show me an uncommitted ‘Christian’ and I believe you will show someone who follows Jesus when it is convenient, otherwise it’s all about him or herself. I always got a kick out of politicians who showed up at community groups right before election time. At other times of the year they were no where to be found. They showed up when they needed the people, not when the people really needed them to serve!
Moses told his people, and I believe the Scripture supports a very similar promise for those who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ – do these things and you are choosing life eternal – in heaven. Continue your selfish desires and ignore the commands of Jesus, and you will receive your heart’s desire – curses and damnation in a place especially designed for folk like you – Hell. Just as Moses did in our Scripture, let me repeat the same plea ‘Choose life’ my dear friends!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: We can escape the damnation of eternity in Hell, by loving the Lord our God, obeying Him, and committing ourselves firmly to Him. By doing these things we are promised eternity in heaven with the Father and His precious Son!

PRAYER: Thank You precious Lord for calling me to Yourself many years ago, and for granting me peace to obediently follow You today and every day until You call me home to glory. Please touch the hearts of each reader/listener with Your Word today and may every word shared by Your faithful servant be acceptable in Your sight and in the hearts of every reader or listener. May we enjoy Your blessings today and every day, until You call us home for even more intimacy with You and the Father. Please draw the unbeliever to You very powerfully today, as this may very well be the last day we have here on earth. AMEN!

Your Choice – Blessing or Curse!

On 2017-07-112017-07-11 By Ed AlgreenIn Blessings, Choice, Choices, Curses, Needs, Needs of others, Recognize NeedsLeave a comment

Post Date:	Tuesday, 2017-07-11
SCRIPTURE
From:	Deuteronomy 11:26-28 (ERV)
Text:	²⁶“Today I am giving you a choice. You may choose the blessing or the curse. ²⁷You will get the blessing if you listen and obey the commands of the Lord your God that I have told you today. ²⁸But you will get the curse if you refuse to listen and obey the commands of the Lord your God…..
OBSERVATION:
In previous chapters Moses shared with his people what God had ordained for them to do when they entered into the land He had promised them. Kind of ironic that in spite of them being led for 40 years through the wilderness, where they witnessed miracle after miracle, and they still continued their bad habits at every turn, yet God didn’t give up on them, and He had His servant Moses warn them of the consequences of their decisions, even now that they arrived at their destination. I don’t believe there’s a whole lot of difference between what the consequences the Israelites could expect versus what we could expect if we are obedient or not. Let’s examine that further…
APPLICATION:
It seems like mankind is made to test the system, no matter what aspect of like you are getting involved in. Children test every rule set by their parents to see which ones are for real and which ones the parents are more tolerable with. In marriages, we encounter fights, and often separation, because we keep pushing our spouse to the limit and beyond. The Israelites had already tested the system while in the wilderness, but their spiritual ‘father’ was now giving them some great advice from God about what will make their lives in their new country more acceptable with Him, and what might provoke them to evil and therefore align themselves more with Satan. The Word says that individually we have a choice on whether we will do everything possible that leads to a flood of blessings back from God, or whether we continue to live life like we feel comfortable doing, and that pleases most people. So based on the leadership of the Holy Spirit and the holy Word of God that you allowed to soak into your mind this morning, do you feel like you are on the right track for a blessing from God? I believe that blessings in you, will allow you to share ‘blessings’ with others. My deep desire for all my readers today is that there will not result an ounce of curses to destroy your witness and disappoint our Savior.
PRAYER:
Lord, please touch the lives of Your children today, and like You did through Moses, please remind and convince your children to be obedient to Your voice and follow Your commands. We love You Lord Jesus. 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!

Nuggets From God's Word

Tag: Israelites