Tag: It’s all about Jesus

Deflecting Praise: Lessons from John the Baptist

On By Ed AlgreenIn Accept Jesus NOW, Acknowledge God, All have sinned, Awesome God, God Cares For Us, God’s Word, PraiseLeave a comment

DATE POSTED
Wednesday, May 7, 2025, and I was blessed to be at Mariposa at Hunter Road, San Marcos, TX when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find and read any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Read John 3:22-36 in your Bible, or click on the Scripture reference to read it online in the Living Bible (TLB).

APPLICATION – as inspired by the Holy Spirit
The span of verses may seem large today, but I want us to seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance in what we should gleam from this passage of Scripture, for it seems so relevant to our ministries today. Just as our churches are busy about the Lord’s work today, John the Baptist was busy also about the Lord’s work in ministering through mass water baptisms. He had attracted quite a following of helpers/disciples and they were becoming territorial of what John was accomplishing for the Kingdom. Therefore, when the people reminded questioned John about a certain purification process for his baptisms, his disciples became agitated, or protective of John. I see this way too often today, for we also tend to become very protective of our church, our ministries, our programs, our leaders and our pastor, and we tend to forget who it is that truly stands at the center of our efforts as a church. Men will fail, dear friends, but Jesus stands firm until the end of time. John reminds us of an important principle to remember in ministry. We minister in the name of Jesus and make every effort to draw people nearer to the heart of Jesus, whether it be the team helping visitors to park their cars, greeters, members of the church, or our church leaders/ Let us all try to mimic the response of John. We are simply doing all we can, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to help people find a place that they could meet together with other believers to honor, worship, lift up in holy praise, and soak in everything we can learn from the Book of Instruction left by God for His people – the Bible. Think about it friends, all the people and/or church leaders you ever knew, cherished and enjoyed, have all passed on to new pastures, heaven, or retired. Jesus is the only one who was there for them, is here for us, and will always be there until the end of time, when He calls us closer to His side in Heaven. He is the only One who could save us from our sins, empower us with His perfect will for our lives, heal our diseases and prepare us for all eternity in Heaven with He and the Father. So let us be content in knowing that, like John concluded, Jesus is the one we live for, learn from, and of whom we share His good news to others. Let us therefore determine in our hearts to show people, and tell them, about our Lord, more than anything about our church activities and programs. Please don’t misunderstand me, it is critically important that we worship together and lift one another up as we all continue on our journey towards Heaven. But let us never forget that none of this will ever save anyone from their sin. Like John, let us determine in our hearts to prepare the way for the One (Jesus) who can save sinners and prepare their welcome party into Heaven. Make it your mission to deflect any praise, for all praise is due to our Father, who also saved us from our sin, and awaits our entrance into Heaven!

PRAYER
Thank You Lord, for saving my soul, thank You Lord for making me whole. thank You Lord for giving me to me, Thy great salvation, so rich and free! And as we are reminded of where our salvation comes from, let us also be quick to recognize that only You can save us, or any one that we may minister to, from our sin. So although we attempt to minister to others, in our meager efforts may we be bold in promoting and pointing them to You, dear Lord, the only One who can save them from their sin. Forgive us Lord when pride sits in and we turn to bragging about what we may have done. The words of that old hymn rings true as a reminder that it’s nothing but the blood of Jesus that can make a sinner clean. Please keep us focused on promoting You, as our Savior and Lord. As you draw close, may we become smaller and less important in every aspect of our lives and our ministries. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE
If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please take advantage of the information provided on my page ‘To Know Jesus’. Alternatively, consider speaking with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. One of God’s servants will pray with you and offer help and encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals or subscribe to receive a daily email containing each new devotional, please visit NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. Friends, I encourage you to find a Bible teaching church home near your residence and attend as frequently as possible. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk while you make every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider being a part of that while also growing in your faith as you worship with fellow believers!

How John and Andrew Show Us to Invite Others to Christ

On By Ed AlgreenIn Accept Jesus NOW, Acknowledge God, All have sinned, Awesome God, God Cares For Us, God’s WordLeave a comment

DATE POSTED
Friday, January 10, 2025, and I was blessed to be at Mariposa at Hunter Road, San Marcos, TX when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find and read any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Quoted from the Living Bible (TLB) and found in John 1:35-37; 41-42

THE SCRIPTURE READS
35 The following day as John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 Jesus walked by. John looked at him intently and then declared, “See! There is the Lamb of God!” 37 Then John’s two disciples turned and followed Jesus.
41 Andrew then went to find his brother Peter and told him, “We have found the Messiah!” 42 And he brought Peter to meet Jesus…..

APPLICATION – as inspired by the Holy Spirit
Think for a moment what you say while inviting someone to attend church with you. Often, we use words, or hear things, like: ‘We have a wonderful church’; ‘We have an outstanding pastor’; ‘We have the friendliest people’; ‘We have an outstanding worship team’; etc. How often do we say, or hear others say, ‘Come and meet our Savior, Jesus my Lord, for He’s always present in our worship services’? Surely, we’re not trying to use trickery to get our family and/or friends to attend worship with us, right? Or are we truly using the very things that causes us to be in church? Friends, let me draw your attention to two things:
-> 1. John made no attempt to convince his disciples to stay with him but instead pointed them to Jesus. I once heard a pastor say that his congregation should rejoice as a member leaves them and moves on to ministry in another place, for they (the church) have done their job of disciple’ing that person and they should thank God that the person is now using those blessings attained at their church to go on and bless others. BUT, is that the way it really works in reality?
-> 2. Andrew, one of the two disciples who left John to follow Jesus, was so excited after meeting Jesus in person that he hurried home to share the good news with his brother, Simon, to – now get this, come and meet Jesus. No mention of the place where Jesus was staying, or the nature and/or charisma of Jesus, or the friendly owner of the guest house where they were staying. It was Jesus that Andrew wanted his brother to meet!
I wonder whether we would still invite people to attend church with us if we knew they would only come once, meet Jesus, and then you never see them again. Why, aren’t we trying to fill every seat in our church so the chores and responsibilities could be split with more attendees, or so that we could see the offerings increase to help us meet the expense of our new building; or give the raise to our pastor and staff that we feel they need? Do you suppose that we sometime lose sight of why we worship, and the one that we meet to worship? Do we lose sight of the commands of Jesus to ‘go ye into all the world and preach the gospel? – invite them to know your Jesus’. Wouldn’t it be awesome to see our churches fill up with people excited about their new-found faith in Jesus Christ, rather than attending because of the charisma of the pastor, or the perfection in the voices of the praise team, or the deep pockets of the church to help us out of our financial woes? Friends, as I challenge you with these words, please know that I must first seek and acknowledge the deep love of Jesus and be willing to invite my friends to come and meet Jesus, with or without the blessings of an awesome pastor, a warm and friendly church family, or the awesome place in which we meet. Let’s work towards being like John the Baptist and Andrew where nothing else matters when we invite others to join us at the feet of Jesus, for it’s all about Him, and nothing else!

PRAYER
Blessed Lord and Savior, thank You for drawing our attention to the ways in which we have allowed the world to invade our minds and convince us of how the things of this world overshadow the love of our Savior who died and rose again, so that we might be saved from our sin and reach for the glories of Heaven. Nothing else matters when we fix our eyes on You and You alone, so please impress upon us the need to promote You as the aim of our worship, our church, our hope, and our eternal destiny. Please help us to emphasize that to as many as would listen, so that they may search You out, whether they ever attend our respective churches or not, for it’s You that saved us and readied us for Heaven and eternity with You and the Father. Be glorified in us dear Jesus, so that others will see You and desire relationship with You. Please help us to always point others to You! AMEN!

FOOTNOTE
If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please take advantage of information provided on my page ‘To Know Jesus’. I would also suggest that you speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com and share your good news! Perhaps one of God’s servants will pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue, your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals, or subscribe for a daily email containing each new devotional, please go online to NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. Friends, please allow me to encourage you to find a church home nearby 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 being a part of that, while also growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

The Source of Our Joy

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Worship1 Comment

DATE POSTED Friday, 2021-08-20
WRITTEN AT: Hattiesburg, MS

SCRIPTURE FROM: Luke 10:17; 20
TRANSLATION: The Passion Translation (TPT)

BIBLE TEXT: 17 When the seventy missionaries returned to Jesus, they were ecstatic with joy, telling him, “Lord, even the demons obeyed us when we commanded them in your name!”
20 …. your real source of joy isn’t merely that these spirits submit to your authority, but that your names are written in the journals of heaven and that you belong to God’s kingdom. This is the true source of your authority.”

APPLICATION: Jesus called 70 missionaries to go and evangelize their community. Based on what they told Jesus brought them joy, I wonder what they must have shared with their audiences that they ministered to? The response given by Jesus to these missionaries on their return caused me to look inward and evaluate what truly blesses my heart when I share Christ. For you see, I believe that we all tend to look way too much at self-promotion, self-praise and self-gratification. Imagine visiting a sick church member in the hospital, and your biggest praise item, as a lay person, about the visit revolved around a family member asking if you were the pastor? Of course it caused your head to ‘swell’ and you stood in awe about how important you must have appeared to them, but imagine telling Jesus about your visit. Based on our Scripture today, might Jesus ask if we shared the story of His sacrificial love with the sick person and their relatives? Or perhaps He may ask if we were sure to share our personal testimony of how Jesus rescued us from the deep sin sickness of this world and gave us a brand new life to serve Him faithfully for as long as we remain on earth? Friends, I believe that as we persistently study God’s Word, we will discern how God is constantly seeking to draw us closer to Himself, so that we may serve Him and show forth His love in every aspect of our lives. When He rescued us from our sinful state, and brought us into the light of His glorious power and might, was it because of anything we deserved? So when we talk to others about the joy inside of us, should we share about anything we brought on? Or should we instead talk about the wondrous, sacrificial, limitless, unconditional love of Jesus, who saw us where we were, and brought us into His marvelous presence, so that others will see the purity of Christ, and not the failures of sinful man? Friends, we have nothing to personally brag about that would save a person from the pit of Hell, unless we brag about the Christ who died so that we might be saved from our sin and fit for the Kingdom of Heaven. As Christians, we should be seeking our strength in Jesus, so that we might share the source of our strength with others who are weak. We should find our joy in the One who promised us life eternally in Heaven! We have something to share with those who are down and out, and without any joy. The unsaved may look at us as coequal, and so they should, but we can always share with them the source of our hope and the everlasting promise of heaven, because of Jesus. You see, it’s all about Jesus – not us.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: We have a joy to share with unbelievers – it’s Jesus! He saved us, He helps us maintain a happy balance each day in the strength of our Master, and He has a home prepared for us when we say goodbye to this world!

PRAYER: Thank You Lord Jesus for saving my soul. May the joy that I find in You, Lord, be very evident to unbelievers and may I always make it clear to them the Source of that joy. You are the Rock of every believer, may we freely share the eternal source of our strength with those who desperately want restitution from their troubled lives. You’re all we need precious Lord. Please direct us each and every day to the foot of the cross where we may surrender ourselves in return for life eternally in heaven with You. Please touch lives today 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 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!