What Hinders You From Knowing Christ Intimately?

On 2019-06-052019-06-10 By Ed AlgreenIn Garbage, Overcomer, SinLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2019-06-05

Bible Reference: Philippians 3:8-10
Translation: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Bible Text: ⁸ Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ ⁹and to know that I belong to him. I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ. ¹⁰All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life.

OBSERVATION: In our effort to reach the finish line well, we will face many temptations and the ‘filth’ and ‘garbage’ of this world on a daily basis. If we know the Master, then we are plugged into the powersource that will help us overcome the ‘garbage’ that may tend to hold us back. This is worth taking a few minutes to meditate on before God!

APPLICATION: Some of us are living ‘on top of the world’ – having the time of our lives with: great jobs; awesome friends; lots of ‘things’ for entertainment and/or enjoyment. However, there are some who are struggling to make it each day because they struggle to enjoy anything in life. At the foot of the cross, both types of individuals come with the same problem if they have yet to accept Jesus as Lord, for they come to the cross laden in sin. Believe it or not, Paul (aka Saul) was the chiefest of sinners in his day, yet God used him to show us through this scripture that just as he surrendered, or gave up everything to follow Christ, so will we have to give up the sin in our lives. Often this involves the things that have always led us to sin, or distracted us from knowing God. This challenged me, and I am sharing this with you so that you may be challenged, to think about this also. What is there in our lives that hinders our relationship with God? Is it time to throw out the ‘garbage’ so that our minds and our lives might be freed of the pull of sin? This could be hindering your acceptance of the Lord, or if we know Him already, this could be distracting and/or hindering our intimacy with Him. I want you to commit with me, as Paul did in verse 10, that from this very moment in life, we will reach for the finish line, to stand before God without any fear of shame, or rejection, or penalty from Him. The distractions that we will face getting from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ are the sins that we have to watch out for, and avoid, each day. Will you join me in going before Jesus each and every day to ask for His strength, His guidance and His power to overcome the ‘garbage’ that will try to trip us up each day? For we want to see Jesus! We want to know Him and the awesome power that raised Him to life! Let us therefore run this race of life with God at the center of all we do. Let us lean on His awesome power to help us stay ‘garbage free’ and strive to serve Him faithfully each and every day!

PRAYER: Lord You have allowed us to stay on this earth so that we might represent You and witness to others who need Jesus. You know all about the ‘garbage’ that we have allowed to enter our lives that really stinks and repels the sinner from wanting to know You. We are ashamed that we have been so weak and ineffective. I was convinced in Your Word today that others, in the heart of a ‘garbage’ pile, really don’t want more ‘garbage’, for they are looking for a way out, a cleansing, a new and better life. Lord Jesus, You are the Way, the Truth and the Life for those looking for a new life. Thank You for opening my eyes to this truth over 40 years ago. Please help me to keep my eyes and my life fixed on You and determined to avoid the ‘garbage’ that will easily and quickly pollute my life. Please touch the lives of my readers with a renewed desire to know You and to live for You in a closer and more dedicated way. May Christians today truly represent the God of their Christianity and fight off the distractions, or the ‘garbage’, that will try to trip them up and distract their walk with You. Please touch the hearts of those that do not know You, with a softened heart and a strong determination to dump the ‘garbage’ in their lives and refill it with Your holiness, love and compassion. I ask all this in faith, believing in the Son of God, for it is only He that can help us be all that He desires of us. AMEN!

Signs Of His Coming!

On 2019-06-04 By Ed AlgreenIn Accept Jesus NOW, Decisions, Don't Procrastinate, Reunion Day, Saved, signsLeave a comment

Tuesday, 2019-06-04

Bible Reference: Luke 21:25–28
Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

Bible Text: ²⁵ “And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. ²⁶ People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!”

OBSERVATION: How blessed we are to have been given tips, or warning signs, about the end of time, as we know it today. It is incumbent upon us to act on these warning signs and ready ourselves for the eminent return of Jesus Christ to take His bride (the church) home to glory with Him. To be a part of ‘The Church’, we must have accepted Jesus as our personal Savior. Failing to act on this will leave you in a state where Satan will continue to be your master, even through eternity in Hell. Please read on for help in avoiding such a pitfall in your life.

APPLICATION: I am not a meteorologist, but it seems like there are computers that are constantly analyzing the weather events of the past, so that based on certain wind flows and other conditions today, our favorite weather announcer could be prized with being the first to warn us about a predictable upcoming event, for our safety and security. Jesus shared with us in these verses today about various (obvious) WARNING signs that the Holy Spirit will cause us to stand to our feet and look up in full awe and anticipation to welcome our King – our Savior and our Messiah, as He comes to take us home with Him! Friends, when events such as this occur, there are often some folk who are waiting for the moment and are ready to go with the Master. However, there will unfortunately be those who have procrastinated, or refused to surrender their life to our Savior. Please consider me your biblical ‘meteorologist’ today, as based on God’s Holy Word, it is written that the first group mentioned above will be taken with Jesus to reside with His Father – our Almighty God, to live and reign with Him, to worship and adore Him throughout all eternity. This same Good Book also tells me to warn you that the second group will then cry aloud for the Savior, but because the decision was not made prior to His coming, He will have no choice but to disclaim them at that time and leave them behind with their earthly master, Satan. Friends, until the actual return of the Savior, you still have time to surrender your life to Him. However, because His return could be any minute now, you could very easily be totally out of time. May I encourage you to not tarry; please do not procrastinate; but instead make this a priority over anything else you have planned for today. Not sure how to handle this? Please read my ‘footnote’ for further instructions, or respond to me and I will personally give you guidance. This is way too important to procrastinate friend, please heed the WARNING!

PRAYER: Father, I am grateful that Your Holy Spirit visited with me and prompted me of the warning signs regarding my eternal destiny. Thank You for convicting me of my sin, and convincing me of my need for a Savior. I hurt today because of the multitude of friends and family that are playing with their commitment because they are not convinced of the warning signs. Lord, Your Word has been so clear and proven so true in so many ways. Please tender the hearts of my readers and those that are near and dear to each one of us today. May this devotional lead to a time of decision making by many as they listen to Your still small voice regarding your return and the certainty of eternity. We can only depend on You oh Lord, our Master and King, AMEN!

God Will Not Forsake His Saints

On 2019-06-03 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Trust, WorshipLeave a comment

Monday, 2019-06-03

Bible Reference: Psalm 37:4-7
Translation: The Passion Translation (TPT)

Bible Text: ⁴Make God the utmost delight and pleasure of your life, and he will provide for you what you desire the most.
⁵Give God the right to direct your life, and as you trust him along the way you’ll find he pulled it off perfectly!
⁶He will appear as your righteousness, as sure as the dawning of a new day. He will manifest as your justice, as sure and strong as the noonday sun.
⁷Quiet your heart in his presence and pray; keep hope alive as you long for God to come through for you. and don’t think for a moment that the wicked in their prosperity are better off than you.

OBSERVATION: Words spoken by a man with experience, are normally taken very seriously by those around him. For example, if I was to consider starting a woodworking project, I would listen very attentively to a carpenter friend. In our Scripture today, David is sharing from his personal experience, how trustworthy his/our God is. I believe it deserves our attention and our meditation today as we consider what he shared in this Psalm.

APPLICATION: Prior to these verses, David shared the challenges that the wicked face with so many challenges in life, yet they have no one of integrity or worth to run to. However, for the follower of Christ things are quite different – because we have a connection with the very Creator of this universe! But notice how David specifically directs us into having a very intimate and trusted relationship with the Master. In other words, the type of relationship that we are actively involved in, and not just one that we feel associated with, or that we could call on when we need some magical intervention in our lives. Friends, I love to compare our intimate relationship with God to that with our spouse. For you see, when I treat my Savior with the respect and trust that is required to share the joys and challenges of my heart, then I believe that I have built an intimate relationship with my Lord – one where I might trust in His goodness; plead for His guidance and His help; and believe in His power to handle the challenges of life that often seem overwhelming to me. I don’t believe for a moment that David was cheering us on to trust in a Savior that we barely know, or one that we meet with a few times a year when we visit church, or one that is tucked away and can be called on when we have trouble brewing in our lives. Read verse 4 again and meditate on the preface of this whole Scripture reading today. It begins with us delighting in, and desiring from, the very God that we have invited to lead and direct our life. So allow me to suggest that you make it a priority today to sure up your relationship with God. I believe that He is either King over all things in our lives, or He is not King at all to you. Only you will know how much of your life you have surrendered to God, but remember I said that He must be God of all, or else He will know that He is not really God at all for you. Trust in Him my friend, and watch for His amazing and miraculous works in your life. I love the words in verse 7, where David advised us to long for our Savior, and long for His goodness in our lives. I believe He longs for this type of relationship with us, but we must allow Him to do that. It’s now your turn dear one. What action will you take today to sure up your relationship with your Lord?

PRAYER: Thank You Lord, for Your mercies on me! For all You have done, in providing a Savior so that I may have life eternally in heaven with You, I say thank You Lord, for Your mercies on me. For watching over me each and every day, and providing me with the health and ability to carry on, I say thank You dear Lord for Your mercies on me. For the friends You have directed to read this devotional and draw closer to You, I say thank You Lord for Your lifelong mercies on Your children. Please speak to hearts today as each one is reminded of the words of David. May we all be reminded of the King of all kings, and Lord of all lords, who stands ready and willing to forgive us and accept us, if only we would sincerely ask. Thank You Lord for Your mercies on us. AMEN!

Appreciate The Good Things of God

On 2019-06-012021-05-31 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Generous, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Thankfulness, Thanksgiving, WorshipLeave a comment

Saturday, 2019-06-01

Bible Reference: Numbers 14:21-23
Translation: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

Bible Text: ²¹But I tell you the truth. As surely as I live and as surely as the Glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, I make you this promise: ²²None of the people I led out of Egypt will ever see the land of Canaan. They saw my glory and the great signs that I did in Egypt and in the desert. But they disobeyed me and tested me ten times. ²³I promised their ancestors that I would give them that land. But none of those people who turned against me will ever enter that land!

OBSERVATION: It is so easy to read about the ungratefulness of others, especially in response to miraculous works by a leader that constantly shows their appreciation, love and direction to them. That’s the story of the Israelites as they traveled through the Wilderness under the watchful eye and protective hand of the Master. But what have we really learned from that story? Are we in constant awe and full of appreciation for what God does for us? Let’s stop to ponder that for a few minutes today.

APPLICATION: It is so easy to read about the rescue of the Israelites from slavery at the hands of the Egyptians, and to see the miraculous works of God as He led them through years and years of travel through the wilderness. There He saved them from slaughter by approaching armys; provided food for over 1,000,000 people; gave direction and protection to them as they traveled, and held a token out in front of them by their ultimate destination being a land of milk and honey. Isn’t it extremely upsetting to think of them grumbling in the midst of all the awesome things that surrounds this story? Isn’t it good to know that we are so much better at that than they were? BUT wait, are we?? I tried to place a positive spin on the title of today’s devotion, instead of what I was really feeling like God might say to us at times – ‘Just quit the griping and complaining’!! Just in case you are blinded to really see how little we have changed, let me suggest that not a whole lot has changed. Friends, using the backdrop of the awful complaining by the Israelites in response to all the good that God was doing for them, I want us to turn our eyes to our own lives and our challenges that we deal with each day. From the time that we awaken each day, from our comfortable beds in super cool air-conditioning, we may start by complaining that it’s so warm outside, and furthermore I have to get off to work. Let’s stop right there for a moment and remind ourselves that many have no choice but to endure that warm/hot air 24 hours per day; Some are currently out of their homes because of flooding, tornadoes or simply due to financial problems, and many of these may not be able to return to their homes. So do we have something to be thankful for? Then of course our complaining continues into the choice of food we have for breakfast, or the broken down vehicle that we drive to work, or the time of day that we have to report to work. While many others could only wish that they had each of the above. Friends, may I suggest to you that we should learn from the Israelites to appreciate all that God provides for us each and every day. Yes, our greed and our selfish desires always tend to want something different and superior to what we have, but as we look into the eyes of our Master, what can we truly say? Thank You, thank you, thank You Lord for Your mercy and Your kindness to Your humble servant. Who am I to deserve such grace, and such love from such an awesome God? Please forgive us for our ungratefulness Lord. Please help us to always look at all You endured so that we might have eternal life, and a home in glory with You. Your love for us, and Your daily gifts to us are beyond anything we could measure, so may we always find room in our hearts to praise You and rejoice in all Your tender mercies, for You alone are God!

PRAYER: Precious Lord, You are so good! We are such a needy people and we cannot do this thing called ‘life’ here on this earth without You. There are so many things that we take for granted, but that we know you have provided for our good. Thank You Lord for Your mercies on us. Mercies that will endure day after day! We really have no room to complain, for Your goodness deserves our praise and our daily echo of thanksgiving. We worship You oh Lord, and we long to see You face-to-face in heaven one day. Until that time, please give us grateful hearts that will express your praise at every opportunity. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog at https://NuggetsFromGodsWord.org that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading or listening to this devotional, please go to the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and see all of my posts, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Representing God Here on Earth

On 2019-05-312021-06-01 By Ed AlgreenIn Awesome God, Eternal Life, Representation of the Master, Representative of Christ, SalvationLeave a comment

Friday, 2019-05-31

Bible Reference: Isaiah 48:11–13
Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

Bible Text: ¹¹ I will rescue you for my sake – yes, for my own sake! I will not let my reputation be tarnished, and I will not share my glory with idols! ¹² “Listen to me, O family of Jacob, Israel my chosen one! I alone am God, the First and the Last. ¹³ It was my hand that laid the foundations of the earth, my right hand that spread out the heavens above. When I call out the stars, they all appear in order.”

OBSERVATION: As a child of the King of all kings, we should constantly be mistaken for King, because of our actions, words, and our heart. But how often does that happen? Way too often our friends will see no difference between followers of Jesus Christ and the ungodly. Why do you suppose that might be? Well, in our Scripture today God said that He would not share His glory with the likes of this world. So wouldn’t that mean that we should be dedicated to the glory of our King and not just to pleasing our friends and the rest of the world? Let’s open our hearts to the Word of the Lord today as we meditate on Him.

APPLICATION: I believe that God spoke to me on two items in these verses this morning, and I wanted to share this with you friends:

1. The verses preceding those above spoke about God purifying His people with fire. Then He said something very powerful in verse 11: “I will not let my reputation be tarnished”. Friends, we may claim the name of ‘Christian’ or ‘follower’ or we may have a desire, and commit to live like Jesus. However, this may sometimes result in no change in our lives. I believe that God will then quickly step in to make sure that His reputation is not tarnished. We hear about Christian leaders being caught in adultery or some other sin, and we may sometimes wonder how did they get caught. Friends, God said that He will not allow His reputation to be tarnished. I believe that this still very much applies today! Christianity is not a ‘pretend’ thing, it’s a lifelong commitment to the very One who sacrificed His life for our salvation. He’s the One who holds our future in His hands, and may I remind you that He will not allow His reputation to be tarnished!
2. In verses 12 and 13 God reminds us of His awesome power and supremacy. Let’s try to keep in mind that this God that we serve, created the universe that we enjoy today. He is the ONLY God – the Alpha and Omega; the beginning and the end. Let’s also note that it is just not the human race that is under the obligation of obeying our Master, but even to the stars that we enjoy looking at – God also made them and they are obedient to His call. When we think of the awesomeness of our God, do we need to go any further than to simply read His Word and savor the awesome descriptions of our Creator? May I remind you that we serve a strong, awesome God!

Friends, do you know this awesome God of whom I have spoken in this devotional? If you do, please enjoy His presence today and rejoice in the awesome God that He truly is. If you don’t know my God, please allow me to introduce Him to you. There is information in my ‘Footnote’ that might help you, but I would welcome your email asking for my help. It would be my honor to introduce you to the One who will make the difference between eternal life with the Creator of this universe vs endless death in the presence of the Evil One – Satan.

PRAYER: Praise God, I can rejoice in the joy of my salvation, the Creator of this universe and the One who lives forevermore! Lord, please deal in my heart daily so that I may never misrepresent You or tarnish Your name. Please touch the hearts of my readers today so that they may also commit to a pure, dedicated life that is totally sold out to You – a life that will never sacrifice or tarnish the wonderful name of Jesus. May others see Jesus through our actions and through all areas of our character, for I ask this in the precious and holy name of Jesus, AMEN!

Man’s Picture vs God’s Reality

On 2019-05-302021-05-29 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

Third day, 2019-05-30

Bible Reference: Numbers 11:21-23
Translation: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

Bible Text: ²¹Moses said, “There are 600,000 soldiers here, and you say, ‘I will give them enough meat to eat for a whole month!’ ²²If we were to kill all the sheep and cattle, that would still not be enough to feed this many people for a month. And if we caught all the fish in the sea, it would not be enough for them!”
²³But the Lord said to Moses, “Don’t limit my power! You will see that I can do what I say I can do.”

OBSERVATION: Moses was blown away with what God said He would do, and this was partially due to the fact that Moses was looking through the lens of man’s physical limitations. But I believe that we think so logically, that we just find it very challenging to see beyond that. Let’s think about how God settled this for Moses, then think about the mountains in our own lives and how we need to surrender those to the Master.

APPLICATION: There’s a song ‘Got any rivers you think are uncrossable?‘. I initially typed ‘mountains’ instead of ‘rivers’, but I bet we all can identify with the song, no matter which object is used! For there are times when our challenges are much bigger than anything we have answers for, or that we could overcome. But friend of God, let’s be reminded that there is also another song that reminds us that ‘Nothing is impossible‘ when we place our trust in Jesus! The interesting part of the story with Moses is that God said He would feed meat to the Israelites for 30 days, and Moses took it as his responsibility to determine where he would get the meat from for God to do as He promised! That is almost comical my friend, for if God takes us to it, He will take us through it! He is not one who makes a promise and then turns around, scratches His head and tries to figure out how He will accomplish His work. If He said it, we could go to the bank with that, sit back and just watch Him accomplish whatever He said He would do. I’m sure that we are no different to Moses in wanting to be involved, wanting to help, and wanting to figure out how we could solve planet earth’s problems. But stop to remember how many other miracles Moses had already seen, and yet he still didn’t just take God at His word and sit back in wonderment while God accomplished the miraculous act that He promised. Friends, let’s remember that we serve an awesome God and that He can and will do everything that He has promised, and that He might promise you today. So let us therefore place our trust in Him, depend on Him, and be ready to praise Him as we see Him accomplish His work. Remember that mountains are only obstacles for us, not for our awesome God!

PRAYER: Lord, we have faith, but every day we need more, for we struggle to see beyond the limitations of our own eyes. I believe that each reader of this devotional will face mountains, or rivers of some form today. Oh that we might constantly be reminded that greater is He that lives inside of us than he that is in this world. In fact, You, Mighty God, created the mountains and the rivers, so You control them. Lord, as You look on feeble man today, please once again touch and encourage your children to keep our eyes fixed on You, our all-powerful God, through whom all things are possible! AMEN!

Lord, You are….

On 2019-05-29 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2019-05-29

Bible Reference: Psalm 36:5-8
Translation: Living Bible (TLB)

Bible Text: ⁵Your steadfast love, O Lord, is as great as all the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. ⁶Your justice is as solid as God’s mountains. Your decisions are as full of wisdom as the oceans are with water. You are concerned for men and animals alike. ⁷How precious is your constant love, O God! All humanity takes refuge in the shadow of your wings. ⁸You feed them with blessings from your own table and let them drink from your rivers of delight.

OBSERVATION: I believe that if we were exposed to God’s awesome love, as displayed in nature, rather than what we see on our television screens or devices, then perhaps we might become more appreciative, and creative in describing the awesome handiworks of our maker, like David did. For a farmer will probably describe something or someone in terms of what he experiences each day, while an artist will see, and explain things quite differently. Each one is correct, so let’s just remember to look for the handiworks of our awesome God and share that with Him – often!

APPLICATION: So if you were to describe your Master – your God, your Savior, to someone that you meet later today, what might be some of the adjectives you would use? Too often we will simply say that He is good, or we may even stretch it to say that He is awesome, but if you walked along the edge of a stream in a mountainous area, do you suppose that you might be able to add a more descriptive view of God? What about a view of God after sailing quietly in the clear waters of the Bahamas early one morning? What about doing this right after leaving the hospital and hearing your doctor say that you must have been healed, because he was unable to find that mass inside that showed so prevalent in the radiation reports? Friends, I don’t believe for a minute that God created us so uniquely, for us to just repeat what the Psalmist said. For I believe that from the depths of our heart and the experiences we have been blessed to encounter, we may have a lot more to say than David ever saw, or thought to say. I believe that in much the same way that spouses like to be told how awesome they are, and kids long for parental affirmation, God also longs to hear His children lift up their voices and lift up holy hands in praise and worship to our Creator. Do you do that often enough? Do you look for, and acknowledge all that He does in your life, and all around you? Great is the Lord, and worthy of praise! Great is the Lord!

PRAYER: You are so worthy dear Lord of our worship, our praise and our thanksgiving, for You are sooooo good to us. Lord You designed us to return thanks to You and to worship and adore You, but we have allowed pride and worldly attitudes to creep into our lives that hold us back. Beginning with the nucleus of friends that will read this devotional today, I pray dear Lord that You would create a right spirit within us, and fill us to overflowing with a strong hunger for more of You in our lives. For I pray that we will overflow with your goodness to such an extent that the world will see, hear and know that we are saturated with Your love. We are a thankful people oh Lord! May we express that more often in appreciation to You and so that people around us may know the source of our joy! AMEN!

How Will We Know?

On 2019-05-27 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Warning, Warning Signs, WorshipLeave a comment

Monday, 2019-05-27

Bible Reference: Mark 13:5-8
Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

Bible Text: ⁵Jesus replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, ⁶for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many. ⁷And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately. ⁸Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in many parts of the world, as well as famines. But this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.

OBSERVATION: The disciples took advantage of their time with Jesus to ask Him about the end times. I found it especially interesting to be reminded of what Jesus said, because in His caution I could see that end-time evangelists today still use the same signs that Jesus warned us not to get caught up in. Wars, earthquakes, famine, etc. Jesus warned that these are all part of what we could expect here on this earth, but as for His return…..

APPLICATION: It appears like mankind has this thing about waiting for the last minute to do anything at all. In the area where I live, hurricanes is a great threat. We are warned about the beginning of the typical season, and that we should prepare our food pantry and our window shutters in order to be best prepared when a storm comes our way. Weather forecasters warn us in lots of time when it appears like a storm is tracking towards us. However, most residents will not get themselves into gear until the panic warning is given that the hurricane will hit within 24 hours. In the spiritual realm, we have many churches and even more evangelists that deliver the message of Jesus Christ each and every day, yet we hear of many death-bed conversions. Clearly in our Scripture today we are told that we expect these things in the normal course of everyday life. Yes, they are early warning signs, but notice that Jesus still didn’t tell them when the BIG day would occur? That’s because Jesus never made it a practice to speak out of both sides of His mouth. In earlier Scripture, Jesus made it clear that no one knows the day or the hour, not even He, for His Father alone makes that decision. So let’s get back to the title of our devotional. How will we know? I believe that throughout the Word of God, we are warned that we have no idea when the King will come to take us home, although it could be today! Yes my friend, Jesus never said that He will wait for you to finish your project, or complete your plans to marry your best friend, or to make the amount of money that you always dreamed about. So wait no longer to make your heart right with God, do it now. Should He return today to take us all up to heaven with He and His Father, let there be no doubt that He will find a people who are ready to go with Him! I pray that everyone reading this devotional will waste no time in readying themselves for that day. Read my ‘Footnote’ if you are unsure of what to do. Drop me a note and allow me to pray with you about your decision dear friend.

PRAYER: Precious Lord, You not only prepared a home in glory for us, but You provided the means for dirty sinners like us to receive forgiveness of our sin, and to be acceptable in Your sight. Thank You for the warnings You placed in Your Word today to help us see and understand the deceivers that will come our way. Please help us simply to be obedient and ready for Your return, even if it is today. We want to see You Lord, and we want to be where You are. Oh that this might be the day! AMEN!

How To Give Your Two Cents Worth

On 2019-05-25 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Give it up, Give thanks, Giving, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

Saturday, 2019-05-25

Bible Reference: Mark 12:41-44
Translation: The Passion Translation (TPT)

Bible Text: ⁴¹Then he sat down near the offering box, watching all the people dropping in their coins. Many of the rich would put in very large sums, ⁴²but a destitute widow walked up and dropped in two small copper coins, worth less than a penny. ⁴³Jesus called his disciples to gather around and then said to them, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given a larger offering than any of the wealthy. ⁴⁴For the rich only gave out of their surplus, but she sacrificed out of her poverty and gave to God all that she had to live on, which was everything she had.”

OBSERVATION: No doubt you have always given your ‘two cents worth’ in every conversation you overheard! But in today’s Scripture we can see where two cents was everything that this poor widow had, yet she gave it for the work of the Lord in the temple. Still today people give from their abundance, while others give out of deep gratitude to all they have been blessed with, no matter how small that may seem to some. Let us meditate on this one little illustration that made it into the Gospel. Let us truly understand all about how we may apply this illustration to our lives today.

APPLICATION: I believe that all of us could look in on this story and conclude that God wants our very best, and He wants us to give willingly and freely. Imagine for a moment that someone blesses you with enough money to pay all of your expenses for the rest of the year. Would you be forever thankful? I bet you would be besides yourself with gratitude, right? But wait a moment, this gracious person who blessed you has asked for your help on Saturday afternoon while the game is on, plus you have already invited friends over to party with you during the game broadcast on television. So what will you do? How will you respond? There’s no right or wrong answers, this was intended to help you examine your heart for its level of gratefulness. After you have pondered those few questions, now stop to ponder your feelings when you’re paid for your hard work and for the stress you’ve encountered at work. How willing are you to commit to God a portion of what He has blessed you with financially? Remember, He opened all the doors for you to get that job, and He has truly touched the heart of your boss to give you good increases each year. Because of your good health, you have been able to handle your work each and every day. So do you suppose that it was more than anything you could personally have achieved, that made you succeed at work and earn a good income? Since God partnered with you, don’t you feel like you should return thanks to Him by sharing generously from all that your boss paid to you? Friends, we serve an awesome God. He blesses us in ways that we could only imagine; He loves us, in spite of our selfish and conceited attitudes; He provides for us when we wonder where the next dime is coming from. He’s our Almighty; All-powerful; All-loving; awesome God, that sacrificed even His own Son for our eternal benefit. What is it that we would withhold from Him and/or His mission in our family, our church and our community? His Word is specific of where we should give financially, and His Word also gives us a good guide for the amount we should give. In His Word God tells us that we will be blessed in return for our willingness to give. Be blessed today my friend, and give to God’s work freely, lovingly, and with a happy heart. We could never outgive God. And we know that God is pleased when He sees His children show their gratitude in giving freely to His earthly cause. With our hearts in the right place, we will not only give financially to the work of our Master, but we will be much more apt to give of ourselves in His service. So let’s imitate the widow in our story today, by giving of our ‘two cents’, even if it is our last two cents.

PRAYER: Thank you Lord Jesus for giving everything to us. There is nothing that You withheld, and we are forever grateful for Your precious love in blessing us each and every day. May this lesson of the poor widow invoke a new sense of release inside all of us, so that we may give freely from our financial resources and of our time that has become such a precious commodity anymore. It’s all Yours dear Lord, please help us to be open in responding in ways that will please You. Please continue to bless us, and make us channels of blessings; ones that will give and give, back to Your mission here on earth. AMEN!

Most Important

On 2019-05-24 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

Friday, 2019-05-24

Bible Reference: Mark 12:29-31
Translation: The Passion Translation (TPT)

Bible Text: ²⁹….. “The most important of all the commandments is this: ‘The Lord Yahweh, our God, is one!’ ³⁰You are to love the Lord Yahweh, your God, with every passion of your heart, with all the energy of your being, with every thought that is within you, and with all your strength. This is the great and supreme commandment. ³¹And the second is this: ‘You must love your neighbor in the same way you love yourself.’ You will never find a greater commandment than these.”

OBSERVATION: A religious scholar of Jesus’ day wanted to know, and I believe all of us would want to know, what is of top priority importance to Jesus? Of all the commandments and teachings that He shared through His Word, all of which are super important to us, it is so good to know what Jesus considers most important. So let’s take time to meditate on this today.

APPLICATION: I believe that if these things are considered ‘important’ to Jesus, then surely He is happiest when He sees His children making an effort to obey these commandments and putting these things at the very top of our priority list. So let’s really dig into what seems important to our Master: (1) Love the Lord your God deeply and sincerely – with energy and compassion of heart – I believe this means that there is nothing more important to us, than to make Jesus the priority of every part of our lives and of our day. For if He is Lord of our lives, then He will automatically be Lord of everything we do. There is no compartmentalizing, meaning that Jesus is only Lord at home, or will only be obvious in our actions at church. Friends, I believe that if He is the source of our Joy, then it will exude from us and rub off on those that we associate with. For us to say that we love Jesus, and that He fills our life with joy, then to act like the devil around our friends, it’s like living a double standard. It’s like thinking we could pack Jesus away in the back corner of our heart,while we return to our old self in order to tell a friend off. It just don’t work that way friends! Jesus is either Lord of your life and Lord of all, or you’re still searching for Him. I am not saying that a Christian won’t, or can’t sin, because as long as we are on planet earth, that will happen. But if we have invited Jesus to rule and reign in our lives, I have faith to believe that He will guide us in His ways and to act in ways that would be pleasing to Him. If we mess up on that, then we must quickly seek His forgiveness, for Jesus will not reside where sin abounds. And (2) Love your neighbor in the same way that you love yourself – I believe that Jesus is teaching us to treat that friend/neighbor at the same level as we are, not looking down on them, nor feeling intimidated by them. We would never hurt ourselves, so don’t even think of hurting a neighbor. You always want yourself to look best, be fed the best food, and achieve the best in everything. Help that neighbor achieve the same thing. Because you want them to be just like you; have everything you have; and act just like you in response to life, then you will work hard to love them unconditionally and help them connect with the source of your joy and your strength and your hope. Our Lord Jesus said that there are no other commandments as important as these two. Don’t you feel like that narrows things down to a manageable level? We can do this friends, with the help of the one who died for us, so that we could one day be with Him in glory!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, please touch my life today, and the lives of those who will meditate on these words that I’ve shared with Your help and direction. We want to be like You, and we want to be obedient children, but we need your help. I believe that You want us to follow in Your ways and according to Your commands, especially these two important commandments. Please enable us to hear Your will for our lives, and obediently follow where You will lead us. May others see Jesus today, begining with their encounter with us. AMEN!

Nuggets From God's Word

Tag: Jesus