The Rest of the Story!

On 2015-08-222015-08-22 By Ed AlgreenIn Choices, Eternity, SurrenderLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Revelation 21:3-8): ³ I heard a loud voice shout from the throne: God’s home is now with his people. He will live with them, and they will be his own. Yes, God will make his home among his people. ⁴ He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever. ⁵ Then the one sitting on the throne said: I am making everything new. Write down what I have said. My words are true and can be trusted. ⁶ Everything is finished! I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give water from the life-giving fountain to everyone who is thirsty. ⁷ All who win the victory will be given these blessings. I will be their God, and they will be my people. ⁸ But I will tell you what will happen to cowards and to everyone who is unfaithful or dirty-minded or who murders or is sexually immoral or uses witchcraft or worships idols or tells lies. They will be thrown into that lake of fire and burning sulfur. This is the second death.

THOUGHTS: For those of you who have followed Nuggets for a while will remember that we covered from the creation of the world, to the birth of Jesus, through the miracles and life changing events that occurred during His short life, then through His death/crucifixion and resurrection. All of this happened in perfect timing, and this information has been widely available for years, to show that although we are born into a world of sin and perhaps little hope, we realize when we read the last book of the Bible that all these happenings were for a reason. They brought us hope and a promise, that if we surrender our lives to Jesus – God’s sacrificial gift to man, then we would be included in the family of God referred to in verse 3. The whole plan comes together friends! For those who wisely surrendered their lives to the lordship of Jesus Christ during their lifetime, we can look forward to having God live among us in an atmosphere of peace, comfort and tranquility – no more tears, death, suffering, crying or pain. Everything new! Everything as we know it today will be finished! Fortunately we are also warned about what will happen to those who choose to do life their own way. In verse 8 these folk are given just the opposite treatment. Friends, we know the Bible is true, for it is one of the most widely printed and studied books there is, plus its content has been proven over and over again. In the financial world, if we know of impending doom we try to avoid it by investing much more conservatively. In our physical environments, we try to protect ourselves when we are warned of hurricanes and/or other acts of God. I am very concerned for the millions of people who have chosen to accept the latter conditions mentioned in verse 8. There are choices that our family and friends can make to improve their eternal destiny. Are we praying enough, or encouraging enough, or doing enough to help them make wiser choices today Christians? The end of the story is very exciting for those who have made arrangements to be in the presence of Jesus and His Father! It can be the same for those of you reading this who are not sure of your position/destiny. Please follow the steps in my Footnote to receive help and sure up your position about heaven or hell as your destination, and God vs Satan for your eternal master. I would welcome the opportunity to help!

PRAYER: Thank You Father for providing everything for Your children. It is unfortunate, but we believe that there are still many who have chosen to ignore Your gift of eternal life and settle for the Lake of Fire referenced in our scripture this morning. Many of these are our family, friends and coworkers, and we are very concerned about their sanity in this kind of decision. I realize that Satan is busy at work, distracting his followers from the truth of which I have referenced here today, but I am blessed and assured to know that Christians are following the same Savior today as will lead us on that day referenced in verse 3 above! Oh Lord, please use Your saints to be an influence in the lives of those who do not call You Lord. Please keep us from being stumbling blocks, but to stay firm in our belief and always lift up the name of Jesus in all that we do and say. May lives be impacted for You today, is my humble plea oh Lord. All this I ask in the bountiful 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 Best Employees

On 2015-08-172015-08-17 By Ed AlgreenIn Christian Principles, Honesty, WorkplaceLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Easy-To-Read Version – Colossians 3:22-24): ²² Servants, obey your masters in everything. Obey all the time, even when they can’t see you. Don’t just pretend to work hard so that they will treat you well. No, you must serve your masters honestly because you respect the Lord.²³ In all the work you are given, do the best you can. Work as though you are working for the Lord, not any earthly master. ²⁴ Remember that you will receive your reward from the Lord, who will give you what he promised his people. Yes, you are serving Christ. He is your real Master.

THOUGHTS: In searching for the best employees for their place of business, most employers will look for the same principles that the Christian upholds in being a person of the Word and a child of the King. In being the best employee possible, Christians/we are to first follow the principles taught to us by our King in His holy Word. We are to recognize that even though we can get away with certain things because our earthly bosses may not be able to track our locations and/or our work every minute of every day, yet we serve a God who can. If we were living according to ‘code’, and I’m talking about the code set out for us in God’s Word, then I believe that employers will be fighting for their Human Resources folk to hire staff with such high moral and ethical principles. So for those reading this devotional who may not identify with what I am referring to, let me give you just a couple principles that you should find in Christian workers: 1). There should be no worries about stealing, because we are taught by God that we are not to take something that belongs to another person without them offering it to us. Now this will pertain to physical things and such things as time – for if we are expected to work 8 hours per day, our employer should never have to check on us to see if we are giving them an honest 8 hours of work; 2). Honesty – some of this would be reflected in #1, but this characteristic also extends into trusting what we say and what we do. There should never be any doubt as to whether we are totally sincere in what we do or say, that we have the best interest of God at heart and our employer and his/her business. Now, will every Christian be perfect at these things and others that you might relate to the teachings of God’s Word? Probably not perfect, because the only perfect one is Jesus. However, should you recognize imperfection in the character of those claiming Christ as their Savior, may I encourage you to bring this to their attention? Satan has a way of working on Christians hard enough that he tries to make them feel like their wrongs become right if left unchecked long enough. You will help them return to the cross and seek God’s forgiveness for straying from His ideals. Christians, we work as for the Lord, let us be counted worthy by Him in all that we do and say – especially on our jobs.

PRAYER: As representatives of Yours, Oh God, we have our banner of expectations lifted high and we must live our lives pleasing to You not only at church, not only in the presence of other Christians, not only before our employers who might expect us to live differently, but especially before the lost world that we interface with every day, for they are looking to see what is different about us and what impact our proclaimed Savior is having on our lives that might be different to theirs. We don’t want to be hypocritical, but rather totally honest in our dealings with others. Because we know that Satan is rampant and will make every effort to distract us and have us look and live like his, then we must be all the more earnest in seeking Your strength, Your power and Your daily direction to look, live and act like children of God. Please especially help us to be great representatives in our workplace so that our bosses might recognize the differences and rejoice in the difference our God makes in the lives of His children. We need You dear Father to be our constant guide, our reminder and the means by which we can live differently – pleasing to You. I ask all this in the precious name of Jesus, and with thanksgiving and praise, AMEN!

God’s Decree

On 2015-08-132015-08-13 By Ed AlgreenIn Prayer, SurrenderLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – Jeremiah 29:11-14): ¹¹I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. ¹² “When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I’ll listen. ^13-14 “When you come looking for me, you’ll find me. “Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I’ll make sure you won’t be disappointed.” God’s Decree.

THOUGHTS: Generally when we hear of a ‘Decree’ it involves certain actions that a king has ordered. This ‘Decree’ is then given to the king’s law makers to carry out the ‘Decree’ because it has been ordered by the highest law maker of the day – the king, and it generally has no conditions to it. The ‘Decree’ spoken of in today’s scripture is quite different, for God declares His unswerving commitment to His people and then follows with how the people might contribute to the end result of the promise. We are all very aware of how this world came into existence, and how it was almost eradicated at one point by a world-wide flood because of man’s sin. I believe that God wants us to know and understand that He has awesome plans for us to one day join Him in heaven. He has pointed out in various places throughout the Bible that sin cannot enter heaven, so in verse 12 He has assured us that He will listen when we come to Him in prayer. This is reassuring friends, because whenever we wrong someone, we tend to stay away from them in shamefulness, thinking that they will want nothing to do with us. Instead, God tells us that He will listen! Wow! We are also assured that there will be no trouble finding God, especially if we get serious about finding Him. Why do you suppose that God would add ‘when we get serious’ to this point? I believe there are times that we simply go through the motions, and for a quick response back to a person trying to nudge us along, might simply be that we just can’t find what we’re looking for. However, when the thing/person we are searching for is our idea, and we feel it/they will impact our lives, then we exert a whole new effort into the search. We become more determined or serious about our search. Perhaps the Word says it best – when we get so serious about finding God that we want Him more than anything else, then we will find Him. Friends, we can rejoice in knowing that as we exert this extra effort and become serious about our eternal destiny, God assures us that we will not be disappointed. So how is it with you today friend? Have you gotten serious enough about your relationship with God, or about your eternal destiny, that you are ready to seek God’s face in prayer and allow Him to love on you, care for you, listen to you and satisfy your earthly needs with a heavenly peace of mind? Only God can do it, and He will only do it if you let Him into your life. Please read my ‘footnote’ for ways you can get help with this, for this is of super importance.

PRAYER: When we’ve messed up so much that we’re not sure which way is up, then we tend to look to You for help, but Lord God I pray that we will learn to call out to You on a regular basis, because we are so helpless without You. Thank You for Your reassurance today. Thank You for our eternal home with You in heaven. Thank You for being accessible to us in prayer. Please don’t give up on me, for I need You more today than ever before. Please do the same for my readers who are serious in their search for You and willing to surrender their meager abilities to a life of total obedience to You and Your precious Word. Please have Your will and way in our lives today oh Lord, is my simple and profound cry that I ask in the strong name of Jesus, AMEN!

Can We Still Praise Him?

On 2015-08-122015-08-12 By Ed AlgreenIn Always There, CircumstancesLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Century Version – Habakkuk 3:17-19): ¹⁷ Fig trees may not grow figs, and there may be no grapes on the vines. There may be no olives growing and no food growing in the fields. There may be no sheep in the pens and no cattle in the barns. ¹⁸ But I will still be glad in the Lord; I will rejoice in God my Savior. ¹⁹ The Lord God is my strength. He makes me like a deer that does not stumble so I can walk on the steep mountains.

THOUGHTS: How often do we allow the trials of this world to interfere with our worship to our awesome God? That’s right folk, God is still awesome – in spite of what we may have brought on ourselves, or the repercussions of our sin. After all, did He cancel the debt He paid for us on the cross, suddenly couldn’t care less about a situation, and allowed Satan a foothold in our lives? Did God not protect us during a time that we felt like our world was coming to an end – perhaps the loss of a loved one, or a favorite vehicle or even our home? Why then do we first lash out on God for not saving the day for us? He’s still God friend! He still cares for us and would surrender to the cross of Calvary all over again if He felt like it would make a difference for us. In this scripture today, we see where the prophet had lots of reasons to turn away (in verse 17), get in some corner and just feel sorry for himself. In fact some would even have cursed God if they had as much going on as indicated in verse 17. However, in verse 18 we see where Habakkuk proclaimed that in spite of all that was evident around him, he still had a God to praise and nothing would take away his joy in the Lord. For just like us today, the Lord God was his strength – as He is ours today. God gave His prophet a strong footing to see him through challenging times, and I am reassured that He does the same for us today! So friends, can we take the blinders off and not just look at the circumstances that Satan may have pushed in front of us to distract us, but can we widen the scope and also see the amazing blessings that God showers on us every day? Perhaps then we can say like the prophet, “I too will rejoice in God my Savior”! Unbelievers need to see this quality in us friends, for they need to be convinced that this Savior we proclaim, is actually there for us through the good times, but also through the challenging times of our lives.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for being our God every day and in every circumstance. Please help us to understand and be constantly reminded that You are always there for us. Your love for us is way beyond anything we could comprehend, so of course there are things that occur in our lives that we just don’t understand why. Please help us to not just praise You when all is bright and sunny, but also when things seem very dismal for us, for You are with us ALWAYS, You love us ALWAYS and You are ALWAYS looking out for our best interest. You are amazing and such an awesome God! Thank You for being my Savior and Lord. Please encourage those readers who may not feel ‘on top of the world’ today because life circumstances are not where they feel they should be. Please draw them especially close to Your side, shower them with Your love and show them that You care for them and their circumstances. I ask all this in the awesome name of Jesus, Messiah, my Savior and Friend, AMEN!

Our Unshakable Devotion to God

On 2015-06-292015-06-29 By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, Dedication, Devotion, UnswervingLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Century Version – Daniel 3:28): ²⁸ Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Their God has sent his angel and saved his servants from the fire! These three men trusted their God and refused to obey my command. They were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god other than their own.

THOUGHTS: From the subject, I hope that no one gets the impression that this faith of ours is automatic, or that because of our faith in God, all Christians are as devoted to, and stands firm in their faith like Daniel and his buddies did. Yes, we should all be that devoted to our God who sacrificed so much for us, but I believe that for many Christians, we stay way too long in the transitionary stage of releasing all of Satan’s pull on our lives, to a full and dedicated, unshakable faith in God. The reason I believe this is true, is because I don’t believe there are very many people today who, claim that they are ‘Christian’, will be willing to ‘take a bullet’ for their faith. I believe I am safe in going as far as to believe that most church goers are probably in ‘the same boat’, for often we attend church as a ‘status thing’, or as a way to please someone else who places pressure on us, rather than attending to return thanks, worship and learn from the preaching of the Almighty God through His earthly servants. Friends, just take a moment and meditate on the chosen verse very carefully. Notice how the same king who despised the god of Daniel and his friends, was totally changed and even broke out into worship and praise to their God, when he saw their faith in action? Let us remember, that there are no other Gods besides our Master and our King. Daniel was willing to go the distance with his God, even if it meant being burned to death in a fiery furnace. There is no indication of Daniel’s thoughts as he was thrown into the furnace, but I get the distinct impression that there was not a worry of any sort on the mind of Daniel for he knew, like other saints have declared in the Bible, that whether he lived or whether he died, blessed be the name of the Lord. He knew that if this was the time that God would declare him absent from this world, he would be welcomed into a new world in the presence of Jesus and His Almighty Father. A better world, prepared for all of God’s true followers! A bright future that we can all look forward to! The question for each one today is: are you dedicated enough in your walk with the Lord, that you are willing to risk everything – all worldly desires and pleasurers, to truly show Jesus, and this world, to whom your life is devoted, committed as you live in anticipation of His call to join Him at the Father’s feet soon? This type of devotion solidifies our relationship with God and has an awesome impact on those around us who might be watching to see if we are a sincere, truly dedicated child of God, or just another hypocritical, wishy-washy person who claims the title of ‘Christian’ when convenient, or needed? If you are doubtful as to where you stand friend, then it would benefit you to read my Footnote and sure things up with the Lord. In spite of all who you might fool about your relationship with the Lord, He knows the ‘real’ you and wants to help you be truly committed to Him today and until the day He calls you home to himself. Get ‘real’ with yourself friend, for God knows the ‘real’ you!

PRAYER: Father, I believe that there is nothing more disgusting in Your sight than to look at a self-serving, uncommitted, wishy-washy person who claims the name of Jesus for personal gain, rather than in total commitment to You and available for ministry in spreading Your love to all that they come into contact with. Lord, Daniel has shown us that being ‘real’ and standing firm in our commitment to You, will impact even the most challenging persons, as Your love is expressed through Your servants, encapsulates the sinner, and convinces them of Your perfect love, and Your unswerving desire to see them totally surrender themselves to You. Thank You for not giving up on us, but instead expressing unexplainable love towards us while we serve out our time here on this earth. Please use us as Your servants, Your agents of change, Your representatives, as we walk our talk each day. You are in control, so we totally surrender our self-will to You and ask for Your perfection in us as You guide, protect and use us. I ask all this in the precious name of Jesus, my Master, my King and soon coming Lord, 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 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!

The Evidence & Results of True Faith

On 2015-04-252015-04-25 By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, HopeLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (The Contemporary English Version – Hebrews 11:13-16): 13 Every one of those people died. But they still had faith, even though they had not received what they had been promised. They were glad just to see these things from far away, and they agreed that they were only strangers and foreigners on this earth. 14 When people talk this way, it is clear that they are looking for a place to call their own. 15 If they had been talking about the land where they had once lived, they could have gone back at any time. 16 But they were looking forward to a better home in heaven. That’s why God wasn’t ashamed for them to call him their God. He even built a city for them.

Thoughts: I believe I was renewed in my faith as I read this scripture, and was reminded of the faith shown by our forefathers. The writer reminds us that all the faith shown by these powerful men of God, such as Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Jacob was not necessarily on the promises that would be revealed to them during their lifetime, but because their minds were not fixed on eartly things and/or places, God was not ashamed of their human failures and instead prepare a heavenly home for them that, no doubt, was their ultimate goal. I am reminded of a saying that often we are so earthly minded that we are of no heavenly good!! It sounds just the opposite for these great saints, and I believe that this may be much of the reason why they were particularly made a part of the scriptures – to help show us what 'true faith' really looks like. To my readers, let me encourage you to join me in re-evaluating the level of our faith. Let's begin with evaluating our priorities – are they more earthly minded than heavenly? Do our actions reflect the qualities learned from our relationship with Christ, or those inherited from our earthly interactions? Would God be ashamed for us to say that He is our God, or would He be proud of His children? We have a hope friends! We have a heavenly home and a gracious heavenly Father that awaits our arrival in His presence. Are you ready? Let's make Him proud of us as long as we are allowed to remain on planet earth, and may others be drawn to our Savior through the faith they see in us!

Prayer: Father God, I thank You for the awesome experience of knowing You, and being blessed by the many ways that You have already touched my life. Please help my readers and I to place our relationship with You as our very top priority, and please help us to learn from the faith of our ancestors, while giving us the urgency to also allow our faith in You to be so obvious in us that those following in our footsteps would see more of Jesus than of our sinful selves. May our lives be so focused on You, oh Lord, that You would be proud to hear us call You our Father and our God. May all who come behind us find us faithful! I ask this in humility and in the wonderful name of Jesus, my Savior and Lord, 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!

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In Faith, Believe Jesus is Lord

On 2015-04-03 By Ed AlgreenIn Eternal Life, Follow Jesus, Obedience, Salvation, The PlanLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Hebrews 4:2-3): We have heard the message, just as they did. But they failed to believe what they heard, and the message did not do them any good. Only people who have faith will enter the place of rest. It is just as the Scriptures say, “God became angry and told the people, ‘You will never enter my place of rest!’ ”

THOUGHTS: Over time many have continued the tradition of attending church on the day of their choice or conviction. Having grown up in church and now a regular attendee, it is very easy to assume that such dedication is bound to get you somewhere on the day you are faced with death to this world. This kind of assumption was assumed back in the day when the writer of Hebrews shared his heart with us in this passage of scripture. The reality of what is being discussed by the writer was very evident in the lives of the Israelites that were rescued from slavery in the land of Egypt and taken care of by God through 40 years in the wilderness. They were taken care of, but did they truly have faith in the One who cared for them? Of course not, every time that Moses left their presence they returned to their sinful acts of worshiping idols. Unfortunately, this sounds a lot like our church goers who attend to please mom, or spouse, or whomever, but have no personal relationship with the Lord. Friends, please be aware that church attendance is just the ‘icing on the cake’ for us, as it is a place that we go to join other like-minded folk who come together to celebrate the one main thing they have in common – the Lord Jesus. Just because you may find yourself enjoying the company of these folk when they meet to worship, does not automatically include you in the redeemed of the Lord who anxiously await His return. You see, having a relationship with the Lord will be evident in our lives every day of the week, and not just for the one hour that we feel an obligation to attend a worship service. So I believe that the litmus test is more about what your life appears to be Monday thru Friday, more so than what it looks like during your hour of worship. So what would someone who only knows you in the business world classify you as? A Christian/follower of Christ/born again child of the King/Christ-like? Have you personally asked for forgiveness of your sin and surrendered your life totally to the Lord Jesus Christ? Perhaps on this ‘Good Friday’, a day we remember the death of our Lord Jesus, there is no better time for you to seek His face and surrender your life to Him as your loving Savior and King. It’s time that you be honest with yourself and your relationship with God, or lack thereof. Do something about it friend.

PRAYER: Dear God, please help us, Your children, to not take You for granted. You went to the extreme of giving up Your only Son so that we might have eternal life. Please help us to never assume that by simply walking through the doors of a building on a Sunday or Saturday morning will take the place of that awesome sacrifice You made for us. You have carefully outlined in Your Word how we might be saved, and no part of it involves church attendance for a given number of years. Our only means of seeing You at heaven’s portals is through a personal decision and plea to accept Your Son Jesus, as our Lord and personal Savior. There is no substitute or alternative. Please open the eyes and hearts of Your children as they find a place of worship this Easter season. May they truly find, and accept the gift of eternal life – may they personally find and accept You as Lord, is my humble and sincere prayer that I ask in the name of the One that I call King, Savior and Lord of all, Jesus the Christ, my Lord, AMEN!

Teach With Your Life

On 2015-02-262015-02-26 By Ed AlgreenIn ExampleLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (The Message – 1 Timothy 4:11-14): Get the word out. Teach all these things. And don’t let anyone put you down because you’re young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity. Stay at your post reading Scripture, giving counsel, teaching. And that special gift of ministry you were given when the leaders of the church laid hands on you and prayed—keep that dusted off and in use.

Thoughts: Paul instructed Timothy on things to be leery of. I believe that God ordered that these instructions be included in His Message to us because they equally apply to us. In these verses, I heard God saying:

We have a responsibility to get the word out – the Word of God, The witness of all that He has done in our lives;
We are cautioned that people might be prejudiced against us – it might be age, it might be color, it might be gender, or anything else that they feel might serve to block us from imposing, or sharing our message with them;
We must be careful to also minister to believers – Paul knew that the primary way to get through to believers would be to teach them through our actions, our words, our demeanor, our love, our faith, our integrity – just our straight out attitude and character. If Jesus is not shining through us in our outward life actions, does He truly reside in our heart?
Keep on keeping on – a message I’ve heard consistently over the past few months. Paul is also advising that we stay at our posts, doing what God instructs us, in spite of what the people around us may do to deflect or reject us;
We have a special gift – share it! This can be from a talent standpoint, or simply from a standpoint of having the gift of God’s Son inside of us and a deep desire to share Him with others;
Keep our gift dusted off – this reminds me that I am to stay in the Word, attend church services and training, and do my very best to be current in my relationship and experiences with the Lord. Sharing something with someone that happened to you over 10 years ago gives the impression that your God must be dead. Why hasn’t He been active in your life experiences this week? Also, witnessing about something that has occurred in your life, versus something that happened in a friend’s life, is way more powerful. So be attuned to all that God is doing for you personally.

Prayer: Thank You Lord for the plan You had for Timothy; the plan You had for Paul to encourage and minister to Timothy; and the plan You have for my life and the lives of my readers. Thankfully You are a ‘personal’ God who loves us individually in unconditional ways. You chose us to be Your children; Your followers; Your messengers; because we have family, friends and loved ones that will listen to us and watch our very actions. Lord, may they see Jesus very evident in our life, our word, our demeanor, our love, our faith and in our integrity. In fact, may the love of God be so evident in us that others would have a desire to also have Him become a part of their lives. Just as Timothy went on to win the lost to You, may You also see results from our very existence here on this earth and particularly from our personal witness. This is my desire today Lord, and I ask this in the precious name of Jesus, my King, now and throughout eternity, AMEN!

Live In Constant Joy!

On 2015-02-112015-02-11 By Ed AlgreenIn Joy, Thanksgiving2 Comments

The Holy Bible (The Message – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22): ^16–18Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live. ^19–22Don’t suppress the Spirit, and don’t stifle those who have a word from the Master. On the other hand, don’t be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what’s good. Throw out anything tainted with evil.

Thoughts: I know that the subject sounds inviting, but I want us to be reminded that ‘Joy’ results from a happy heart – a heart filled with love for the Lord and from a heart stayed on constant prayer before the Master of this universe. This scripture reminds us to thank God in ALL things, I believe that this will result in an everlasting ‘Joy’ to bless us every day. Friends, I want to encourage you to always find something to thank God for. You may have a broken arm, but praise to the Almighty, you have a healthy arm to enjoy and help you through your day! Just last night I heard a brother praise God for allowing him to serve in the military many years ago. In spite of many who may have been hurt through their service, he was able to find reasons to praise God for his time in the service. May I encourage you to find reasons to praise God every day? Please let there be a word of praise always present on your lips and in your heart, that you are ready to praise God for, and bless another person with! I found it interesting to also note Paul’s explanation that showing a heart of thanksgiving is actually a responsibility of the Christian, in other words, it pleases God! Paul went on to remind us that we are not to quench, or suppress the Holy Spirit. Friends let’s think of the Holy Spirit as being a fire that burns. Paul is telling us to be careful not to throw cold water on that fire. The work of God, and His Holy Spirit is of utmost importance in the life of a Christian. When we feel Him tugging at us to do a certain work, or teach a certain class, or give witness to a certain work that the Spirit has performed in our lives, we wind up quenching the Spirit if we don’t follow through with what we felt He was leading us to do. Now for those of us who are very gullible, Paul teaches that we test and examine what we believe that the Spirit is instructing us to do. My advice is to: 1). Test it against the Word of God. For if it is Biblical, then you can be assured that it is God’s will; 2). If another believer (proven to be genuine over time) shares with you something similar to what you felt God leading you to do, then I believe that God is reaffirming His word to you; and 3). If confirmation comes through a sermon, or a Bible reading, then I believe that this is another indicator from God to reaffirm His word to you. Paul teaches that we are to act on the proven, and throw out the rest. Friends, as we witness God at work in our lives, we can be filled with the joy of the Lord to a degree that others will also be blessed by our words and by our actions, all for the glory of the only Master – Jesus our Lord!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, our eternal Joy and Peace, my heart is filled to overflowing, knowing that in spite of my inadequacies and failures, yet the King of all kings loves me enough to bless me with pure, unadulterated love and joy! I am eternally thankful for this! I pray that as You bless me with these qualities, that I will be a conduit for others to receive that same joy, and that they will search for a closer walk with You. For my family and friends that do not know You, I pray that this everlasting joy in me will be so evident to them that they will have a deep desire to know my Savior. Please use this devotional to bless the hearts of those who struggle to find joy every day, for I believe that it becomes extremely challenging for a non-believer to see Jesus in the life of one who claims Him, but displays no evidence of the joy that relationship brings. Bless us today in ways that will force us to rejoice in You, and express that joy to others who need it! I ask all this in the precious and holy name of Jesus, my Lord, with thanksgiving, AMEN!

A Sacred Highway

On 2015-01-162015-01-16 By Ed AlgreenIn SalvationLeave a comment

The Holy Bible
(Contemporary English Bible – Isaiah 35:8-10): ⁸A good road will be there, and it will be named “God’s Sacred Highway.” It will be for God’s people; no one unfit to worship God will walk on that road. And no fools can travel on that highway. ⁹No lions or other wild animals will come near that road; only those the Lord has saved will travel there. ¹⁰The people the Lord has rescued will come back singing as they enter Zion. Happiness will be a crown they will always wear. They will celebrate and shout because all sorrows and worries will be gone far away.

Thoughts: The prophet Isaiah was gifted and led by God to give us a glimpse of what children of God could expect when we leave this world. I am so tired of all the crime, the hurts, the acts of Satan at every turn, that I’m afraid will only get worse for us while still here on this old earth. However, we know that God is preparing a place for us, those who have accepted Him as Lord and King of our lives, to spend eternity with Him in heaven. Throughout the book of Revelation, we see additional insights on what we might expect, but in reading this passage in Isaiah, I was overjoyed to see that God had really been giving us a ‘visual’ quite a long time ago. I was also fascinated to note the amazing agreement by God’s messengers, for Isaiah’s prophecy is very much along the lines of what we read and understand from other parts of the Bible!

Here are some points that excited me:

God’s Sacred Highway – the highway name alone reminds me that God is preparing a neat place for His children to travel. To think of a highway for His kids makes me feel like I am so special to Him that He wants to roll out the red carpet for my arrival – a special road just for us!!
Exclusively for Christians – All the preaching and evangelizing we have ever heard comes to reality in the exclusivity mentioned here, for we are constantly reminded here on earth that only those who have surrendered their hearts and lives to Jesus will be saved. This confirms the words of our pastors, preachers and evangelists who has our best interest at heart each week as they stand in front of us an preach the gospel!
No fools allowed – I don’t believe that God is finding bad names to give those who don’t necessarily see everything as He does, however I believe that there are many who try to fool family, friends, pastors and even God into believing that they are saved – by their giving, or their church attendance or by the way that they take care of ones they love. I believe that God sees such folk as ‘fools’ because nothing is hid from Him. He knows our heart – the very core of mankind. Yes, even ‘fools’ will be surfaced on that day and rejected by God, as He will do with all who never claimed Him as Lord.
No threats – We see and hear about a lot of threats to Christians today, with some being murdered for their persistent faith in God. In vs 9 we are reminded that God’s Sacred Highway will be safe from dangers that frighten and/or hurt us!
Pure happiness and joy – I get excited just thinking about it, but Isaiah tells us that we will wear a crown of happiness and celebrate endlessly because all sorrows and worries will be gone forever! Praise the name of the Lord!!

When we think of traveling, we get anxious about visiting beautiful places, then we immediately start asking when, and how quickly can we begin traveling. For those that fear the arrival of this important day, you may worry how much longer do you have before you need to make a decision. Friends, the Bible is clear in saying that no man knows the hour or the day. That tells me that this could occur before you ever get to read this devotional, or it may be any number of days away. When I’m about to take a trip, I start early to make preparations. I would urge you to do the same, otherwise you may never get the opportunity to. Please see the information in my ‘Footnote’ below to help you prepare.

Prayer: Lord, You know how badly some of us live to just see retirement from regular work here on earth, so I’m sure You are well aware of the excitement that builds in the heart of a Christian when we are reminded, and think about our retirement from this earth, to graduate on to glory to be with You! This scripture given through the prophet Isaiah has done just that dear Lord, and I thank You for not only the reminder, but also for the provision You have made for me! Oh, What a Savior, Oh Hallelujah! Thank You Lord for Your mercies on me! Dear Jesus, I pray that You might use this reminder to speak to the hearts of the undecided or the procrastinators. May this be the day of decision and commitment for them. Please use Your servant today in ways that might help an unsaved person to make this most important decision in their life. You are God alone, and only You can touch the heart of a person, may this be a productive day for You in the hearts of my unsaved family and friends and for all who You will cause to stumble across this devotional on the world wide web. All glory and honor to You oh King! Thank You for hearing my prayer that I ask in Your precious and holy name, AMEN!

Nuggets From God's Word

Tag: King