|
Post Date: |
Thursday, 2017-04-06 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Psalm 25:4-5 (Voice) |
|
Text: |
4 DEMONSTRATE Your ways, O Eternal One. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| David had such a relationship with God that it seemed natural for him to speak his heart to God. David realized how much he had messed up, but He also knew where perfection came from, so he pleaded his case of need before the only Perfect One. |
|
| APPLICATION: | |
We could learn a lot from David, for we are so quick to beat up on ourselves, or seek help from every other source, before finally conceding to the One who could lead us to all truth, knowledge and understanding so that we could obediently follow the ways of our Lord and His written Word. There are a few keywords in these two verses that I wanted to expand on, that I believe will help us get to the bottom of David’s plea before his God:
When all is said and done, make it known to God that there is nothing more important in your life than to obey His Word. Honor Him in everything that you do and say, and allow Him to work miraculously through you to reach the lost in your circle of influence for His glory. God referred to David as a man after His own heart, so I believe that as we follow this prayer of David’s in all sincerity, we would also show our desire to have a heart more like that of Christ. May it be so even today dear friends! |
|
| PRAYER: | |
| Dear Lord, we want to be just like You! However we have so much that separates us in that quest. There is so much that we need to surrender to You so that we might be filled with Your Holy Spirit completely and therefore be led in total surrender to Your will and Your way for us. Lord, this wicked world needs to see more of You in those who claim You as Lord. Begin with me Lord. Allow me to be so filled with Your grace and Your mercy that those in my realm of influence might desire to know the One who influences my life every day. Thank You for the lesson taught through Your servant David, may all who read this blog be encourage to follow in the steps of David – towards being recognized by You as a person after Your own heart. May You be glorified in and through Your precious children today, is my prayer in deepest humility, AMEN! |
|
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us! | |
Tag: Live like Jesus
We Are Known By How We Live
May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………
Today’s Bible Reference: 1 John 3:7-10
Today’s Bible Text: Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil, who has been sinning since the beginning. But the Son of God came to destroy the works of the devil. Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God.
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)
My Take Away: Friends, I don’t know that I can add a whole lot to what the Word of God is saying to us in this passage. For just as John declared to his followers, God insisted that this become a part of His precious Word to men and women to come, for He knew that we would be challenged with the same struggles in our day. You may ask why I would possibly assume that this is an ongoing challenge. Friends, it is very obvious that many are being lured into a false sense that being a Christian equals: church going; or doing good; or walking the isle of a church after intense pressure by peers/family; or baptism; or hanging with the right crowd. Hopefully if nothing else is gathered from this devotional today, I pray that you will read carefully the above verses, and other related scripture, so that you might discern the following key points:
**To walk in fellowship with our Lord and Savior, requires an invitation from Him, and a decision/commitment by you;
**You can only be righteous (right in God’s sight) when you accept that invitation from Jesus with all your heart and in deepest sincerity;
**When Jesus is convinced that you are sincere, He will then allow His Holy Spirit to come and live inside your righteous being;
**The Holy Spirit will provide help, inspiration, determination and the power to live a life of righteousness. One that will example His righteousness, and portray His love for mankind so that the lost might see Jesus and have a desire to know Him. By your fruit, or by your right living, others will know whose you are!
So I believe that the challenge for us to look at today is that others will be observing us, just like they’ve done every day. What do you suppose they are seeing? Do they see a man/woman of righteousness, or are they seeing a pretender, or perhaps one that keeps on sinning, as described in the above verses? You will either be a help to someone else searching for righteousness or a Savior, OR you will possibly be a stumbling block to them in their search. Which will it be today, friend?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, You only have the power to call others unto Yourself. You only have the power to save mankind from sin. You only have the power to fill us with Your love and Your righteousness so that others might see and believe. Lord, I realize that The way I live could either impact the lost for You or turn them off from wanting to know You. Please speak to Your children once again today Lord. May we be righteous, as You are righteous. May we reflect love, even as You are the true representation of love in its purest form. Lord, may others see Jesus very evident in all that we say or do today, so that they may see and believe. I ask these things in the precious, righteous and most loving name of Jesus, AMEN!
Footnote: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to http://www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!
Proof That You’re A Christian
May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………
Today’s Bible Reference: 1 John 2:3-6
Today’s Bible Text: 3 And how can we be sure that we belong to him? By looking within ourselves: are we really trying to do what he wants us to? 4 Someone may say, “I am a Christian; I am on my way to heaven; I belong to Christ.” But if he doesn’t do what Christ tells him to, he is a liar. 5 But those who do what Christ tells them to will learn to love God more and more. That is the way to know whether or not you are a Christian. 6 Anyone who says he is a Christian should live as Christ did.
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)
My Take Away: Recently I was in a classroom setting where attendees were asked to explain what the Bible refers to as one’s ‘heart’. Whenever we talk to a non-Christian about the Lord, we encourage them to invite Jesus into their ‘heart’. We might tell our favorite person on earth that we love them with all of our ‘heart’, or from the depths of our ‘heart’. The reason I believe that we relate the degree of our love, or the sincerity of our love to our ‘heart’ is that it helps to explain that it’s not just words that we are expressing,m but a deep personal conviction. These verses declare that if we say that we love Jesus, or have invited Him into our ‘heart’, then proof positive of that love or commitment, would be to live like He lived. In other words, it’s not just superficial, or evidenced by words alone, but it is something where we have allowed Jesus to impact our inner person to such a degree that we want to obey His commands and live by the example He set before us while He was here on earth. I might tell my wife every day that I love her with all my heart, but unless I also express that in, and through my actions, she will never be convinced of that love. That’s the way it is with Jesus. Inviting Him to be your Savior and Lord, means that you have not only asked Him to forgive you of your sin, but you have also asked Him to be Lord of your ‘heart’, and that you want every aspect of your life to be impacted by all that Jesus said and did. This affirms your commitment to express the love and way of Jesus through your words, and live that out through your actions, from that point forward. Think about this friends, you live according to all that’s in your ‘heart’. Is it convincing to God and your fellow mankind that you are a child of God – a Christian? If not, you may need to reevaluate your relationship with God and perhaps start all over again in your walk with the Lord. The word ‘Christian’ means Christ-follower, or Christ-like. Are you a Christian friend? If not convinced, may I encourage you to read my ‘Footnote’ and sure up your decision? Jesus is coming again very soon friend, and it may be as early as today. I pray that I will see you in heaven around the throne of Christ!
Prayer: From the depths of my heart I want to reaffirm that I love You Lord. You are my strength when I am weak, You are the treasure that I seek, You, oh Lord, are my all in all! You alone have the power to impact lives and change hearts from the coldness of this world and the evil one, to a heart that is molded into Your likeness and following Your example. Father, please touch the lives of those who will read this devotional today who may not have experienced that ‘heart’ transformation. Draw them to You oh Lord, and direct them towards total surrender to You, so that our world may not just hear about You, but experience You through every word and/or action from us. Thank You Father for loving us enough to use even us to help accomplish Your awesome work of changing ‘hearts’ here on this earth. To You be all glory, honor and majesty, AMEN!
Footnote: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!
2016
Nuggets From God's Word 