Tag: Living for Jesus

The Impact Our Life Has On God

On By Ed AlgreenIn The Church, WitnessLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – Revelation 3:15-17): “I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.

THOUGHTS: The church at Laodicea was one that appeared perfect to the world around them. They were a wealthy church, no doubt able to pay their bills and perhaps even help the poor. We have many churches like that today, and we thank God for their ability to chip in and help, especially when many of the smaller churches are struggling to make it financially. However, in these verses, it is clear that God was unhappy with this church at Laodicea, for it was so concentrated on its riches and good fortune that it’s people provided to the church, that they lost sight of who blessed them with such things as: salvation; healing; promises of a place called ‘heaven’; the Master of the universe who was with them ALWAYS; good health; a good mind and multiple other attributes that originate from God alone. In fact, there was every indication that the general membership may have felt that if God totally separated Himself from them, they would still be OK. But wait a moment, could we still have churches (people) that still act like this today? Do we still have ‘Laodicean’ churches in our towns even now? What are some of the indicators we must be careful of, or watchful for, so as not to make God sick to His stomach with our church? It was spelled out for us in this same scripture:

  • Bragging about what we have – let us never lose sight that whatever we are blessed with as a collective body of believers, it was provided by God, and for His ultimate glory. I believe that if we brag or boast about our riches, we tend to believe that we had something to do with us having it, and/or we are anxiously waiting to see how we might spend our riches in a way to personally receive maximum glory;
  • We lose sight of whose we are and from whence we came – God knows that in and of ourselves, we are as pitiful as a blind beggar, without clothes to cover our nakedness.

So unless we leave this devotional feeling like there is little hope, or that all ‘Godly’ churches can only be poor and needy, I want to remind you that ‘the church’ consists of individuals, so the change of heart must happen in our personal lives. Remember, God created us; He provides air for us to breathe every day; income opportunities for us; family and other believers to comfort and cheer us every day and a promise that even when all the joys of this earth are over, still He has prepared an even more glorious home for us to spend eternity with Him, where we might worship Him endlessly. Money can’t buy any of these things, so let us continually lift up our Lord and Savior who provides ultimate joy and happiness for us in this world and in His kingdom that will soon be our new home.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, what an eye opener this morning, for You have shown me how careful we must be to glorify You in all things. You may choose to bless us with riches, so that we may pass those riches on through helping others in need of a Savior, or so that we might clearly recognize Your awesome power and blessings through even us. Lord You are good and Your mercies endureth forever. Please help us to remain humble, and never attribute blessings to anything that might bring recognition or praise to us. You alone are our King and our Provider, we glory in all that You are and all that You do for us each day. Our ultimate goal is that we be found worthy in Your eyes, when You call us home to be with You. Use us for Your glory while we remain here. Be blessed in all that we say or do, is my humble prayer that I ask in the strong and everlasting name of Jesus, AMEN!

PLEASE NOTE: I will be out of town on a mission trip to be of service to our friends in Mexico during the week of July 19th. I will not be able to publish these devotionals during that time. Please pray that God might use His servants, our group of 30, so that His children in this foreign land might be encouraged and drawn to Him through our honest and sincere representation of our Savior. May God be glorified in all things through our witness! I expect to resume these devotionals on Monday, July 27th.

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 Joy of My Relationship With The Lord!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Relationship, Revival, SurrenderLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Contemporary English Version – Psalm 51:10-12): 10 Create pure thoughts in me and make me faithful again. 11 Don’t chase me away from you or take your Holy Spirit away from me. 12 Make me as happy as you did when you saved me; make me want to obey!

THOUGHTS: I heard a sermon recently about the need for spouses to revive the creativity within them in order to enliven their marriages. I believe that David gave us a Psalm here where we might consider doing something similar to reinvigorate our relationship with God. But let’s examine what may cause us to weaken in our relationship to that relationship to deteriorate in the first place. In the earlier verses of this Psalm, David had asked God to turn his head from the embarrassment of his sin and wash him clean. Friends, each day we become stained with the impact of sin. Not that we leave our homes with every intention of maximizing our exposure to sin, but our lives in this world is similar to a stick being dipped into a bucket of paint. It becomes covered in paint and even colored by the paint because of its contact with the paint. If the stick is quickly removed, washed, and wiped clean, one may not notice that it have been exposed to paint. However, if it is left inside the bucket of paint very long, you will find that the paint is saturated all the way through every fiber of that stick. This simple illustration is very representative of what happens in our lives when we, like David, plead before our heavenly Father to cleanse us and help us to develop filters that would help us stay as clean as we were the first day of our Christian walk. Satan is very deceiving in the way that he exposes us to sin and generates the evil desires within us very slowly, but surely. To defend against this, and to proactively seek to enhance our relationship with God, we must daily seek God’s touch on our lives – seek His forgiveness for our wandering eyes, thoughts and participation in ungodly conversations and actions; we must learn to fill our minds with the things of the one we want to follow; we must study the ‘rule book’ so we could stay true to it and find ways to please God in all that we do and say. In all these things we will become convinced that ‘greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world’! We will become instruments that are clean, and usable by God to further His kingdom here on this earth. In any good, healthy relationship, we always reflect back on the day we met because it helps to fill us with the joy of that first meeting date. I would suggest that we do like David and ask God to return to us today the joy of that day when we first met Him and gave Him control of our lives. Imagine the energy and excitement that will lend to our day and our ongoing witness for God!

PRAYER: Lord God, our joy is always complete when we reflect on a moment in our lifetime when our joy and happiness was at its peak! There may have been a few memorable occasions such as this, but I doubt that any could compare to the day that we received Your Son as our Savior and Lord, and asked Him to direct our happiness and our surrendered lives for His glory. This is something that we should strive for daily, so having been reminded of this by the psalmist today, I want to ask that You resume control of my life oh God. Please wipe away the stain of sin. Create within me a clean heart that can be used by You. Please make me well aware of Your Holy Spirit’s presence in my life so that I can be assured of the power, the comfort and the joy that resides within. May the joy of my salvation, and my relationship with You be very evident in and thru every word that I speak and every action that I take. While I can’t do this for my readers also, I pray that You may impact their lives with Your Word today so that they too might have a desire to allow You to regain Your rightful place in their lives. May Your army grow and gain in loyalty today so that You might be glorified and lifted up by everyone who claim You as Lord and Master! I ask all this in and through the precious and holy 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!

No Fear of The Day of Judgment

On By Ed AlgreenIn Day of Judgment, Faith, Hope, LoveLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Living Translation – 1 John 4:16-19): 16 ….God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the Day of Judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. 18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19 We love each other because he loved us first.

THOUGHTS: If we are faced with a court case, we will no doubt live in fear of the outcome, especially on the day that the Judge concludes the case and issues the sentence. If we are summoned to the boss’s office at work, our natural tendency is to well up in fear, as our first reaction is to question in our minds if we have done anything wrong. In our daily walk here on earth, whether we know Jesus personally or not, we live in hopes that our lives would not be in vain, but instead, a blessing to someone else. For those who have invited Jesus into their heart, we live each day praying that we would please God in the way that we live, in total harmony with Him, and in total obedience to all that He has commanded in His Word. John summarizes this for us in these verses today, by saying that we must live in love, for as we do, we will live in the image of God, who loved us sacrificially and unconditionally, in spite of who we were in character and entrenched in sin. When we make it our mission to live like Jesus taught us, our love becomes more perfect (more like the love expressed by Jesus, and expected by Him of us). And when this occurs, we live with a clear conscience and without fear of the Day of Judgment when we stand before Jesus. You see, ‘Judgment’ can result in one of two types of emotion for us: Gladness/happiness/joy as we are declared ‘not guilty of the crime, or sin; or sadness/disappointment/rejection/fear as we are found guilty of the crime, or sinful and without a Savior. So friends, we do have a choice – do nothing about your eternal salvation and be found guilty of sin – without a Savior – with the advanced knowledge that our sentence is eternity in Hell with Satan; OR we can say ‘Yes’ to Jesus, live in obedience to His Word, expressing love to all those we come into contact with and representing the King of all kings in everything we do and say – with a known sentence of eternity in Heaven with Jesus where we will worship and adore Him and His Father (God) forever and forever, amen!! The choice seems obvious to me, but my sole reason in sharing these devotionals each day is in hopes that Jesus will touch the heart of my readers so that you also might come to know Him intimately/personally and therefore live the rest of your life in Hope! In a state of constant celebration and in joyous anticipation of our Judgment Day when we stand for the King. Make it right friend, and make it today, while you are still able to.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, Your Word is very powerful! As You have touched my heart today and spoken to me through Your written Word, please also impact the lives of those that will be led to this devotional that I have shared under Your direction. May Your children be Your children – a splitting image of You in every way – especially in our love for others. However, there will be some who will read this who may be trying to live life on their own and love others as just the right humanly thing to do. Please tender their hearts today oh Lord and help them to see You – the originator of perfect love. May they realize that they too can become Your child if they choose to surrender themselves wholeheartedly to You. May this be the day of great decisions oh Lord, and may all glory be offered up to You for the great work that You will accomplish, because of Your Word being shared. I ask all this in perfect faith and in the name of Jesus, my Savior, 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 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!

Love – A Self-Evaluating Tool

On By Ed AlgreenIn DNA, Good works, Love, Unconditional loveLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – 1 John 4:8-11): 8–10 The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love—so you can’t know him if you don’t love. This is how God showed his love for us: God sent his only Son into the world so we might live through him. This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to clear away our sins and the damage they’ve done to our relationship with God.11–12 My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and his love becomes complete in us—perfect love!

THOUGHTS: Sometimes, people go to great extremes to determine, or prove who they are, or where they may have come from. I’ve especially heard of grown-up children having a DNA test done to help them determine who their father is, for they want to be identifiable with a birth mother and father. John laid out some tests that we could perform to help us identify to whom we belong, beyond the tests of physical parents and/or children, and this all evolves around one key characteristic – ‘LOVE’. He first demonstrates the true meaning of this word by showing us how much God loved/loves us. Imagine for a moment that you have just been told of God. One of the first things you may hear about is His amazing, unconditional love for you. But to take it one step further into the amazing explanation of God’s love is to learn about Him sacrificing His One and Only Son to die for us, so that we may have the means to eternal salvation with the God of this universe. Now, understand that at the time God did this, everyone in the world was underserving of this awesome love, as you might be at this time. Yet God did this out of pure love for us! So now, put that into perspective. Those who have accepted the gift of God (Jesus, His Son) – our directive is that we imitate His love as we interact with Him and/or others in this world. In your self-evaluation, how would you rate yourself when it comes to loving God in every circumstance of life – yes, through the good and challenging circumstances of life? What about in your relationship with others – yes, not just with those who think the world of you, but for those who make it very challenging for anyone to love them? The scripture indicates that God, and/or your contacts will know to whom you belong, based on your demonstration of God’s love. How do you suppose you are doing?

PRAYER: What Have I Done to Deserve God’s Only Son? Thanks be to God, that the love of God for undeserving folk such as I, is a key attribute of the amazing God that I serve. Please remind me of this love, oh Lord, because I tend to forget, especially when I try to imitate You in everything that I do here on this earth, like loving others that I come into contact with each day. Lord, may it be evident to whom I belong – especially when looking at the love that I demonstrate to others. Father, I believe that my readers might have similar needs today, because we see such a lack of love demonstrated by everyone. We need your power to help us be more like You dear Lord. Please touch us very powerfully today and prompt us towards love and good works in all that we say and do. May we be good representatives of You today. For I ask this in the 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 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 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!

How To Know If From God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Discern Truth, Unconditional commitmentLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Century Version – 1 John 4:4-6): 4 My dear children, you belong to God and have defeated them; because God’s Spirit, who is in you, is greater than the devil, who is in the world. 5 And they belong to the world, so what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. But those who are not from God do not listen to us. That is how we know the Spirit that is true and the spirit that is false.

THOUGHTS: John noticed that some of the people listen to him, and to what God had directed him to say, while others had no interest in him and his workers. He wanted Christians to learn from this, because ordinarily they would be faced with similar challenges. I believe that this was strategically placed in the Word of God so that we today will also know how to discern if folk that come to teach us, or preach to us, actually come from God, or if they are after their own selfish desires and more interested in spreading the misery and hatred of the Devil. Friends, there are other places in the Bible that we are told that not everyone who says that they come in the name of the Lord, are actually as they say. Satan will use every attempt to distract Christians, especially ‘weak’ Christians. Please don’t judge me for calling some ‘weak’, but when we are doing only the very minimum to, supposedly, be included in the ‘God crowd’, in other words we may walk forward at the end of a church service and please our mom, or our friend by saying ‘yes’ to Jesus, but our lives reflects no change, and our walk continues along the same path that we have always walked, then God might question you, as to whom do you belong. When we think no more of our ‘Christianity’ than to visit church a few times each year, and our study of God’s Word is limited only to what we do in Bible School or what we hear from the pulpit, then I’m afraid to break the bad news to you, but you will become fertile ground for false prophets, for you will believe anything and anyone, because you are not used to discerning truth, or leaning on the Holy Spirit that God makes available to us. Friends, for those who know Jesus intimately and have a desire to follow His ways and His commands, we are truly a blessed people and we have the Holy Spirit deep within us to prompt us unto all truth and point us towards the Author of all things. We have an advocate friend, and His name is Jesus! Do you enjoy a personal relationship with Him today, or do you just know of Jesus from a distance? Don’t just say, or think that you know Jesus, but love Him enough to study His Word; obey His commands and serve Him unconditionally. Greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world! We can do ALL things through Jesus, our Savior, our Lord, our Redeemer, our Comforter and our Deliverer. We’re His children and He is the ultimate Father. Don’t be a stranger to Him. Commit wholeheartedly to Him and obey Him unconditionally!

PRAYER: Father, we are committed to serving You, the only true God. Many will continue to come ‘in your name’ but will not be of You. Please keep us faithful only unto You so that we might discern ungodliness and false prophets. For we want to be pure, holy and righteous as Your children, and in our witness of You. Please protect us from the evil one and his worldly partners who may go as far as claiming You as their leader in order to distract Your children from their walk with You. May we always be reminded that greater by far is He who is in us, than he that is in this world. Get thee behind me Satan. Fill me with all truth and wisdom from above dear Jesus so that I might know You intimately, and discern the way that I should go every day. May I represent You well and in all ways. Bless my readers today with this same power from above so that Your army might be alive and well. I ask these things in the powerful, strong 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 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 Prospect of Seeing Jesus Motivates Us

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christ's Return, State of ReadinessLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – 1 John 2:28-29): 28 And now, children, stay with Christ. Live deeply in Christ. Then we’ll be ready for him when he appears, ready to receive him with open arms, with no cause for red-faced guilt or lame excuses when he arrives. 29 Once you’re convinced that he is right and righteous, you’ll recognize that all who practice righteousness are God’s true children.

THOUGHTS: I want us to take a moment and think about the motivation that floods our minds when we center our hearts on certain things. Perhaps your spouse has been away for a while, and you learn about their returning home soon. Think about the energy that builds as you scurry around to make your home presentable; the nice meal that you labor over for hours; and the extra effort to make yourself look exceptional! You want that moment of re-entry into your home and marriage to be extra special and meaningful! Now on the flip side, imagine if your spouse returned without notice and you didn’t have time to make all of the above preparations. I know for some that would be a problem, because you are not as careful to keep everything in order when you know it’s only you there to see the mess! Friends, John is presenting a case to us today whereby he is recommending that we keep ourselves in a state of readiness at all times for Christ’s return. After all, He could return even today! We are admonished to live ‘deeply in Christ’. That gives me the impression that we should live holy and dedicated lives to the Lord, as if He is in transition to get us right now. We know Jesus is coming back to get us to take us home with Him for all eternity, so why be careless and sneaky? Let’s live in the full light of His return; in full light of His constant presence with us every day; in full obedience to His Word; so that we would not be ashamed at any time that the Lord returns to gather His bride – the church/us. Friends verse 29 caps off this devotional by adding that as we strive for righteous, holy lives, we will not only stay in a state of readiness to welcome the Father’s return, but we will show that we are God’s true children! Can others see enough evidence in your life to know that you are a child of the Almighty? God knows, hears and sees all things, does He see the evidence that you belong to Him?

PRAYER: Father in heaven, thank You for loving us enough that You showed evidence at the cross that Your love is beyond anything we could ever imagine or rival. Thank You for Your Word, and the energy and determination to dig into Your Word each day, so that It may be a light unto our path and a guide towards righteousness. Lord, may my readers and I find ourselves faithful to You in every way, so that there will be nothing that hinders us from a sincere, open, welcoming return when You come to take us home to glory with You. Today might very well be the day, so may we find ourselves in a full state of readiness today. Please forgive us for the times that we so easily allow Satan to barge in on Your reign over our lives. May we commit today to You, our sovereign, loving, caring and soon returning King! May our lives be such a strong representation of You that others will see the need for our Savior and surrender their lives to You before it’s eternally too late. I ask these things in faith, and in the strong name of Jesus, my Savior, 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 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!

Why Christians Are Left In Satan’s Domain

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christ's Representative, Christ-Like, ConquerorLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – 1 John 2:15-17): Don’t love the world’s ways. Don’t love the world’s goods. Love of the world squeezes out love for the Father. Practically everything that goes on in the world—wanting your own way, wanting everything for yourself, wanting to appear important—has nothing to do with the Father. It just isolates you from him. The world and all its wanting, wanting, wanting is on the way out—but whoever does what God wants is set for eternity.

THOUGHTS: We know that the evil one is not a friend of God’s children, and that he will do everything possible to trip us up and cause us to fall flat on our faces, and fail miserably on our walk with Christ, that we committed to when we accepted Him as Lord and Savior. Would it not make sense then, that if we dislike and despise the evil one, that we should also do the same in regards to his domain – the place where he hangs out? As I read the surrounding verses, I believe the Holy Spirit caused me to question: Why then are we left here in Satan’s domain after we commit our lives to Jesus Christ? I believe that the biggest reason is that since Jesus had to come and speak to us here in this domain, why should we be exempted from the same trials and temptations that He faced? I cannot imagine what this earth would look like if all Christians were pulled out of it, for we are to give balance to the evil that is led by Satan. We are to show ‘right’ (the ways of God), when it seems like only wrong prevails. We are to show hope (the hope of our living, loving and saving Lord), when it seems like everything around is doomed for death and failure. We are to show peace and love (the uncompromising, unconditional love of Jesus Christ) for everyone, not just for those that the world can easily find in their hearts to love. We are to demonstrate our satisfaction with what we have, solely in the precious gift of Jesus Christ, and that having more ‘stuff’, or money, or larger homes and/or cars is in no way a necessity, nor a requirement for our happiness, for our joy comes in the morning – the first day for all eternity in heaven with our Master, our Lord and our Savior! So we have responsibilities on earth to be representatives of the King, not to feel like we need any part of what it has to offer. Remember, it is Satan’s domain, and everything in it is influenced by him, for his glory. We are to look to our King, and no one else friend! We are to be His representatives under every circumstance in life friend! We are to appear as light, when it seems like there is only darkness friend!

PRAYER: Father, I realize as I have written my thoughts that all of this sounds good, and is very Godly in form and intention, but I also realize that this often means ‘swimming upstream’, living, acting and speaking in ways that oppose what the world may think is ‘normal’. However, I am convinced from Your Word, that we are left on this earth to imitate You, and nothing of this world will blend or match that. Please forgive us for allowing the things of this world (Satan’s domain) to slip in on our actions, words and daily living. It has impeded our witness for You and often feels like Satan is winning. Please forgive us Lord for our weaknesses and failures. Please fill us again with Your grace, Your power and Your love so that we can be more than conquerors, and represent You well with every intent of our heart. May it be obvious through our words and actions whom we serve! I ask all this in the matchless name of Jesus, my Savior and soon coming King, 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 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!

Proof That You Truly Know God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Hypocritical, Love, Lying, UntrustworthyLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Living Translation – 1 John 2:3-6): 3 … we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

THOUGHTS: Obedience reveals commitment to Christ! In fact, this is a good test for yourself: If you find yourself generally at odds with obeying the Word of God and His commands, then it is time for a self-examination and a humbleness before God, asking Him to reveal the area(s) of your life that you need to recommit to Him and/or realign with His will. When you feel unloved by God, or distanced from Him, then according to John 15:10 there may be areas of your life where you have taken personal control and no longer allow God full control. Friends, I believe there are several keywords that are important in this fact finding, internal evaluation: Think about ‘hypocritical’ – for you are saying that you love God and know Him intimately, yet doing your own thing and ignoring His commands. This is very damaging to your witness to others; Think about ‘lying’ – for you are saying with your mouth that you know God but really ignoring His commands. Verse 4 plainly spells this one out for us; Think about ‘untrustworthy’ – for how can God or man trust someone who cannot be trusted to live as he claims to be? Friends, today you will have opportunity to evaluate your actions in light of your relationship with God. I pray that there is lots of evidence that you truly know God and are living according to His perfect will for your life. Remember, He loved us enough to send His only Son to die on Calvary’s cross for our benefit. Is it not way less impacting on our lives to simply love God in return, and obey His commands? I propose to you friend, that this is the least we can do to prove our faithfulness and commitment to Him. Please use the information provided in my ‘Footnote’ to contact me if there is anything I can pray with you about, regarding this subject or anything that is impacting your commitment to God. I would love to pray for you and with you!

PRAYER: Dear God, we say with our lips that we know You, we love You and adore You, yet we try to live our lives like we’ve always done. This is not right in Your sight, nor does it align with Your Word. We are making a mockery of ourselves in the sight of others, and especially in Your sight. Please forgive us for our failures, lack of commitment and true evidence of love for You, oh Lord. Yet again today Your Word has opened our eyes to our weaknesses and our constant need for You. Please open our minds to fully see ourselves for who we truly are, and our desperate need for You in every aspect of our lives. Lord, not only do we want to be in Your presence in glory one day, but we want to live like You here on this earth so that our lives might have an impact on those who need You as their Savior and Lord. Please continue to work on us Lord. May Your glory shine through in every phase of our lives so that You might be lifted up and the lost won to Christ. We love You Lord, and thank You for Your immense love for us. I ask all these things in the glorious name of Jesus, my Lord, with thanksgiving and in utmost praise to my King, my Lord and my Savior, 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 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 Power in What We Say and Do

On By Ed AlgreenIn Honest, Hypocritical, Without PretenseLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (God’s Word Translation – 1 John 1:6-10): 6 If we say, “We have a relationship with God” and yet live in the dark, we’re lying. We aren’t being truthful. 7 But if we live in the light in the same way that God is in the light, we have a relationship with each other. And the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from every sin. 8 If we say, “We aren’t sinful” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 God is faithful and reliable. If we confess our sins, he forgives them and cleanses us from everything we’ve done wrong. 10 If we say, “We have never sinned,” we turn God into a liar and his Word is not in us.

THOUGHTS: There is a saying, that if something quacks like a duck, and swims like a duck, it probably is a duck! In these verses this morning we must first recognize that in the introductory words to these verses John tells us that he is sharing words with us that came directly from his interaction with Jesus Himself. I believe that the words in these verses are really powerful, yet simply very true. For how can we say that we belong to Christ, yet no part of our actions or words show any evidence of that? Friends, if we have committed to a change in our lives, then that change will be evident in every aspect of our lives. Let’s always be cognizant of the fact that God knows and sees all things, so there is no value in trying to fool Him like we do our friends or relatives. Ever heard of a chain smoker that tells everyone that they stopped smoking, yet every evening their spouse could smell smoke on their breath and on their clothes? This is precisely what happens in the face of Jesus when we tell Him, and the world, that we have sought His forgiveness and committed our lives wholeheartedly to Him, yet we live like we always did prior to our conversion. We make a mockery of ourselves and have just shown everyone that we can’t be trusted by our word. Friends, we may think that we can fool some of the people some of the time, but rest assured that we can never fool all of the people all of the time. Furthermore, we can never fool God. As I have been challenged and reminded to always live in the light of knowing that God knows, hears and sees every detail of my life, may I also encourage you to do the same? Our God is an awesome God, who loves and cares about us a great deal. Let’s not disappoint Him with our littleness in trying to fool the Creator of all things, our all-knowing God.

PRAYER: Father, what an eye-opener/reminder for us today! We are so accustomed to making ourselves look good in the face of our friends and/or bosses, that we perform, say and act the way that we know they are expecting from us. We have been reminded that You are well aware of our outward expressions that are representative of our inward self, and that there is no value in Your eyes when we do this, other than to prove to humans that we have really not changed anything about our lives. Please forgive us Lord, and please continue to work on us towards an honest relationship with You that will be reflected in every aspect of our lives. We Need You every Hour and every day, oh Lord. Thank You for Your faithfulness! I bring my petitions before You in the 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 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!

APB – Are You Ready?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christ's Return, Heaven, Ready to GoLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – 2 Peter 3:7-13): 7 The current galaxies and earth are fuel for the final fire. God is poised, ready to speak his word again, ready to give the signal for the judgment and destruction of the desecrating skeptics. 8–9Don’t overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change. 10But when the Day of God’s Judgment does come, it will be unannounced, like a thief. The sky will collapse with a thunderous bang, everything disintegrating in a huge conflagration, earth and all its works exposed to the scrutiny of Judgment. 11–13Since everything here today might well be gone tomorrow, do you see how essential it is to live a holy life? Daily expect the Day of God, eager for its arrival. The galaxies will burn up and the elements melt down that day—but we’ll hardly notice. We’ll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness.

THOUGHTS: If there was a hurricane approaching our shoreline, or any other known natural disaster about to hit us, the weather staff at our local television stations would not go to sleep, because they know that their viewers are depending on them to keep them alerted on every shift in direction or velocity of the system, that might worsen the impact on the residents. There would be All Point Bulletins flying every 30 minutes to keep viewers updated. That’s why I felt compelled to share these verses with you today, friends. Peter was compelled to share the Word of the Lord with his current day listeners, and through the written Word, so that we also would know what God says about His return, and thus be ready to go to heaven with Him. Some might try to convince us of a date, and possibly a time when all this will occur. The truth is, that Jesus Himself said that only the Father knows the day and the hour of His return. Furthermore, in verses 11-13 we read where there will be some folk busy looking for all the details and reasons, while others will be so busy looking towards the heavens in anticipation of being carried away to be with our heavenly Father, that we will hardly notice that the greatest event of history, of this life, and of this earth, is really occurring. For those that have reconciled with the Father through accepting His Son Jesus, as their Lord and Savior, we have a hope, friend! We have no reason to panic and worry about the exact time and date, for Christ will return to gather His bride (those that have accepted Him as Lord) and take us away from this old world, into the glories of heaven and in the presence of His Father, God Himself! Oh, What A Day That Will Be, when my Jesus I shall see, when I look upon His face….. So the question, or challenge for each of my readers today is the same that faced me as I read this passage. Are you secure in Your relationship with the Master and really looking forward to the Savior’s return, or are you one that might be searching every piece of scientific evidence to see if this is possible, true and filled with enough proof that it could actually happen? I’m sure that you would never ask the weatherman for proof that a hurricane is approaching, why would you let Satan convince you to doubt what God says in His Word? God has proven Himself, and His Word, over and over again. Ready yourself for the biggest event ever known to mankind. Please don’t delay, this could happen even today! Many of the warning signs are already in place. Please read through my ‘Footnote’ and feel free to contact me with any questions or perhaps to just pray with you about this important revelation. This is way too important to just brush aside and ignore, friend.

PRAYER: Lord God, thank You for Your precious love, to prepare a home for Your children to spend eternity with You and Your precious Son, our Savior and Lord! Thank You for Your Word that tells us about our glorious home gathering, and its many warnings about that great reunion day, that could actually happen as early as today! For those of us that have accepted You as Lord and Savior, we can say ‘Even so Lord Jesus, come today’ for we have made our preparations and we are ready to meet You. Thank You for Your patience with our loved ones who have chosen to let Satan rule in their lives and ignore the truth of Your Word. Oh may this be the day that they surrender their all to You Lord Jesus. May this be the day that all readers of this devotional will step aside, spend time with You, and allow You to miraculously work in the lives to accept You as Lord. If they know You intimately already, please touch their lives so that they may be the witness to a relative who really needs You. May we all be found ready and waiting for Your return, is my humble and sincere prayer today, oh Lord. This I ask in the name of Jesus, God’s only Son, 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!