Tag: look like Jesus

Look at The Heart

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Heart, Heart Knowledge, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Worship2 Comments

DATE POSTED Sunday, 2021-10-24
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 1 Samuel 16:6-7; 18
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 6 When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, “Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!” 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
18 One of the servants said to Saul, “One of Jesse’s sons from Bethlehem is a talented harp player. Not only that—he is a brave warrior, a man of war, and has good judgment. He is also a fine-looking young man, and the Lord is with him.”

APPLICATION: For years I served on various Search Committees looking for church pastors and/or church staff. For years I also interviewed applicants for jobs where the individual would be subject to my supervision. I now hope that things would have been somewhat different if I had long ago studied this chapter of 1 Samuel in more detail! A lot of times we often hear the saying ‘Common sense is just not that common anymore’, perhaps that comes from a person intent on being obedient but without applying their heart to their actions. Notice that as soon as Samuel saw the looks, stature and age of Jesse’s oldest son, he was sure he knew who God’s pick was for the next king of Israel. But God not only knew the heart of the next king based on history, but also based on his commitment to God and his future dependence on God to make good decisions. Friends, I believe it is beyond amazing how God was preparing the path for His new king. In Saul’s depression, he needed the calming music of a harpist. God had been preparing David for this opportunity from a very young age. Also, God had arranged for one of Saul’s advisors to have knowledge of David and He gave the advisor the boldness to share what he knew about the heart of David: 1). Talented – meaning that he devoted his time to learning an instrument that he fell in love with, the harp; 2). A brave warrior – usually this will be a character of a man with great confidence in what he and God could do, in spite of the circumstances around him; 3). A man of war – David had principles towards things that were important and necessary at times, even if that happened to be ‘war’; 4). Good judgment – we know that David was the youngest son, so to be considered for this character trait, he must have listened well and obeyed. No doubt his dad was a key mentor, but this advisor also knew that God was super important in David’s life; and 5). The Lord is with him – just as David was credited with having the Lord on his side, I pray that we too will be so much like Jesus Christ, that the world will give reference to our relationship with God. For He is also on our side!
So let me encourage you dear friends, to live your life for the One you serve. May it be evident whose you are. Also, let’s learn from this experience by Samuel, look at the heart of a person, not at the outward appearance or on their personal achievements. God has blinders on for the latter, and He concentrates on the heart of man instead. So should we!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Forego the outward appearance and concentrate on the heart of man. This is good for every purpose in life, and for every person that we meet or associate with!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, instead of spending so much time and money on improving our outward appearance, please continue to teach us the lesson that is so prevalent in today’s Scripture. Please teach us to constantly work on the heart, based on what You have commanded, and on what You demonstrated to us while You were here on earth. I truly believe that others need to experience how much we care based on our actions and kind words. I pray that it will be very evident to them that it’s all about Jesus, and nothing of our sinful selves. Be glorified today precious Lord, even through Your humble servants who need Your touch in every aspect of life. Please reach into the hearts of the unsaved today also, may this be the day that they will experience You in all of Your fullness. AMEN!

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

The Reason Why

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Believers, Betrayal, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

Tuesday, 2019-11-26

Bible Reference: John 15:18-19
Translation: The Message (MSG)

Bible Text: 18-19 “If you find the godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me. If you lived on the world’s terms, the world would love you as one of its own. But since I picked you to live on God’s terms and no longer on the world’s terms, the world is going to hate you.

OBSERVATION: We are somewhat blessed in the US to not have open persecution against Christians like we read about in Bible days, and hear about in other world countries. Speak with a missionary who has served in a difficult country. and in many cases you could hear of heart wrenching persecution. Why? Because the world notices that we have found peace and satisfaction in the Savior of the world, and we did that without having to fight or push our weight around to gain it. I Believe that in following the example of our Father, the world will see that we show ‘love’ in numerous ways, even in difficult situations, and they may wonder ’why’? Let’s meditate on the reason Jesus gave us in today’s Scripture about our peace, and about the thing that causes the world to hate us.

APPLICATION: When most might be looking for ways to attract the world’s attention, and to promote self, it seems strange that Jesus would draw our attention to the negative aspects of serving Him. However, in our attempt to follow Jesus and to imitate Him in every way, would we expect to do better than He achieved in His day? Remember, He went around healing; raising the dead; and bringing sight back to the blind, yet the religious leaders sought to trap Him in various ways, and kill Him. Surely we live in a different era and in a free country, so we have nothing to worry about, right? Friends, while I am not promoting the idea of Christians becoming rebels, and creating an uproar in our communities, I am convinced that many of us have escaped opposition, because the world fears no oppositions when dealing with us. Most of us are very vocal within the four walls, and safety of our churches, but when we leave that safe haven, like chameleons, we slither into our communities undetected by the world as being anything different to the worldly neighbor next door. Dear friend, just as the world looks at us and immediately discerns whether we are male or female, may they also sense and detect that the love of Jesus lives, and leads us in every aspect of life. Yes, that will sometimes cause individuals to hate us – but isn’t that what the Word of God is making us fully aware of today? This is what happened to our Savior, and if we are His replica, we should expect this, and not at all be surprised or disappointed by the world’s actions. Oh that they may see Jesus today!

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, I don’t believe that it was easy for you to deal with the opposition while here on earth, but thankfully You sent the Comforter to help us. Thankfully You provided Your Word to show us how You dealt with the world. May Your children yearn to follow in Your footsteps each and every day, knowing that we will face opposition, ridicule and hatred, but also knowing that we have an advocate who guides, protects and loves us in every circumstance of life. May You receive glory from our actions and our words today because we aim to please You and imitate You in every aspect of our lives. AMEN!