Tag: Love the church

Use Your Gift To Serve Others

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Gift, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Serve, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Friday, 2022-06-10
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 1 Corinthians 12:7-11
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

BIBLE TEXT: 7 The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others. 8 Some of us can speak with wisdom, while others can speak with knowledge, but these gifts come from the same Spirit. 9 To others the Spirit has given great faith or the power to heal the sick 10 or the power to work mighty miracles. Some of us are prophets, and some of us recognize when God’s Spirit is present. Others can speak different kinds of languages, and still others can tell what these languages mean. 11 But it is the Spirit who does all this and decides which gifts to give to each of us.

APPLICATION: A great start to this study is to recognize that these gifts referred to by Paul are supernaturally given to us by the Holy Spirit. That’s what Paul indicated. So we must not dare cower in a corner and say that we have no gift, otherwise we are calling Paul a liar, and the Holy Spirit inadequate for forgetting, or refusing to give us our gift. Perhaps we subject ourselves to the ploys of Satan, who would much prefer that we remain moot on the subject of our risen Lord, or any power that He may bestow on us. Paul was addressing this subject because the believers of his day felt they were totally unspiritual and didn’t deserve such power from on high. Doesn’t that sound so much like us today? Imagine our response if someone referred to us as holy, or spiritual, or a saint, or as powerful as Jesus Christ in performing miracles or mighty works of God. We would probably quickly refer them to our pastor, or church elder, for surely they would not be talking about simple old us, right? But unless we cast doubt on the holy Word of God, and the Holy Ghost inspired words of Paul, we must believe that God is more than able to empower us with His Holy Sprit and the gifts that He spoke to us about through His servant. So if you are convinced that you have been blessed with a gift from God, then the remaining piece of this should be natural for you: be sure to use your gift for the building up of the church and for the glory of God. How do you do that? I believe the Holy Spirit opened my eyes as I read this Scripture and showed me that when we come together as a church – a body of believers in Jesus Christ, some will have the gift of great wisdom, while others will speak with awesome knowledge. Accept these as gifts from God and allow that knowledge to saturate my mind. Others may portray unbelievable faith or even possess the power to heal the sick or perform other mighty miracles. Stop accusing them of being a showoff and give God thanks for His gift to these ambassadors. There may be some who prophesy, and some recognize the mysterious presence of God’s Spirit. While I may not have my primary language mastered, there may be some who will speak different kinds of languages, and still others who can tell what these languages mean. The bottom line is that we serve an outstanding and awesome God – in fact, He’s the One who created us all and the earth on which we reside. It is His Spirit who does all this and decides which gifts to give to each of us. In community, when one has a gift and shares it with others present, it’s like WE (collectively) have all these gifts! Oh that God may be glorified through each of His children, especially because they are using the gifts handed down to them from the Father, for His glory! Do your part dear friends. Use the gifts endowed upon you and bless every on that you come into contact with!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: What a mighty God we serve! Angels bow before Him. Heaven and earth adore Him! What a mighty God we serve! We must be an extraordinary for an extraordinary to consider giving us extraordinary gifts! Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost!

PRAYER: Lord, I now believe that we are foolish to ever say again that we are just an ‘ordinary’ person here on earth, for I have been reminded of Your greatness and also how special we are in Your eyes. No doubt if we would consider everyone that we come into contact with in that same light, we would never again look down on what You have created. Unfortunately some have permitted Satan to spoil the good in them, but Lord, I pray that You would once again today remind Your children of the value You have placed in them and of the love You showed for them on Calvary. Please speak intently to the hearts of the unsaved again today, especially the ones who will happen across this devotional. Please work in the lives of Your chosen people and help us to use the gift so lovingly given to us – for the betterment of the church – Your worshippers. 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!

We Are Worth Dying For!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christian love, Church Leaders, Love, Love others, The Church, The love of God, Unconditional loveLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2020-02-19

Bible Reference: Acts 20:28
Translation:  Amplified Bible (AMP)

Bible Text: 28 Take care and be on guard for yourselves and for the whole flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd (tend, feed, guide) the church of God which He bought with His own blood.

OBSERVATION: Paul tried to tell the church leaders at Ephesus how important their job was, and he not only based that importance on his dedication and hard work, but he also explained that the value of the church to God was such that He was willing to have His Son die for it. Many of my readers are probably workers in the church, or involved in ministry in one way or another. How seriously are you taking that work? Ever have to sacrifice for those whom you are serving in God’s church?

APPLICATION: Paul was passionate about the ministry and had traveled to many places sharing the story of Jesus with all who would listen. It is apparent from this Scripture that Paul felt very responsible for the work that he started, and as he shared with the leaders being charged with continuing the work, we could easily tell that it was difficult for Paul to pass along this responsibility. However, I was reminded of a current day parallel to what Paul faced. Think about a new mom who is about to leave her child at the daycare for the first time. There is usually a lot of concern that the daycare workers would know what to expect from this new infant, and there would be detailed steps for them to follow, to make sure that the child is well taken care of after the mother goes on to work. The mother is looking for very caring attention, with responses that would assure her that her child is being left with professionals who would take the same care with the newborn as the mother would do. I love the extra commentary added by the Amplified Bible, for it helps us to really understand the heart of Paul for the church. So of course this made me think about the church today. God uses the foolishness of preaching and the worship of His people to draw men to Himself. Then He turns to His caretakers in the church – the pastor, elders and other church leaders and teachers, and He says like He did through Paul: Now take care of these dear children. Love on them; meet their needs; teach them my Word; correct them spiritually and lovingly, as needed; and don’t think twice about it, because I want you to remember how much I loved the church. And if you want to live just like me, then I believe you will want to love the church and do everything you can for it, just like I did. How obligated are you feeling about all that you do for the church? Don’t we often feel that way? But if we loved the church like Jesus did/does, should there be a feeling of obligation; stress; ungratefulness; with no return to us for all we do and/or give? I believe that this Scripture should open our eyes to do all that we could for the church – all of it’s members, because we love the church just like Jesus does. We’re His followers, His imitators, and undeserved recipients of His love. Why shouldn’t we love the church unconditionally? This will result in Christ-Followers having a desire to be just like their Master. Is He your Master and Lord dear friend? Please read through my Footnote and visit the links that I have included, perhaps the information will be helpful for you as you seek to respond to Jesus after reading this Scripture and my blog today.

PRAYER: Oh to be like Jesus, is all that I ask of Him. To do His will, as reminded by Paul in this Scripture today, will not only bless my readers and myself, but as we react from the impact of God’s Word in our lives, others will come to know Him and want to serve Him faithfully in all that they do. Please speak to the hearts of Your children again today dear Lord. May we shine forth in our work for You without any feeling of obligation or remorse. May You be glorified in Your church today Lord, and may we complete the work You have assigned for us to do. 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. If you are anywhere near the Sebring, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would encourage you to attend my home church. 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!