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Post Date: |
Thursday, 2017-03-16 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Exodus 17:9-13 (NCV) |
|
Text: |
9 So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some men and go and fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill, holding the walking stick of God in my hands.”10 Joshua obeyed Moses and went to fight the Amalekites, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went to the top of the hill. 11 As long as Moses held his hands up, the Israelites would win the fight, but when Moses put his hands down, the Amalekites would win. 12 Later, when Moses’ arms became tired, the men put a large rock under him, and he sat on it. Then Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands—Aaron on one side and Hur on the other. They kept his hands steady until the sun went down. 13 So Joshua defeated the Amalekites in this battle. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Moses had been given the ‘Staff of God’ while dealing with the Egyptian king and he saw God perform miracle after miracle to change a stubborn man’s heart. He had also used the staff on many occasions in the wilderness to do such miracles as parting the Red Sea, bringing forth water from a rock, etc. Then, of course, we are told in this passage how Moses also used the Staff to deliver Joshua and his men who protected the Israelites from the onslaught of the Amalekites. The source of the power to win this battle is evident! | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| I find it so interesting that we seek God in earnest prayer when we are sick or when something serious is going on in our life. However, when God answers our prayers and delivers us from, what seemed to be a very critical situation, we resort to giving praises to the handiwork of the doctors; the great care by the nurses; the love and concern of our family; etc, but often we move on with life instead of recognizing that it was the power of the Almighty, merciful Father that brought us through. In reading this biblical story today, it is very evident where the power came from for Joshua and his men to ‘overwhelm the Amalekites’, as one translation puts it, for as long as Moses held up the ‘Staff of God’, Joshua and his army would win, but when he became tired and the Staff of God dropped, Joshua and his men would suffer under the Amalekites. Could it be that it is the ‘power of God’ that: heals the sick and afflicted today; or comforts the broken hearted; or saves the unlikely neighbor or enemy of yours when you pray? Friends, I believe that when we recognize God in response to our prayers, we must not ‘beat around the bush’ about any worldly influence in that situation, instead we must use that as a praiseworthy situation to which God deserves our praise and thanksgiving. Those are especially times of witnessing for the awesome work of God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the sweet Holy Spirit that prompts us to pray for power from on high. There just isn’t any other name or no other power like that of Jesus. As you acknowledge the power of our God, the unsaved will stop and begin to understand through real life situations how truly awesome our God is. May I suggest that you continue to pray with all your heart, soul and mind, but never forget to follow through in praise and honor to the God who can do all things, especially miracles where there is no other explanation for the outcome. Lift up the banner of God friend, so that the world might know and believe in the one true God and His precious Son, Jesus our Lord! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, we are often so ungrateful for all that You do in answering our prayer (lifting our ‘Staff of God’ before You), yet we are so quick to follow the crowd in giving others praise for accomplishing the very work that we prayer to You for. Shameful, shameful on our part. Please forgive us. I believe it is evident that You perform these miracles so that You might be lifted up, not that we might be satisfied that we have access to the Father anytime we need Him. You are not our ‘Santa Claus’, but rather, You are the God who created us; the God who saved us; the God who hears the heart cry of a sinner who had turned their back on You, yet You are willing to forgive and receive us as holy and acceptable to You. You are the same God that hears our prayer for circumstances that seem impossible to us, and You are not only attentive to our prayer, but You answer our prayers in the only way that is perfect. Lord, I have no understanding why we would not be in a mode of continuous praise and adoration of such an awesome Father, but You do, and so I plead with You to touch the hearts of Your children once again and teach us to recognize Your power and never be ashamed of giving You praise and glory for Your mighty works. Thank You Heavenly Father, 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: master
And Why Are You Complaining Again?
|
Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-03-15 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Exodus 16:8 (NCV) |
|
Text: |
8 And Moses said, “Each evening the Lord will give you meat to eat, and every morning he will give you all the bread you want, because he has heard you grumble against him. You are not grumbling against Aaron and me, because we are nothing; you are grumbling against the Lord.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| God had brought the Israelites through so much, and He had revealed Himself through miracle and after miracle to them. Yet at every opportunity, they turned their faces on God and complained about their plight. In this particular case it was about food. For those that never complain, I know it will be challenging to try and apply this lesson today, but let’s have a look!! | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| It is unfortunate, but I believe that believers are probably just as bad as non-believers when it comes to complaining and finding fault. Perhaps it’s about the pastor, because he didn’t visit us when we were sick; or he spoke on Hell instead of Heaven; or I just don’t get anything from his sermons; or I just can’t get over how everyone complains about him…. Although I know it would be challenging to admit that you participated in this type of complaining, I’m sure that you’ve heard this and a whole lot more – perhaps about the choir, praise team, elders, deacons, maintenance, janitors, etc. Ever stopped to think about the words of Moses in these verses? You see, the faithful are sincerely praying for the pastor – that he may receive a revelation from God on what his flock needs and how God might choose to meet those needs. May I encourage you to really let the words of Moses penetrate your heart and your soul, and not be guilty of complaining against what God is doing through His servants who stand in front of you each week preaching, teaching or serving in any way? May I suggest that you join those who are praying for more blessings for the same ones that you’ve been complaining about? I believe that like me, you want to hear from God at every opportunity possible, and since He has chosen to speak through His servants to us, then we must earnestly be in prayer for those who serve us, that they can step away from the world and become so entrenched in the presence of God, that they will come before us as vessels filled with a word from God, that will be applicable to us and cause us to grow in our faith and relationship with God. Something I heard a long time ago, that is still applicable today: ‘You will give out of something, as much as you have put into it’. Think about that! If you pray for your pastor and staff, perhaps you will be come away from services and teaching classes filled with the awesome power of God that you prayed down on them. May I suggest that anytime you come away from a service feeling empty and unfulfilled, ask God to reveal where you went wrong in your praying for that service? Like Moses, our pastors are nothing more than us – human beings, however the God that we pray they will be filled with, He is everything! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Father, please forgive us for whining and complaining so much, when in fact we have so much to be extremely thankful for and blessed through and through about. We really should be spending our time lifting up holy hands and singing praises to You at every opportunity. Lord may we endeavor to praise and thank You more than we have ever done before. May we learn to pray for the very folk that we tend to complain about and find fault with. Lord, be glorified in our lives today, is my humble prayer, 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! | |
Only God
|
Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-03-13 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Exodus 14:31 (AMP) |
|
Text: |
31 When Israel saw the great power which the Lord had used against the Egyptians, they feared the Lord [with reverence and awe-filled respect], and they believed in the Lord, and in His servant Moses. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| The Israelites had a hard time trusting Moses and his God, as they suffered through the heat, drought and weariness of wandering through the wilderness, even though God came through for them on many occasions. Here on yet another occasion it became evident to the Israelites that only God could hold the waters back so they could walk through the Red Sea on dry land, and only God could give the command to fill the sea back, after the Israelites were safely on the other side and the Egyptians were dead center in the middle of it when it collapsed on top of them. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| We could see where the episode detailed in our Scripture verses today is yet another in a series of miracles that God performed to help gain the confidence and trust of the Israelites that He allowed Moses to lead away from Egypt. At the conclusion of this particular episode, the Israelites were able to look back in wonderment of what God had just done to bring them safely through a body of water, then how He used that same body of water to destroy their slave-masters – the Egyptian army. Is this what’s missing from our culture today? I believe that miracles still occur, but are they getting passed off as happen-chance, or good luck, or great doctors? How about when a young drug addict is drawn to the Lord, is it ever said that it was because of the prayers of a praying mom and dad, that God got to the heart of that son or daughter and drew them to Himself? Friends, we are quickly approaching the Easter season where we are reminded of the resurrected Lord. He is still on the throne and still very active in the lives of His children. Yes we can tell the stories of miracles from the Bible so that we could be reminded of the power of our God, but we must never forget that He is still on the throne; He still answers the prayers of His children; and that He still performs miracles even today. Drug addicts and those trapped by Satan will quickly tell you of the dark underground where they live. Now if only Christians will be as quick to brag about the power of God in their lives each day! When you see answered prayer, believe me, that was a miracle of God, not because of any power of yours or your pastor’s. Be ready and willing to praise and thank God for the miracles, and always be ready to brag on your miracles so that others may see, or hear, and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The Israelites saw and believed – your friends can do the same, if you remain faithful and give God the glory! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Father, it took miracle after miracle to get through to the stubborn hearts of the Israelites that You carefully led out of slavery in Egypt. There are many of our friends, neighbors and family who are enslaved to the greater sins of this world today, and You have placed us plum in the middle of all this so that we could expose them to the miracle of the gospel. Please touch your children once again today dear Lord and give us boldness to declare the goodness of the Lord. We are thankful for the miracles we see each and every day through answered prayer, please help us to use those experiences to brag on You before an unbelieving world. May they see Jesus through our eyes, so they may understand the Miracle Worker that we love and adore. May they seek Your saving grace even today dear Lord, 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! | |
What Belongs To God?
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Post Date: |
Saturday, 2017-03-11 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Matthew 22:17-21 (MSG) |
|
Text: |
So tell us honestly: Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?”18-19 Jesus knew they were up to no good. He said, “Why are you playing these games with me? Why are you trying to trap me? Do you have a coin? Let me see it.” They handed him a silver piece.
20 “This engraving—who does it look like? And whose name is on it?” 21 They said, “Caesar.” “Then give Caesar what is his, and give God what is his.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Jesus immediately saw through the questioning that the Pharisees/Herodians were trying to entrap Him with, and follow through with a reason to arrest Him. However in Jesus’ response to their questioning He actually gave them something to ponder about themselves. In fact, this continues to challenge believers today, so let’s explore this in our application… | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| A previous pastor once told his flock that after praying earnestly for a car, his dad gave him a new one when he headed off to seminary. Of course, this became the envy of those he befriended, so they tried to entrap him by asking to borrow the car. To their surprise, he whipped out the keys, but as he handed them to his friend, he said “here you go, but this car belongs to Jesus, treat it that way”. Some may find this amusing, but friend, I want you to consider the question from Jesus, and my little story, and I really want you to stop and consider all that you can attribute to a direct gift from Jesus, or in response to prayer to Him. Let me share a few of mine to help stir your memory, or thought process: God gave me qualities to work in the financial sector, and some 45 years ago I started that career, should I whine and complain when I go to work each day, or should I praise God once again for blessing me for over 45 years of preparing and/or working in this field? Next, my wife and I were prompted to apply for entry into the US some 30 years ago, and we were quickly approved. This was much to the dismay and disappointment of my aging parents. However, we saw many things that God had stored up for us after our move: Within one year this paved the way for doctors to save the life of my dad; Shortly afterwards the life of another relative was saved; then we had a lifelong dream come true as we added a child to our family. Friends, I could go on, but suffice to say that because we allowed Jesus to lead, He showed us how awesome He truly could be to His children. This is true in many of your lives also, for who brings that beautiful sun up each day? Who allows you to have a job and another may still be struggling to find one at the moment? Who allows you to be up and moving around when another just like you, is bedridden with so some serious health issue? Who keeps you safe on the roads each day while you pass wrecks along the way? So as you evaluate these thoughts today, the question becomes: what do you do in response to all God has given, and continues to give, to you? He showed His redeeming love for you when He died on a cruel cross at Calvary, and He continues to love you as He blesses in unlimited ways that you may have thought of after reading this blog. What do you give to Him in return? How much of your time each week do you give to the Lord? How about your finances resulting from the job He directed you to and blesses you with each day? May I suggest a God-honoring, proven method on this topic? Try this: Give God at least 10% right off the top from each and every paycheck (I give on the gross), through your local church, and give it joyfully and thankfully. No worries about being able to meet the rest of your budget, for God will honor your obedience to His commands, and He will take care of the rest. If you are a God-honoring, thankful person, then be sure that you meet together with other believers at a local church at least once or twice a week, and try to bless and encourage someone there. God will see to it that blessings will be returned to you many times over! Friends, you can’t out-give God! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, thank You for all that You have given to me and the doors of opportunity You have opened to me. Lord, it seems like we are quick to honor all that’s expected of us from government, our employer and our family, yet we often wait until our luck has run out to look to You. Please forgive us for our ungrateful hearts, and teach us to become loyal to the source and giver of all things, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 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! | |
Did You RSVP Yet?
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Post Date: |
Friday, 2017-03-10 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Matthew 22:12-14 (NLT) |
|
Text: |
12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how is it that you are here without wedding clothes?’ But the man had no reply. 13 Then the king said to his aides, ‘Bind his hands and feet and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| In this parable, Jesus tells of a king who invited many guests to a wedding feast. When they didn’t show up, he sent his servants into the streets to invite any and everyone in. Most came prepared for a wedding feast, except one, whom the king addressed personally about his attire. With no explanation from the guest, the king had him thrown out. Let’s see out this applies to us…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| I would imagine that in your church you face pretty much the same challenge as in my church, for members and attendees are encouraged to go and invite a friend or neighbor to church with you. Now, in your mind I want you to scan the audience of one of your favorite services and consider this question: If Jesus returned to gather His bride, the saved of this earth, right in the middle of that favorite service, how many do you think would remain? I know that you are not the judge, but wouldn’t you assume that there will be some who have just gone through the motions and attended church to please someone, or to keep someone from continuously bugging them, but they have never accepted the call (invitation) of Jesus to surrender their life to Him? I believe that there is no better place to find good, sincere friends and fellowship than around churches. I believe that there is no better place to be, than with God’s people who sincerely worship their God, seek His face in prayer, and understand His response through studying, or hearing the Word of God taught/preached. However, there is nothing in the Word of God that indicates that because you were invited to church and attended; or you had good fellowship with believers and actually befriended several of them; or you heard the Word taught or preached; or you attended a very serious prayer meeting – none of these things qualify you for meeting Jesus face to face. I believe that Jesus is extremely happy to see you fellowship with His children, but unless you believe on their Lord and Savior and surrender your life to His call on your life, then you will be much like the miss-dressed guest in this story when Jesus considers whether to accept you into His kingdom. So friend, you received an invitation to fellowship with believers and you accepted and did that. Hopefully you also received an invitation – a tug on your heart from the Lord Jesus to surrender your life of sin to Him for forgiveness and acceptance into His kingdom. That RSVP is the only means of you retiring to glory when you graduate from this earth. For it is only through accepting Jesus as Lord that He will see a believer as one washed white as snow, because of His forgiveness and acceptance. Neglecting this step will lead you to the same outer darkness referring to in the Scripture today. You, and only you, will make the choice about responding to Jesus. My prayer is that, if you have not knowingly made this commitment before, that you go directly to my Footnote and click the link ‘To Know Jesus’, for no one knows the day or the hour when the Lord will call either of us out of this world. Let’s be ‘dressed in our wedding clothes’, in other words, be found righteous by our holy God, and therefore ready to meet Him in the air! That meeting could take place today! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Thank You for Your precious Word dear Lord, and I thank You for tugging at my heart’s door many years ago, and I humbly accepted Your call. Lord, may I be found faithful right up to the day that You call me home to be with You. Lord, I may have some friends, and maybe even some family, who may fit into the same scenario as the guest who was thrown out from the wedding feast, for I’m not sure that they ever completed their RSVP that You personally delivered to them. I believe there will also be readers of this blog that may fit this description also. Lord, I pray that You would anoint this blog with Your Holy Spirit that will tug at the hearts of these ones again today. May this be a day of decision by many today, is my heart’s cry in sincere prayer to the only One who can make a difference, Jesus, my Lord and King, 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! | |
Join Me on a Trip to Paradise!
|
Post Date: |
Thursday, 2017-03-09 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Luke 23:43 (Voice) |
|
Text: |
Jesus: 43 I promise you that this very day you will be with Me in paradise. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Two criminals faced certain death at the same time as Jesus. One was rebellious right to the end, the other was humbled and asked Jesus to remember him when He arose in glory. Jesus instantly accepted him and assured him of his final destination – ‘Paradise’! | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| If you are one of those who are quickly offended when we talk about death, because you are still among the living, then you may want to click away from this blog entry now. However, if you are unsure about where you will spend eternity, or if you would much rather hear about the option of ‘Paradise’ versus where you know you are destined to spend eternity in your current spiritual condition, then stay tuned. In the story of the crucifixion there were two criminals. One was rebellious right to the end, and the other realized his sinfulness and wanted to do something about it, even though he was very near the end of his life. Friends, there are three words that I underlined in this short verse, and I want to speak with you about their importance. The two criminals in this story had a planned appointment for their death, where a decision would be made about their eternity. However, that is not the normal case for us. A dear friend lost a 49 year old son to a severe stroke recently. There was no time for a last minute decision. A coworker was reading a local paper about a man who was run over by his own truck in a church parking lot this past weekend. There was no time for a last minute decision. I want you to see that Jesus didn’t question the criminal of every little bad thing that he ever did, He simply accepted him based on his sincere request. May I suggest that you order Satan away from your mind about you being way too bad for God to ever accept? A very popular Bible verse reminds us that Jesus is very clear that He died for all, and that anyone who calls on Him and believes in Him, will be saved. That includes YOU friend! In my ‘Footnote’ you will find information to help you cement this decision today, for we have no promise of tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation! If you decide to do nothing, like the rebellious criminal, then Satan has also prepared a place for you. Unfortunately, from everything we know about that place it’s just the opposite to Heaven. You make these two choices every day friend. My prayer and my hope is that I will see you in glory with our Heavenly Father, singing praises at His feet! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, we have been reminded that there is only one way to prepare ourselves for an eternity in ‘Paradise’ with You, and that’s to accept You as our Lord and Savior. For it was Your sacrifice that would redeem us of our sin and make us worthy to enter heaven’s gates. I believe that daily You touch the hearts of many who are unbelievers to convince them of their need for a Savior. I gave two examples above of how their time of prompting ended, and now they are either with You, or in the pit of Hell. Lord I sincerely pray that this warning will not fall on deaf ears today, but that decisions will be made where necessary to ensure our eternity with You. Thank You for Your willingness to accept even me, a sinner saved only by Your grace. 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! | |
God Wants Us To Be Holy
|
Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-03-08 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Hebrews 12:8-11 (CEV) |
|
Text: |
8 God corrects all of his children, and if he doesn’t correct you, then you don’t really belong to him. 9 Our earthly fathers correct us, and we still respect them. Isn’t it even better to be given true life by letting our spiritual Father correct us?
10 Our human fathers correct us for a short time, and they do it as they think best. But God corrects us for our own good, because he wants us to be holy, as he is. 11 It is never fun to be corrected. In fact, at the time it is always painful. But if we learn to obey by being corrected, we will do right and live at peace. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Our Scripture today confirms the love of God for His children, and confirms that it’s because of that deep love for us that God disciplines us. However, when we understand the purpose for that discipline then we appreciate the discipline. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Some may struggle with the idea of God disciplining His children because we have always been taught that He loves us enough to die for us. In parenting, or adult life overall, I believe we all can agree that where there is no discipline, there is good indication of a disconnect between the adult and the child. Either the child doesn’t belong to the adult on the scene and therefore a lack of duty, or love, or responsibility to correct the child, or a lack of love and concern for the upbringing of that child. I want you to stop and think about yourself as a parent, or if you’re not a parent then think about your parents, and consider all the reasons why a child is probably loved by their earthly parents. Next, I want you to think of the God who created us, then recognized that we are selfish and would never follow rules, commands and rituals in order to right ourselves with Him because of our sins. So in order to help us out, God sent His one and only Son to die a cruel death through crucifixion to prove His love for us. Now, for a God like that, don’t you know that He would very much desire that we be steered into oneness with Himself? Steering us is the same as disciplining us. When we are reminded of wrong things through reading God’s Word, or hearing a message from God via our pastor or Godly teacher, we are being steered away from that wrong. Likewise when we can honestly say ‘amen’ to a sermon or Bible reading, it probably means that we agree, and that we are honestly following that command of God. Now here are the words that I really loved from our Scripture today, because God said that the reason He steers us, or disciplines us, is not just because He loves us, but because “He wants us to be holy, as He is”! I don’t know about you friend, but that sends chills up and down my spine, to think that the God of this universe loves me enough that He will do whatever it takes to get us in line with His commands so that we may be holy, just as He is! Wow! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| It is so hard for us to believe that we could ever be considered ‘Holy’, much less to be consider ‘holy’ as God Himself. Yet God said it, so I believe it. Thank You for never giving up on us Jesus! Thank You for loving us so much – more than we could ever comprehend. Please forgive us for being so stubborn, disobedient, and straying so often from the path You have set for us. Lord I can only imagine that this is a daily chore for You to deal with, so I beg You to touch Your children once again today. We want to be like You, and we want to be ‘holy’ in Your eyes. Please steer us aright again today as we face the trials and temptations of this day. Thank You heavenly Father for loving us so deeply and unconditionally! 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! | |
Pray – In Faith – and Receive
|
Post Date: |
Tuesday, 2017-03-07 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Matthew 21:20-22 (NLT) |
|
Text: |
20 The disciples were amazed when they saw this and asked, “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?”
21 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. 22 You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Jesus had a point to prove to his followers, because He knew there was still doubt in their minds of what all they could accomplish through the power of the Holy Spirit. So He merely spoke to a barren fig tree and it instantly withered up. Of course, the disciples reacted just as Jesus knew they would, and this provided a teaching moment for Jesus. Verse 22 should be posted in all prayer rooms today! | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| For all believers reading this today, I believe that we can reflect back on our life-journey and see the path God set that led us towards accepting Him as our Master and Lord. For me, it was: placing the right lady in my life; one who was attending an evangelistic, Bible-teaching church that believed in altar calls; driving me towards attending her church vs the one that I was attending; placing a godly man in the service the night that I felt God tugging at my heart but wouldn’t let go of the seat to go to the altar, so God’s messenger came over, touched me on the shoulder and helped me make that walk that totally changed my life for ever. For the disciples, in our story today, who needed to learn about faith, Jesus also found the perfect time to demonstrate His power, and teach them about the miracles that could be wrought by even them, if they had faith. Friends, this story was placed in the Word of God to show us that, as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we too have access to the throne of God to ‘ask for anything, in faith, and receive it’. Sounds impossible? Good, because the Bible said that these miracles will not be of our own power, but if we ask Jesus for it, and believe in faith that He can, and He will do it, then our prayer will be answered. So if we are asking this of Jesus, please realize that the things you ask will have to be things that He would approve of, and that fits into His perfect will. Jesus even gave an example of what could be possible through this kind of faith. So may I challenge you today to consider whether anything that you would ask in prayer today is greater than the ability to move a mountain into the sea? Probably not, right? Yet Jesus said that could be done, if we exercise our faith in Him! Wow! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Father, there are things that many of Your children are praying for right now that seem very impossible to us. Please draw us closer to You so that our faith might increase, and so that we would think outside of our small box of finite possibilities. We need You Heavenly Father to be in charge of our personal lives, so we fully surrender to You today. Please use us as Your instruments through which You can reach the souls of mankind. May we never be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and may we see nothing but Jesus rather than the mountains of impossibilities that often block our view of You. Thank You Lord for reminding us of Your awesome power that can be extended from You to others we cross paths with, in the form of miracles today. 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! | |
What Can Jesus Do For You?
|
Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-03-06 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Matthew 20:31-34 (NLT) |
|
Text: |
31 “Be quiet!” the crowd yelled at them. But they only shouted louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
32 When Jesus heard them, he stopped and called, “What do you want me to do for you?” 33 “Lord,” they said, “we want to see!” 34 Jesus felt sorry for them and touched their eyes. Instantly they could see! Then they followed him. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| In this story we see a few things: First is the determination of the blind men to get Jesus’ attention. Although told by the disciples to be quiet, they shouted all the louder; Secondly, I am always shocked how Jesus would ask two blind men what he could do for them! He didn’t assume that they were there to have their sight restored, for they may have had much deeper needs that only the Master could resolve for them. And thirdly, their miracle led to them becoming followers of Christ! | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Throughout the gospels we can read story after story about the extremes that some folk went to in order to see, touch, or plead with Jesus about their situation. I am saddened by our current day believers who either wait until their very last option to seek Jesus and ask Him for help in their respective scenario, or because they have listened to Satan and the world, and have chosen to not follow Christ, they therefore might opt to not ‘bother’ Him in their time of need. Notice that the blind men did not let pride get in their way of getting close to Jesus and asking Him for a miracle. They weren’t concerned about friends trying to turn them away because they never wanted anything to do with Jesus. I want you to also notice that although these men were not follower of Christ, He stopped, listened to their plea, and delivered them from their blindness. Friends, this is another reminder of how deep the love of God is for His children. Notice also that Jesus teaches us to never assume what the needs of another person might be. Wouldn’t you have thought that two blind men waiting to see Jesus, were probably there to ask for restoration of their sight? However, Jesus still asked what they wanted of Him. Friends, let’s learn from this that we are to be specific in our asking of God. So I believe the important question that Jesus might have for you today is: What is your greatest need that you would have me attend to for you? This should be the item that you are daily pleading to God for, and is first and foremost on your mind. Be determined as the two blind guys, knowing that the same Jesus that they called out to for mercy and healing, is still available, able and ready to also hear our cry for help. | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Dear Lord, we serve the awesome Creator of this world, and You have proven yourself over and over again, yet You are often the very last person that we call on in our times of trouble and despair. As we were reminded by this Scripture today, please teach us to be persistent in asking, knowing that You are ruler over all things and that Your awesome power is just as prevalent today as it was when You gave the command to restore eyesight to the two blind men. Lord, please touch the hearts and lives of all who might read this devotional today, and please especially touch the lives of my family at this time so that we all might be reminded of the King of all kings and Lord of all lords, and Your awesome love and power. For I ask these things in Your wonderful and matchless name, 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! | |
Confident in Our Awesome God!
|
Post Date: |
Saturday, 2017-03-04 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
Psalm 18:25-29 (Easy-to-Read Version) |
|
Text: |
25 Lord, you are faithful to those who are faithful. You are good to those who are good. 26 You never do wrong to those who have done no wrong. But you outsmart the wicked, no matter how clever they are. 27 You help those who are humble, but you humiliate the proud. 28 Lord, you provide the flame for my lamp. You, God, turn the darkness around me into light. 29 With your help I can defeat an army. If my God is with me, I can climb over enemy walls. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| As I read this Scripture and meditated on how David must have felt when He worshipped God with these thoughts, I could only think that he was recognizing a great work that God had just completed in his life. So here David is recognizing God for who He is and for all that He has done. This is so important to the child of God to return to God and praise Him for all that He has done! Applicable to us today? You bet ‘cha! | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Ever notice that our personal prayer lives are filled with our lists of wants and needs? Why even at church we tend to really concentrate on the ‘needs’ of our brothers and sisters way more than we do our expressions of praise to our awesome God, and hearts that should always be filled with thanksgiving. We can learn a lot from David here, because after losing himself in praise and thanksgiving, he shares with us how this outlook on God and his expressions of praise to God, gives him confidence to defeat a whole army and the supernatural power to climb right over enemy walls. Is this always easy for us? Absolutely not. I recently had a friend who had a child admitted to hospital with very special medical needs, could the parents truly sing the praise song in these verses? It would have been challenging while in the middle of the unforeseen battle by the doctors to save that child’s life, but for the parents whose hearts are filled with praise before the hospital stay, they would have confidence that God would protect, heal and love their daughter, and bless and direct doctors also. Friends, we have no idea what’s in store for us just around the corner of another day, have you been praising God and reinforcing the confident assurance that He is always there for you? Remember, with God’s Holy Spirit inside of you and God in control, you can do ALL things! Face the day with that kind of assurance, and prepare your mind for whatever comes your way, knowing that Our God Is An Awesome God! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, just one of Your humble servants bowing at Your feet once again to say thank You for being so good to me! You are awesome in all of Your ways, and more powerful than any situation my readers and I might face today! Thank You for being so good to us! Lord, with the words of David we can also say today that greater is He that is in us, than He that is in the world, and with that confidence face our giants today knowing that You can empower us to climb over any enemy wall and win any and all battles that Satan may send our way. So to You I surrender all, and say thank You for Your protection, guidance, love and wisdom, 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! | |
Nuggets From God's Word 