Faith That Leads to Obedience

On 2015-10-162015-10-16 By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, Humility, Obedience, SubmissionLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – John 4:47-50): ⁴⁷ ..when the man heard that Jesus had come from Judea, he went and begged him to keep his son from dying. ⁴⁸ Jesus told the official, “You won’t have faith unless you see miracles and wonders!” ⁴⁹ The man replied, “Lord, please come before my son dies!” ⁵⁰ Jesus then said, “Your son will live. Go on home to him.” The man believed Jesus and started back home.

THOUGHTS: There are several things about this story that caught my attention:

Reputation: Notice that the official had heard about Jesus and His mighty works in the past, otherwise why would it have mattered if he heard that Jesus was coming to his town? People are burdened with needs today. Have they heard enough about Jesus and His mighty works in our churches and our families that they would become as determined as the official to take their concerns to Jesus? Is this our first stop – to take our deepest needs and concerns to Jesus?
Need: The official recognized a need that existed in his family, and he wanted to have it resolved. I believe that when we glorify God for all the good that He does every day, then we will automatically turn to Him in our needs also. Furthermore, I believe it is vital that we redirect our attention from the small selfish things and concentrate on the needs of others – especially our family members. Jesus, our role model, was always more concerned about others than of Himself;
Our view of Miracles: The official had predetermined ideas of what Jesus could, or could not do. Jesus chose to change His previous history of ‘hands on’ miracles, to merely heal the official’s son based on the faith of the father who asked and believed. That tells me that we must simply share our concerns with the Lord and not try to tell Him how, or when, to do His mighty works. God declares in His Word that His ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts. He is the potter, and we are merely the clay subject to His molding every day. In His molding process, He can fix broken or marred pieces along the way;
Faith and Obedience: Notice that the official didn’t turn away angry because Jesus didn’t do what he asked him to do. He had faith to believe in God and obediently follow His instructions. Will we just as easily turn aside and head back home with just a ‘go back home’ from the Lord? Where is your faith, friend? In this case, the obedience of the official resulted in extreme faith by he and his whole family, for in verse 53 we are told that they all placed their faith and trust in Jesus.

PRAYER: Dear God, Your Word is filled with proof that You are the great Physician; Healer and Miracle Worker. Yet You are also our Creator; our Savior and our Lord. Thank You for reminding us of being obedient to You even when You don’t respond exactly as we expect or may even demand. Thank You for the example of this official, for we are reminded that we are to be the obedient followers and not the demanding children trying to tell the Almighty God what to do or how to do it. This official simply followed Your command and great things happened. Lord, may we too be obedient servants, and simply let You be God. You know our needs and concerns today. Please have Your will and way in each of these and in growing us to be more like You every day, so that others may see, and believe in You. For I ask all this in the precious 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!

Then They Will Know

On 2015-10-152015-10-15 By Ed AlgreenIn Salvation, WitnessLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The New Living Translation – John 4:42): Then they said to the woman, “Now we believe, not just because of what you told us, but because we have heard him ourselves. Now we know that he is indeed the Savior of the world.”

THOUGHTS: Humans are generally designed to share with others the news of happenings in their lives. God especially teaches that believers share the Good News of Jesus Christ at every opportunity. In the chosen verse today, we are reminded that Jesus had such an impact on the Samaritan woman He met at the well, that she immediately went to work telling her town’s people about her encounter with Jesus. I was intrigued by the Samaritans who later came back to the woman and acknowledged that although her story impacted their lives, now that they had a personal encounter with Jesus, they indeed KNEW that He is the Savior of the World. I found this encouraging, because although we are told to go into the world and share our story, seldom do we ever know of the impact our story may have had on another person’s life. However, I believe that we need to also realize that when the Samaritan woman left the well and went into town sharing her story, that it was not necessarily to achieve popularity or even to win the lost for the Lord, but she had great news of how her life was impacted by this meeting with Jesus, and she wanted to share that joyous story with anyone who would listen. Think about it friends, not only was this evident to the Samaritans, but don’t you know that there was joy in heaven knowing that a life was impacted to such an extent that the woman was overflowing with excitement and joy, and just needed to share it with anyone who would listen? So how does this story differ from your story? Have you met the Master? Has He impacted your life in such a way that you are a living witness for Jesus in everything you say or do? On this side of heaven, we may never have the honor of knowing how our lives impacted someone else, but I long to hear the words of my Savior say “Well done my son, you were a good and faithful servant”! Praise be to the wonderful name of Jesus! Another great reminder here, is that all the woman could do was to share her story, it was Jesus who impacted their lives, and to acceptance of Himself. This is the same in our case friends. We must be witnesses, while only Jesus can do the life-changing and heart surrendering necessary for our friends to truly know Him and accept the free gift of eternal life. Perhaps there are friends you are praying for their salvation. Are you helping them by the way you live before them, or are you hindering them?

PRAYER: Thank You Father for the gift of salvation! Thank You for the friends whose witness convinced me to find You and know You personally. My readers and I stand before You in awe today, knowing how much You love us and acknowledging all that You have provided for us. Because we see such a need all around us, and because of the reminder shown in this passage of scripture today, I pray that You might truly impact our lives in a way today that we might bubble over with the joy of knowing You as our Lord and Savior. In turn, may those whose lives we touch, encounter a deep desire to know You personally and follow with surrendering their lives to Your lordship and Your care. I’ll be careful to praise You for all that You accomplish dear God, for it’s in the awesome and powerful name of Your Son, Jesus, that I pray, AMEN!

How Moses Became a More Effective Leader

On 2015-10-132015-10-13 By Ed AlgreenIn Evangelism, Humility, Leader, MosesLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The New Living Translation – Exodus 18:18-23): ¹⁸ “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself. ¹⁹ Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him. ²⁰ Teach them God’s decrees, and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives. ²¹ But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten. ²² They should always be available to solve the people’s common disputes, but have them bring the major cases to you. Let the leaders decide the smaller matters themselves. They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you. ²³ If you follow this advice, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures, and all these people will go home in peace.”

THOUGHTS: I believe that these verses today are especially directed to help those of us who lead in God’s work. I have found in my short lifetime that it is very easy to agree to more and more responsibility and leadership in God’s work, probably because we feel like the more we do the more pleased God might be with us as individuals/leaders. There are many problems with this philosophy though, for we tend to:

Wear ourselves out, and therefore not energetic and enthused about the work we need to do;
Feel like if we don’t do the work, it won’t get done – as if God has only one person qualified to do His magnificent work among so many;
Not train others to take over from us, so we short them of opportunities – at our expense;
Ignore, or fall way short in our personal responsibilities to our family;
Not complete tasks with quality and care, because in our minds we have moved on to the next task that is often already running behind schedule;
Not spend quality time with the Lord, because our minds are so busy worry about all that must be accomplished.

I trust that we can learn to share the load, resume our rightful place, and watch God be Himself in our lives and in the lives we touch! Friends, I believe that we must quickly realize that God’s work is of super importance, and it is huge. We must do our best to make sure that we don’t become another Moses, where God’s work is thwarted by our capacity to achieve something. While we may have the skill set to handle many tasks, we must learn to train others and rejoice in their successes. Teamwork promotes growth among team members, and helps the overall work reach so many more, because each team member will be especially effective among those within their realm of influence. Friends, There are no other gods, so let’s allow God to be God, as we humbly take our stand as His humble servants, and allow Him to accomplish His work through us as part of a team of servants, not as little gods. Let’s help folk see God for who He truly is, not see us for something we can never be.

PRAYER: Lord, please touch Your leaders today and help us to be better servants, so that we might improve our submission and leadership skills. Help us to follow the example of Moses and listen to criticism and/or suggestions from others, especially those whom we feel, are led by Your Holy Spirit. There is so much work to be done among our family and friends that we may tend to feel like it will be ineffective if we don’t jump in there and take control. Lord, please help us to always remember that it can only be Your job to actually impact hearts towards recognizing You and allowing You to become a part of their life. Please forgive us for trying to take control. May we serve You with every ounce of our being, but never cross the line of taking Your role as our Master and our Lord. We need You dear Lord, for only You can save the souls of mankind. May Your will be accomplished through me today – one of Your humble servants. For I ask this in the precious and powerful name of Jesus, AMEN!

Hindrances to Worship

On 2015-10-012015-10-01 By Ed AlgreenIn Forgiven, Righteous, WorshipLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Easy-To-Read Version – Hebrews 9:13-14): ¹³ The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a cow were sprinkled on those who were no longer pure enough to enter the place of worship. The blood and ashes made them pure again—but only their bodies. ¹⁴ So surely the blood sacrifice of Christ can do much more. Christ offered himself through the eternal Spirit as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will make us completely clean from the evil we have done. It will give us clear consciences so that we can worship the living God.

THOUGHTS: I believe that every Bible Teacher or Pastor’s wish would be, that their hearers are getting as much from a lesson as they received when they studied the lesson being taught. I also believe that every Worship Minister would love to know that the folk they are leading in a time of worship were participating from the deepest parts of their heart and receiving a blessing like they receive when leading us. Often we will go to our corporate worship services and while sometimes being totally blessed and pulled into the worship time through full participation, yet at other times we just attend but don’t feel a closeness to our Lord as we worship. These are the times we find fault with the person next to us or behind us, or with the worship leader, or perhaps the volume of the instrumentalists! But friend, if you especially read verse 14, you will notice that as long as we enter God’s house with stained consciences, there just may not be an opportunity for you to connect with God and His Holy Spirit that day. You might remember from God’s Word that God will not be present where sin abounds. I believe that another way of understanding verse 14 might be in the following way: “One cannot worship the Living God without a clear conscience” or unless one has already settled with God concerning their sin. There’s a worship song that has been around for a long time “There’s A Sweet, Sweet Spirit in this Place“. After reading verse 14, I’m not so sure that will even happen for us if we present ourselves for worship with sin in our life. Perhaps we should have a confession service first, then, perhaps, the Spirit of God might find clean hearts and consciences in which He is free to move and to bless. Let’s keep this in mind the next time that we attempt to worship God. Clean hearts will draw close to God, as it is the only way that He will draw close to you and I.

PRAYER: How dare us attempt to enter Your presence in sin, Oh God, especially thinking that we can block the hindrances (our sin) while we attempt to worship You. It’s not enough for us to conjure up a time of ‘worship’ Lord Jesus, for we want to be where You are, and we want to worship You in sincerity of heart, soul and mind. Please forgive us for attempting to worship You, the One who never sinned, yet with sin in our hearts. Please cleanse me of all unrighteousness, so that as I approach Your throne I can do so with a clear conscience and without sin. Please touch the hearts of my readers Lord, so that they too might be enlightened of any sin that not only separates them from You, but also blocks their true worship of You. Lord, may You rule and reign in every aspect of our lives and especially prepare us for frequent times of worship to You. I love you Lord, and I lift my voice and heart in worship to You alone. My prayer is offered in and through the name of Jesus, the only one worthy of my worship and praise, AMEN!

Our Accountability

On 2015-09-292015-09-29 By Ed AlgreenIn Accountability, Honest, Powerful, The WordLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The New Living Translation – Hebrews 4:12-13): ¹² For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. ¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

THOUGHTS: Ever get frustrated by someone telling you something, but not really telling you enough to help you understand the full impact of what they mean? Imagine telling a blind person that the sky is not blue today? Would that really help them understand what color the sky really is today? I got the impression from this scripture today that the Word of God is very much alive, meaning that it’s fresh, current, discerning, applicable, and will not cut any punches, but get straight to the point for us. It is through this same Word that God actually touches our heart, prompts our thoughts and energizes us towards living Godly lives that resemble His example. Think of it as us being an open book before God! So why is this important Christian friend? Surely God is saying to us that as a child we look to, and obeyed our parents in order to live obedient and upright lives. God is like our parent in helping us continue to determine right from wrong, and He sent His Son, Jesus, to set an example of the life He would like for us to live, and because we have invited Him to be our Father, we are His children and He will hold us accountable to all that He teaches. How are you doing with this? Are you in the Word enough to allow it to teach you the ‘right’ way to live – to walk, talk and act like Him? So then, why is this important to you who have not accepted my Lord as your Savior? I believe that there is no doubt that should remain in your mind about the choice you have made regarding the way to live your life. Without Christ, you will live by every shift of the wind, according to those around you and the circumstances that surround you. This will often lead to confusion, frustration, evil and hatred – just as the world lives. A choice to live a committed life to God, is a will to be obedient in ways that will please and honor God, to live according to the example He set for us while here on earth, and the excitement of living in the awesome expectation of one day being face-to-face with Jesus in glory. It’s the comfort of knowing that you are loved, protected and cared about by the God of this universe! How awesome is that friend? May I have the honor of introducing you to my Friend? Please read my ‘Footnote’ for additional direction. To all my readers, please read the last sentence carefully and understand that we are accountable to God for our decisions, our actions and our obedience. How would you fear if you were called before God today?

PRAYER: Dear God, we are so frivolous to believe that we can live our lives any way we please because of our freedom to choose. You gave us the freedom of choice, but we are accountable to You for the choices we make, and the resulting consequences or rewards for those choices. Please forgive us for our littleness in thinking that it’s nobody’s business but ours what we do with our life, for You sent Your one and only Son to the cross to help show us Your love and how much You care about our choices. Please awaken us and keep our eyes focused on You in all of our choices, and may this reflect in the way that we live, so that others might be drawn to You through our surrender, obedience and witness. I realize this is an awesome and powerful request Oh Lord, but because I am asking this in the name of my most awesome and powerful Savior, Jesus Christ, I am comforted that I can ask this in confidence and with thanksgiving. AMEN!

Why Jesus Came

On 2015-09-282015-09-28 By Ed AlgreenIn Forgiveness, Salvation, SaviorLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Hebrews 2:14-18): ¹⁴ We are people of flesh and blood. That is why Jesus became one of us. He died to destroy the devil, who had power over death. ¹⁵ But he also died to rescue all of us who live each day in fear of dying. ¹⁶ Jesus clearly did not come to help angels, but he did come to help Abraham’s descendants. ¹⁷ He had to be one of us, so that he could serve God as our merciful and faithful high priest and sacrifice himself for the forgiveness of our sins. ¹⁸ And now that Jesus has suffered and was tempted, he can help anyone else who is tempted.

THOUGHTS: There once was a gentleman running for governor who went to various job sites and worked at least a day in the workers’ shoes in order to see what he needed to correct or improve upon when we became governor. There is a local rehabilitation center that sends out it’s trainers to various job sites, so that when their clients are hired, the trainer will know exactly how to best train them for that specific job. I am in awe of how, the God of this universe could easily call into existence any and everything for us to benefit from, or protect us from the greatest fears that we might have, yet He knew that we would more easily accept someone who has been there and done that. He foreknew that this would be super important when it comes to us taking our petitions and our fears and our needs and our frustrations before Him! We are reminded in this scripture today that Jesus, God’s only beloved Son, was sent to earth for us and only us. He became just like us, so that He could witness firsthand why we would feel so despondent when coming before Him over the loss of a family member or friend, for He witnessed this through the death of His dear friend Lazarus. Or how we must feel when we are left alone to fend for ourselves, perhaps because of our blindness or because we might be crippled or otherwise immobile, for He stopped a procession to speak with, and heal a man waiting along the roadside, because the crowd chose to quiet him down rather than help him up. Remember that He also placed simple dirt on a man’s eyes to restore his sight? Friends, I believe this scripture is an awesome reminder that when we take our burdens, our concerns, our heartaches and share how despondent we are, before our gracious, all powerful, almighty God, we will know that He can identify with us. Jesus was saddened to tears when His friend Lazarus died, don’t you know that He also feels our pain when we hurt so badly at times because of life’s circumstances? For those of us who have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior, may I remind you that we have a definite hope dear friend? We have a Savior, who not only hears our cries, but has already prepared a place for us in Heaven where we will spend eternity with He and His/our Father! This is exciting, and fills my heart with hope, especially as I deal with so many of life’s circumstances each day. For those who have not surrendered your life to Jesus yet, may I suggest that there is nothing to compare to the hope and joy of knowing Jesus. It’s like looking forward to the end of the day knowing that you have a peaceful home to go to with a loving spouse who awaits you! Jesus is ready to welcome you home friend, but you must make the first move in the ‘free-will’ given to you over your life by God. May I encourage you to take advantage of the day and hour in which you might read this reminder? Jesus tells us in His Word that “Today is the accepted day”. Won’t you be obedient to His call?

PRAYER: Father, there are many days when life here on earth seems so hopeless to many of Your children. May this be a reminder today that because of Your love for us, You have made every provision for our future. May the unsaved be reminded that this is not an automatic protection for every person, but rather for those who would like to see a brighter future and have accepted Your offer of salvation – the only means for us to enter an eternal future in heaven with You. Thank You for coming to earth to better identify with our challenges. May this serve to help unbelievers more openly share their heart with You and accept the love that You offer. With a heart of thanksgiving and love, I want to thank You Lord for hearing my prayer, for I ask this in and through the strong name of Jesus, the name above all other names, AMEN!

Dealing With Sin

On 2015-09-252015-09-25 By Ed AlgreenIn Envy, Forgiveness, Jealousy, SinLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The New Living Translation – Genesis 27:26-28): ²⁶ Judah said to his brothers, “What will we gain by killing our brother? We’d have to cover up the crime. ²⁷ Instead of hurting him, let’s sell him to those Ishmaelite traders. After all, he is our brother—our own flesh and blood!” And his brothers agreed. ²⁸ So when the Ishmaelites, who were Midianite traders, came by, Joseph’s brothers pulled him out of the cistern and sold him to them for twenty pieces of silver. And the traders took him to Egypt.

THOUGHTS: Sometimes the best way to understand how to properly deal with an issue is to look at situations where a similar instance was not handled properly, or as in the case today, where the corrective actions led to even more sin. The first sin that I see evident in the case of Joseph’s brothers is jealousy. They were at a stage of hatred for Joseph, because of the love shown towards him by their father. Had they taken time to deal with that sin, I believe the chances of the additional sinful actions may not have transpired. However, because they didn’t take care of the jealousy problem the following additional sin occurred:

They would not talk to their brother – an obvious sign of jealousy and hatred;
They jumped to conclusions about his dreams that only developed more envy and hatred;
They opted to kill their brother when he was sent to the field by his dad, to check on them;
They chose to override the last sin by what they thought may have been a lesser sin, they chose to desert Joseph in a pit in the wilderness so he could, supposedly, die naturally;
Because the last thought would still involve them placing hands on Joseph and deliberately throwing him into the pit, they opted instead to sell him to traders. Human Trafficking today is a horrific crime getting more attend than terrorism. It was no better back when Joseph was sold, as there were no assurances as to what would happen to him after being under the control of his new masters.

Friends, are we any different today? God’s Word teaches us to bring our burdens and our concerns to Him. It also teaches that we are to love others as we love ourselves and that vengeance is mine (the Lord’s), so why would we take it as our job to bring vengeance on that friend who is not acting like we think they should. Our responsibility is to love them with the love of God and earnestly pray for their best interest and their personal relationship with God. As Christians, we are to imitate Christ. So how did He act when we sinned? He loved us enough that He willingly went to the cross of Calvary to open the gates of heaven for us. Because of His sacrifice for us – while we were still steeped in sin, we now have access to the forgiveness of our sin and a straight path to glory to be with Jesus and His/our Father.

PRAYER: Thank You for giving us options dear God. Thank You also for giving us wisdom, and access to You, so that we would make the best choices in the options presented to us each day. It is unfortunate that our natural desire tends to automatically lead us to revenge, or deeper and/or additional sin. Please provoke us to once again praise You today for being our guide and our deliverer from the evil one, and instead lead us in the paths of righteousness, when we place our faith and trust in You. Lord, we read about the actions that Joseph’s brothers took, and we quiver over the fact that they were so cruel. However, I believe that You must also look at us, your proclaimed children who have surrendered our lives to You, yet we often act in much the same way towards our Brothers and our Sisters. Please forgive us oh Lord, and renew within us a right spirit – one that aligns with Your Word, and Your life as demonstrated while here on earth. I believe that Christians living any other way than matching Your expectations are useless to Your kingdom. May we be true to You in every way and live lives pleasing to You in every way, is my humble prayer that I ask in the name of Jesus, AMEN!

THE Most Important Things

On 2015-09-192015-09-19 By Ed AlgreenIn Commandments, Important, PrioritiesLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Matthew 22:36-40): ³⁶ “Teacher, what is the most important commandment in the Law?” ³⁷ Jesus answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. ³⁸ This is the first and most important commandment. ³⁹The second most important commandment is like this one. And it is, “Love others as much as you love yourself.” ⁴⁰ All the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets are based on these two commandments.

THOUGHTS: In our fast-paced world today, I believe most of us like to set our priorities for the day so that we could make sure we don’t get side-tracked with all the other things that will be sure to bombard us and try to win our attention. Furthermore, we tend to try very hard to accomplish our top priority items more than anything else for that day. I believe that is good reason why this passage of scripture should be very important to us. Jesus knew that He and His Father had given us many commands over time, but here He chose to show us what constituted a priority for us. In fact, He teaches that these two particular commands will help us ensure that we are following all of the other commands given to us over time. Let us therefore examine these two carefully:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind – Love comes from the heart, so to love the Lord with all of our heart means that we must love Him with all that we are. Also, that all other things, or people, that attract our love is below the level of love that we have for the Father. In fact, Jesus goes on to say that we must love Him from the very depths of our soul – our very inmost being. And from our mind – in other words, be thinking of ways to love Him more or ways to love Him better than anything else.
Love others as much as we love ourselves – It is very natural for us to love ourselves. Often this love is corrupt, and often leads to our greatest sins (envy, boasting, jealousy, etc). However, there is also a sincere self-love that is expected, because of the mere fact that God made us in His own image, and He loved us enough that He sacrificed His only Son to make us right with Himself. So if He loves us that much, ought we not to also love our own selves? Of course we do, but Jesus is teaching here that with that same love, we are to also and always love others. In other words, love them because you recognize that God loves them in the same way that He loves you.

Isn’t it interesting that God added at the end of this revelation, that if we concentrate on these two important things, that we will master all other commands? I thought yes, I can see that, because I wouldn’t dare consider lying, or stealing, or murdering, or being envious, or any other wrongful act against God or against anyone else that I love as much as I love myself. So friends, I believe it all boils down to these two things, just as Jesus taught us. Can we put these at the top of our daily prayer list, and at the top of our to-do list, and at the very top of our personal priorities? If you are one to place stickers around the house filled with very important reminders, then these two priorities should probably be at the header and footer of each of those notes, so that you will be reminded of the most important things, before looking at the item you want to accomplish in addition to these. Can we do this? Can we do it on our own? Why would we try, when we have been promised that God is always there to help us achieve the desires of our heart? Lean on Him friend, and let Him be your guide and your help, especially with these things that He told us are key commands that He wants us to do.

PRAYER: Father please forgive us for being so anxious to set our daily priorities, with so little attention to Your priorities You taught to us. I know that You are Master, Creator, Almighty God, and Love in its truest form, so there is every reason for me to be obedient to Your teaching, knowing that You have my best interest at heart. Please help Your children who might meditate on this devotional today, and myself, to put our selfish desires aside and dedicate ourselves to following Your commands, especially Your two primary commands taught in this lesson. May we love You, and those that we come into contact with today, with the love that You have shown towards us. For I ask these things in the precious and holy name of Jesus, my Savior, with thanksgiving, AMEN!

A ‘Memorial’

On 2015-09-182015-09-18 By Ed AlgreenIn Encounter with God, MemorialLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The New Living Translation – Genesis 28:16-18): ¹⁶ Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I wasn’t even aware of it!” ¹⁷ But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!” ¹⁸ The next morning Jacob got up very early. He took the stone he had rested his head against, and he set it upright as a memorial pillar. Then he poured olive oil over it.

THOUGHTS: There are places today that bear as part of its name ‘Memorial’. Generally these are places named after someone important to the work that took place in or near that building, or perhaps the person who may have contributed financially to the construction of the building and/or memorial. I want to encourage you to read the chosen few verses again, especially with the thought of the ‘Memorial’ that Jacob erected. Now I want you to reflect on any memorial you may have erected either for yourself or for the benefit of others. I bet your next question is: “but why would I erect a ‘Memorial’ for myself?” Friends, I believe that when we have a special encounter with God, we want to always remember that. We will want to always revisit that place, reflect on the moment and pray that God might ‘do it again’! I believe that another reason for such a ‘Memorial’ is that it becomes a tool that you can use in battle against Satan. Think about the times that he has battled with you about your faith, or your relationship with God, or your prayer life, or your lack of praise to your heavenly Father. Don’t you know that you will put Satan in his place when you take him to the place, and tell him of the moment you spent with God and the awesomeness of the moment you spent at that very spot? Friends, Satan will look for every moment to questions you and cause you to doubt. Are you ready to go to battle? Unfortunately he will not settle for the ‘coined phrase’ that we give our kids “because I said so”. Satan will need to be shown that greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world. Taken to the specific place and told of a specific time, will be convincing evidence that something occurred in our life. May I encourage you to be ready for the moment? Let nothing come between you and your heavenly Father. Memorialize the time and place where you encountered God – where He saved you; where He healed you; where He spoke wisdom to you about saving your marriage or your family. Put Satan in his place, and yes, also put God in His place in your life. Let it be evident in everything you say and do.

PRAYER: Father, this might be scary to the non-Christian who might be considering surrendering their life to You, because they will be aware that even to Christians deal with temptation and Satan’s tricks and distractions. But I pray that You will use these words to help give them a good footing to stand on, so that they can stand firm against the enemy. So many believers turn away from their commitment to You because of the ongoing battles with Satan. Please help us to stay ‘connected’ with You through prayer, Bible study, personal devotional time with You and fellowship with other believers – our support system. Please help us to not ‘brush off’ our times of encounter with the King of this universe, but help us build a memorial, much that Jacob did, as a landmark of our God encounter. Help us to not only praise You for these moments, but share these encounters with others so that they too might be encouraged to keep the faith. Friends and family that see Jesus in us, might be more apt to want to know our Jesus. May our hearts be so connected with You that we will always do a convincing job! I ask these things in the strong name of Jesus, my Lord, with thanksgiving, AMEN!

Needs Through God’s Eyes

On 2015-09-172015-09-17 By Ed AlgreenIn Mercy, Recognize Needs, SensitiveLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Living Translation – Matthew 20:29-32): ²⁹ As Jesus and the disciples left the town of Jericho, a large crowd followed behind. ³⁰ Two blind men were sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was coming that way, they began shouting, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!” 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?”

THOUGHTS: We may never care to acknowledge this, but in spite of us being one of the smartest generations that ever lived, yet we are so desensitized to the needs of mankind. Unfortunately, probably more desensitized than ever before. Let’s look at the scenario in our scripture reading. Here are two blind men who had hoped that if they could get Jesus’ attention, perhaps they too might stand a chance of being healed, especially in light of all the other miracles they had heard about. Notice though how the crowds looked at these men from the lens of mankind, you know, where we tend to think that we are way too busy to attend to such lowly needs. After all who ever heard about a blind man receiving back his sight. I believe that the Holy Spirit spoke to me through this and challenged me to think about those that I might brush over during my daily path thinking that surely they don’t stand a chance of getting the Master’s attention, or His healing, from those kinds of issues. You know the kind that we have placed inside a box of impossibility. These blind men were rejected by society, as there is no indication that the crowd tried to help them in any way to achieve the position they desired that would place them in the path of Jesus. I believe that we are so afraid of being taken advantage of, or begged for something that we feel we have worked for, earned, or just deserve, that we stay clear of people who seem needy. In fact, we tend to take on the role of God and decide whether they deserve help or not. It made me think of our churches. How often do we pass over ordinary folk looking for a church where they would be accepted – a place with ‘real’ people who remind them of what they consider to be Christians? Ever stopped to think that one of them could be Jesus himself stopping in to check us out and see how receptive we would be to Him being in our midst, or to see how welcoming we would be to that Brother who looks slightly different to us. The disciples brushed away the children who tried to get to Jesus, and now the crowd was trying to silence these blind men who were also trying to draw close to Jesus. What are we guilty of? Another sermon in this passage of scripture is the phrase I bolded. These men were blind, and I’m sure this would have been obvious, yet Jesus asked what could He do for them! We must be careful to not assume anything about a cripple entering our churches. They may need Jesus in their heart a whole lot more than restored strength, or healing, in their legs. A clean heart filled with Jesus will get you into heaven, while two good legs won’t, if your heart has not been restored and filled with the cleansing power of Jesus Christ. Let’s learn to be discerning Christians who care about the things that Jesus cares about. To the unbeliever, may I encourage you to not give up on Christianity because of imperfect Christians? Learn to look to Jesus, for He cares for You. If He can use an earthly servant to help you – fantastic! But please don’t allow Satan to use an imperfect example to destroy your joy and your chance to life eternal with the Master of this universe.

PRAYER: Father God, You are awesome beyond anything we deserve, or that we can even imagine. Thank You for looking beyond our faults and seeing our need for You. Thank you for placing opportunities in our path of life to open our eyes and challenge us to a closer and more intimate walk with You. Lord, may our eyes be opened to the needs around us today? May we not be so distracted by sin that we miss opportunities to listen and to share Your love with those that we come into contact with? Please touch the hearts of those that need You today. May they find You, in spite of the mess ups of those who claim You as Lord. Please have Your will and way in our lives today, and especially in the lives of those who need to accept You as Lord. I ask these things in the precious and all powerful name of Jesus, AMEN!

Nuggets From God's Word

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