Tag: master

From The Heart The Mouth Speaks

On By Ed AlgreenIn Heart, Honesty, WorshipLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Matthew 15:17-20): 17 Don’t you know that the food you put into your mouth goes into your stomach and then out of your body? 18 But the words that come out of your mouth come from your heart. And they are what make you unfit to worship God. 19 Out of your heart come evil thoughts, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, vulgar deeds, stealing, telling lies, and insulting others. 20 These are what make you unclean. Eating without washing your hands will not make you unfit to worship God.

THOUGHTS: Reading the earlier part of this chapter we may tend to condemn the Pharisees for complaining to Jesus about others who chose to eat things they would not dare eat. However, Jesus soon came back at them with the issues they themselves were struggling with. Isn’t that much like us today, where we easily see the fault in others but struggle to acknowledge that we have issues of our own, and/or concede to actually deal with our issues? Jesus really got to the heart, for He reminded the Pharisees, as He does to us, that regardless of the ancillary things that we might do, it’s the intent of the heart and the content of the heart that really matters. Think about it, we might say that we are going to a worship service, and we might even jump in our car and go to the place of corporate worship and go inside the sanctuary, but if the heart is wicked, if it’s filled with evil thoughts, if it’s burning with jealousy or enmity towards our family or friends or coworkers or the preacher or another church member, what type of worship might we possibly offer to God? It just won’t happen friends. Satan might try every trick in the book to trip us up during the week, but if he succeeds in distracting our relationship with God, or breaking down our Godly character before those we love, or cause us to say just about anything that could blurt from our mouths without any respect or love for the individual we are communicating with, then obviously our hearts are more occupied with the things of Satan than of the things of God. Friends, if our hearts belong to God, then we must do everything within our will to keep it filled with the things of God. When we don’t, we leave room for it to become filled with the things of this world (Satan’s playground). I believe a good end of day exercise for all of us would be to seek God’s face and His wisdom to help us reflect on our day and honestly evaluate if our actions and/or our words emanated from a heart filled with God, or of Satan. The Bible teaches us what things God approves of, so this will be an easier task than it may appear to be. Let’s be sure that our hearts are filled with God each day so that our words and our actions will reflect Jesus in every way. To the one reading this who may not have accepted Jesus as Lord, please allow me to lovingly and respectfully tell you that Jesus cannot exist where sin resides, so don’t expect Him to fill your heart until you have invited Him to be Lord of Your heart. Notes in my ‘Footnote’ will help you in making the most important decision of your life. Please allow me to help you find Jesus, the only One who can help you turn your life around and surrender full control to Him.

PRAYER: People all around us need You, oh Lord. But they are extremely challenged to seek You when they don’t see the impact You are making in the lives of Your children. Please help us to be more committed, dedicated and willing to give full control of our heart, mind and soul to You, so that we may become usable vessels that You can work through to reach the lost. They don’t need another fake, they need to see honest and true images of Jesus Christ in everything that we say and/or do. You’re the only One that can help us achieve that oh Lord. Please help us to be willing servants that can be impacted and used by You. I ask these things in the precious and all-powerful 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!

Meeting The Needs of Others

On By Ed AlgreenIn Blessings, Feed them, Needs, ShareLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Living Translation – Matthew 14:13-16): 13 As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. 14 Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 That evening the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them.”

THOUGHTS: One might look at this passage and see where the disciples were ready for some one-on-one time with Jesus. But since that was almost impossible with over 5,000 people hanging around, the disciples suggested to Jesus that they would send them on their way so they could take care of their physical needs. So from man’s eyes this appeared to be a great responsibility that was way beyond them. Now I realize that the disciples could have been looking out for Jesus’ best interest emotionally also, because He was visibly upset over just learning of the death of His friend, John the Baptist, but I also can’t help but believe that the disciples also needed some time alone with Jesus. This kind of made me think about the times that we close the doors to the world and get in our comfortable church buildings to soak in the blessings of God for ourselves. We need that ‘refueling’ time. We need to saturate ourselves in the love and warmth of our Savior so that our ministry, or our evangelizing ‘tanks’ might be refilled and re-energized. This is all well and good friends, but how often do we leave our respective churches on fire for the Lord, and head out of the doors to the world with a deep, burning desire to share the love of God, that we were just reminded of? You see, the crowds will press in on us to gain an understanding of why we might be different. Scripture tells us that we should be ready to give an account, and share the joy and source of our happiness and our salvation. I believe that in much the same way that Jesus told His disciples to feed the crowd, He is also telling us to feed His sheep. Don’t push them away so that we can go to ‘soak and sour’, but share His love as we know it! Show His kindness as we have experienced it! And most of all, be ready at all times to give account for the joy that fills our hearts in knowing Jesus Christ, the Master of this universe, in a personal way. These are things that the world is badly in need of today among the pressures of unemployment, declining stock markets, increasing consumer costs, etc. The world needs Jesus, and we are His ambassadors to spread the good news. How will they know, unless we tell them? Friends, for the ongoing benefit of the kingdom, consider committing to share all that you have been blessed with spiritually!

PRAYER: Thank You Lord for Your blessings on me! Thank You Savior for Your amazing, unselfish sacrifice made just for me! Thank You Jesus for the amazing power and influence You have given to Your children to be instruments of Your love and a reflection of Your precious sacrifice. Oh that we may be open channels of Your amazing grace, to all that we come into contact with, and to all where a need becomes evident to us. Jesus blessed over 5,000 through the hands of His disciples, and I am sure that He can also meet the needs of many through us as we surrender our selfish selves to the awesome and miraculous power of the Almighty God. Oh Lord, may we let go and let God, and may Your power become very evident today because of our surrender. These are my wishes Lord, but may Your perfect will be done. For I ask these things in the wonderful name of Jesus, my loving Savior and Lord, 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!

Permission Granted To Enter

On By Ed AlgreenIn Lamb's Book of Life, Salvation, Saved, WorthyLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Revelation 21:27): 27 But nothing unworthy will be allowed to enter. No one who is dirty-minded or who tells lies will be there. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will be in the city.

THOUGHTS: I recently took an international trip. Because I was leaving my country of citizenship, I needed proof to show the authorities of the visiting country that I was who I said I was. They saw from my passport that I was a legal person in my home country, now they had to decide if they felt OK about letting me into their country. They were not at all interested in allowing a ‘bad’ person into their country. In fact, most immigration officers would check to make sure that I was not on a ‘bad’ list of persons that should not be allowed entry. In every case, it is highly advised that you never attempt to enter another country unprepared, otherwise they will use their option to decline you entrance into their country. In our scripture today John is sharing with us what we might expect when we make our final crossing – the one from planet earth to our final destination. I will point to the very last sentence in our scripture today, where we are told that only those whose names are in the book of life will be allowed into heaven. Friends, you will recall from many earlier devotionals where we discussed such things as salvation, redemption, a loving Savior, a sacrificial death for the forgiveness of our sin, only one way, and many other like phrases and or studies to help remind ourselves of the need, and the only way of preparing ourselves for acceptance into God’s heaven. In my above travel story, notice that I had to ask for permission to enter the foreign country. Notice that based on my past behavior, they opted to allow me entrance. Notice that John is given a very similar scenario in this verse. You must have accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, and therefore gotten your name into the Lamb’s book of life. However, this is not like an airline ticket that you purchase, and then live any way you want until the day of your trip. For we are told that nothing unworthy, no dirty-minded person, nor liars would be permitted there. In other words, if you have accepted Jesus and lived your life like He personally demonstrated, and as explained through His biblical saints, then chances are that you are who you say you are. Although I sincerely hope that none of you reading this devotional would ignore the warnings here, I want to be sure and remind you that failure to be accepted in heaven automatically directs you to hell. There are only two destinations. Hell is the Lake of fire that we talked about yesterday, so I sincerely pray that you have either made your travel preparations for heaven already, or that God will melt your hardened hearts today so that you might seek the face of Jesus and His righteousness, and invite Him into your heart and life. This is the only means into heaven. I want to see you there friend, please don’t disappoint me!

PRAYER: Thank You Father for the reminder of what we must do today to prepare for our final crossing of the border between our current home and the next. For those of us that know You, our minds are fixed on heaven and our celebratory time we will enjoy worshiping at Your feet. However this scripture has reminded us that for those who are not prepared for heaven, they are destined for hell – a place of eternal torment. The main reason we live today Lord, is to evangelize and encourage those that have not made a decision yet to accept You as Lord and Savior. May this be a day that your saints will be energized to share, to encourage and to live life as a full demonstration of God’s love for us, so that our family, friends and coworkers might see the results of Your grace in our lives. We long to be with You oh Lord. Please make our waiting time here worthwhile by using us to touch the lives of those needing You. I ask all this in the strong name of Jesus, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

The Consequences of Disobedience

On By Ed AlgreenIn Forgiveness, Obedience, SurrenderLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – Zechariah 7:9-14): 9-10 Well, the message hasn’t changed. God-of-the-Angel-Armies said then and says now: “‘treat one another justly. Love your neighbors. Be compassionate with each other. Don’t take advantage of widows, orphans, visitors, and the poor. Don’t plot and scheme against one another—that’s evil.’ 11–13 “But did your ancestors listen? No, they set their jaws in defiance. They shut their ears. They steeled themselves against God’s revelation and the Spirit-filled sermons preached by the earlier prophets by order of God-of-the-Angel-Armies. And God became angry, really angry, because he told them everything plainly and they wouldn’t listen to a word he said. 13–14 “So [this is what God-of-the-Angel-Armies said] if they won’t listen to me, I won’t listen to them. I scattered them to the four winds. They ended up strangers wherever they were.

THOUGHTS: I am fascinated how history repeats itself in spite of the lessons we should learn from our past. Much like Zechariah did when sharing the visions he was blessed with from God, our pastors today dig into God’s Word seeking what God might reveal to them that would bless and/or convict their church members. They share with us the consequences of disobedience by our ancestors, hoping that we would see the error of our ways, turn from our sin and obey God without the need for further consequences for us. A few sins were mentioned in verses 9 and 10, and not only do we still see these unfortunate sins recurring today, but they were also concerns mentioned in the New Testament. Several translations used the same verbiage in verse 11 that indicates to me that it is of grave concern to our Master. I believe that it truly concerns Him when He sees us plot and scheme against one another. When we look for ways to hurt one another. He announces this as pure evil and I believe this is something that we must not only be on guard for personally, but also look for ways to help each other fight against this awful sin. Let’s learn to pray for each other, that we would see the good in fellow humans and learn to celebrate it. Let us learn to pray for the parts of life where others find it challenging to do it just like Jesus would have done it, or perhaps expects of us. I believe the biggest thing that got my attention in these verses today, is the consequences of disobedience. The Word says “if we don’t listen to/obey God, He won’t listen to us” Oh my, oh my! Do you suppose that this is the reason we feel like we are hitting brick walls with our prayers, or feeling ignored by God? There’s an old spiritual that I learned later in life that I am reminded of as I meditated on these words today: “It’s me, it’s me oh Lord, Standing in the need of prayer“, it’s not my brother or my sister that I need to be most concerned about, but I need to get my act together first and take care of my personal cleansing before God first, before attempting to help a brother or sister where I easily see glaringly obvious sin. I don’t know about you friend, but I need God to listen to me, so it is imperative that I listen to Him and obey Him. Will you commit to doing the same? It is so critical that we have believers who are actually getting through to God with our needs and concerns. Let’s do our part in being obedient.

PRAYER: Dear God, please forgive us for so easily attempting to do Your job by zoning in on the wrongs of others, while overlooking the sin in our own lives. “It’s me, it’s me oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer – not my brother or my sister, but me….” I need thee every hour of every day, for in my own strength I cannot overcome the evil pull of this life. Please touch the lives of each one that will read this devotional. Please impact their lives with a desire to surrender full control of their lives to You so that we all may be usable instruments for Your kingdom work here on this earth. I humbly ask these things in the wonderful, and strong name of Jesus, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

The Best Employees

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christian Principles, Honesty, WorkplaceLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Easy-To-Read Version – Colossians 3:22-24): 22 Servants, obey your masters in everything. Obey all the time, even when they can’t see you. Don’t just pretend to work hard so that they will treat you well. No, you must serve your masters honestly because you respect the Lord.23 In all the work you are given, do the best you can. Work as though you are working for the Lord, not any earthly master. 24 Remember that you will receive your reward from the Lord, who will give you what he promised his people. Yes, you are serving Christ. He is your real Master.

THOUGHTS: In searching for the best employees for their place of business, most employers will look for the same principles that the Christian upholds in being a person of the Word and a child of the King. In being the best employee possible, Christians/we are to first follow the principles taught to us by our King in His holy Word. We are to recognize that even though we can get away with certain things because our earthly bosses may not be able to track our locations and/or our work every minute of every day, yet we serve a God who can. If we were living according to ‘code’, and I’m talking about the code set out for us in God’s Word, then I believe that employers will be fighting for their Human Resources folk to hire staff with such high moral and ethical principles. So for those reading this devotional who may not identify with what I am referring to, let me give you just a couple principles that you should find in Christian workers: 1). There should be no worries about stealing, because we are taught by God that we are not to take something that belongs to another person without them offering it to us. Now this will pertain to physical things and such things as time – for if we are expected to work 8 hours per day, our employer should never have to check on us to see if we are giving them an honest 8 hours of work; 2). Honesty – some of this would be reflected in #1, but this characteristic also extends into trusting what we say and what we do. There should never be any doubt as to whether we are totally sincere in what we do or say, that we have the best interest of God at heart and our employer and his/her business. Now, will every Christian be perfect at these things and others that you might relate to the teachings of God’s Word? Probably not perfect, because the only perfect one is Jesus. However, should you recognize imperfection in the character of those claiming Christ as their Savior, may I encourage you to bring this to their attention? Satan has a way of working on Christians hard enough that he tries to make them feel like their wrongs become right if left unchecked long enough. You will help them return to the cross and seek God’s forgiveness for straying from His ideals. Christians, we work as for the Lord, let us be counted worthy by Him in all that we do and say – especially on our jobs.

PRAYER: As representatives of Yours, Oh God, we have our banner of expectations lifted high and we must live our lives pleasing to You not only at church, not only in the presence of other Christians, not only before our employers who might expect us to live differently, but especially before the lost world that we interface with every day, for they are looking to see what is different about us and what impact our proclaimed Savior is having on our lives that might be different to theirs. We don’t want to be hypocritical, but rather totally honest in our dealings with others. Because we know that Satan is rampant and will make every effort to distract us and have us look and live like his, then we must be all the more earnest in seeking Your strength, Your power and Your daily direction to look, live and act like children of God. Please especially help us to be great representatives in our workplace so that our bosses might recognize the differences and rejoice in the difference our God makes in the lives of His children. We need You dear Father to be our constant guide, our reminder and the means by which we can live differently – pleasing to You. I ask all this in the precious name of Jesus, and with thanksgiving and praise, 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!

Can We Still Praise Him?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Always There, CircumstancesLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Century Version – Habakkuk 3:17-19): 17 Fig trees may not grow figs, and there may be no grapes on the vines. There may be no olives growing and no food growing in the fields. There may be no sheep in the pens and no cattle in the barns. 18 But I will still be glad in the Lord; I will rejoice in God my Savior. 19 The Lord God is my strength. He makes me like a deer that does not stumble so I can walk on the steep mountains.

THOUGHTS: How often do we allow the trials of this world to interfere with our worship to our awesome God? That’s right folk, God is still awesome – in spite of what we may have brought on ourselves, or the repercussions of our sin. After all, did He cancel the debt He paid for us on the cross, suddenly couldn’t care less about a situation, and allowed Satan a foothold in our lives? Did God not protect us during a time that we felt like our world was coming to an end – perhaps the loss of a loved one, or a favorite vehicle or even our home? Why then do we first lash out on God for not saving the day for us? He’s still God friend! He still cares for us and would surrender to the cross of Calvary all over again if He felt like it would make a difference for us. In this scripture today, we see where the prophet had lots of reasons to turn away (in verse 17), get in some corner and just feel sorry for himself. In fact some would even have cursed God if they had as much going on as indicated in verse 17. However, in verse 18 we see where Habakkuk proclaimed that in spite of all that was evident around him, he still had a God to praise and nothing would take away his joy in the Lord. For just like us today, the Lord God was his strength – as He is ours today. God gave His prophet a strong footing to see him through challenging times, and I am reassured that He does the same for us today! So friends, can we take the blinders off and not just look at the circumstances that Satan may have pushed in front of us to distract us, but can we widen the scope and also see the amazing blessings that God showers on us every day? Perhaps then we can say like the prophet, “I too will rejoice in God my Savior”! Unbelievers need to see this quality in us friends, for they need to be convinced that this Savior we proclaim, is actually there for us through the good times, but also through the challenging times of our lives.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for being our God every day and in every circumstance. Please help us to understand and be constantly reminded that You are always there for us. Your love for us is way beyond anything we could comprehend, so of course there are things that occur in our lives that we just don’t understand why. Please help us to not just praise You when all is bright and sunny, but also when things seem very dismal for us, for You are with us ALWAYS, You love us ALWAYS and You are ALWAYS looking out for our best interest. You are amazing and such an awesome God! Thank You for being my Savior and Lord. Please encourage those readers who may not feel ‘on top of the world’ today because life circumstances are not where they feel they should be. Please draw them especially close to Your side, shower them with Your love and show them that You care for them and their circumstances. I ask all this in the awesome name of Jesus, Messiah, my Savior and Friend, 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!

Who Is In Charge?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Power, SurrenderLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Easy-to-Read Version – Romans 6:12-14): 12 But don’t let sin control your life here on earth. You must not be ruled by the things your sinful self makes you want to do. 13 Don’t offer the parts of your body to serve sin. Don’t use your bodies to do evil, but offer yourselves to God, as people who have died and now live. Offer the parts of your body to God to be used for doing good. 14 Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law. You now live under God’s grace.

THOUGHTS: I believe that the subject question is often asked in life, and quite often it is asked of married couples. I would like to challenge us to think about this question on a more regular basis – to help us evaluate whether we have given full control of our life to God, or whether we still allow sin to filtrate and wrongly impact our lives. I believe it would be a challenging exercise for us to reflect on our day and evaluate whether our actions and our words were God-inspired or sinful. In fact, won’t it be challenging for us to write down throughout our day each of our actions and the overall theme of our conversations, then at the end of the day place an indicator beside each whether it was of God – remembering that if it wasn’t then it could very well have been of our ‘old sinful self’? As Christians, we are to surrender our lives to Christ, and strive to be more like Him in every way. A life not fully surrendered will easily follow what it was – its old sinful self. I believe that since our natural life is swayed so heavily by sin, that the Christian life is a very intentional and surrendered life. We must surrender our own sinful self-will and allow God to take control. It is only then that we will allow Him to be our Master, and to guide us and use us in ways that will be pleasing and honoring to Him. God has ultimate power over every aspect of our lives, including sin, however He will not overstep our personal will and desire. I believe that it is critical for us to quickly recognize when sin is controlling us and even more critical for us to quickly approach the throne and ask God to assume, or resume control of our lives and be our Master and Lord. A fully surrendered life is one that God desires of us – are you there yet?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for being such a strong and awesome God. Thank You for teaching us how to identify sin and how to seek Your help in overcoming and/or avoiding sin. It is so critical that You assume full control of our lives, otherwise we quickly fall back into a life of sin. As Christians, You have already rescued us from that life, so please patiently work on us to fully surrender ourselves to You and to wait on You as You mold us and use us for Your glory. Please give us wisdom and strength to stay focused on You and to stay clear of the sin that once held us captive. For those who have not accepted You as Lord, I pray that again today You might soften their hearts and show them Your power. Only You have the power to help us overcome sin and stay focused on You. We want to do just that today Father, but we can only do that through Your strength and with Your direction and power. All this I ask in the precious name of Jesus, Your Son and my Savior, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to 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!

Get Rid of Idols

On By Ed AlgreenIn Forgiveness, Idols, SinLeave a comment

The Holy Bible  (The Contemporary English Version – Jeremiah 4:1-3): The Lord said: Israel, if you really want to come back to me, get rid of those disgusting idols.     2 Make promises only in my name, and do what you promise! Then all nations will praise me, and I will bless them. 3 People of Jerusalem and Judah, don’t be so stubborn! Your hearts have become hard, like unplowed ground where thornbushes grow.

Thoughts:  While I believe there was a lot of value in these verses for Israel and the people of Jerusalem and Judah, I also believe that this passage of scripture was included in God’s Word to us for self-application also. Let me explain, I believe that God spoke to me as I read this, and had me substitute ‘Israel’ with the family and friends that I am praying for. At times when I feel distant from God, I believe that this passage also applies to me. Friends, I want you to read this carefully to make sure that you too understand that when God seems far away from you, examine your lives and see what idols (priorities; things) have you allowed to step in the way of your open communication and dependence on God. The kinds of things that get in our way might be:

  • Work – for we can become so absorbed in our job that we have no quality time to spend with God;
  • Church – yes, even church. We can become a slave to the work of the church and exclude our study and worship time with the Lord, for whom we are presumably working;
  • Family – even though this item is of super importance, if we’re not careful Satan can use this as a tool to keep us away from God. Let’s learn to take our family to church, instead of feeling an obligation to spend quality time with them on our Sabbath. After all, we had other opportunities during the week to spend time with them, but with Satan’s help chose not to. Men/dads this is our responsibility as God’s leader in our homes;
  • Activities – we all know that the beach is always better on our Sabbath day than any other day of the week, right? But does it fit with God’s command of what we should be doing on our Sabbath?!!;
  • Sports – why would we consider giving our time to sports on our Sabbath day rather than assembling ourselves together to worship God and to encourage one another?;
  • Weariness – the toils of the week have left us so worn out that giving one hour of our time to refuel spiritually, and to give God thanks for our jobs, and the good health to do our jobs, seems to be challenging for us – at least until we lose our job or some other crisis comes up, right?;

Friends, I’m not judging, for that is God’s job. I merely listed a few things that may cause us to think about the possible idols that stand in our way of communion with God. May I encourage you to examine your own life and see if there is anything that distracts you in your walk with the Lord? Be honest with God as you consider this, for He knows your heart and your very circumstances, and He is willing to help you tear down those idols, so that you may be drawn closer to Him. Remember, sin must be put away out of the heart, else it is not put away out of God’s sight, for the heart is open before Him. The good news with this whole thing is that others will follow us, and God will bless us! Read verse 2 again! Imagine, your actions might actually revolutionize your world!!

Prayer:  Father, You know our hearts and You know our thoughts and our schemes. It is so unfortunate that in spite of Your goodness to us, we allow Satan to feed our thoughts, that often leads us to scheme and find reasons to not find time in the Word, in prayer and even church attendance. Please forgive us for our ingratitude and our unfaithfulness. You sacrificed Your very Son for our salvation, yet we find it challenging to make time to spend with You and/or Your people in corporate worship. Often this is just not a priority in our lives. Please forgive me oh Lord. Please touch the hearts of Your children who will read this devotional today, may they also be made aware of ‘idols’ that have become obstacles in their walk with You. Lord Jesus, we respect You and all that You stand for, however if we are to be true and honest representatives of Yours, we too must be living, walking and talking as You. We can only do this with Your help, direction and wisdom oh Lord, and we humbly seek that today. For this is my humble and gracious plea before You oh God, in the name of Your Son 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 contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

How To Handle Life Challenges

On By Ed AlgreenIn FaithLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (Good News Translation – Isaiah 37:16-17): 16 “Almighty Lord, God of Israel, enthroned above the winged creatures, you alone are God, ruling all the kingdoms of the world. You created the earth and the sky. 17Now, Lord, hear us and look at what is happening to us. Listen to all the things that Sennacherib is saying to insult you, the living God.

(Contemporary English Version – Isaiah 37:18-20) 18 It is true, our Lord, that Assyrian kings have turned nations into deserts. 19 They destroyed the idols of wood and stone that the people of those nations had made and worshiped. 20 But you are our Lord and our God! We ask you to keep us safe from the Assyrian king. Then everyone in every kingdom on earth will know that you are the only Lord.

Thoughts: So many times we are faced with circumstances where we realize that we have allowed our walk with the Lord to fall into second place. Notice that I said ‘we’ allow, instead of indicating that God leaves us and moves on. Friends, I believe that when we sense a distance between God and us, we needn’t wonder whose fault it is, for our God is always the same – He loves us, cares for us and will remain with us to the very end. Way too often we beat up on ourselves so badly that we convince ourselves that there is no way that God could love us in our sorry state. I’m here to tell you that anytime you sense a distance between you and God, please search your heart and His will for what He would have you do. Notice in verse 16 that King Hezekiah recognized God for who He is – ‘You alone are God’. That’s a very powerful acknowledgment that each of us must recognize, especially when we are feeling isolated, alone and powerless. However, it will be challenging for you to recognize this fact when you’re in need, if you didn’t also acknowledge Him as God when everything was going well for you. The way that God got my attention in the second set of verses is that the king acknowledged that in spite of the overwhelming circumstances, he knew that the balance (final say) remained in God’s hands. Friends, this is an awful lot like us when we face very challenging circumstances, for in faith we must say that: in spite of what the doctors say, or in spite of what my check book says, or in spite of all odds ‘You are our Lord and our God’ and it is in You that I place my faith, believing that all things work for best, for those who love and serve God! King Hezekiah went before God in great confidence. We serve the sane God and we can go before Him in the same faith and confidence that the king did! Anything stopping you friend?

Prayer: Dear Jesus, we are weak, but You are so strong. Please help me/us to place our faith and trust totally in Your hands and depend on You in every walk of life and through every circumstance, especially those times when we realize that things are way out of our hands and/or abilities. As indicated above, I realize that such trust can only be achieved through our faith in You during the ‘good’ times also, for if we only come to You in trouble, how would we know to trust You. So Lord, I plead with You to touch my heart, guide me and lead me in the path of righteousness. Teach me Your ways and help me to live so that my life will glorify You. May I learn to trust in Your ways and allow You control of my circumstances, even when the way seems dark and impossible to me. May Your Word touch some soul today who may be facing circumstances such as this, for I ask this in the precious and holy name of Jesus, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

He’s Still God!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, Compassion, SurrenderLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (The Good News Translation – Isaiah 30:19-21): The Lord is compassionate, and when you cry to him for help, he will answer you. 20The Lord will make you go through hard times, but he himself will be there to teach you, and you will not have to search for him any more. 21If you wander off the road to the right or the left, you will hear his voice behind you saying, “Here is the road. Follow it.”

Thoughts: Friends, I am a firm believer that our God never changes, and that He is the same today as He was yesterday and He will be same until He calls us home to be with Him in glory. I also believe that God inspired His written Word, the Bible, so that we might be drawn to Him, grow in Him, encouraged in Him and be counseled and/or corrected by Him to enable a consistent walk with Him. I therefore believe that just as these highlighted verses were prophesied by Isaiah to challenge the people of Israel who had strayed from Him, that God is also encouraging us today to keep our heads up, to return to Him, and to be encouraged in knowing that no matter what struggles and discouragements and challenges we face, that He’s still God, that His love for us is everlasting, and that we can come to Him, or return to Him, in confidence knowing that He is compassionate and that He will answer our cry for help. Please be reminded that God is not a yo-yo, or a puppet, but instead He loves you enough that He will answer your prayers in ways according to His will for You, and that would best satisfy your needs. In other words, if you ask Him for a new Cadillac and He knows that you will remain humble, and could afford a Toyota Corolla better, then you may receive transportation (answer to prayer), just not the car you asked for, because it would increase your struggles and not help your situation. Some reading this devotional today may also feel like they, or a loved one, is ‘at the end of their rope’, because life seems so impossible. May I encourage you to look to God, place your faith and trust in Him, and surrender your life totally to Him? As you do this friend, You will:

  • Have peace in knowing the ‘hand-off’ has taken place!
  • Find peace in your circumstances, knowing that the God of this universe is working on your behalf! Remember, He is a great big God, who has this world in His hands, so He can easily handle your circumstances;
  • Be encouraged in knowing that God loved you, even as a sinner, enough to sacrifice His only Son so that you may have life, and have it more abundantly in and through Him. And it is that type of deep love that is your today as you trust in Him!

Because He’s still God, I must remind you that He loves you today friend! I believe that His love is even more intense, but He will not force Himself on you. He wants you to take the first step, by surrendering your will to Him and allowing Him to do all that I have shared above. If you have never made a personal commitment to Jesus and invited Him to rule and reign in your life, then I would encourage you to make this most important decision today. Perhaps there is one meditating on this devotional who has previously invited Jesus into your life, but has strayed far away from Him. Friend, you will see from these verses that Israel had strayed far away, yet God was ready to welcome them back and love them with the intense love possible only by God. He’ll do the same for you, if you recommit to Him! I have included helps for you in the ‘Footnote’ below. Please make this the first day of ‘real’, ‘committed’, life in Christ today!

Prayer: Thank You Jesus for the reminder in these verses today of Your awesome love for us, and how You are so ready and willing to accept us, Your children, when we call upon Your name in humility and forgiveness. Many of my friends are hurting and filled with one disappointment after another because of worldly circumstances or possibly bad choices by them. Please use Your Word, and possibly this devotional to encourage them, to soften their hearts to the point of surrender, and a new life in You. This my humble prayer that I ask in faith, and in the name of Jesus my Lord, 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 contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to blogger.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!