Tag: Mentor

Godly Advice To A Young Pastor

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Adoration, Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Awesome God, Beyond Description, Blessing, Celebrate God, Needs, Praise, Praise-worthy, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED: Friday, May 19, 2023, and I was blessed to be at O’Brien, FL when God inspired me to write this blog post. If short on time to read my devotional, please consider visiting Apple Podcasts at https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nuggets-from-gods-word/id1558668439.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE FROM THE The Voice (VOICE) IS FOUND IN 1 Timothy 4:7-8; 12

THE BIBLE TEXT IS: Reject worldly fables. Refuse old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself toward godliness. Although training your body has certain payoffs, godliness benefits all things—holding promise for life here and now and promise for the life that is coming. 
Don’t let anyone belittle you because you are young. Instead, show the faithful, young and old, an example of how to live: set the standard for how to talk, act, love, and be faithful and pure. 

MY INITIAL THOUGHTS: What might our new pastor be told by his members about what to expect and how he might handle certain people and circumstances. At a church I worshipped at for a number of years, it was our practice to have a meet-and-greet gathering the night before we were to hear a prospective pastor for the very first time. Often there were lots of questions for the candidate, but mostly from a standpoint of ‘will he correct past issues and mistakes’. Let’s open our heart to allow God to challenge us as we meditate on His word through Paul to Timothy.

APPLICATION OF THE WORD: I believe it is very obvious that one must have a heart for the subject they are choosing to advise others about. Otherwise, we will tend to throw so much of our own wishes and desires into the picture that it will quickly become obvious to the new pastor, or whomever we are desiring to give advice, the source of our wishes. Having been there and done that, Paul was very informed on the subject for which he was offering advice to another pastor about to enter the same field of ministry. So how might we look at this Scripture when very few laypersons have performed actual ministry in a church. I believe Paul is showing us that good advice might be helpful to someone, like a prospective pastor, and it must come from a heart that is devoted to the work of God in His church, and a desire to see God’s work accomplished in His church through this new pastor claiming that he feels led of God to serve with us at our church. Someone honestly feeling like this will not be distracted with evil thoughts on showing this new man who is really in charge, but be more concerned about how this man could join with the God-led leaders of the church to reach more of our community and support ministries throughout the world. Unfortunately, I believe that many churches self-destruct through allowing men and women who freely permit Satan an entryway into the work of the Lord. It becomes very obvious to nonbelievers who enter our churches, whether we are on fire for God, or if Satan’s fire is way too hot in a body of believers claiming Christianity. God showed Paul how damaging the old traditions, the old fables from years before and the insistence of some to ‘do church’ rather than constantly seeking the face of Jesus to meet with His people and lovingly accept and meet the needs of those searching for God. Friends, notice that Paul insisted that Timothy train in godliness. This will not come from meeting with the gossipers; nor those who have financial clout in the church; and not even those who claim to be ‘religious’. Godliness is something that rubs off on you from your time alone with God. Let me encourage you to spend time in the Word of God – the Bible. Talk regularly with the One you accepted to be Lord and Savior of your life, and this is often achieved through prayer. It is said that a good husband and his wonderful wife soon start to look like each other, make similar decisions, and they act a lot alike. Don’t you think that the same thing happens to the Christian who spends time alone with God? As our heart becomes more entwined with the heart of God, we will give advice to new pastors, unbelievers, and friends struggling in this world, just like we learn from God. In verse 12 of today’s Scripture, Paul told Timothy what might be his reward if he remains close to the God he set out to serve, and I believe this is still very applicable to true followers of Christ today: when you remain faithful to God, you will set the standard for how to talk, act, love and be faithful and pure. If you suspect that there may be areas of your life where you would rather no one imitate or repeat, then let me encourage you to draw closer and be faithful to God.

BLESSINGS WORTH NOTING: We too can be faithful and show the faithful, young and old, an example of how to live: set the standard for how to talk, act, love, and be faithful and pure. 

PRAYER BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT OF TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Thank You Lord for the many awesome men that I have served alongside in ministry. Unfortunately, I don’t remember giving them advice, because I always respected them as being much closer to God than I was, so who would I be to give them advice. But after being reminded of what Paul did for Timothy, I could clearly see that Timothy must have been elated to hear the advice of a godly man and one who have ministered in some of the same areas that he was leading Timothy into. Please Lord, help us to encourage our pastors, especially those who are younger and more inexperienced. Please help us to show our support and help them feel a part of the family – our church family. If we were to encourage and work alongside our pastors, I can only imagine what God might say when we see Him face-to-face, for we could be considered a part of our pastor’s ministry of saving souls and blessing communities for Jesus. Please help us to take our selfish minds off what benefits us and encourage our pastors in the work of the Lord. May the unsaved enter our church doors and see Jesus in action, rather than more of the world through gossipers, revenge, envy, and possibly even hatred. People need Jesus, not more of the unkind world that they leave behind them. 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, listening to, this devotional, please click on this 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. If you would like to see/hear more of my devotionals, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or go to https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nuggets-from-gods-word/id1558668439 to listen to more podcasts. Of course you can also choose to freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s written devotional, or on the Apple Podcast app, simply search for Nuggets From God’s Word and click ‘Follow’ to be notified of Podcast updates. Please allow me to encourage you to find a church home near by your home and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

The Value of The Scripture

On By Ed AlgreenIn First Hand Experience, Knowing Christ, Teach, Teacher, TeachingsLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE  FROM:   2 Timothy 3:15-17 (ERV)

TEXT:  15 You have known the Holy Scriptures since you were a child. These Scriptures are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is given by God. And all Scripture is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is useful for correcting faults and teaching the right way to live. 17 Using the Scriptures, those who serve God will be prepared and will have everything they need to do every good work.

OBSERVATION:   Imagine your pastor pulling a young man, that shows a lot of promise, alongside of him and promises to work with him to become an effective minister of the Word of God. What are some things that you suppose your pastor, and your church might expect of this young man? Hours and hours of diligence in the Word; Seminary, or at least Bible School; etc, etc. Now, let me encourage you to look into the Word for instruction on what you should do. It seems to me, that this Scripture today is giving some direction regarding the dilemma, and possibly the answer to what your pastor is facing, so let’s look closely at this….

APPLICATION:   Paul, having gone through a wide range of challenges in his ministry, had lots of advice and direction for Timothy who was setting out in ministry. I believe that if we looked at everything that Paul had to offer Timothy, some might say that he had enough challenges of his own, that he would probably do everything possible to discourage this young man from the ministry, although he didn’t! Looking at this from Timothy’s standpoint, we could see where Timothy could easily approach every situation with the same mindset that he saw his local church/church leaders handle situations. However, what adds so much to this story for us is that Paul took on young Timothy as his own son. It shows where Paul cared for Timothy’s well being and for his success in ministry – both for the benefit of the kingdom, and for himself personally. So I believe that the obvious thing that Paul might tell Timothy, is to study the Bible often, and study it very deeply – and I believe that any pastor about to mentor a young ‘Timothy’ would probably do the same. In fact, I believe that any good church leadership would probably tell a young, prospective minister who felt called to the ministry to do the same, and it would be advice patterned after Scripture – today’s Scripture! So why is this important? I believe that for one to teach or preach the Word of God, and tell others about the character and life of Jesus Christ, then it is critically important to get into the Word and saturate yourself with it. There are many other books that we could read where good, qualified teachers have written about the ‘Book’, but please don’t allow that to take the place of you digging into the Word of God often and very deeply. From personal experience, I can tell you that there are days that I might read the Word and I struggle to gain anything personally from it. However, there are days that I can read back over a passage that I previously got nothing from, and God has a special message for me at that time. As I read, I tend to use a few different highlighters: green for highlighting phrases through which I felt God speaking direct to me about something; yellow for highlighting various warnings that God used to get our attention; and red to highlight specific things that God told us not to do. Did I get these ideas from some big seminary and passing them on to you to use? No, but these are tools that I chose to use, so that when I study or refer to that Scripture again, those words will ‘pop’ and quickly draw my attention to them. The other tool I use, is multiple versions of the Bible. Each time I read through the Bible I use a different version. The different ways that some translators or commentators choose to word a passage, might serve to help me better understand what is being said, or what was intended by the sometimes challenging verbiage of some older translations. Other advice I would offer is that it is ‘God’s’ Word, so ask Him to open your mind and your understanding, so that you could grasp what He wants to say to you through the words you are about to read and understand. In training an up and coming ‘Timothy’ it is way more important for him to see and understand from you when he knows that you are in the Word personally, rather than detailing what the textbook says from your seminary. As you learn from, and draw closer to God, you are in much better shape to mentor someone wanting to walk the same path that you took!

PRAYER:   Lord, thank You for touching the hearts, minds and souls of men and women around the world who have committed their lives to the full time ministry of Your Word. People still need the Lord, so it is still very important that new ‘Timothy’s’ arise every day and commit themselves to serving the King of all kings! Thank You Father for drawing men and women unto Yourself, and thank You for preparing them for Your ministry. Sometimes You do this through others that might encourage, teach and set a good example for the new minister. Please bless those who fill that role every day! Please continue to bless our churches with new volunteers who will take the ministry seriously and whose sole purpose is to see Your kingdom increase and be glorified. I stand in awe of Your mercy on us oh 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 Sebring, 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!

 

Encourage One Another

On By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, EncourageLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Hebrews 3:12-14): 12 My friends, watch out! Don’t let evil thoughts or doubts make any of you turn from the living God. 13 You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called “today.” If you don’t, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn. 14 We were sure about Christ when we first became his people. So let’s hold tightly to our faith until the end.

THOUGHTS: There are several commands in these verses that not only encourages us to stay strong in the faith, but also to be a helping hand and/or encouragement to our Brothers and Sisters in the Lord. This attitude spoken of here reminds me of the attitude of a couple in a successful marriage. For daily, we must do a self-check to insure that there is no evil building up in us that could harm our marriage. Also, because we love each other deeply, we tend to encourage each other and try to help each other succeed in our marriage and in life in general. Our Christian walk is much the same. We are in a relationship with God, and we must protect that relationship by insuring that our lives are kept holy and pure before a holy and righteous God. This will break down to a consistent walk with the Lord, with at least a daily time in the Word looking for Truth and direction for our lives that we intend to imitate the life of Jesus and in full obedience to God’s commands. I also believe that when our lives are in order, we will automatically seek out the best in our fellow Brothers and Sisters and make decisions that will lift up others and not tear down. As reminded in the very last sentence, let us do this until the end. Let Jesus find us faithful!

PRAYER: Thank You Father for Your love, for Your protection and Your love for mankind – even me.  I pray that You will give strength for those times that we are tempted to stray or to give in to the many distractions of this world that cause us to sin, and therefore cause separation between You and us. Please give us the encouragement we need to be an accountability partner to those friends that need us and need a closer walk with You, for You are our strength and our protector. Thank You Father. 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 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!