Perseverance Pays Off

On 2015-07-162015-07-16 By Ed AlgreenIn Obedience, PerseveranceLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New International Version – James 1:12): ¹²Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

THOUGHTS: We hear about ‘fair weather’ Christians, where we find it very easy to praise God when we feel like everything is going our way. We also hear about ‘hard times’ Christians, for it is only then that many of us look up to God and truly seek His face. Friends, as I read this verse this morning I felt like God was saying that He will truly bless us and/or reward us if we stick with Him while He is blessing us with riches and good fortunes, or testing our faith through very tough times. There’s a song that has lyrics similar to this “if I never have a burden, how would I know that God can truly pull me through“. I believe that ‘to persevere’ is to be consistent and/or dedicated in spite of our circumstances. Imagine taking a road trip from one location to another. You don’t turn around and head back home if your car has a flat tire, instead you have your problem repaired and then you travel on to your destination. On those trips when you’ve travelled hundreds of miles and arrive without incident, hopefully you then take time to thank the Lord for safety and protection on the road. These types of scenarios are similar to those that we face each and every day, and indicative of our walk with the Lord. If you are not already a praising person, may I encourage you to learn to ask God to bless you each day! Ask Him to use you as His faithful witness here on planet earth and to bring glory to Him in all things. Don’t place any conditions on that, such as “if things go my way” or “if there’s no setbacks”. Learn to praise God (persevere) in all circumstances and look for the lessons that He is teaching you, or how He uses those circumstances to redirect you into His perfect will. Oh that we may learn to let go of self and let God have His perfect will in our lives. Let’s commit to honor God, worship Him, serve Him and follow Him in spite of our circumstances. Obeying God in every circumstance, no matter where He leads, is an important way of showing our love towards God for His rich blessings, protection, guidance and leadership. This scripture assures us that when we do this, we are sure to receive a crown that God has promised to all who love Him.

PRAYER: Father in heaven, thank You for Your love and Your assurance of being our Guide, our Protector and our Provider each and every day. Please give us strength and fortitude to let go of our selfish desires and self-will to do ‘our own thing’ instead of leaning on the everlasting arms of the One who created us and who knows what lies ahead for us and the ones we need to help. Lord, may we learn to be as instruments in Your hands so that You may accomplish Your will through us in every circumstance of life. We are appreciative of our promised reward, but Lord, may we be content in knowing that we are obedient followers of the One who has this whole world in His hands and under His control. We are Your children Lord. We love You and long to be obedient in following Your plan for our lives. I ask these things in faith and in the precious and all-powerful, all-knowing and all-loving name of Jesus, AMEN!

PLEASE NOTE: I will be out of town on a mission trip to be of service to our friends in Mexico during the week of July 19^th. I will not be able to publish these devotionals during that time. Please pray that God will use His servants, our group of 30, so that His children in this foreign land might be encouraged and drawn to Him through our honest and sincere representation of our Savior. May God be glorified in all things through our witness! I expect to resume these devotionals on Monday, July 27^th.

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 Impact Our Life Has On God

On 2015-07-142015-07-14 By Ed AlgreenIn The Church, WitnessLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – Revelation 3:15-17): “I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold, you’re not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit. You brag, ‘I’m rich, I’ve got it made, I need nothing from anyone,’ oblivious that in fact you’re a pitiful, blind beggar, threadbare and homeless.

THOUGHTS: The church at Laodicea was one that appeared perfect to the world around them. They were a wealthy church, no doubt able to pay their bills and perhaps even help the poor. We have many churches like that today, and we thank God for their ability to chip in and help, especially when many of the smaller churches are struggling to make it financially. However, in these verses, it is clear that God was unhappy with this church at Laodicea, for it was so concentrated on its riches and good fortune that it’s people provided to the church, that they lost sight of who blessed them with such things as: salvation; healing; promises of a place called ‘heaven’; the Master of the universe who was with them ALWAYS; good health; a good mind and multiple other attributes that originate from God alone. In fact, there was every indication that the general membership may have felt that if God totally separated Himself from them, they would still be OK. But wait a moment, could we still have churches (people) that still act like this today? Do we still have ‘Laodicean’ churches in our towns even now? What are some of the indicators we must be careful of, or watchful for, so as not to make God sick to His stomach with our church? It was spelled out for us in this same scripture:

Bragging about what we have – let us never lose sight that whatever we are blessed with as a collective body of believers, it was provided by God, and for His ultimate glory. I believe that if we brag or boast about our riches, we tend to believe that we had something to do with us having it, and/or we are anxiously waiting to see how we might spend our riches in a way to personally receive maximum glory;
We lose sight of whose we are and from whence we came – God knows that in and of ourselves, we are as pitiful as a blind beggar, without clothes to cover our nakedness.

So unless we leave this devotional feeling like there is little hope, or that all ‘Godly’ churches can only be poor and needy, I want to remind you that ‘the church’ consists of individuals, so the change of heart must happen in our personal lives. Remember, God created us; He provides air for us to breathe every day; income opportunities for us; family and other believers to comfort and cheer us every day and a promise that even when all the joys of this earth are over, still He has prepared an even more glorious home for us to spend eternity with Him, where we might worship Him endlessly. Money can’t buy any of these things, so let us continually lift up our Lord and Savior who provides ultimate joy and happiness for us in this world and in His kingdom that will soon be our new home.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, what an eye opener this morning, for You have shown me how careful we must be to glorify You in all things. You may choose to bless us with riches, so that we may pass those riches on through helping others in need of a Savior, or so that we might clearly recognize Your awesome power and blessings through even us. Lord You are good and Your mercies endureth forever. Please help us to remain humble, and never attribute blessings to anything that might bring recognition or praise to us. You alone are our King and our Provider, we glory in all that You are and all that You do for us each day. Our ultimate goal is that we be found worthy in Your eyes, when You call us home to be with You. Use us for Your glory while we remain here. Be blessed in all that we say or do, is my humble prayer that I ask in the strong and everlasting name of Jesus, AMEN!

PLEASE NOTE: I will be out of town on a mission trip to be of service to our friends in Mexico during the week of July 19^th. I will not be able to publish these devotionals during that time. Please pray that God might use His servants, our group of 30, so that His children in this foreign land might be encouraged and drawn to Him through our honest and sincere representation of our Savior. May God be glorified in all things through our witness! I expect to resume these devotionals on Monday, July 27^th.

Protect Your Crown

On 2015-07-132015-07-13 By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, Distractions, HeavenLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – Revelation 3:11): ¹¹“I’m on my way; I’ll be there soon. Keep a tight grip on what you have so no one distracts you and steals your crown.

THOUGHTS: On this earth, when we become careless with something, we lose it. If you observe children carefully, you will notice that they might hide their favorite toy when a friend is coming over that they know might love that toy, and possibly fight to take it with them when it’s time to leave! Christians have found the answer to this world’s sin problem, in the person of Jesus Christ. Satan is most upset over having lost the battle with these children of God and he is waging war against them by trying to steal their joy. This process by Satan is intended to distract Christians from the joy of their salvation and, in this passage, God is warning that we had better be careful that Satan not pull us down to the extent that he reaches out and snatches our crown of glory from us. Friends, if you think about a race – the opponent has two ways they can win – they can do better than you and reach the finish line before you, or they can trip you up so that you don’t stand a chance of winning, or earning the prize. Sin can’t enter heaven, so Satan doesn’t stand a chance of getting there. Child of God, may I please encourage us today to hold firm to our faith. Stay committed to the Lord Jesus Christ through thick and thin, in every circumstance of life, for He cares for us and He wants us to win the prize laid out for us in heaven. Let’s keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and not the distractions that will come our way. All things are possible through faith in Jesus, our Lord. So let us keep our eyes on the prize – our crown! Let us seek out Jesus in every circumstance of life, so that the circumstances not turn into distractions that Satan can use to steal our joy and our eternal crown. Distractions will come when Satan sees opportunities, or slippage in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Let us therefore stand firm in our faith, determined to live for Jesus, depending on His strength to help us through every circumstance of life. There’s a song with lyrics: “Oh I want to see Him, look upon His face, there to sing forever of His saving grace…..” I am looking forward to the day that I reach the shores of heaven and look beyond my relatives already there, to see the face of my Master and King! This is a prize/crown worth living for and is worth every ounce of effort and determination to live for Jesus today! How is it with you friend? Please watch for the distractions of Satan, and remember that greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. With Jesus being in control of your life, you can do this friend!

PRAYER: Thank You Father for the promise of heaven, a time when we will see You face to face! A time when we will worship and adore You without the distractions of this old world and its leader, Satan. Dear Lord, You know how strong the advisory is here on earth, especially in lives where there might be lack of commitment. Please touch the hearts of Your children today oh Lord and renew within us a right spirit and a desire to stay firm and committed to our faith in You. There is no one stronger than You, nor more loving that You, nor caring than You, so I know that as I place my faith and trust in You, that You can do all things. Please have Your will and way in my life today oh Lord, rule and reign in every aspect of my life, especially when I’m weak enough to let distractions sneak in and set me back. Touch the lives of my readers today also oh Lord, as I’m sure that many of them are walking similar paths as me today and will face these same distractions. Give us strength for our walk and renew a right spirit within us so that our eyes might remain fixed on the prize that awaits us in glory. I ask all this in the precious and strong name of Jesus, AMEN!

Be Faithful Until The End

On 2015-07-102015-07-10 By Ed AlgreenIn Faithful, Obedience, The EndLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Revelation 2:25-27): ²⁵ But until I come, you must hold firmly to the teaching you have. ²⁶ I will give power over the nations to everyone who wins the victory and keeps on obeying me until the end. ²⁷ I will give each of them the same power that my Father has given me.

THOUGHTS: My daily devotional scripture plan takes me into the depths of the Old Testament and into the light and glory of the New Testament. Often it amazes me how God uses the Old Testament reading to tie into the reading in the New Testament! Today was one of those cases, for I highlighted Daniel 12:13 because I was touched by God telling Daniel not to be overly concerned about everything that he saw in his visions, but to “be faithful until the end! You will rest, and at the end of time, you will rise from death to receive your reward”. Moving then to the New Testament reading I saw in verse 25 of Revelation 2, that until Jesus returns to take us home with Him, we are to hold firmly to the teachings given to us. In other words, be faithful until the end. Friends, please be careful, for these are times that Satan is trying every distraction in his book of tricks to derail Christians. He can’t stand the idea of us influencing his team of unbelievers in Christ. I believe that if God is concerned enough about us being faithful to Him until the end, them He must be concerned that there will be many things that will distract us along the way. Can you think of a few right off the top? Political views and stands is a huge distractor for the Christian, as we are taught in the secular world, and even the church, that we should vote and be a part of the decision making for our respective countries. Very important stand, but how can we remain faithful to the Word of God even among the filth and dirt that stigmatizes politicians? How can we take a stand in politics, yet remain neutral so that we can promote God to everyone that needs Him, regardless of what side of the fence they stand on in politics? This is just one of many issues that come along and often places a divide in God’s church and totally distracts the needed trust for us to be a witness to ALL that we come into contact with. Many of the other distractors you may have given thought to, might be equally as destructive. My take on the verse in Daniel, and the verses in Revelation is that we are to remain faithful in our relationship with God and hold firmly to His teachings. Everything else that occupies our minds, our hearts and our busy lives, are all distractors. Only God can change this sinful world, we are called to serve Him, obey Him and worship Him, not to do His job in trying to change the world. Let’s be careful that we remain faithful until the Master comes!

PRAYER: Dear God, I am so thankful that You gave of Yourself so that I might look forward to life eternally with You! I thank You for Your Word and how applicable it is to our lives right now. You knew that distractions would come our way, so You placed warnings in Your Word so that we might be alerted to these distractions. You have not only shown us how to best deal with these distractions, but You have also made promises about our rewards, if we remain faithful to You. My readers and I live in a world where there are so many distractions. I know that this is not a secret to You, but we need You Lord. We want to remain faithful, even though there are times that we must take a stand based on the values You have taught us. Please help us to never destroy our witness, because I believe that You would always want us to promote and lift up the name of Jesus with a clear conscience and without the possibility of having a finger pointed back at us by those we should be witnessing to. You must be first in all we do. If in marriage – You must be first; If in parenting – You must be first; If in working secular jobs – You must be first; If involved in our community – it must be obvious that You are first in our lives; If there is a need for us to become involved in the leadership of our churches, city, state or country, then it must be obvious that we first represent You, and it is for Your sake, Your glory and Your agenda that we are involved/taking a stand. Please help us to always be conscious of this as we serve You, love You, worship You and lift You up each day. For I ask this in the deepest honor, and respect of You oh Lord, and in the precious name of Your Son Jesus, AMEN!

The Joy of My Relationship With The Lord!

On 2015-07-092015-07-09 By Ed AlgreenIn Relationship, Revival, SurrenderLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Contemporary English Version – Psalm 51:10-12): ¹⁰ Create pure thoughts in me and make me faithful again. ¹¹ Don’t chase me away from you or take your Holy Spirit away from me. ¹² Make me as happy as you did when you saved me; make me want to obey!

THOUGHTS: I heard a sermon recently about the need for spouses to revive the creativity within them in order to enliven their marriages. I believe that David gave us a Psalm here where we might consider doing something similar to reinvigorate our relationship with God. But let’s examine what may cause us to weaken in our relationship to that relationship to deteriorate in the first place. In the earlier verses of this Psalm, David had asked God to turn his head from the embarrassment of his sin and wash him clean. Friends, each day we become stained with the impact of sin. Not that we leave our homes with every intention of maximizing our exposure to sin, but our lives in this world is similar to a stick being dipped into a bucket of paint. It becomes covered in paint and even colored by the paint because of its contact with the paint. If the stick is quickly removed, washed, and wiped clean, one may not notice that it have been exposed to paint. However, if it is left inside the bucket of paint very long, you will find that the paint is saturated all the way through every fiber of that stick. This simple illustration is very representative of what happens in our lives when we, like David, plead before our heavenly Father to cleanse us and help us to develop filters that would help us stay as clean as we were the first day of our Christian walk. Satan is very deceiving in the way that he exposes us to sin and generates the evil desires within us very slowly, but surely. To defend against this, and to proactively seek to enhance our relationship with God, we must daily seek God’s touch on our lives – seek His forgiveness for our wandering eyes, thoughts and participation in ungodly conversations and actions; we must learn to fill our minds with the things of the one we want to follow; we must study the ‘rule book’ so we could stay true to it and find ways to please God in all that we do and say. In all these things we will become convinced that ‘greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world’! We will become instruments that are clean, and usable by God to further His kingdom here on this earth. In any good, healthy relationship, we always reflect back on the day we met because it helps to fill us with the joy of that first meeting date. I would suggest that we do like David and ask God to return to us today the joy of that day when we first met Him and gave Him control of our lives. Imagine the energy and excitement that will lend to our day and our ongoing witness for God!

PRAYER: Lord God, our joy is always complete when we reflect on a moment in our lifetime when our joy and happiness was at its peak! There may have been a few memorable occasions such as this, but I doubt that any could compare to the day that we received Your Son as our Savior and Lord, and asked Him to direct our happiness and our surrendered lives for His glory. This is something that we should strive for daily, so having been reminded of this by the psalmist today, I want to ask that You resume control of my life oh God. Please wipe away the stain of sin. Create within me a clean heart that can be used by You. Please make me well aware of Your Holy Spirit’s presence in my life so that I can be assured of the power, the comfort and the joy that resides within. May the joy of my salvation, and my relationship with You be very evident in and thru every word that I speak and every action that I take. While I can’t do this for my readers also, I pray that You may impact their lives with Your Word today so that they too might have a desire to allow You to regain Your rightful place in their lives. May Your army grow and gain in loyalty today so that You might be glorified and lifted up by everyone who claim You as Lord and Master! I ask all this in and through the precious and holy name of Jesus, AMEN!

The Immediacy of Prayer

On 2015-07-072015-07-07 By Ed AlgreenIn Humility, PrayerLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Daniel 9:20-23): ²⁰I was still confessing my sins and those of all Israel to the Lord my God, and I was praying for the good of his holy mountain, ²¹when Gabriel suddenly came flying in at the time of the evening sacrifice. This was the same Gabriel I had seen in my vision, ²² and he explained: Daniel, I am here to help you understand the vision. ²³ God thinks highly of you, and at the very moment you started praying, I was sent to give you the answer.

THOUGHTS: I was touched by the words that I bolded in verse 23, for several reasons: 1). Notice with me that God sent Gabriel to give Daniel the answers to his prayers before he even asked for anything! Gabriel said that at the very moment Daniel began to pray, God sent him with the answer for Daniel! 2). Notice the content of Daniel’s prayer, compared to many of our prayers today. His prayer was about seeing God glorified and the people of the city forgiven. There was nothing geared towards self, other than asking forgiveness for his sin that he was confessing. I am well aware of the importance of Daniel in prophecy; in the writer of a very important book in the Old Testament; and in his close communion with God. But friends, I am reminded that we also are of equal importance to God. Just imagine: He saw our temptations coming; He saw our weakness towards sin itself and the sinful things of this earth; He knew that we would need lots of help overcoming evil and that we would struggle big time to ever make it into the glories of heaven, so He sent His very only Son to be born among us, live among us and face the same challenges that we face, but then to also die a very challenging death, all so that we might know that He went to the extreme to show His love for mankind. God did all this knowing that we would need to know about this kind of sacrifice in order to make it into heaven to be with Him. It’s like He ‘spoon fed’ His gift of salvation to us, knowing that all we have to do is like Daniel: acknowledge our sin; humble ourselves and pray for His forgiveness; and receive Him as our Lord and Savior – this ultimately being the only means of us getting into heaven to be with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Try reading this chapter friend, see and understand the heart of Daniel, and see how responsive God was to his humility, his prayer and the sincerity of his heart. This is the same God that we know, and have access to today! He’s not dead! He’s still alive and loves us with that same kind of love today! I believe He patiently waits for us to surrender our weak selves to Him, ask Him for His help from a heart of unselfish love and dedication towards the unsaved world and towards the ongoing glory of God, and His purpose here on this earth. Where do you stand friend? Are you so hung up on self that you have no time to plead with God about His concerns? If so, you may be way too distracted from the ‘real thing’! Seek God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be given to you!

PRAYER: Dear God, You are awesome! Like Daniel, we too are weak and desperately in need of Your touch on our city, our state and our nation. We too yearn for a day when our people will praise Your holy name because of who You are, and not because of what You might do for us individually. Help us to seek Your face without placing our selfish desires before You. We are a blessed people. Please help us to always honor and praise the originator of those blessings and seek to worship and praise You through every means we can conjure up, and on every occasion accessible to us. I acknowledge that You are God, and You are so worthy of our continual praise. Blessed be the name of the Lord forever! These are my petitions and my offerings of praise oh Lord, may Your holy name be lifted up today, for I ask all this in and through the name of Your Son, Jesus, AMEN!

Ready or Not, Here He Comes!

On 2015-07-062015-07-06 By Ed AlgreenIn Heaven, Readiness, RessurrectionLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Good News Translation – Revelation 1:4-8): ⁴ ….Grace and peace be yours from God, who is, who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits in front of his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first to be raised from death and who is also the ruler of the kings of the world. He loves us, and by his sacrificial death he has freed us from our sins and made us a kingdom of priests to serve his God and Father. To Jesus Christ be the glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. ⁷ Look, he is coming on the clouds! Everyone will see him, including those who pierced him. All peoples on earth will mourn over him. So shall it be! ⁸ “I am the first and the last,” says the Lord God Almighty, who is, who was, and who is to come.

THOUGHTS: Many of us react to warnings a whole lot differently to others. Some of us go overboard in stashing supplies to see us through a predicted storm, or natural disaster, while some of us travel hundreds of miles to escape the fury of a storm. Some of us are procrastinators and will wait until the 11^th hour to truly believe the weatherman, while others act on first warnings and take appropriate action based on the credentials of the weatherman. John took the first few verses of this book to explain his credentials so that we might not only hear his words, but trust the source from which we are hearing them. Jesus came to this earth through His miraculous birth to a virgin, and John is warning us that He will come again in miraculous form – from the clouds. Friends, this same Jesus that we have studied about in the rest of the Bible, He was before all time, He is with us today, yet He WILL return to collect His chosen ones, His bride (the church – the collective body of believers who have sincerely accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior). Yes we are being warned that we are in our last days of preparation, for He will return to take His children home to be with the Father and Himself for all eternity very soon. This leaves us with a sense of urgency to not only insure that we are ready for the ‘trip of a lifetime’, but also to reach out to all those we love, and to make sure that they are ready for the ‘trip’. Friends, the warning is clear, and everything is in place for the eminent return of our Lord. Are you ready? Will you be among the number that He will take with Him into glory? I made reference to a song last week “And oh, what a glorious day“, but this might only be glorious for those who will rise to accompany our Savior and Lord. For others this will be a day of horror, for they procrastinated way too long and thought they would wait to hear the trumpet sound. You CAN trust in God’s Word friend, so please heed to its truth and to its warnings. John shared this with us on good authority, there’s no need to go to the halls of the best libraries to research whether this could be for real. This is not brand new news that John is telling us about here, for it has been pointed to throughout the Good Book, God’s Word.

PRAYER: Dear Father, You have provided Your precious Word to reveal Yourself to us. You have told us about the special provision in and through Your only Son, and You have today warned us about how He will come back soon to take the prepared saints home to glory to spend eternity with Jesus and You. The alternative is not good at all Lord, so I am especially concerned about my family and friends who have taken the warnings to date very lightly. Noah looked out of the windows of the ark and encountered the dreadful sight of his friends suffering because of lack of belief and change. I sincerely pray that You will intercede Heavenly Father in the lives of those we love and respect, so that we would never witness the drastic results of their lost and uncaring condition. May You become so real in their lives today Heavenly Father, that their eyes might be opened and decisions made to accept Your plan of salvation for their lives. May today be the day Oh God. I humbly ask all this is the awesome name of Jesus, the risen Lord and the provider of all things, 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!

While We Wait…

On 2015-07-042015-07-04 By Ed AlgreenIn Actions, Christ's Return, Christ-Like, Wait PatientlyLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Contemporary English Version – Jude 20-23): ²⁰ Dear friends, keep building on the foundation of your most holy faith, as the Holy Spirit helps you to pray. ²¹ And keep in step with God’s love, as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to show how kind he is by giving you eternal life. ²² Be helpful to all who may have doubts. ²³ Rescue any who need to be saved, as you would rescue someone from a fire. Then with fear in your own hearts, have mercy on everyone who needs it. But hate even the clothes of those who have been made dirty by their filthy deeds.

THOUGHTS: Many may not even notice the subtlety of objects placed in the lobby of businesses today to distract the attention of those waiting in long lines, but pay particular attention the next time you see a TV mounted in the lobby of a business for you to watch. Sometimes this is used to advertise, but more often just to provide entertainment so the waiting person will ignore the waiting time! So this is what we do when we wait for service here on earth! In these verses today, we are warned what’s important for us to be doing as we wait on the return of our Lord Jesus. Friends, I believe you will note that if we were busy about what we should be doing while we wait, there wouldn’t be near enough time for us to be ‘busy bodies’ who cause division and distractions in the church and/or among God’s people. In fact, I believe you will see that there is even more evidence that these disruptions are nothing more than Satan’s way to slow and/or stop the progress God could make in and among His church. So here’s what we really should be doing as we wait:

Keep building on the faith that convinced us of God’s love for us (vs 20)– Don’t you stop and reflect sometimes on you could possibly have gotten to where you’re at today, compared to the time when you first believed and was on fire for the Lord, lifting up His name to everyone you came into contact with?
Pray (vs 20) – Not just pray for ourselves, but pray that the Holy Spirit would enlighten us and help us to pray according to His will; for His benefit; through His power and for the things that He sees a need for us to pray for. This is often a totally foreign concept, compared to our selfish prayers for self, spouse, sons, daughters and no more. Imagine praying to God about those things that He is concerned about?
Keep in step with God’s love (vs 21) – another version says “guard and keep yourselves in the love of God”. In other words stay so closely attuned to God’s love that there’ll not be room for Satan to interfere with Your thought process, that often impacts Your actions, your will and your love to others. Remember how pure love was demonstrated for us – sacrificially, and on a cross for our benefit, not a soft cozy benefit to Jesus for His obedience and suffering. We too must learn to put God first and place others above self when it comes to reflecting our love like Jesus did.
Be helpful to those who may have doubts (vs 22) – Remember where you were when Jesus sent someone to rescue you, and reflect that kind of compassion toward others.
Rescue the unsaved (vs 23) – I love this scripture as it compels us towards an urgency we should use in our rescue efforts. When you think about it, we are literally rescuing someone from a fiery Hell, just as you would rescue someone from a home on fire. Before you make your first move to rescue someone from a fire, you have decided that they are worth you risking your life for, and you are exercising the God-given desire and abilities inside of you to save them. Let’s ask God to help us to do this with those who need rescuing from the ultimate pit of Hell should they die without accepting Jesus as Lord of their life.
Have a fearful respect for those in need (vs 23) – if not for the grace of God in your life, you could very easily be that person in desperate need. God saw our desperate need to be rescued from Hell and He sent His very own Son so that we might be saved. How far are you willing to go to help those in need that you come into contact with?
Hate even the clothes of the wicked one (vs 23) – don’t condone evil, sin and those things that God hates. See the soul that needs rescuing, but show no compassion for their evil deeds.

PRAYER: Father God, You have shown us very clearly through Your saints/writers how to find peace in knowing You as our Master and King; You have given us assurance of our salvation and in this passage of scripture today You have clearly shown us how we should live while we wait for Your return. Thank You for holding our hand the whole way through this challenging life on earth. We were rescued by some caring messenger of Yours, and there are many that we know that needs to be rescued. Please continue to impose upon us the urgency of the hour, the urgency of those friends who may never show it, but really need the salvation that only You can offer. Please continue to bless us with mercy, grace and an urgency of the needs of our fellow man so that when that day comes that You call us home to glory, we shall all gather around Your feet and worship You endlessly for rescuing us from our worldly destiny to Hell into the glories of heaven with You and the Father. And, Oh What a Glorious Day is a song that has reverberated in my mind the whole time while writing this blog. Be blessed by it as you meditate. God loves each of us with an endless love that is indescribable and impossible for mere humans to understand. Just know it and believe in Him to enjoy that love for all times friend! I ask all this today, in faith and in the faithful 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 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 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!

Persistent Faith Leads To Victory!

On 2015-07-032015-07-03 By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, Overcomers, Persistence, VictoryLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Contemporary English Version – Daniel 6:19-23): ¹⁹ At daybreak the king got up and ran to the pit. ²⁰ He was anxious and shouted, “Daniel, you were faithful and served your God. Was he able to save you from the lions?” ²¹ Daniel answered, “Your Majesty, I hope you live forever! ²² My God knew that I was innocent, and he sent an angel to keep the lions from eating me. Your Majesty, I have never done anything to hurt you.” ²³ The king was relieved to hear Daniel’s voice, and he gave orders for him to be taken out of the pit. Daniel’s faith in his God had kept him from being harmed.

THOUGHTS: I love that old hymn “Faith is the Victory“, for one line in that hymn states “Faith is the victory that overcomes the world”. This is the kind of faith that Daniel demonstrated. He and his companions had earlier been cast into a pit of fire because of their conviction to not eat the king’s food, but came out unscathed. Later, Daniel’s very jealous peers had a law enacted to trap Daniel into a definite arrest by the king. However, Daniel had a commitment to worship His God and that included praying to God at least three times per day. This led to his arrest and being thrown into a den of hungry lions. By this time in the king’s relationship with Daniel, he had gained confidence in Daniel’s God and therefore prayed that God would protect Daniel from the lions that he had him thrown into! Of course, it was a time of glorious praise when it was discovered next morning that God responded to the prayers of the king and Daniel by protecting him, even among very hungry lions. I believe where God got my attention in this story, and the area that I would like to challenge my readers on is: How secure or solid are we in our faith? Peter had enough to walk on water; Moses had enough to stand at the river’s edge and believe that he could lead thousands of people across to the other side without danger; Daniel had enough to be persistent in his actions of food choice and in his prayer habits to know that in all things he could bless the name of the Lord – whether in the fire pit or in the pit of lions. I was challenged to consider where I am in my level of faith, and I want to challenge you to consider the same question friend. Jesus said that if we have the tiniest little bit (the size of a pin head – a mustard seed) we could move even mountains. I believe that our ‘mountains’ are as pin heads (mustard seeds) to God. But do we have the faith to place our needs and concerns solidly in His hands and the faith to believe that “all things are possible with God”? I see no reason why we shouldn’t friend! For He has proven over and over in His Word that He is able! Why don’t we let Him be God in our circumstances today? We can celebrate with way more fireworks of praise than anyone in our country can for Independence Day this weekend!

PRAYER: Lord God, You’ve created the heavens, the earth and each human being. You provided a written account of all that You have blessed our early ancestors with and the miracles performed in their lives, just to show us that You care about Your children and that You would move mountains, if necessary, in order to display Your miraculous works. With so much to support our reason to have faith in You, yet we doubt at times. “Oh ye of little faith” is what you must constantly say to us weaklings, just as You said to Peter when He took His eyes off You. Please touch Your children once again with the miracle of life, healing, overcoming government oppression and overall confidence that You are still God and that You are still in control. Often things seem so out of control, that I believe we become depressed and feel defeated, as if You must have stepped away. Unfortunately, these may be times that You are challenging us to look inside and see if we have stepped away from our faith in You. Oh what a wretched people we are, for we are so often challenged to keep our eyes fixed on You and the wonder of our awesome God. Please forgive us oh Lord, and give us strength, power and will to keep our eyes fixed on You, in spite of what might be going on around us. You alone are God, and we are not. May we give You the rightful place in our lives today, is my humble prayer that I ask in the powerful name of my most awesome Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, 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 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’s In Charge?

On 2015-07-012015-07-01 By Ed AlgreenIn Humility, King, RulerLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Daniel 4:34-35): ³⁴ “I praise and honor God Most High. He lives forever, and his kingdom will never end. ³⁵ To him the nations are far less than nothing; God controls the stars in the sky and everyone on this earth. When God does something, we cannot change it or even ask why.”

THOUGHTS: As a little background, King Nebuchadnezzar was an obstinate king who acted like his leadership and input in his kingdom had resulted in the best kingdom around. God started dealing with him through his dreams, and provided an interpreter (Daniel) to help the king understand what the dreams meant. The second dream came to fruition, and caused the king to be humbled to eating grass like an animal. When the king was finally brought to his senses, he recited the prayer included in the verses above. The prayer reminds me of the importance of humbling ourselves to pray, or asking for help. Imagine how challenging it is for us to acknowledge that we need help. Now think about how we feel when we humble ourselves to ask for help. Now put yourself in the shoes of the king, who had everything and acted like his kingdom would go to ruins without him – in other words it existed because of him, and he admired it as a great accomplishment of himself alone. Don’t you know that there was a deep humbling of this king to be taken from his palace – to the hills, and to eat grass like an animal? Friends, as we meditate on this man’s prayer following his eye-opening experience, I believe it is clear to note that his life was deeply impacted. I believe that it is clear to also note that there was one big thing that stood in the way of this happening prior to this experience, and that was the king’s pride and promotion of ‘self’. This leaves one huge question for us to ask ourselves daily – who’s in charge of our lives? Do we allow God to take control, or do we try to do life our way and only call on God when we’re in trouble? Are we a usable instrument to God, or are we hanging on so tightly to the things of this world that we love, that He is held at bay? 2 Chronicles 7:14 makes it clear that if we are to see God actively work in our lives, our families, our cities and our country, then we must humble ourselves, seek His face and be willing to totally surrender to His perfect will and way in our lives, so that He may heal the effects of sin in our lives, and that He may rule and reign in all areas of life so that He may be lifted up, exalted and work through us to achieve His purposes. Who reigns in your life friend? Will you commit today to allow God full control?

PRAYER: Dear God, please teach us to be humble, for without this characteristic our actions and submission to you appear nothing more than an appearance of Christianity. We need You in charge of our lives, our families, our churches and our country, for you alone holds the key to our eternity. Please forgive us for getting in the way and feeling like our role is more important than Yours. You have given us strict instructions of what You require of us, by providing Your Word as a light unto our path. By inviting You to rule and reign in our lives, may we learn to be humble, willing and obedient children through whom You can accomplish Your work without hindrance from us. May we be the kind of instruments that You can mold into Your perfect image, and may we be willing to be used of You to fulfill Your kingdom here on this earth. We are Your children oh Lord, and You are our Savior, Deliverer and soon coming King. Use us as You see fit to accomplish Your desires for this old sinful world in which we live. I ask all this in full surrender to Your will, and 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 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!

Nuggets From God's Word

Tag: Obedience