Tag: Obedient to God

Faith under Fire

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Humility, Obedience, RighteousnessLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: John 18 

OBSERVATION

John 18:25 ~ Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.”

APPLICATION

It might be very easy for us to read this chapter and comment about the coward that Peter was. The truth is that we do this almost every day of our lives, for we act differently and/or speak differently when we are under pressure. A few examples are:

  • The ease we have in lifting up holy hands and worshipping God inside church, vs the challenge we have in doing the same when a fellow Christian tells us in front of coworkers about a miracle that occurred in their life or the life of a loved one. Sometimes the motionless way that we may respond might lead coworkers to question whether we are of the same faith at all;
  • We might easily openly pray in Church, but we don’t want to appear ‘holy’ by praying in public over our food or for a friend in need;
  • We will sit and not only laugh at dirty jokes, but not even acknowledge in actions that our ‘holy’ ears were just poisoned or stained by ungodly or unholy garbage;
  • We will quickly fill our glass with alcohol at a function so we could look/act like our buddies, even though we just said a loud ‘amen’ to the preacher that spoke so openly about ‘the sin of defiling the body’ the day before.

In the above examples I feel like our faith is being tested. Someone is watching to see if we would act the same way on Monday that they saw us pretending to be on Sunday. The sad thing is that we have not only just given them the opportunity to point a finger at our inconsistency, but we have shown that when our faith is under fire, we will act just like Peter and deny Christ. What the world needs most, is to see followers of Christ that they could see enough consistency in their walk and talk that they will freely ask questions about God’s grace, and particularly what it takes to draw closer to God in a personal relationship. The best sermon spoken to a friend is the one that shows by our actions who, and whose we truly are.

PRAYER

  1. Father, in the same way that I seek your face daily for many needs in my life, may I also be careful to not be hypocritical and act as a stranger to You when in the presence of my friends, acquaintances, coworkers, business associates, etc. Perhaps today I can be such an example to someone that they will welcome hearing from me about the Christ that I know, worship, adore and live for each day of my life. Please grant me the strength and boldness to be Your witness today dear Lord. Make me a blessing to someone today!

Benefits of Worship and Obedience

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Forgiveness, Humility, Obedience, Righteousness, WorksLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Psalm 112

OBSERVATION

Psalm 112:1-9 ~ … The LORD blesses everyone who worships him and gladly obeys his teachings. Their descendants will have great power in the land, because the LORD blesses all who do right. They will get rich and prosper and will always be remembered for their fairness. They will be so kind and merciful and good, that they will be a light in the dark for others who do the right thing. Life will go well for those who freely lend and are honest in business. They won’t ever be troubled, and the kind things they do will never be forgotten. Bad news won’t bother them; they have decided to trust the LORD. They are dependable and not afraid, and they will live to see their enemies defeated. They will always be remembered and greatly praised, because they were kind and freely gave to the poor.

APPLICATION

I have included a lot more scripture verses than usual today because I was so touched by it. God is so moved and blessed by our worship and obedience to Him that He used David to show us that there are many benefits to us:

  • Our children will be given great power, because God blesses all who do right;
  • We will get rich and will prosper and will always be remembered, because of our fairness;
  • We will be so kind, merciful and good, that we will be an example or role model for those who endeavor to do the right thing;
  • As we freely lend and be honest in business, we will see life go well for us;
  • We won’t ever be troubled;
  • The kind things that we do will never be forgotten;
  • Bad news won’t bother us, because we are so determined to trust the Lord in all things;
  • We are dependable (so we should be some of the best employees!);
  • We will not be afraid;
  • We will live to see our enemies defeated (although I hope that we will never have enemies!);
  • We will always be remembered and greatly praised, because we were kind and always freely gave to the poor.

Wow, wow, wow! What more can we ask for? What more can we expect? If you are like me I believe that we will say, “But I just want to worship my Lord and obey His Word”, and we will have the best goal in life, but these verses are placed to let us know that there are definite benefits to doing just that! Now put that in perspective and ask why we would deserve this kind of love and I believe that, like me, you will conclude that it is the grace of God that saves us, not anything that we might do, otherwise we might selfishly boast. God is awesome, let’s devote ourselves to worshipping Him and obeying His commands, and in turn be blessed by Him beyond all that we could imagine or expect!

PRAYER

Father, I am committed to worshipping You and obeying Your Word. I acknowledge that this will require much devotion and commitment from me and much help from You to help me keep my focus and devotion to what You teach in Your Word. I know that I will have to depend on You daily, thank You for being there for me. I am so appreciative that You would love even me to the extent of blessing me in all these ways if only I will do what I am suppose to do. Thank You Jesus!

What It Means To Know God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Christian, Faith, Forgiveness, Humility, Righteousness, WorksLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Jeremiah 22

OBSERVATION

Jeremiah 22:15-16 ~ ….Your father was satisfied to have food and drink. He did what was right and fair, so everything went well for him. He helped those who were poor and needy, so everything went well for him. That is what it means to know God,” says the Lord.

APPLICATION

I believe that a few wise words of Jeremiah the prophet were placed in God’s Word for the purpose of drawing our attention to what it means to truly know God. These things are:

  • Be satisfied with what we have – God cares so much for even the sparrow, I could only imagine how special we are to Him seeing that He made us in His image and His likeness, and gave us the understanding to know how much He truly cares for us.
  • Do what is right and fair – I believe that God expects us to treat one another with love and respect, just as He does in our case. Jesus taught us through His example that we should call sin, “sin”, but that we should always love the sinner, who is a creation of the Almighty God.
  • Help those who are poor and needy – following this description of Josiah, a king of Judah whose sons were not following in his footsteps, that everything went well for him because he helped the poor and needy. Unfortunately, today so many are trying to grab what they can so they try to take advantage of a giving society and/or government, however there are many who are truly poor and needy living very close to each of us and we must do all we can to do what is important in the little time that God has given to each of us here on this earth, so let’s put aside the evils of this world and try to reach the heart of God, His poor and needy children.

PRAYER

In doing these things I am told in this passage that not only will everything go well for me, but that I will actually be displaying what it means to know God. It is so important that I use my life wisely and to always strive to please God in all that I do. I pray that I will be made very aware of the needs around me, and that I will strive to follow the will of my Master each and every day through:

  • Being satisfied with what I have been, and being blessed with each day;
  • Making every effort to follow the will of God and do what is right and fair in every circumstance; and
  • Helping those who are poor and needy in every way that I can.

In doing these things, others will see and believe that God exists and still works through His servants even today. May others come to know You Lord as You become visible to them through me. Make me a blessing to someone today!

How God will Sometimes Deal with Sin.

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christian, Forgiveness, Humility, SinLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: 2 Kings 24

OBSERVATION

2 Kings 24:2-4 ~ The Lord sent raiding parties from Babylon, Aram, Moab, and Ammon against Jehoiakim to destroy Judah. This happened as the Lord had said it would through his servants the prophets. The Lord commanded this to happen to the people of Judah, to remove them from his presence, because of all the sins of Manasseh. He had killed many innocent people and had filled Jerusalem with their blood. And the Lord would not forgive these sins.

APPLICATION

In this short passage God showed me how the sins of one man could affect the lives of so many, and how bitter God could be towards sin. In this particular case I believe that God had warned Manesseh many times about his sin, but he continued to take the blood of innocent people in Jerusalem. We are told that God warned about this through His servants, the prophets, and then He sent raiding parties in to destroy Judah. Reading this today we may wonder if something like this could possibly happen today. I dare say that it could, and may very well happen to those that we know and love. God’s Word is full of His warnings, His prophecies, His statutes, His commands, yet we read right over, or through them and continue in sin. How much more of this will our righteous and holy God take? I know that He loves His people and because of that He is very patient with us, but I believe that some of our sins are so blatant and affect so many people that God will see to it that His chosen people, those that He loves so dearly, are not negatively impacted by people that are out to destroy the message of love and the saving grace of our Lord, that Jesus came to fulfill and deliver to the masses.

PRAYER

Lord may I always be a facilitator of Your work and not a stumbling block. Please continue to lead me against the vile of the Evil One and instead, fill my path with righteousness, love for my fellow man, forgiveness for those that offend me, and words to share with the unsaved that will lead them to You. Your ways are righteous and holy, may I be filled with qualities that will reflect Your holiness and righteousness in all that I say or do, and may I be granted boldness to share Your love with everyone, especially those that may seem undeserving at times. Please grant me strength to overcome my weakness in this area during those times that I am tempted to do otherwise, so that others may see You and not faltering mankind.

The Evidence of Jesus in Us

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Born Again, Christian, Eternal Life, Faith, Humility, RighteousnessLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: John 3

OBSERVATION

John 3:30 ~ Jesus must become more important, while I become less important.

APPLICATION

John had just compared the importance of allowing Jesus to shine in all that is accomplished through us, to that of a wedding where the groom must be the shining star and not the best man. I believe that if we ever hope to see family, friends and loved ones accept Jesus as Lord, then we must be careful to allow Jesus to shine very brightly through us. In fact, I would like Jesus to shine so brightly through me that everyone will see Jesus and think only of Him because of my actions or words, and this is because I want to see them do God’s will for their lives and not my selfish desire.

PRAYER

Father I pray that Jesus will shine so brightly in all that I say or do that it will be evident to the lost person that it is You getting their attention. I am Your servant, so please use me to accomplish Your work in the areas in which I find myself, but in the cases that really need it, may it be very evident that it is You at work. I acknowledge this morning that I am nothing without You, and I can do nothing without Your wisdom, power and knowledge, so please speak to Your children through myself and other Christians today that want to see Your work accomplished. May this be a day that we can celebrate Your work in the lives of those close to us.

Born Again?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Born Again, Christian, Eternal Life, Faith, Heaven, Humility, RighteousnessLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: John 3

OBSERVATION

John 3:3-7 ~ Jesus replied, “I tell you for certain that you must be born from above before you can see God’s kingdom!” Nicodemus asked, “How can a grown man ever be born a second time?” Jesus answered: I tell you for certain that before you can get into God’s kingdom, you must be born not only by water, but by the Spirit. Humans give life to their children. Yet only God’s Spirit can change you into a child of God. Don’t be surprised when I say that you must be born from above.

APPLICATION

We often hear the terminology “You must be born again” or “You must accept Jesus as Lord” in order to enter into heaven one day. To those that are unfamiliar with the Word of God, it must be difficult to understand this terminology, and it must sound to you like it did to Nicodemus in these verses. However, Jesus explained that just as in our natural birth we are born from the womb through water into a new birth – a true transformation, the second birth is from a natural sinful life through the Spirit of God that will give us a brand new birth in Christ, another transformation. It is as easy as A, B, C to do this. Be ready by ADMITting that you are a sinner in need of a Savior (Jesus). BELIEVE that Jesus is Lord and that only He can save you and give you access into heaven. Then CONFESS your sin to Jesus and ask His forgiveness. It’s as simple as that, Admit, Believe and Confess. Do this and you will be saved, friend! Go then and tell your friends about the change/transformation that has occurred in your life!

PRAYER

Father I thank You for saving me, and for forgiving me of my sin, and giving me life eternal. Please speak to anyone reading this today and convince them of any decisions that they need to make. Please tender the hearts of my family and loved ones that still need to surrender their lives to You. May this be a day of decision for them. May they go to bed tonight with the assurance of knowing that they have made the most important decision of their life and that it is a positive decision towards knowing You as their personal Savior. As this is read, decisions will be made. One decision will be to accept Jesus as Lord or the alternative is to continue a life without Christ that could be into eternal damnation (Hell) before the sun sets tonight. I love my family and friends too much to know that any of them will make the latter decision, so please soften their hearts even now dear Jesus.

It’s You I Live For

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christian, Faith, RighteousnessLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE

Studied: Psalm 62

OBSERVATION

Psalm 62:8-9 ~ Trust God, my friends, and always tell him each one of your concerns. God is our place of safety. We humans are only a breath; none of us are truly great. All of us together weigh less than a puff of air.

APPLICATION

We often say, well I am so disappointed because a good friend of ours let us down. In these verses David reminds us that all humans put together weigh less than a puff of air, for it is God that we should tell all of our concerns and it is in Him that we should depend for our safety. We are so dependent on what others think of us. If only we would be so careful to place that much emphasis on what God KNOWS about us, and if only we would act in ways that would please God as much as we try to please others.

PRAYER

  1. Father, “It’s You I live for“. Please help me to live my life in a way that is pleasing in Your sight, and that follows Your commands. Please help me to daily dig deep into Your Word so that I may stay in tuned with all that You would have me to do.