Tag: Only God can

Trust God, Especially When ‘Death’ Seems Imminent

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Death, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Trust, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Saturday, 2022-07-09
WRITTEN AT: O Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 2 Corinthians 1:8-10
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

BIBLE TEXT: 8  My friends, I want you to know what a hard time we had in Asia. Our sufferings were so horrible and so unbearable that death seemed certain. 9 In fact, we felt sure we were going to die. But this made us stop trusting in ourselves and start trusting God, who raises the dead to life. 10 God saved us from the threat of death, and we are sure that he will do it again and again. 

APPLICATION: Random shootings occur because of the sting of one finding themselves out of a job, and the hopelessness of how their family will survive the new financial woes. Homes are destroyed because of broken marriages, and often partners will resort to criminal acts against each other in the name of revenge. The onset of Covid, cancer, or any other deadly disease may stretch the imagination of individuals and cause them to try very extreme actions as they fight for earthly ways to save their opportunity for continued life as they once knew it. So what does the Christian do in this regard that’s any different to what the unbeliever might do? Let’s believe that God will reveal great truths though His Word that helps direct us in our times of desperation. We will see that in Paul’s scenario, they quickly ran out of personal options and ran to God – the same God who opened the eyes of Saul who once persecuted Christians and the work of Jesus Christ. As a changed man, Paul, as he was later known, had witnessed miracle upon miracle. He had seen the awesome handiwork of God who rescued His people from imminent death and from obvious dire situations. Paul quickly realized that this new danger they faced was much more than he and his men could do anything about. As a man of God, I can only say that for the point at which Paul found himself, he knew that God was showing him that there was only one way out of this, and it was not for Paul to think of more earthly weaponry to use against his enemy. I have often heard the old adage that desperate people will often avoid looking up and calling on God, until they are flat on their back and have no other choice but to ‘look up’! Paul had seen the powerful works of the God he served, and although he couldn’t see any humanly way to fight the enemy in his current situation, he knew a God who could. I looked at many Bible translations and one thing that read the same across the board was ‘this made us stop trusting ourselves and start trusting in Almighty God’! Friends, so many of us have heard of too many family and friends who have lost their fight to Covid, cancer or heart attack over recent months and years. Are you at the point yet where Paul found himself in our text today? Have your surrendered your all to Almighty God and called on Him in desperation to protect you and your family, and to recuse you from the evil forces that surround you in all of this earthly violence in our world, for there is so little respect for life itself? Perhaps death seems imminent for you in one of the other scenarios mentioned above. Please don’t wait to see if this will affect you, just know that it will. Trust in God with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Do not lean on the enemies ‘wait and see’ option, for your circumstances might very well be way beyond your ability to overcome. Never think that you will have time later to start seeking God, for no man knows the day or the hour when our Lord will return to take His saints home to glory! Trust God today, even while things appear ‘peachy’! Notice that in times of war people will turn to the world’s super-powers for help. In the case of Covid, this philosophy didn’t work, because the whole world was in a dilemma for a resolution. Hopefully God got our attention and made us realize that He alone holds the keys to life and death. He was the only One for our family and friends to turn to in their desperation. Forget about self, and start trusting God today, dear one.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Praise God, I know this Jesus that Paul decided to trust in when he realized the hopelessness of trusting himself for answers to his dilemma! We must still learn to call on God today, for He alone can fight off the vices of Satan and his army of evildoers.

PRAYER: ‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word. Oh for grace to trust Him more’! Lord Jesus, You know Your children better than anyone knows. No doubt You see us in our daily struggles and it makes You want to stretch out Your hand and guide us through life’s temptation, struggles, trials and dangers. Please help us to acknowledge our weaknesses and inabilities, and to often be reminded of Your awesome power, strength and power. Please Lord, be our God today in all of life’s situations and in every walk of life that seem so impossible to us. You are our Rock and our eternal salvation! In You alone I place my faith and trust oh Lord. Please help each reader and listener to catch a new glimpse of this, and to sooner do what Paul did – forget about self abilities, and trust God in everything instead! 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 might 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 subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would 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!

Only God Can

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, God Can Do It Again, God Cares For Us, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Worship2 Comments

DATE POSTED Tuesday, 2021-09-28
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Judges 16:19-20
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 19 Delilah lulled Samson to sleep with his head in her lap, and then she called in a man to shave off the seven locks of his hair. In this way she began to bring him down, and his strength left him.
20 Then she cried out, “Samson! The Philistines have come to capture you!
When he woke up, he thought, “I will do as before and shake myself free.” But he didn’t realize the Lord had left him.

APPLICATION: It seems more and more prevalent for doctors to let us make our own choices on certain treatments available to us. They present the facts, and leave the decision up to us. God has always shown us that same freedom. He has a glorious eternity in mind for us, and He presents through His Word all the reasons why it would be beneficial for us to accept His Son, Jesus, but He leaves the actual decision up to us. God also had a very special life in store for Samson, as a judge over Israel. He gave him physical strength that any earthly man would be envious of, but God also gave Samson the freedom to make his own choices. There was a certain ‘weakness’ that Samson displayed towards the opposit sex, for he loved women, and they were attracted to him because of his physique. Unfortunately, we are a lot like Samson, in that we are generally warned about certain dangers, and we agree with those dangers, but we tend to think that everything will be alright, because we know how to protect ourselves against the evil plans of others. But as the Scripture tells us, Samson was not as independently strong as he felt he was, and he was therefore lulled into a game that threatened his very life. My friends, I believe God is still warning us today of the power and strength of the Evil One. I realize that many of you are very similar to me, and would quickly say ‘we’ve got this’, but let me remind you that just as we are no match for the Almighty God, neither are we any match for God’s greatest oponent, Satan. Remember, God loves us so much that He showed us at Calvary how deep that love ran, but if we insist on doing life ‘our way’, He is gentleman enough to let us. You will be warned over and over about the dangers and extreme risks, but if we keep shoving God away and grabbing the reigns for ourself, God will do for us what He did for Samson, He will let us face the battle all alone, and that will lead to complete failure. Fortunately for us, the opposite is still very true today. If we call on God, He is faithful and just, and He will forgive us of our sin, and He will stand by us to the very end of time here on earth. Receive your free gift today precious friend. Allow God to be God of your life and in all circumstances of life. God never fails!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Submission to God results in His love, protection and deliverance through all of earths pain, trials and temptations. Seek Him today, while He may be found, and let Him lead you in every circumstance of life.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You made us with great big egos, and way too often we feel like we could handle every challenge and difficulty presented to us here on earth. But Lord, You alone is the answer to all of life’s challenges, and we are reminded daily that we can’t do life without You. Please help us to learn from Samson and not become caught up in feeling like we could handle the Evil One, for only You can keep Satan at bay. Forgive us Lord when we try to assume Your position in our lives, we need You every moment of every day. Please reign us back in immediately when You see us wandering off to try and handle things on our own. We need You precious Father. Please work out Your will and way in our lives and impact others as You see the need evident in 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 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 might 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 subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would 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!

Only God Can

On By Ed AlgreenIn All-powerful, Answered Prayer, Appreciation, God's Power, Important, Miracles, Miraculous, Needs, Power of God, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

Friday, 2019-06-28

Bible Reference: Isaiah 40:31; 41:10,13
Translation: The Voice (VOICE)

Bible Text: 40:30      But those who trust in the Eternal One will regain their strength. They will soar on wings as eagles. They will run—never winded, never weary. They will walk—never tired, never faint.
41:10     So don’t be afraid. I am here, with you; don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, help you. I am here with My right hand to make right and to hold you up.
41:13     After all, it is I, the Eternal One your God, who has hold of your right hand, Who whispers in your ear, “Don’t be afraid. I will help you.”

OBSERVATION: Three separate verses, but each pointing to the source of our help, the source of our strength, and the source of our protection. In our troubled world, most of us face the fear of increasing crime and subsequent harm to ourselves or our loved ones. Meditate on the words, and reassurance given in these three verses today, and be comforted that our God is able to adequately care for His children!

APPLICATION: Often troubled times will face us and, we will automatically respond in certain ways, based on past experiences. However, all too often there will be a certain twist to our current dilemma that was never a part of our past experience. It seems to me that we respond, or react, based on information that we have fed to our brain over the years. I wish for you, my friend, what I would desire for myself, that there would be so much of God fed into my lives through the Scriptures, such as the verses we are meditating on today, that we would respond to life’s circumstances in a way that is pleasing to God, and very dependent on His all powerful hand. It is so easy for us to assume the position of knowing it all, and that we only need God for those decisions that we are stumped on, but over the years we have developed a faith in God; a trust in His powerful and all-knowing capabilities; and we have read verses like the ones we have today where God has promised to care for us, protect us and direct us along the right path. Let us therefore be encouraged to consult with our God, and be willing to obey what He leads us to. If it’s from Scripture we already know, then I believe He will quickly bring it back to active memory. If it’s a new revelation, then I believe He will direct. Let me encourage you to read over the above verses again, and allow God to saturate your minds with the assurance of His love, His wisdom and His direction for your life. He’s got this! All we need to do is to tap into His goodness and allow Him to be our Master and our God.

PRAYER: Praise God that we serve a God that can do the things that are impossible in man’s eyes! Not only am I convinced of the truth of Your Word in the above verses Lord, but I was also reminded of this in my New Testament reading today where You healed the sick, cast out demons and quieted their mouths. Praise God, You truly are a God who can do miraculous things, even those things that we think might seem impossible to us. Lord, with that confidence, please allow me to ask for You to touch the hearts of the unsaved in my community. Please open their hearts and minds to the message of Your Word, convince them of their sin, and create a desire within them to know You personally. Please convict the hearts of the saved. May we never be ashamed of the Gospel, and may we always be such examples of our Savior that the unsaved will see You and want to accept and serve You. Oh that You may be glorified through Your children today, and may the power of our awesome God be evident in all that we do and say. AMEN!