Tag: Overcomer

This Life of Contradictions

On By Ed AlgreenIn Discern Truth, Holiness, Holy, Holy Living, Moment of Truth, TruthLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Wednesday, 2020-04-01
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

Bible Reference: Romans 7:21-25
Translation: The Message (Message)

Bible Text: 21    …The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. 24          I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?
25          The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

OBSERVATION: I was happy to be reminded of the struggle that Paul faced, because it is very prevalent in my life. And because I’m pretty sure that you have not attained perfection yet either, I believe that it is probably the same in your life. We struggle daily with having the good intentions of doing what pleases God, yet plagued with the temptations, ill feelings and conniving of this wicked world in which we live. In fact, way too often we tend to walking right out of our prayer closets and immediately follow the trend of what the world is doing around us.

APPLICATION: Like Paul, we especially look back at our day and sometimes say that we are ‘at the end of our rope’ with mere efforts and ‘want-to’s’ and we wonder if there is anything that could be done. I absolutely love verse 25 where Paul reminds us that the answer to this dilemma is Jesus Christ. For He died for us even while we were yet sinners and still persecuting Him. We find it extremely frustrating when we have committed to obedience to God’s Word, when we have every intention to follow the ways of God, yet we are so easily swayed to follow the ways of our old lifestyle, the joys of our friends and neighbors, and to be popular in their eyes. However in our Scripture today we are given the formula, or the solution, or the answer to our lives of contradictions. Like an alcoholic seeking to overcome that dreaded disease, we must first acknowledge that we have a problem. Our education is of no help to us, nor is our strength from personal workouts. In fact, we can’t seem to personally overcome this type of life. However, the Word of God reminds us that greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. So do we dare look into God’s face and say that the sin within us is greater? If we do say that, we are actually saying that he that is in the world is greater than He that is in me, and that’s an incorrect statement. Friends, let’s be careful to give God full freedom in our lives so that He could be our God. Satan is very conniving and can easily take advantage of our personal weaknesses, but he has no power over our God! Amen? Today let us put Satan in his place – behind God. Let’s give God thanks for being our deliverer from the evil of this world; let’s praise Him for send His Son Jesus to provide the means of us getting to Heaven and enjoying life everlasting in Him. He cares for us, dear child of God and He wants to see us succeed in our commitment to Him. If you truly want to succeed in your commitment to God, ask for His help and His strength, and through His power, be willing to give it all that your have. For I truly believe that greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I need You today. I battle the same challenges that Paul battled, and I need the same help that he did. You have shown me in Your Word how to live. You have set the example for me through the life and character of Your precious Son. Please work steadfastly in my life so that I may overcome the negative pull of the evil one, the sinful nature of this world and the ungodly attitudes of many that I come into contact with. Please touch the hearts of Your people today, so that we may have power to overcome evil, and that we may live according to Your perfect will and design. You are holy, oh God, and if we are to be followers of Your precious Son, then we too must strive for holiness. Thank You for being the source of that power that we need to live like this! For I ask all this in Your most holy name, Jesus my Lord, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog at https://NuggetsFromGodsWord.org 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 or listening to this devotional, please go to 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. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and see all of my posts, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. 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!

What Hinders You From Knowing Christ Intimately?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Garbage, Overcomer, SinLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2019-06-05

Bible Reference: Philippians 3:8-10
Translation: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Bible Text:  8 Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ 9 and to know that I belong to him. I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ. 10 All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life.

OBSERVATION: In our effort to reach the finish line well, we will face many temptations and the ‘filth’ and ‘garbage’ of this world on a daily basis. If we know the Master, then we are plugged into the powersource that will help us overcome the ‘garbage’ that may tend to hold us back. This is worth taking a few minutes to meditate on before God!

APPLICATION:  Some of us are living ‘on top of the world’ – having the time of our lives with: great jobs; awesome friends; lots of ‘things’ for entertainment and/or enjoyment. However, there are some who are struggling to make it each day because they struggle to enjoy anything in life. At the foot of the cross, both types of individuals come with the same problem if they have yet to accept Jesus as Lord, for they come to the cross laden in sin. Believe it or not, Paul (aka Saul) was the chiefest of sinners in his day, yet God used him to show us through this scripture that just as he surrendered, or gave up everything to follow Christ, so will we have to give up the sin in our lives. Often this involves the things that have always led us to sin, or distracted us from knowing God. This challenged me, and I am sharing this with you so that you may be challenged, to think about this also. What is there in our lives that hinders our relationship with God? Is it time to throw out the ‘garbage’ so that our minds and our lives might be freed of the pull of sin? This could be hindering your acceptance of the Lord, or if we know Him already, this could be distracting and/or hindering our intimacy with Him. I want you to commit with me, as Paul did in verse 10, that from this very moment in life, we will reach for the finish line, to stand before God without any fear of shame, or rejection, or penalty from Him. The distractions that we will face getting from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ are the sins that we have to watch out for, and avoid, each day. Will you join me in going before Jesus each and every day to ask for His strength, His guidance and His power to overcome the ‘garbage’ that will try to trip us up each day? For we want to see Jesus! We want to know Him and the awesome power that raised Him to life! Let us therefore run this race of life with God at the center of all we do. Let us lean on His awesome power to help us stay ‘garbage free’ and strive to serve Him faithfully each and every day!

PRAYER: Lord You have allowed us to stay on this earth so that we might represent You and witness to others who need Jesus. You know all about the ‘garbage’ that we have allowed to enter our lives that really stinks and repels the sinner from wanting to know You. We are ashamed that we have been so weak and ineffective. I was convinced in Your Word today that others, in the heart of a ‘garbage’ pile, really don’t want more ‘garbage’, for they are looking for a way out, a cleansing, a new and better life. Lord Jesus, You are the Way, the Truth and the Life for those looking for a new life. Thank You for opening my eyes to this truth over 40 years ago. Please help me to keep my eyes and my life fixed on You and determined to avoid the ‘garbage’ that will easily and quickly pollute my life. Please touch the lives of my readers with a renewed desire to know You and to live for You in a closer and more dedicated way. May Christians today truly represent the God of their Christianity and fight off the distractions, or the ‘garbage’, that will try to trip them up and distract their walk with You. Please touch the hearts of those that do not know You, with a softened heart and a strong determination to dump the ‘garbage’ in their lives and refill it with Your holiness, love and compassion. I ask all this in faith, believing in the Son of God, for it is only He that can help us be all that He desires of us. AMEN!

How to Defend Against Every Kind of Attack

On By Ed AlgreenIn Follow Christ, Imitator of Christ, ObedienceLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – Easy-To-Read Version (ERV) ~ 2 Corinthians 6:6-7 ~ We show that we are God’s servants by our pure lives, by our understanding, by our patience, and by our kindness. We show it by the Holy Spirit, by genuine love, by speaking the truth, and by depending on God’s power. This right way of living has prepared us to defend ourselves against every kind of attack.

THOUGHTS: There are many who accept the Lord thinking that all of their troubles will now be gone, as they will now associate themselves with ‘holy’ and ‘righteous’ people. Friends may I remind you that as long as we remain on this sinful earth, we will encounter sinful, hurtful people, as there are many who will cross our paths that have decided to stay clear of our best friend, our Savior and our soon coming King. Prior to the verses listed above, Paul had just shared with the Corinthians how much he and his team had endured in their ministry. Fortunately for us, Paul went on to tell them what he attributed his success to in dealing with sinful people and their deliberate attack on children of God. This is helpful information for us, as we are bound to find some awful, unfortunate, opposition as we seek to spread the Good News, and light, among a world filled with darkness, deceit and bad intentions. Here are some things that Paul teaches that might help us stay stronger in our faith and true to our Master, especially as we deal with the vices of Satan here on earth:

  • Purity – keep ourselves pure in God’s sight and our earthly opposition will see the evidence of a man/woman controlled by God. I consider purity to be a true and consistent witness for God. True to His teachings and always consistent in obedience to His Word no matter who our audience might be;
  • Understanding – Don’t be so quick to jump to conclusions that a person is wrong or unfaithful, but instead try to look at them through the lens of God. I believe He sees them as His very own creation that just needs a little encouragement, teaching and mentoring by one of His stronger servants at the time;
  • Patience – Isn’t it strange how we get so impatient with someone who is doing precisely what we struggled with just a very short time ago? Wouldn’t it be better to share with them a spirit of understanding because you can relate to their dilemma? Wouldn’t it encourage them to know that you are living proof of what our awesome God can do in the life of a messed up, weak individual?
  • Kindness – Part of the reason that the unsaved is having a second look at a Christian, is because they see where we have a sense of calm over us; a strength inside of us that they just can’t comprehend. While I believe that God can miraculously open their eyes to this, I also believe that unbelievers will see this through the characteristics of the believer. Kindness is especially important in this fast-paced, selfish, unkind world we live in. After all, why would we be ‘kind’ to a total stranger, or to one who is out to get us? This is a character of God that must be displayed in Christians, if we ever expect for the lost to see Jesus in our actions.

Fortunately, Paul went on to say how he gained the strength to do the above, so that we might also know how to gain and stay attuned to the blessings of God in and through the characteristics listed. Paul shared that he depended on the Holy Spirit; through genuine love; by speaking the truth, and by depending on God’s power. So friends, when you read the above and allow your minds to wonder into the question as to who can possible achieve such things, allow God to use the qualities Paul told us that helped him. Remember, God is all powerful, and that you and He can accomplish great things – greater than anything you could ever imagine!

PRAYER: Lord God, Your holiness and Your character is what we desire, so that the world might recognize to whom we belong. We have so many temptations and trials thrown at us every day, and we can only do this thing called ‘life’ – Christian Life, through the power of Your Holy Spirit, through our genuine love for everyone, by always speaking the truth in love, and through Your awesome power. It is only then that I believe we will stand a chance at defending ourselves against every attack of Satan. We know that greater is He that is in us than he that is in this old wicked world. Please have Your will and way in me today, and please touch the lives of those that will read this devotional today, for I ask this in the precious and holy name of Jesus, AMEN!

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

Dependence on God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Dependence, OvercomersLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (Contemporary English Version – Isaiah 40:29-31): 29 The Lord gives strength to those who are weary. 30 Even young people get tired, then stumble and fall. 31 But those who trust the Lord will find new strength. They will be strong like eagles soaring upward on wings; they will walk and run without getting tired.

Thoughts: I remember my parents emphasizing to me that I should wait for them before doing some things that really made them nervous. I remember coaching my daughter to do the same. However the one being coached is usually the one trying to be independent and do things on their own, and of course the ones that wind up learning from their mistakes or possibly even getting hurt. But isn’t it interesting that we who try to help, guide and protect our young, find it so difficult to place our faith and our trust in our God who loves us and wants to help, guide and protect us? Like our kids, we still fight for our independence and often live in unbelief, pride and self-confidence. We try to do things in our own limited strength that often results in failure and moving in a direction out of God’s will. This scripture is encouraging us to live life to its fullest by trusting in God, allowing Him to control us and our situations, so that we can find new strength for the day, so that we can soar above our problems and enjoy this walk of life without tiring. Friends, our dependence on God can give us independence from all that this world burdens us with each day. This is the way for us to follow. Will you recommit with me by surrendering our lives, our challenges and our struggles to God and totally trust Him to guide us through? It’s only then that we will soar above the concerns of this life and look forward in peace to all that God has in store for us!

Prayer: Lord God, it has become increasingly challenging to trust others, because of past disappointments, but thank You for Your precious Word today that has reminded me that I can place my full faith and trust in You. This world has proven to be way more than I can handle on my own, so please help me to stay focused on the truth of Your Word, and to depend on You for renewed strength each day. I want to soar above the troubles and challenges of this life, but I need Your wings to do this. You are my strength when I am weak, my sight when I am blinded by the enemy and my hope when everything seems so out of control and hopeless. Please use Your Word to encourage all that might read this devotional today. Please direct ones to read this who need encouragement or a sense of redirection in their life today. Teach us to be totally dependent on You, so that we may soar above the challenges of this life. May You receive praise and glory from all that is accomplished in our lives today, for it is in the name of Jesus Christ that I ask it, 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!

Living ‘Garbage Free’ Lives

On By Ed AlgreenIn Garbage, Overcomer, SinLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (Contemporary English Version – Philippians 3:8-10): 8 Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ 9 and to know that I belong to him. I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ. 10 All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life.

Thoughts: Some of us are living ‘on top of the world’ – having the time of our lives with great jobs, awesome friends, lots of ‘things’ for entertainment and/or enjoyment. However, there are some who are struggling to make it each day because of just the opposite. At the foot of the cross, both types of individuals come with the same problem if they have yet to accept Jesus as Lord, for they come to the cross laden in sin. Believe it or not, Paul (aka Saul) was the chiefest of sinners in his day, yet God uses him to show us through this scripture that just as Paul surrendered, or gave up everything to follow Him, so will we have to give up the sin in our lives. Often this involves the things that have always led us to sin, or distracted us from knowing God. This challenged me, and I am sharing this with you so that you may be challenged, to think about this also. What is there in our lives that hinders our relationship with God? Is it time to throw out the ‘garbage’ so that our minds and our lives might be freed of the pull of sin? This could be hindering your acceptance of the Lord, or if we know Him already, this could be distracting and/or hindering our intimacy with Him. For a moment, I want you to commit with me, as Paul did in verse 10. Now this means that starting from your current place in life, your goal is to reach the finish line in life at a point where you will stand before God without any fear of rejection or penalty from Him. Those distractions that you will face from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’ are the sins that we have to watch out for, and avoid, each day. Will you join me in going before Jesus each and every day to ask for His strength, His guidance and His power to overcome the ‘garbage’ that will try to trip us up each day? For we want to see Jesus! We want to know Him and the awesome power that raised Him to life! Let us therefore run this race of life with God at the center of all we do. Let us lean on His awesome power to help us stay ‘garbage free’ and strive to serve Him faithfully each and every day!

Prayer: Lord You have allowed us to stay on this earth so that we might represent You to others who need Jesus. You know all about the ‘garbage’ that we have allowed to enter our lives that really stinks and repels the sinner from wanting to know You. We are ashamed that we have been so weak and ineffective. I was convinced in Your Word today that others, in the heart of a ‘garbage’ pile, really don’t want more ‘garbage’, for they are looking for a way out, a cleansing, a new and better life. Lord Jesus, You are the Way, the Truth and the Life for those looking for a new life. Thank You for opening my eyes to this truth over 30 years ago. Please help me to keep my eyes and my life fixed on You and determined to avoid the ‘garbage’ that will easily and quickly pollute my life. Please touch the lives of my readers with a renewed desire to know You and to live for You in a closer and more dedicated way. May Christians today truly represent the God of their Christianity and fight off the distractions of the ‘garbage’ that will try to trip them up and distract their walk with You. Please touch the hearts of those that do not know You with a softened heart and a strong determination to dump the ‘garbage’ in their lives and refill it with Your holiness, love and compassion. I ask all this in faith, believing in the Son of God, for it is only He that can help us be all that He desires of us. 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!

The Most Intimate part of our Life!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Christian, Christmas, LoveLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

29 Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift.

30 Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted. 31–32Make a clean break with all cutting, backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.

(Bible Translation and Location: The Message – Ephesians 4:29-32)

Thoughts:

No doubt Paul was facing challenges at the churches he was ministering at much like we experience today. However, what was made abundantly clear to me this morning as I read these verses is that we not only hurt our Brothers and Sisters by the things we say and do, but the Holy Spirit is very hurt by our harsh words and our unloving actions. The reason I believe that the Holy Spirit is grieved and disappointed in us, is that God the Father sacrificed His one and only Son in order that we might have a new life in Him, one that is free from the filth and dirt of a world stained by Satan. It just crushes the heart of my Savior when, from all appearances, we have disregarded this precious gift of God, and still continue to live like the devil. Worse still, God expects this type behavior out of those who know no better, because they don’t know Him nor His expectation for their life. However, the real disappointment comes when a person says ‘yes’ to Jesus and then continue on with their old lifestyle. It’s like saying to God, this is my life and I will live it as I please. Friends, as children of God, we not only have His assurance of being always present in us and with us through every circumstance in life, but we are also endowed with:

  • His love – to love others in the same way that He first loved us;
  • His power – to overcome the Evil one and all the distractions and attractions of this world;
  • His humility – to love even the person that may have hurt us or tried to humiliate us; and
  • His understanding – that opens our eyes to right vs wrong; love vs hatred; peace vs war/envy/strife.

Friends, I believe it is suffice to say that with God’s Holy Spirit residing inside of us, there is nothing that we can’t overcome and nothing that prevents us from showing the love of Christ to all that we come into contact with. We celebrate Christmas because of the precious gift given to us through the Lord Jesus, so that we might be overcomers; children of God and one with Him. Let’s choose to die to our old selves and allow the Holy Spirit to fill us with His qualities, so that we may represent Him before a lost and dying world, won’t you?

Prayer:

Lord, You gave us the greatest gift possible when You sent Your Son as a child in Bethlehem. For at that time You purposed in Your heart that Jesus would be our SAVIOR. You did this in spite of our sin, our unworthiness and our nature. It was mere love for a race that You created to love, honor and worship You, however a race but still chose to do otherwise. With this type love as a backdrop in our lives, please help us to always strive towards imitating that type love. Your ultimate love was shown on the cross, where You allowed the ugliness of sin and darkness to win, so that Your life might be sacrificed for mankind. Please help us to sacrifice all that we feel is important to us, and instead allow Your love to envelope us and express itself through us, so that others will see Jesus in us and want to know Him personally! Jesus, thank You for coming to earth, so that we may one day come to heaven to live with You forever! I love You Lord, and I ask all these things believing in You, 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!