Tag: Praise-worthy

Your Song of Praise

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Praise-worthy, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

Sunday, 2019-09-15

Bible Reference: Psalm 59:16-17
Translation: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

Bible Text: 16 But I will sing about your strength.
    I will rejoice in your love every morning.
You have been my place of safety,
    the place I can run to when troubles come.
17 I will sing praises to you, my source of strength.
    You, God, are my place of safety.
    You are the God who loves me!

OBSERVATION: When we’re about to receive thousands of dollars, we could probably assemble an unbelievable great song of praise to God! When our first grandchild is born, our hearts are so filled with the miracle of new birth that words of praise to our God would flow forth uncontrollably from our lips. But what about our song when we reflect on the ups and downs of our week? What about when our marriage is not going well, or when we’re overwhelmed with the stress of people out to ‘get us’? Should those times of praise look any differently? Meditate with me as we think about this.

APPLICATION: It is so easy for us to raise our songs of complaining about our finances; our health; our loved one’s hospitalization; and so on. All I know is, that no matter how hard one might have it, as for me, my situation is at a breaking point, so listen up dear friend as I unload on you!! To the contrary, can you imagine the feeling that must have come over the spies from Saul’s group as they snuck up to David’s house and overheard Him singing praises to his God? Friends, I don’t know about you, but I am very ‘human’ when it comes to stressful situations, similar to the situation David must have been facing at this time in his life where Saul was out to kill him. I become jittery inside, grouchy with those around me, and often become silent (to make sure I don’t say the wrong thing), so would I ever think of making time to glorify God in the middle of my pity party? Highly unlikely! But is it not true that Jesus never fought back, or showed anger, or hatred towards those who set out to harm Him? He knew it was the Father’s will that He should go to the cross, and He was prepared to honor Him in everything ordained by God. Could it be that God places us in certain situations to help us grow closer to Him, or perhaps learn to understand others, or perhaps get that chip off our shoulder? Scripture repeats itself in telling us that ‘in ALL things, give thanks’! Imagine with me for a moment that the same God who blesses us richly each and every day, is the same God that waits for our acknowledgment of His lordship even when things don’t seem to be going the way we expected. He’s in control Brothers and Sisters, so never turn your back on Him. Satan would love nothing more than to temp you with something and than see you fail, or at least falter in your faith. Be strong in the Lord and trust in Him in ALL your ways, my friend! This is a good day to strive for that goal! Prayerfully get before the Master and ask Him to help you make right decisions; read His Word for His answer back to you and the direction you should follow; listen to the spoken Word from Bible Believing pastors; and then be busy about His work. His ways will ultimately lead to a path that brings praise back to the Almighty. So seek my Lord while you are able to, and be obedient to His call. There’s nothing more satisfying in this whole world than to know that you are following the will of God, for this is what He desires of His children seeking to be with Him for eternity!

PRAYER: Oh Lord, I am truly reminded today to continue praising You in the good times, but also to never forget to praise You in the storms of life. You never promised us life without challenges, but you assured us that You will be with us at ALL times, and in every circumstance of life. Lord, You know the challenges that we face, and how overwhelmed we become at times. Please help us to always keep our heads up, looking full into the face of the One who loves us beyond compare, and reminding us that You will love us through the good, and the challenging times of life. Thank You for Your unconditional, sacrificial love for us, please help us to love You enough to never question Your ways and Your decisions. Please help those that will read this devotional and may not know you personally, to realize that You’re are every bit as awesome as I have tried to portray in this devotional today. For You are alone are God, and there is no one above or beyond You. AMEN!

How To Handle Praise

On By Ed AlgreenIn Praise, Preach, Preaching, Teach, TeacherLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Monday, 2017-10-23
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Proverbs 27:21 (NCV)

Text:

 21 A hot furnace tests silver and gold,
    and people are tested by the praise they receive.
OBSERVATION:
It is natural for us to give praise to others who have done a good job, because it serves to encourage them. It is also good for us to thank them for doing a good job. On the receiving end, it is often embarrassing to the one who did the job, because they would rather see God receive the praise. Let’s look at this dilemma and see how we believe God prefers to see this done.
APPLICATION:
I believe that we must always seek God’s face when we are searching for biblical material to use in our teaching or preaching. The reason for this is that we want to be obedient to God, in seeking His will for that particular class or congregation. For we could find things to say that would make them feel good about themselves, but only God knows what they need to touch their hearts and their current, private situation. So then, having been directed by God, or through research in various documents or websites, is it really fair to soak up the praises of our listeners without sharing with them our source of information? The best advice that I have heard on this, came just recently when a gentleman said that each evening after he has spoken to, or taught, an audience, he commits all praise to his Father. I like that, for our speaker was blessed by us thanking him and sharing our praises with him, but knowing where the real praise belongs, he passes it on to God! Friends, I would love to think that as a teacher/preacher/writer, we depend wholly and solely on the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts so that they may speak to someone who needs to hear from Jesus – either for healing, restoration, or just to feel loved and secured by Him. Please don’t be selfish in withholding all the praise from Him as it was given to you! To those on the giving end of praise, please pray for your teachers, preachers and leaders that they may be used by the Holy Spirit to speak words of encouragement and instruction to you, then as they succeed, please thank God for speaking to you through His servant, and for answering your prayers..
PRAYER:
Lord, please help us to minimize pride in our lives by habitually passing along all praise received, to You, the originator of all knowledge and wisdom. We are but instruments in Your hands dear Father, use us for Your glory. AMEN!
FOOTNOTE:
There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’.  If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Our God Is Awesome!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Awesome God, Beyond Description, Miraculous, Praise-worthy1 Comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: Isaiah 40:25-26
Today’s Bible Text: 25-26 “So – who is like me? Who holds a candle to me?” says The Holy. Look at the night skies: Who do you think made all this? Who marches this army of stars out each night, counts them off, calls each by name – so magnificent! so powerful! – and never overlooks a single one?
The Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take Away: If I was able to post a photo with my blog this morning, I would open our minds to the beauty of the heavens at night. It would not show a photo of a dark sky void of any color, or one filled with white spots, but rather a sky spotted with clouds, yet filled with stars twinkling in the night sky that are precisely placed – some even in specific groupings to form certain shapes so that we might easily identify the ‘Big Dipper’ or others. In fact, this beauty will draw us to God with such significance that we would look in amazement and quickly conclude that only God can do this! Friends, it’s just one more reminder of how awesome our God is! When we take our largest problem before Him today, one that may seem so very impossible to us, can I encourage you to stop and reflect on the picture I’ve just painted and just praise God first for the few million stars that you can see from your viewpoint? Would you praise Him for making those beauties individually, and for placing them just right in that part of the sky? Wait just one minute, did I just say placing them in the sky? How do they stay up there? I do believe that its yet one more miracle that you can add to your list of praises, for it causes us to look heavenward where all of earths hidden treasures were created. Oh, and don’t forget to praise God for His awesome creativeness in making that otherwise pitch-black sky to not only illuminate, but to give direction and light to that mariner who sails the dark seas at night. Friends, there is no one like our God, no matter how science might try to reason Him out of the equation. Won’t you take time to praise Him today for yet another reminder of His existence, His creation; His miraculous touch to the beauty of this earth that we are blessed to be a part of? Won’t you stop and consider how very capable He is of handling even our largest issue today? Won’t you just take a moment to praise Him for who He truly is? ‘Awesome’ is just one of the many words I chose to title this blog with today. I’m sure you can find a thousand other adjectives to describe our supernatural God today! In this song Phil Wickham described Him as ‘Amazing – this King of Glory’, click listen as you continue to meditate on this thought today!

Prayer: Thank You Father for Your amazing love, Your amazing grace, Your miraculous touch to our world! This truly is Your amazing grace! Please forgive us for running to You with such minor things in this life, but Lord, thank You for understanding our helpless state and for the small glimpse of what we gather of Your awesome power and grace to help us. Lord, as we worship You today and draw close to You, may we be reminded of Your love and availability to us. May we learn to savor in Your grace and Your awesomeness more. We need You Lord, please show us more of Your power and grace today, I pray in the name of Jesus, my Savior and 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 contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

2016