Tag: Praise

Let Heaven Fill Your Thoughts Today

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

DATE WRITTEN: Wednesday, 2021-07-07
WRITTEN AT: Williams, AZ

SCRIPTURE FROM: Colossians 3:1-3
TRANSLATION: The Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT:  1 Since you became alive again, so to speak, when Christ arose from the dead, now set your sights on the rich treasures and joys of heaven where he sits beside God in the place of honor and power. 2 Let heaven fill your thoughts; don’t spend your time worrying about things down here. 3 You should have as little desire for this world as a dead person does. Your real life is in heaven with Christ and God.

APPLICATION: When Christians worry, do you suppose it’s because we are worried that God will not do what He promised? When we doubt and stress out to the limit, do you suppose that we are concerned that God is unfaithful? When we feel unloved and like no one cares, do you suppose that we allow ourselves to ponder if God must have left us alone, and He no longer cares about us? Friends, I believe that when we allow these types of feelings and/or thoughts to enter our minds, it’s because we have taken our eyes off Jesus and becoming overwhelmed by the the things of this world, and perhaps looking for the attention of earthly friends or loved ones. I believe it might be times like these that Satan moves in for the attack, for he sees that we have taken our eyes off Jesus and allowing the distractions of his world to take hold in our lives. I would highly recommend these verses to all Christians today, for if we follow the advice in verse 2 and fill our thoughts with heaven – our future home, then we will be reminded that it is a place prepared just for us. A place where we will unite with Jesus at the foot of His throne and worship Him with unending praises. A place where we will hear the voice of the Father who will encourage us with words such as “well done good and faithful servant”! A place where we will glorify the Creator of love, the One who loved us enough to die on a cross so that we might have everlasting hope and assurance of heaven. A place where there will be no distractions, but instead where our full undivided attention is centered on the Savior of the world! Try getting away where you are totally disconnected from cell phones and devices for a week. Wow, what a release! Oh how our attention is quickly drawn to the things and people who are truly important to us! Friends, I must remind you that we have allowed so much interference in our day that we not only lose sight of our one-on-one time with the Lord, but we also have lost that one-on-one time with our spouses, our children, our friends, our coworkers and all others. Is it any wonder that we have trouble evangelizing to them? If we can all agree that verse 3 is totally spot on and accurate, then we will agree that our real life is in heaven! I would dare say that our minds, our attention, our aim and our devotion should be there today and everyday. Perhaps it is time that you take a little time to get with Jesus and make sure that every little this is alright with Him. It’s important, friend.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Heaven should be the home we are headed for, and we should live each day preparing for that future home with the King of Glory!

PRAYER: Lord God, we are such worry warts, but it’s always over things that really don’t matter – things of this world. Being reminded in this scripture that our minds are to be set on our heavenly home, and our time with You, we humbly come before You today asking for forgiveness for our misguided thoughts and worries. We realize that all these things do is to distract us in our walk with You and our witness of You. For when we become solid in our faith and demonstrate it in our walk with You, we will influence those who follow in our steps. Lord I pray that You will do an awesome work in my life and in the lives of my readers, so that we might become healthy Christians focused on the ‘main thing’ – our heavenly home. I further pray that this new focus will have such an impact on us, that the unsaved will desire a close and intimate walk with You. I humbly ask these things in the strong, mighty and holy name of Jesus – your Son, and my Redeemer, 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!

Your Miraculous Sign

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Miraculous, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Without doubt, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Tuesday, 2021-07-6
WRITTEN AT: Williams, AZ

SCRIPTURE FROM: Matthew 16:1-4
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 1 One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority. 2 He replied, … You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times! 4 Only an evil, adulterous generation would demand a miraculous sign……

APPLICATION: If I was at work, and was called in by the president, who built me up for a great programming project he/she had for me, but they wanted me to do a sample first, I wonder how I might feel? Perhaps like the president wasn’t sure that he/she could trust my qualifications for the job they had in mind? Perhaps they still can’t believe that I single-handedly completed other projects that they saw around the shop that had been credited to me. Or to think positively, perhaps the president just wasn’t sure what they truly wanted, and they were asking for a sample so they could tweak and build on my first output. The Pharisees were very smart scholars, but they were beginning to feel like Jesus was encroaching on their territory. The crowd was beginning to cling on to this man claiming that He was the Son of God, for He was healing their sick and performing amazing miracles in their midst. In my younger years I remember hearing young adults say to someone challenging them: ‘you think you bad, do this, or do that’! It was a dare, as they hoped to bring that person down from the lofty perception of others. I believe that Jesus went about healing and performing many other miracles out of a heart of compassion for His children that He saw hurting and in trouble. For Him to obey the Pharisees, He would then be placed in a position of a magician who could do almost anything on demand. Friends, we must always remember that God is ‘love’, so anything that He did through His Son is done out of ‘love’, not as a result of being told to do it from some earthly leader. So let me suggest that perhaps the next time we are tempted to ask God for a sign, that instead, we look for ways to express love, worship and praise to our Father. Although He already knows what we need, try asking Him to show you the way to live according to His will and in a way that is pleasing to Him. Share with Him the dilemma you have of knowing what to do in a situation, and ask Him for His guidance. Share with Him about your concern for the health of your loved one and ask Him to help you accept whatever His will is for that individual. Share your hearts desire for the dire situation of a loved one, but try saying what Jesus did in the garden as He prayed to the Father to remove the cup of suffering from Him ‘Not my will, but thine be done’. Friends, our God is able to do way more than anything we could think or imagine. There is no need to ask Him for a sign, He could do it. Trust in Him with all your heart, soul and mind, and all these things will be given to you, child of God!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: No need for a sign, we know without a shadow of doubt that our our God can do all things through Christ in whom we place our faith and trust.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, we say we believe, yet we question Your abilities and Your awesome power. Please forgive us when we doubt and when we question Your ability. Please give us the desire to spend more and more time in Your Word, as You have filled it with great truth and amazing wonders of our Creator. There is no greater book for us to read, and our instructions from our Almighty God is very evident throughout it’s pages. Lord, we need You every minute of every day. Please draw us unto Yourself so that You might work miraculously through us. Lord we believe, please help us in our unbelief and doubt. 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!

What Does Your Heart Produce?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Clean Heart, Heart, Heart Knowledge, Humbleness, Humility, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Worship1 Comment

DATE WRITTEN: Monday, 2021-07-05
WRITTEN AT: Gallup, NM

SCRIPTURE FROM: Matthew 15:17-20
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

BIBLE TEXT: 17 Don’t you know that the food you put into your mouth goes into your stomach and then out of your body? 18 But the words that come out of your mouth come from your heart. And they are what make you unfit to worship God. 19 Out of your heart come evil thoughts, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, vulgar deeds, stealing, telling lies, and insulting others. 20 These are what make you unclean. Eating without washing your hands will not make you unfit to worship God.

APPLICATION: The Pharisees had overstepped their boundaries, as usual, and tried to test Jesus by reporting something they felt His disciples were overlooking. In this particular instance, they reported that, upon close observation, it appeared like the disciples were neglecting the customs of the Jews in washing their hands before eating a meal. Now we practice this little rule today, and we will get on to our children for not practicing good hygiene. But Jesus took this opportunity to teach the Pharisees, and us, that although this may be a good earthly practice to avoid spreading of germs, this is minuscule in the big picture, as it has nothing at all to do with godliness. So does this mean that the Christian must think only about godliness? Not necessarily, but when you follow through like the Pharisee in reporting a brother or sister for non-godly things, instead of praying that they might become more Christ-like, then there may be questions about your motives. Furthermore, I would hope that when you report someone for breaking man’s law, or God’s, I would hope that your life is in stellar condition. Much like the case of the Pharisees, I remember a time when I was gossiping with a coworker about certain staff members who, I thought, was less than perfect. To my surprise, and through a rude awakening, that coworker looked at me and said: ‘that’s funny, they say the same thing about you’. Shocking, but thank God for an honest and bold coworker, for it opened my eyes that I was too much like the Pharisees. Jesus went on to give examples of what results from a heart that is filled with the world’s trash. Think carefully about the Word of God and see if you could think of any Scripture that supports the following actions: evil thoughts, murder, unfaithfulness in marriage, vulgar deeds, stealing, telling lies, and insulting others. I believe you will find that the Bible/God teaches just the opposite to each of these wicked things. Being children created by God, I’m sure that He didn’t teach these things to us, so where do you suppose we came up with these? Friends, we live in an evil and conniving world that is out to set God’s children out of line with His powerful and godly teachings. It is very important that we fill our minds with the things of Christ. Jesus taught that if we fill ourselves with these two things – love God; and love one another; then we would easily follow all of His other commandments. As we practice these two commandments each day, we will fill our hearts and our minds with the things of God, and the world needs to see and witness more of this today, than perhaps any other time in history. We must guard our hearts, so that we take in the things of God, and not the things of this world that leads to more evil and disharmony. Show them Jesus, won’t you?

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Fill your heart, mind and soul with more of Jesus, and prepare to worship Him! the world needs more of Jesus, not more of itself.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I desire that my heart will produce the fruits that You speak of in Your Word. To accomplish this while still in a world filled with sin and imperfections, I will need You by my side every minute of every day. Please fill me with the will to obey Your commands and to replicate the many good things that You modeled while on earth. My friends who will read and/or listen to this devotional may have the same desire, so Lord I pray that You will touch Your children today in miraculous ways so that the world may know that Jesus lives, because they see You alive in us. Please humble hearts who need You today. Draw the lost to You and use us at every opportunity where You know that we won’t mess up. 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!

I’m Yours, Lord

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Believe, Dedicated, Know and Believe, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Worship2 Comments

DATE WRITTEN: Sunday, 2021-07-04
WRITTEN AT: Gallup, NM

SCRIPTURE FROM: Luke 1:36-38
TRANSLATION: The Message (MSG)

BIBLE TEXT: 36-38 “And did you know that your cousin Elizabeth conceived a son, old as she is? Everyone called her barren, and here she is six months pregnant! Nothing, you see, is impossible with God.”
And Mary said, Yes, I see it all now: I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve. Let it be with me just as you say….

APPLICATION: I believe that we all find it easy to accept and possibly even follow God’s commands in His Word, because we have heard about them since childhood, and we are somewhat comfortable about them, seeing that almost everyone on earth knows about them. But at the time of Mary’s orders from God, this was unproven territory. A young lady who had never had relations with a man, yet God would send an angel to her and caused her to ponder:
1. That she is the one that God chose to miraculously give birth to His Son. Wouldn’t it have crossed Mary’s mind, just like it would ours, that such an honor may be awarded to the matron of the church who has meticulously served God and His people for years and years?
2. Why would God choose an unmarried lady to be His Son’s mother? Wouldn’t God choose a married lady, so that the world would not suspect Jesus being born into, what appears to be, a sinful situation (His mother possibly having had relations with a man other than the one she was engaged to)?
3. Why me? What have I done to deserve such honor from the God of the Universe? Could this possibly be ‘for real’?
4. For assurance, that Elizabeth, whose husband had served God faithfully in the temple, is also receiving a miracle at the same time! And by the way, the angel reminded her that ‘Nothing is impossible with God’, so perhaps this is all a part of God’s mighty plan, and He has chosen to use just a simple young lady like herself!
You see, right from the very beginning – long before you and I, God chose to complete His work in mysterious ways. So why do we still doubt when we feel God calling on our life? We have been blessed with lots of recorded evidence of all that God does. In fact, we have every reason imaginable to believe what the angel told Mary: Nothing is impossible with God! May God grant us the faith to believe in the One who has control of it all – including all of our troubles, trials, and also the One who has all of our joys and blessings mapped out for us! That’s our God, my friend! Accept Him today, will you? Trust Him today dear Christian, for He cares for you!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: That which sounds impossible to us, is very possible with God! Like Mary, may we always trust in Him through every circumstance of life.

PRAYER: I’m Yours Lord, everything I have, everything I am, everything I’m not. Lord, I am completely Yours. Please prepare me to handle whatever You send my way and wherever You may lead me to. Mary was an awesome inspiration for Your followers today. May her words echo in our minds every time we doubt, every time we fear and every time we need confidence to believe in what may sound impossible to us. I am Your servant Lord, fulfill Your Word in and through me so that You may be glorified in everything I do or say. Please touch my readers and listeners with Your Word today as You prepare them to hear from You also. 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!

The Cost of Disobedience and Disbelief

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

DATE WRITTEN: Saturday, 2021-07-03
WRITTEN AT: Gallup, NM

SCRIPTURE FROM: Numbers 27:12-14; Luke 1:19-20
TRANSLATION: Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT: Numbers 27: 12 One day the Lord said to Moses, “Go up into Mount Abarim and look across the river to the land I have given to the people of Israel. 13 After you have seen it, you shall die as Aaron your brother did, 14 for you rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin. When the people of Israel rebelled, you did not glorify me before them by following my instructions to order water to come out of the rock.”
Luke 1: 19 Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to you with this good news! 20 And now, because you haven’t believed me, you are to be stricken silent, unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly come true at the proper time.”

APPLICATION: Often when we realize that we may have doubted God in a situation, it is in hind sight as we look back over a situation. We have lots of excuses why we did what we did and acted like we did, but when we have truly learned to trust in the power of the Almighty God, we must be very careful not to let our earthly/human instincts interfere in His mighty work, or in the lessons He is teaching us. Consider Moses for a moment: he saw many awesome miracles by God as He got Moses and his people out of Egypt. Moses also witnessed miraculous events from Almighty God while directing him to lead hundreds of thousands of his countrymen through The Wilderness. Mighty works that could only be attributed to God. Yet, in this one instance Moses allowed his personal earthly character to kick in, and his anger took over good common sense to follow God’s commands precisely. Think about it, since God had proven over and over again that He knew what He was doing, and had the power to do what He said He would do, surely there was no godly reason for Moses to doubt and/or disobey. God refused to let this act of disobedience slide, because, I believe, He wanted to remind Moses and His people that His commands and actions didn’t change with the wind, nor did His acts need any animation from mankind to make it look real. Although Moses was reaching a ripe old age, I’m sure he would have loved walking into the land promised by God since the beginning of their 40-year journey. But in God’s wisdom, the cost He dished out to Moses was refusal to allow him entrance into the Promised Land. In our New Testament story, Zacharias and his wife had prayed for years that they might have a child of their own. It appears like because God didn’t meet the timing expected by Zacharias, he doubted the angel when told about a son (John the Baptist) he and his wife would have in their old age. This led to Zacharias not being able to speak during the whole gestation period. The cost of doubt in his awesome God was frustrating and gave Zacharias lots of time to think about the miraculous work of our awesome God. So what about us in today’s environment, do we doubt in what God said He would do, or in what He said that He could do for us? Have you seen any repercussions yet for your doubt? I hope that you will be reminded that our God is still in charge, and He still has every right to control this world and everything that will happen to it. Remember, He is our Creator, and He has control over everything He created, including you and I. He wants us to believe in Him and trust Him to do what He has promised. Trust in Him with all your heart, soul and mind, dear friend, and we will never regret all that He has in store for us.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: We serve a miracle working God who will keep His promises to us, if we do our part and trust in Him and give Him control. Jesus never fails!

PRAYER: Lord, I believe that if You said it, I can believe it will happen. Please help me to always believe in You, no matter how impossible it may sound to me. Our Scriptures today have reminded me that there are consequences for doubting Your Word and Your commands, so I want to believe with all my heart that You will do as You say. Please touch the hearts of all my readers and listeners and help them to draw closer to You. Please give them the faith to believe on the God who loves them, and can do all things. Allow the unsaved to be touched by our faith and obedience, so that they too will want a relationship with You. 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!

No One Likes Separation

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Righteous, Separation, Worship2 Comments

DATE WRITTEN: Friday, 2021-07-02
WRITTEN AT: Gallup, NM

SCRIPTURE FROM: Matthew 13:47-50
TRANSLATION: The Voice (VOICE)

BIBLE TEXT: 47 Or think of it this way: the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea, a net that caught a world of flickering fish. 48 When the net was full, the fishermen hauled it to shore. They separated the good fish from the bad, placing the good fish in a bucket and throwing out the inedible fish. 49 That is what the end of time will be like. The heavenly messengers will separate the good from the bad, the righteous from the wicked, the repentant from the prideful, the faithful from the hard-hearted. 50 The bad, the wicked, the prideful, and the hard-hearted will be thrown into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.

APPLICATION: In preparing for a fun time of volleyball, we ache when the team captains pick their teams, and we are the last to be chosen. We feel like there is something about us that didn’t catch the fancy of the team captains. But what if we were rejected? Imagine neither team captain wanting us on their team? I believe that everyone knows that the world was created by God, and that He also created each of us. So why then might God accept one into His Kingdom when we leave this world, but not accept another? There’s no need for guessing, my friend, God kept nothing secret from us. He inspired great writers/saints to record His teachings and His commands, so that we will not be caught off guard or claim that we didn’t know. Our Scripture today is very clear when It says that at a time known only by God Himself, the angels will be instructed by God to separate the righteous from those who have chosen to reject Jesus. I know, you immediately shouted back as you read this or heard this in my podcast, that you never rejected Christ. Please allow me to clarify this dilemma for you. In God’s Word, He acknowledged creating you, but He said that when you come to an age of understanding, you will learn that God sent His Son, Jesus, for the purpose of saving mankind from their sin, and for those who accept Him as Lord and Savior, they will assume the righteousness of Christ. So if you have not seen the need to make that step, you are considered to be living under the power of sin, and sin is not permitted in Heaven. There will come a day when you will meet God, but there will not be an opportunity to explain your decision, or have your attorney represent you before God. You see, God knows everything about us – even our thoughts, so He knows that you are not washed in the blood of His Son, Jesus. There is no holding place. You will either be ushered into heaven, or directed to the Evil Place – Hell. Notice that Jesus helped the unsaved understand what to expect in Hell. He used such words as: fiery place; furnace; weeping; grinding/gnashing of teeth; etc. In other words, Hell is not a place you would choose for your next vacation, so why settle for spending eternity there? Friends, please consider never being rejected again. Ready yourself for heaven, with the One who created you. If interested in doing that today, please read my Footnote, especially the Scripture included in the link ‘To Know Jesus’. You may also want to speak with a local Bible teaching pastor, and/or contacting me by email. I would love to introduce you to my Savior, and pray with you about this most important decision.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: God has a place prepared for those who have accepted His Son Jesus, and I believe He is longing to welcome us home! Because I believe that Judgment Day is very near, I believe that God has blessed you with one more opportunity to accept Jesus – TODAY! Please?

PRAYER: We go to extremes in preparing for a special day, and we are so very excited for that day to arrive. Lord, I want to always be that excited on the day you take me out of this world to spend eternity with You! I am so troubled over my friends who have chosen to accept the pitfalls of Hell and the awful snares of the Evil One. Please Lord, place such an urgency in my heart for my family and friends that I would do my part to encourage their decision. I would also ask that You do the same for all of my readers who share this concern today. Lord, be glorified in us today, and touch all those that we come into contact with today. 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!

Most Important

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Important, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Worship2 Comments

DATE WRITTEN: Thursday, 2021-07-01
WRITTEN AT: Gallup, NM

SCRIPTURE FROM: Matthew 9:1-2
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: . 1 Jesus climbed into a boat and went back across the lake to his own town. 2 Some people brought to him a paralyzed man on a mat. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Be encouraged, my child! Your sins are forgiven.”

APPLICATION: During my working career I was a banker. Whenever I met someone new and shared with them what my profession was, invariably I would be asked to share some of the money with them! Similarly, it seems like whenever we meet a doctor, we have lots of questions for them about certain health complications we have encountered. In the New Testament we see a lot of cases where people flocked around Jesus because they were looking for healing, or other miracles. This was the case with the paralytic. His friends knew that all they needed was to get this man close enough to Jesus and He would heal their friend. For the general reader, I believe this is what we all might have also imagined, that upon Jesus seeing this man on his bed of affliction, He would have reached out His hand to heal him and help him up. Surprisingly, Jesus was more interested in the man’s personal conviction first and foremost. He saw the faith of the man’s friends in getting him before the Master, so Jesus went straight for the most important thing needed by this man – his salvation. Isn’t that interesting when we think of our personal encounters with loved ones and friends? We talk about the weather, we talk about each other’s occupation, and we may even dabble in politics. But don’t we tend to wait until the last minute to determine the persons spiritual condition? Earlier in life I was asked by a faithful church member to kindly go visit her home and share Christ with her unbelieving husband. Having been warned ahead of time how important it was to build a rapport with this man before attempting to share Christ with him, my visit consisted of common themes and very generalized conversation. That following Sunday this wife thanked me for visiting, but shared her disappointment about me not sharing my faith with her husband. Not long after this, that husband passed away before I ever had opportunity to visit with him again. Based on our Scripture today, I believe Jesus would have chosen to speak about spiritual needs first and foremost, don’t you? I believe it is so important that we take note of all the lessons taught to us by Jesus. His steps and His practice were very deliberate, I believe, because He wanted us to take note and practice what He modeled for us. Friends, our prayer meetings and our prayer lists are usually 90+% concerned with medical issues rather than salvation. Where’s our heart? Are we truly determined to follow the example of Christ?

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Jesus cares more about our eternal well being as much as, or more than, He does about our earthly maladies. We should aim to be the same as Jesus in this.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, You cared so much about our salvation that You sent Your very own Son to die on a cruel cross so that we might be saved from our sin. In our story today, Your primary action was to clear the paraplegic of his sin, before ever looking at his physical needs. Oh Lord, unfortunately we have fallen into the world’s view of primarily taking care of our earthly needs first and foremost. Please forgive us for not following the pattern You established for us. People are dying and going to hell – even those who knew us, but were not told about the glories of heaven. Lord be glorified through us Lord, and help us to be true to Your teachings and Your example. 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!

Practical Faith

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Faith, Faith in Action, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Wednesday, 2021-06-30
WRITTEN AT: Gallup, NM

SCRIPTURE FROM: Matthew 8:6-10
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 6 “Lord, my young servant lies in bed, paralyzed and in terrible pain.”
7 Jesus said, “I will come and heal him.”
8 But the officer said, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come into my home. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. 9 I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”
10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to those who were following him, he said, “I tell you the truth, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel! 

APPLICATION: One of the things that tends to throw unbelievers off track, is when they see Christians adding on to their everyday language, or doing things out of character in their actions. These things might cause them to act differently, in order to impress others about their relationship with Jesus Christ. Pretense always appears fake. The Roman Officer in our story had faith to believe that it was worth him going to Jesus about his servant’s ill health, and as a leader and powerful being, the Officer knew that Jesus could heal someone by placing His hand on him, but He could also heal through His commands offsite also. The Officer used an example he was familiar with in his work environment, and it was so targeted that Jesus was actually astonished over the faith of the man. Think about our prayers, do we go into the very finest detail to explain to God what our sick friend looks like, where he lives, how long he’s been sick and what it might take to truly heal him? Most of the time we do. I remember a pastor who tried very hard to discourage lots of detail when a church member asked for pray for someone, because often those requests turned into a gossip sessions about what all is wrong with the sick person, how they got that way, and how many family members may have been involved! I am convinced that Jesus knew exactly what was wrong with the servant, He knew what it took to improved the faith of the Officer asking, and those in the audience listening. You see, often in life we have our ideas about what is needed to resolve certain circumstances, and anything short of that would be a total disaster. A deacon or elder may visit a sick person in hospital and pray for them very deeply. But if you listen to the sick person’s story to a friend, they will tell how no one came from the church to visit, as that pastor is always off busy with the young folk or his clique of favorite members. It’s really sad to see how, in our minds, we have weakened the powerful hand of our awesome God. With a single word God put the world together and He created mankind. He hasn’t changed, so believing that He could still do anything that He sees fit to do, is strongly substantiated by all that He has already done. Our faith in God is a very natural thing, based on past experience that we read about, or may have experienced. Just be yourself and talk to God as your father – your Almighty Father. If you use personal examples or references, you won’t shock God. Remember, He created us, and He is well aware of everything we work at, volunteer at, experience, or believe in. Just talk to Him as God!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: God knows us and He understands all that occupies our minds. Being pratical with Jesus will not surprise Him or throw Him for a loop!

PRAYER: To the God of this Universe who not only made this world, but also created us, I say thank You Father. I have faith to believe that You created everything, so please give me foresight to also have faith in all that You could do for me – a child who loves You with all of my heart and believes in Your awesome power. The Roman Oficer believed that You could heal his servant, without ever being present in the servant’s room. Please impress upon my readers and I the power that You possess and how You could do much more than we could see or imagine. We love You Lord and look forward to all that You will do in our lives as our Almighty King. please touch the lives of those who struggle in their faith. Please remind us often of the faith You saw in the Roman Officer. I believe that we could be just as bold today, with Your help and direction. 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!

God Watches Over You

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

DATE WRITTEN: Tuesday, 2021-06-29
WRITTEN AT: Tucumcari, NM

SCRIPTURE FROM: Psalm 37:23-24
TRANSLATION:New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
    He delights in every detail of their lives.
24 Though they stumble, they will never fall,
    for the Lord holds them by the hand.

APPLICATION: It seems like many days are filled with challenges that cause us to wonder: can it get any worse? Often it feels like we are at the end of our rope and holding on only by a knot, but we are thankful that all days are not like that! For the believer in Christ, we have a hope that surpasses all human understanding, for God repeats over and over in His Word that He watches out for us; He cares for us; He loves us unconditionally; He restores us from our brokenness, despair and disappointments and as promised in our Scripture today, He delights in every detail of our lives; He directs our paths and He holds our hand, especially when we stumble or fall! For my Christian friends reading this devotional, all of this is enough to help us rise above our doubts and fears. But it saddens us for our friends who have said ‘no’ to our Savior, and they are enduring serious days where they feel all alone and forsaken by the whole world around them. These are often our close friends, and we wish there would be something that we could do to help them. Sure enough, there is lots we can do to help. For you see, we are Christ’s representatives here on earth. Our friends need to feel the same love coming from us that we receive from Jesus Christ. They need to know that we are not judging them, but rather we are wanting desperately to help them through their struggles. They need to know that when they feel the world around them are against them and looking for ways to ridicule and punish them, that they could depend on the children of God to unconditionally love and care about them. To be Jesus in the flesh before them. Friends, we will never replace Jesus or be a substitute for Jesus at anytime – it’s impossible. But oh that we might be reminders to our unsaved world that Jesus is truly alive, because they see evidence of Him in us. May we always point them to the Savior so that they too might find rest and peace in Him in this troubled world. Always remember that God is watching over us – not just so that we might gloat in His goodness, but I believe, so that His goodness might overflow through His children here on earth to encourage others who need Him. A good friend always likened us to to one beggar giving bread to another beggar who needs Jesus! Just as Jesus watches over us, may our friends sense that Jesus wants to watch over them, because they could see first hand how His love reaches through us to love on them!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: We have a Savior who not only saved us from our sin, but He watches over us when we struggle and/or fall. I need that reassurance, and I hope that you will also benefit from that reminder!

PRAYER: Praise You Jesus, for You care for us like no one else does, and when others despise us because of our failures. What an awesome reminder that, as Your children, we are to express that same kind of love to those that we know and/or come into contact with. But oh what joy it is to know that instead of giving up when we feel distraught and forsaken, we could lift our heads up high, knowing that the Creator of this Universe loves us and cares for us. Thank You Lord Jesus for showing us what real love is all about. We know that it’s easy to love those that love us and are kind to us, but now we know that through Christ we can also love everyone, just like You love us! May others see Jesus today, even if the only person they see is one of His children! Draw all men to Yourself today dear Lord, especially those we touch in some way. 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!

God Keeps His Promises

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

DATE WRITTEN: Monday, 2021-06-28
WRITTEN AT: Tucumcari, NM

SCRIPTURE FROM: Numbers 23:19
TRANSLATION: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

BIBLE TEXT: 19 God is not a man; he will not lie.
God is not a human being; his decisions will not change.
If he says he will do something, then he will do it.
If he makes a promise, then he will do what he promised.

APPLICATION: For the one who receives a call that their child has just been killed in an auto crash, they will be devastated and have a lot of questions for God. For the one who has great plans for retirement, but loses their spouse near the end of their working years, they may question God. And, of course, for the one who lays on a bed of affliction knowing that there is no medical help for their condition, I’m sure it must be challenging to lay there and praise God. These are just a few examples of how we relate to the supreme God when life is not going the way that we feel like it should. King Balak was in a similar dilemma, for he knew that the extremely large body of Israelites approaching his nation could very easily wipe them out and do what they wanted with his land. But he was the king, and he could order people around at will. He always got what he demanded. Balak soon found that as oddly as it may seem, there were certain children of God that would do what God told them, verses the offers, money, promotions or threats from any earthly king. Balak realized the power of God working in Balaam, that’s why he called for him to come and demand a change in the course of the Israelites. However, what Balak didn’t account for was the fact that true, dedicated children of God will do what He says, regardless what any earthly human demands or threatens them with. Does that sound like you my friend? Will the threat of beatings, killings or imprisonment prompt you to change your commitment to God? As in my earlier examples, will something related to a family member cause you to turn against God, or draw you closer to Him? Notice that regardless of the intimidation of the king, Balaam stayed true to his Master, and persisted in following the Word of God. Friends, do you know without a shadow of doubt that your Redeemer lives, and that He rules in your heart and life, regardless of earthly circumstances, and/or visual happenings all around you? Are you willing to stand firm on the Word of God, and on the direction that God is leading you in, even if you know that it will meet with man’s dislike and/or opposition? Balaam assured his king, and we are assured from God’s Word that our God will keep His promises, for His word is always true and always honored. Paul said, to be absent from this body is to be present with the Lord, and that was his ultimate goal. If that’s your goal today, then I believe that you too can stand firm on God’s Word and know that His promises are true.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: God is true to His Word and will fulfill that which He has promised. As His child, we are assured eternal life in Heaven with He and the Father. Don’t let anything on earth come between you and our awesome God!

PRAYER: What an awesome reminder from Balaam in our Bible story today! Our God is true, and He expects us to be true to Him. There are thousands of promised You gave us in Your Word, Lord, please give us strength and determination to stand firm in our faith as we spend our remaining time here on earth. Balaam faced fierce testing of his faith, and we face the same in one form or another each day that we are around Satan’s earthly army. Oh that we will love and honor You Jesus with all of our heart, soul and mind, until the day You call us home to 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 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!