Tag: Priority

Why We Shouldn’t Judge Others in Church

On By Ed AlgreenIn Accept Jesus NOW, Acknowledge God, All have sinned, Awesome God, God Cares For Us, God’s WordLeave a comment

DATE POSTED
Monday, April 28, 2025, and I was blessed to be at Mariposa at Hunter Road, San Marcos, TX when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find and read any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Read James 4:11-13 in your Bible or click on it to read it online in the Living Bible (TLB).

APPLICATION – as inspired by the Holy Spirit
It seems almost natural, or thoughtless, for us to pass judgment on others. It might be that their talent is not up to the standards we expected; or it might be that the individual is over-dressed, or under-dressed. compared to what we expected; or that their volume is too great or too small according to our keen ears. But what if that person was especially chosen by God to share a special word or song with us that day? What if they looked at us and saw all of our faults and inadequacies? I believe we must all remember that often the overqualified may not see the need to depend on God for their talents to deliver a message pleasing to our ears, or a song that will get us up and moving as we sing to God. But blessed is the man who looks at God and pleads for His perfect way in his life any time that he stands before us to preach, teach, or sing. Also, blessed is the congregation that pleads with God for, and accepts the leadership of the Holy Spirit in, every aspect of a meeting dedicated to the worship, praise and teaching of a child of God endowed with the power and leadership of the Holy Spirit. I often say that we receive as much from a church service as what we have put into it. If we’ve not prayed for, uplifted and encouraged our pastor, worship leader or other participants, then we should be satisfied as we leave, feeling like we’ve received all that we’ve put into that service – nothing at all. Furthermore, I feel like James is teaching us here to give God praise and honor for those He places in authority over us at church, and those who lead us to the throne of grace in worship and study of His Word. To ridicule, or bash the integrity or abilities or presentation of either of these church leaders is like telling God that He is not meeting up to your expectations. Friends, keep in mind that God is all-powerful and all-knowing, so when we feel like things have not gone, or is not going, like we expect, then it’s time to search inward and question what is distracting or separating us from the one, perfect God, to whom we have come to worship. Remember, when someone comes between you and God, then you have your priorities all wrong, for God must always be first. Let us choose to first worship and praise God, then we might be reminded that nothing stands between us and God. When a preacher or teacher seems inadequate to us, let us make sure that we are totally dedicated to reading and meditating on the Word of God every day, then to hear someone else expand on that Word will only life us up and encourage us as we realize that it’s more than us seeking the face of God through His Word. I am convinced that there will be no tiered levels at the foot of the cross when we bow before Jesus. While here on earth, we are all sinners seeking to know more about our Lord, and how we might honor and praise Him with our lives and experiences. At His feet we will be looked upon as His children who, through the grace of God, have won the race and stayed faithful to our Lord and Savior in all that we say and do. You must make the decision on whom you will follow, then join hearts and hands with other such pilgrims until the day He calls us home. Praise God for those who have chosen to bless us, teach us, and help us draw close to the throne of grace every week that we meet to worship together! To God be the glory for all the ways He draws us to Himself and blesses us in the circumstances of life!

PRAYER
I love that chorus ‘Holy Spirit Thou are welcome in this place’, and I am reminded that I should sing this more often and ask that You, oh God, make Yourself welcome in my life, each and every moment of every day, for I need to avoid the distractions of the evil one as temptations come my way and the thoughts of busyness that may cause me to not find time in the Word. Lord, I pray that each of my readers and I will always choose to say that reading Your Word, or praying to You, was not a priority for us today, instead of the usual excuse that ‘I just don’t have time’. May you always be first and foremost in our lives, and may Your Word always have the same priority, for It is our guide and reminder that You’re in control. Lord, ‘it’s me, it’s me oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer’ from my awesome and perfect God who chose to love even me. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE
If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please take advantage of the information provided on my page ‘To Know Jesus’. Alternatively, consider speaking with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. One of God’s servants will pray with you and offer help and encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals or subscribe to receive a daily email containing each new devotional, please visit NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. Friends, I encourage you to find a Bible teaching church home near your residence and attend as frequently as possible. Get to know God and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk while you make every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider being a part of that while also growing in your faith as you worship with fellow believers!

Overcoming Distractions: Prioritizing God in Your Life

On By Ed AlgreenIn Acknowledge God, All-powerful, Allegiance, Allegiance to the Lamb, Always There, Ask and Receive, Awesome God, Blessings, Bold Confidence, Challenges, Choice, Church attendance, Cleanse me Oh God, Daily communion with God, Devoted, Distractions, Draw Me Close to You, Eternal Life, Everything We Need, Faith, Follow Jesus, God our Provider, God's Guidance, God's Power, Leadership of the Holy SpiritLeave a comment

DATE POSTED
Tuesday, November 12, 2024, and I was blessed to be at Mariposa at Hunter Road, San Marcos, TX when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find and read any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Quoted from the Good News Translation (GNT) and found in Isaiah 65:1-3

THE SCRIPTURE READS
1 The Lord said, “I was ready to answer my people’s prayers, but they did not pray. I was ready for them to find me, but they did not even try. The nation did not pray to me, even though I was always ready to answer, ‘Here I am; I will help you.’ 2 I have always been ready to welcome my people, who stubbornly do what is wrong and go their own way. 3 They shamelessly keep on making me angry. They offer pagan sacrifices at sacred gardens and burn incense on pagan altars. 

APPLICATION – as inspired by the Holy Spirit
Perhaps you have better control over your emotions on being trapped in an impatient situation, but it seems like as I age, I am becoming way more intolerant over waiting for someone that I expected to make the next step in a process, only to find out they either misunderstood their role, or had no intention in following through on something expected of them. As I meditated on this Scripture today, I held my head down in shame, because I was reminded that God must be exceptionally tolerant of me as He waits for me each morning after blessing me with a very safe, warm, comfortable, restful night, yet I fail to thank Him as I awaken and approach another beautiful day. At evening time, after all day preparing the way for me, directing my path while opening doors that would otherwise be shut tight, yet I lay my head down without saying ‘Thank You’ to my Provider, my Protector, my Savior and my Lord. Friends, try re-reading today’s Scripture and allow it to challenge you about your similarities to the nation of Israel that God spoke to through His servant, Isaiah. We are quickly approaching a time of the year that many set aside as a special day each year to offer up thanks to Almighty God for His amazing hand of mercy and blessings throughout the year. Let us pray that this will not just prove to be a day of overindulging in turkey and whatever other food items might fill our tables that day, for just as our God is reminding us in this Scripture, He stands ready to continue blessing us in the year ahead, if only we would recognize our source of each and every blessing. He stands ready to hear our prayers and petitions as we share our concerns with Him in prayer, for in Isaiah 59:1 we are reminded that God’s arm is not too short to save us or hear our cry for mercy, or want or salvation. Please, dear friends, be reminded that God is still on the throne and He sees the gods that we have chosen to worship. Yes, especially those gods that are outside of His temple where we expect Him to be present. For the Israelites, He saw the gods they worshipped in their gardens. For us, it is any thing, or any one that we allow to take precedence over our time with Almighty God. Let me suggest that we start with, and particularly look at, what we choose to do during the times that our church worship services are going on. Examples might be the beach, boating, sports, shopping, hunting, work, etc. Are these the things that you give thanks to at Thanksgiving for your survival over the past year? Are these the things that you go to, or call on, in times of trouble, disappointment or illnesses? I believe that if these things take priority, and/or take up the time you would otherwise spend with God, then God may be jealous to the extent that He considers you spending more time with other gods rather than Him. May God direct us to keep our hearts and minds fixed on Him, our Creator and Savior, and allow nothing else to distract from our time with Him.

PRAYER
Lord Jesus, thank you for Your unconditional and persistent love for us – Your creation and Your children. You created us in Your image, yet we’ve strayed to our own vices and found other ‘gods’ more attractive, necessary and important to us. You bless, protect and guide us to be more like You every day, yet we choose to ‘do it our way’ like the songwriter wrote about. Please Lord, forgive us of our twisted priorities and our misguided allegiance. Please continue to work on us and open our eyes to see You as You are, our Savior and Lord – our everlasting King – the God of this universe for today and for evermore. In the busyness of life we often complain about not having time for everything that should be important to us. Please help us to use the words that something, or someone was not a priority to us, if we chose other things to consume our time. We want You to be our top priority in all walks of life. Please help us to give priority to You above all else. Amen!

FOOTNOTE
If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please take advantage of information provided on my page ‘To Know Jesus’. I would also suggest that you speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com and share your good news! Perhaps one of God’s servants will pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue, your walk with Jesus. If you would like to read more of my devotionals, or subscribe for a daily email containing each new devotional, please go online to NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. Friends, please allow me to encourage you to find a church home nearby 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 being a part of that, while also growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

Who Is In First Place?

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

DATE POSTED Monday, 2023-01-09
WRITTEN AT: O’Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Colossians 1:15; 17-19
TRANSLATION: Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT: 15 Christ is the exact likeness of the unseen God. He existed before God made anything at all,….
17 He was before all else began and it is his power that holds everything together. 18 He is the Head of the body made up of his people—that is, his Church—which he began; and he is the Leader of all those who arise from the dead, so that he is first in everything; 19 for God wanted all of himself to be in his Son.

APPLICATION: When churches are hurting financially, you might hear a pastor share a challenge where congregants are challenged to examine their checkbooks and determine where their priorities lie. New pastors coming into a church will do the same thing, they will examine the budget of a church and look for the priorities of that church. In reflecting over the past year, this past Sunday, or at the end of each day, what do you suppose that God would see as your priority in life? Perhaps for a great self-evaluation, it may be a great idea to do this every day! When things are not going as well as you had hoped, it may be best to do some inner reflection to discern whether you have taken the wheel of life from God and trying to do things on your own. While I believe that our Scripture is drawing us to an understanding that Jesus was first to experience everything, and His rightful place is to be first in everything we encounter in life, I believe God also wants us to be sure to place Jesus first in our lives, first in our marriages, first in our children, first in our finances, first in our church, first in our jobs and first in our friendships. When this happens, we are more apt to show the world that before all else, Jesus was! As for our personal lives, the world will only be impacted when the see what type of Christian we are and they experience the evidence that Jesus was, is, and will be first in everything we do and speak. In other words, if you expect to be around me, you will see and hear that Jesus is first. But while this will come with rejoicing at times, this commitment and display of godly behavior will come with many challenges, for this will upset Satan, and he will set his followers in motion to destroy us and challenge our faith. Remember, Jesus responded to Satan with the Scriptures, so arm yourself with the same, and you face Satan head on today.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: God wanted all of Himself to be in His Son (vs 19), and I believe that Jesus wants all of Himself to be in us. Is He welcome, and will He find a holy space in which to reside?

PRAYER: Thank You Lord Jesus for creating us in Your image, sending Your Son so that we could enter the portals of heaven, and for Your precious Word to show us Your will for our lives. You knew the struggle we would face here on earth, so You allowed Your Son to experience many of the challenges that we face. However, we now have an advocate who sits at Your right hand in glory petitioning for us. Jesus set the stage for us, and He left us His example as our guide. Please continue to impress upon us the importance of allowing Jesus to be first in our lives. May Your Word always be first and a priority in our daily lives so that we could hear Your voice and receive Your guidance in this life. Lord, be glorified in and through me today. Let others see Jesus when they interact with me, so that their eyes may be turned towards You as they seek Your face. Touch the lives of unbelievers today, especially those in our realm of family and friends, and also the same for my readers and listeners. 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!

Our Priorities vs God’s Priorities

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Priorities, Recognize God, Worship1 Comment

DATE POSTED Friday, 2022-11-25
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Luke 5:18-20
TRANSLATION: Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT: 18-19 Then—look! Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to push through the crowd to Jesus but couldn’t reach him. So they went up on the roof above him, took off some tiles, and lowered the sick man down into the crowd, still on his sleeping mat, right in front of Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “My friend, your sins are forgiven!”

APPLICATION: I’m sure that excuses such as: “I heard that you can’t get anywhere near Jesus because of the crowds”, or “I must be back in an hour to catch the game, so I can’t take that chance in leaving to go with you” or “I just got home from work and I can’t leave that quickly, can’t you find someone else to go?” or “I have family in town and I can’t leave them for what may wind up being an hour or more, just to take the old crippled before a man claiming to be God?” or “My family needs me tonight way more than this mission you have dreamed up to take old Jack before this so-called prophet who doesn’t even worship with us each week”. Now imagine arriving at the home where Jesus is, and the excuses that would be used by our current day Christian workers. Friends, before you consider me crazy for thinking this way, think about interviewing fellow ‘Christians’ about their Bible-reading habits. Or their priority in attending your church prayer meetings each week. It is pitiful to see, perhaps less than 1% of your membership who find the time and priority to read their Bible and seek guidance from the Almighty God or attend Prayer Meetings where they could join with other believers around the throne in conversation with their Father. Would it be any different if those absent heard that Jesus would be at your Prayer Meetings in physical form? What if you told them that this might be a healing service? Or that you need them to join with you in prayer for a crippled man, like the one mentioned in this story? Do you suppose you would find the regular attendees bold enough to step out in faith and talk to God openly about healing a crippled? Unfortunately, many attending church have their false precepts that the pastor or elders or deacons are the only ones to pray over someone. Friends, these men of the community were determined to get the paralytic before the God of all Healing. Are you willing to put aside your personal agenda to help someone get at the feet of Jesus for salvation or healing or encouragement? Because of the faith and actions of the men who carried this man to Jesus, the man had an even more important miracle performed in his life than the men realized. His sins were forgiven – THE most important aspect of one’s life was attended to. Jesus first saw a sinner – the spiritual needs of the man, before He saw the physical need for healing. Is that not enough for us to drop everything we are doing to help someone with such critical needs in their lives? Can I suggest that we make every effort to see others through the same lens that Jesus saw this crippled man? Their spiritual needs first, then turn to begging Jesus for any other physical needs they may have.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus I must come before You in humility today asking for Your forgiveness for the times that I have come before You in prayer for a Brother or Sister, but without addressing their spiritual need first and foremost. Please help me to gain the priorities that were most important to You. Please take this vessel and mold it to be just like You. Please help me to be in tuned with You and Your Word each and every day so that I may hear Your voice and obey Your commands and become more like You in my words and in my actions. It is my strong desire that You would also touch the hearts of each and every reader and listener to also acquire the same priorities that You demonstrated to us in this account 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!

Reasons To Commune With God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Daily communion with God, Needs, Praise, Priorities, Priority, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Friday, 2022-04-29
WRITTEN AT: Citra, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Mark 1:35-38
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 35 Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray. 36 Later Simon and the others went out to find him. 37 When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”
38 But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.”

APPLICATION: We often hear about Pastors who spend hours per day studying the Word of God, and in prayer. Why? So they could be more holy, or knowledgable in the Bible? In the Bible we are told that Jesus only spoke what He heard from the Father. He only did what He was told to do by the Father. He only went where He was instructed to go by the Father. I guess I have always assumed that these things were passed on to Jesus through something like osmosis! But in reading this Scripture today, I am convinced that Jesus found it necessary to steal away from everyone and seek a quiet place to get alone with His Father, so that He might receive further instructions from Him. In quiet and in total seclusion, tells me that Jesus wanted no distractions. Before dawn, tells me that Jesus wanted to fill His mind with the Father’s love and instructions before anything else. Now if Christians are a mirror of their Savior here on earth, and we should be imitating His character, His habits and obeying His commands, then I believe that we have clear instructions on how our morning should be priortorized. I had an older deacon tell me one time that it was not a matter of not having time in the mornings to dig into the Word of God and spend time in prayer, it was instead a matter of priority. Those stinging words have never left me. Instead I have used them in teaching that my students try saying to God at the end of our day that spending time with Him that day was not a priority, versus giving all the normal excuses about their lack of time! It works my friend. Seek to make your time with God a priority, and all else will fall into place. Now back to our story – notice that Jesus received a change of plans from the Father, for the first thing that He told the disciples who came looking for Him, was that they would be moving on to the next town. This didn’t settle too good with the disciples, because they quickly responded “That’s great that all men are seeking You, but everyone wants You here!” Unfortunately, we will often find ourselves frazzled and fried if we listen to the wrong voices. Our priorities will get mixed up and we’ll feel wiped out. Our ministry might even be done in. Our heart will be weighed down, instead of rejoicing that we are doing the Father’s will. I have been in positions of church leadership where we had to dig in and keep the ministry going when a pastor leaves. It’s always sad to see a good, hardworking pastor leave, who helped bring many to the Lord. But the church becomes so relaxed in watching them kill themselves out, that little ministry is performed by the members. Unless we do the Father’s will and obey His commands, then our work will often falter to doing what sounds good, looks good and feels good. But that’s the world’s way of doing things. Let’s always strive to follow Christ and continually lift Him up in praise for all that He will accomplish from our efforts here on earth. Thy will be done oh Lord, even if it hurts us to see it differently to anything we could wish for.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Jesus reminded the disciples of why He came. Perhaps we need that reminder each day to help keep us acutely focused on the ‘main thing’!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, we are eternally thankful for all that You have modeled before us. Your Word is a light unto my feet, so teach me to daily follow in Your footsteps. It was important to You to spend time with the Father each day, and so must I make it a priority to spend time with You. Please touch the heart of every reader and listener today, and may they be reminded of the importance in setting their priorities straight – always God first. May they frequently celebrate seeing everything else falling into place on a timely basis. As this materializes, I sincerely trust in You to help us also keep You first in every aspect of our lives, so that the lost will truly experience the image of God in each of us. 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!

Come Together To Worship

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

DATE WRITTEN: Sunday, 2021-05-23
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Leviticus 23:23-25; 36-37
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

BIBLE TEXT: 23 The Lord told Moses 24-25 to say to the people of Israel: The first day of the seventh month must be a day of complete rest. Then at the sound of the trumpets, you will come together to worship and to offer sacrifices on the altar.
36 For seven days, sacrifices must be offered on the altar. The eighth day is also to be a day of complete rest, as well as a time of offering sacrifices on the altar and of coming together for worship.
37 I have chosen these festivals as times when my people must come together for worship and when animals, grain, and wine are to be offered on the proper days.

APPLICATION: I was amazed at finding so many times in my Old Testament reading where God emphasized how He expected His children to ‘come together to worship’. I shared just a few examples from the verses I read today, but there are many more instances where God told Moses to share this expectation with the Israelites. Was this word just for the Israelites? Just as I believe the Bible is for all to read and adhere to God’s commands, I also believe that God wanted us to pay attention to what blesses Him. Readers may tend to believe that I specifically chose this Scripture and theme because of this being primary days for corporate worship. That’s not the case, but I strongly believe that God will place His Word before us when He desires for us to read, understand and obey His Word. I also believe that we will be drawn to important commands of God when we see Him repeat it multiple times in His Word. So what might God have to say to us today about assembling ourselves together for worship?
~ Firstly, that it is important for us to worship our Maker. He created us; loves us unconditionally; cares about our every need; cares about our ability to overcome sin so that we may one day join with Him in Heaven, and He did this by sacrificing His very own Son. I believe that worshipping together is important, because a brother may bless you by sharing what all God did for him during the week. And you may bless a sister by caring about the stresses of life that she is dealing with. Promising to pray with her, and/or check on her to make sure she handles that stress properly. That might be just what she needs to deal with her stress and overcome;
~ Secondly, the Israelites sacrificed animals in their seeking after forgiveness and in blessing God for His mercies. We may have to sacrifice certain things to enable specific time for us to rest, and to come together to worship God with other believers. This may mean taking full advantage of our other day(s) off to hit the beach or the theater, etc. This may mean shutting down our devices so that we may concentrate on everything that God has blessed us with. This may mean looking out for the needs of others, as a reminder of all that God does in looking out for us;
~ Thirdly, God set worship times as a requirement for His people. I believe that God might want us to also establish not only daily worship to Him, but also an established time to come together with other brothers and sisters to worship. Friends, we grow spiritually when God helps us, and when we help others. So establish a time to worship corporately and make it a priority to stick to that schedule. Satan will do everything possible to distract you and draw you away from worship.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Those who recognize their blessings from God will be drawn to worship Him. God demanded that the Israelites come together to worship, and I’ve grown to also see the importance of corporate worship!

PRAYER: Way too often we tend to sit back in our own little world and assume that everything is ‘peachy’ with everyone else. Thank You Lord for reminding me today how important it is for us to obey Your commands and come together with other believers to worship. It seems like fellow believers bless me and encourage me way more than I could ever have hoped for. So I pray that You might give each reader and myself wisdom on ways to be a blessing to others so that we may all celebrate Your many gifts together. You are precious in our sight oh Lord, please touch our lives and help us to share that with You as often as we should, and may that time always be a priority. 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!

Enjoying Evil vs Believing Truth?

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

DATE WRITTEN: Saturday, 2020-08-22
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 9 This man will come to do the work of Satan with counterfeit power and signs and miracles. 10 He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. 11 So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. 12 Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth.

OBSERVATION: Tell me who would say no to a good party? Is that not a common theme when one is planning a party? Of course it is, because we all love to have fun – both Christians and non-Christians. So we must be careful how we interpret what Paul is telling the Thessalonian church today through our above Scripture. Please examine Paul’s words closely, because we can’t afford to miss the point. I believe that today we must have more ‘evil’ going on than anytime in past history. Stick with me as we consider God’s Word for the hour!

APPLICATION: I could bore you with examples of what I consider ‘evil’, but I believe the best place for you to see first hand what Paul might be referencing, is to Sit and listen to the evening news. Like me, I’m sure that you will stop and wonder ‘what could possibly be next’, for it is sad to hear of the evil occurring in each reader’s country that you would never have thought possible. Now, let’s hone in closer to what Paul was dealing with, for your see, he wrote this letter to the church. Yes, God’s people – those who are called by His name. I am convinced that God wanted this included in His Word for the church of today, because He was sure that this same type of behavior would still be prevalent in your church and mine. I know you might be shocked, but please recognize that everyone that walks through our church doors are not Truth followers. Therefore, their minds are not fixed on Jesus and their hearts are not filled with the Word of God. However, I believe that instead of pointing fingers, it would be best that we devote our time to recognizing our own strengths and weaknesses, and to acknowledge if we might be considered by God as loving His Word, accepting His Word, and obedient to His Word. If we are unable to affirm a definite ‘yes’ to each of these things, then I would dare say that we are probably easily swayed by the things of this world, and therefore respond to challenges based on what we have learned from the world. Paul referred to these folk as: being fooled into the way of destruction (the way of Hell); easily deceived; believe lies and will be condemned, because they are ignoring the Truth/the Word/the Bible. It is easy to see dear friends, that God gave us His Book of Instruction to be our guide through life. It teaches us the wonderful laws of life that He has set out just for us, so that we might be like Him and show Him off to a lost world. If we ignore that Book, then we are saying ‘yes’ to Satan and following his evil practices. Also, without the Truth embedded deep into our souls, we will listen to, and be swayed by, any false teachers that find their way into our churches. And friends, this is where church struggles really take root. Let’s do our part child of God! If you know Jesus Christ as Lord, then follow Him, obey His Word, and practice the Truth, as taught to us through the Scriptures. This will allow Jesus to shine through us, and keep evil practices out.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, we could find lots of excuses why we sin, why we are disobedient, why we don’t prioritize Your Word in our lives, and why we do like everyone else around us in following the evil one. But You know us better than we know ourselves. You gave us the same number of hours as everyone else, so we allocate those hours for the desires of our heart. Dear Lord, please teach us, Your children who are called by Your name, to prioritize our time with You, so that our hearts might become like Your heart, so that our lives might look more like Your life demonstrated in so many ways while here on earth. Please draw us close to You, Lord. We want to see You, and we want our lives to be so filled with You that we will immediately identify false teachers, and those who try to win us over to the world. May we live to be more like You in every aspect of our lives, and may there be no other priority like the one we establish, with Your help, to live holy and righteous lives that look just like You, and that prepares us to fight off the evil one when he comes knocking. People need You, Lord, so may they not be distracted by anything in our lives that may create doubt, fear or unbelief in their minds. Oh that Your power, Your love and Your peace be at work in our hearts and in our minds every minute of every day! 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!

THE Most Important Commandment

On By Ed AlgreenIn Commandments, Important, Love, Love others, Loving God, PrioritiesLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2019-09-18

Bible Reference: Matthew 22:36-40
Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Bible Text:  36 “Teacher, what is the most important commandment in the Law?” 37 Jesus answered: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. 38 This is the first and most important commandment. 39 The second most important commandment is like this one. And it is, “Love others as much as you love yourself.” 40 All the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets are based on these two commandments.

OBSERVATION: Often when we are bombarded with a multitude of orders, we will either ask, or sometimes evaluate, what we need to concentrate on most, or at least first. I believe that God knew we needed direction in every aspect of life, so He gave us His Book of Instruction (the Bible) to do just that. However, seeing that God created us, I’m sure that He was the first to know that we need the priority items right up front, so that we don’t get overwhelmed and give up. These verses seem to do just that, so let’s pay very close attention to these two commandments today.

APPLICATION:  Jesus knew that He and His Father had given us many commands over time, but here He chose to show us what constituted a priority for us. In fact, He teaches that these two particular commands will help us ensure that we are following all of the other commands given to us over time. Let us therefore examine these two very carefully:
1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind – Love comes from the heart, so to love the Lord with all of our heart means that we must love Him with all that we are. To consider this being a priority, means that all other things, or people, that attract our love is below the level of love that we have for the Father. In fact, Jesus goes on to say that we must love Him from the very depths of our soul – our very innermost being. And from our mind – in other words, be thinking of ways to love Him more and more, or ways to love Him better and better, than anything else.
2. Love others as much as we love ourselves – It is very natural for us to love ourselves. Often this love is prideful, and could easily lead to our greatest sins (envy, boasting, jealousy, etc). However, there is also a sincere self-love that is expected, because of the mere fact that God made us in His own image, and He loved us enough that He sacrificed His only Son to make us right with Himself. So if He loves us that much, ought we not to also love our own selves? Of course we do, but Jesus is teaching here that with that same love, we are to also always love others. In other words, love them because you recognize that God loves them in the same way that He loves you.
Isn’t it interesting that God added at the end of this revelation, that if we concentrate on these two important things, that we will master all other commands? I thought ‘yes’, I can see that, because I wouldn’t dare consider lying, or stealing, or murdering, or being envious, or any other wrongful act against God or against anyone else that I love as much as I love myself. So friends, I believe it all boils down to these two things, just as Jesus taught us. Can we put these at the top of our daily prayer list, and at the top of our to-do list, and at the very top of our personal priorities? If you are one to place stickers around the house filled with very important reminders, then these two priorities should probably be at the header and footer of each of those notes, so that you will be reminded of the most important things, before looking at the item you want to accomplish that day! Can we do this? Can we do it on our own? Why would we try, when we have been promised that God is always there to help us achieve the desires of our heart? Lean on Him friend, and let Him be your guide and your help, especially with these things that He told us are key commands that He wants us to do.

PRAYER: Father please forgive us for being so anxious to set our daily priorities, with so little attention to Your priorities You taught to us. I know that You are Master, Creator, Almighty God, and that You display ‘Love’ in its truest form, so there is every reason for me to be obedient to Your teaching, knowing that You have my best interest at heart. Please help Your children who might meditate on this devotional today, and myself, to put our selfish desires aside and dedicate ourselves to following Your commands, especially Your two primary commands taught in this lesson. May we love You, and those that we come into contact with today, with the love that You have shown towards us. For I ask these things in the precious and holy name of Jesus, my Savior, with thanksgiving, AMEN!

Our Priorities – In Light of Eternity

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

Sunday, 2019-08-18

Bible Reference: Luke 16:27-31
Translation: Living Bible (TLB)

Bible Text: 27 “Then the rich man said, ‘O Father Abraham, then please send him to my father’s home— 28 for I have five brothers—to warn them about this place of torment lest they come here when they die.’
29 “But Abraham said, ‘The Scriptures have warned them again and again. Your brothers can read them any time they want to.’
30 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham, they won’t bother to read them. But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will turn from their sins.’
31 “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even though someone rises from the dead.’”

OBSERVATION: To totally miss the boat (of Salvation) while here on earth, is a sad commentary about the priorities of a person while alive. Could it be that the friends they hung around distracted them from things that their heart is really burdened about? I’m sure that reaching a state of eternal damnation would suddenly bring more regrets than anything we could even imagine, but in our Scripture today, Jesus teaches how we might quickly reflect on our missed opportunities. If only I would have…. then perhaps I could have helped….. I hope that as we meditate on this Scripture today, our eyes will be opened to the opportunities presented to us each and every day, and on the things of life that we often control our priorities!

APPLICATION: At the end of any given day, we may reflect on missed opportunities, and we may often attribute those to lack of time. I am a firm believer that we should really call these what they are – lack of priority. Notice how, in our Scripture, the rich man saw the urgency of getting word to his siblings after he had passed on and experienced the results of his own damnation? Let us think about our own siblings – how often have we sat down and talked with our siblings about their salvation? Isn’t it easy for us to look on these scenarios as embarrassing moments, or times that we just couldn’t muster up the courage to say something to them? How might we deal with our inner feelings if we heard that one of our siblings died a very cruel, unexpected death, without us ever having the opportunity to speak seriously with them about the condition of their soul? The other important thing for us to learn from these verses is that the rich man was not exempt from reconciliation with the King of the Universe. He also was held accountable about the choices that he made while here on earth. Friends, please be reminded that regardless of our financial position, or our regularity of attending church, or how kind we are to those in need, yet there is one thing, and only one thing that God will look at on Judgment Day – the heart of the individual. What if the question was asked of you today: Is your heart right with God? Have you invited Jesus Christ to assume lordship of your life? What if you never made it pass the next hour here on earth and God asked you why should He let you into His kingdom? May I suggest that you set your priorities straight my friend, be ready for your encounter with God, for it may easily be today.

PRAYER: Dearest Lord Jesus, there is no greater priority than our meeting with You, for this life is worthless without the assurance of our future in heaven with You. Thank You that we could have the assurance of our salvation, so that we could know without a doubt, to whom we belong. May we, without hesitation or lack of words, confidently claim the One who died for us at Calvary and saved us from our sin as we boldly step before the throne of God one day! AMEN!

More Important Than Food

On By Ed AlgreenIn Like Jesus, Priorities, PriorityLeave a comment

Thursday, 2018-12-27

Bible Reference: John 4:31-34
Translation: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

Bible Text:  31  While this was happening, Jesus’ disciples were saying to him, “Teacher, please eat something.” 32  But Jesus told them, “I have food that you don’t know anything about.” 33  His disciples started asking each other, “Has someone brought him something to eat?” 34  Jesus said: My food is to do what God wants! He is the one who sent me, and I must finish the work that he gave me to do.

OBSERVATION: Facing a New Year with our priorities in order should go a long ways, provided that we carefully and prayerfully seek God’s direction for those priorities. Jesus told His disciples that for himself, it was more important than food. Let’s consider this in our meditation today.

APPLICATION: There is a saying I’ve heard around churches, “if you feed them, they will come”! That sounds bad, but it is so true of many folk who attend church today! I believe you will even see this proven at weddings where a couple decides not to have a reception, for attendance is generally down, compared to the weddings that offer a feast afterwards at a reception. Why, even to funerals are now followed by a huge reception that attracts most attendees to eat, rather than spend quality time with the mourning family members. It is unfortunate that we have gotten our priorities so twisted. Perhaps as we face the coming of a brand new year, we may look to the Word of God to make sure that our priorities are in order. Here are some examples for us to take note of, and follow as God leads:

  • John 4:31-34 – In today’s focal passage, Jesus saw an opportunity to speak with unsaved Samaritans, and this was far more satisfying to Him than any amount, or quality, of food that He could physically eat at the time. If it was important to Jesus, should it not be for us also?
  • Matt. 14:15–17; John 4:8; Luke 18:28 – The Disciples were always concerned about the physical need, particularly food!
  • Luke 11:11-13 – Jesus taught the disciples to first remember that God will provide exactly what they need, even though their tendency was to worry about food and physical needs primarily. Imagine pleading and pleading for a hamburger, when God wants to give you a ranch where you could have all the beef you want! He will supply our needs, friends! Praise the wonderful name of Jesus!

Friends, when we get our priorities straight and do what Jesus commands in Matthew 6:33 – seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then perhaps He will see to it that ALL of our need are met, not just our physical needs of nourishment. Perhaps the next time we become so concerned over whether to have a meal in order to attract folk to an event, particularly a church event, we should read Romans 14:17-18 and remind ourselves of what’s important to the kingdom of heaven! Perhaps if we concentrate more on our spiritual needs and the desire of God for our lives in 2019, we will not only trim some fat, but we will gain a whole lot more faith, hope, love for each other, and gain a closer walk with the Lord than we have ever had before. Friends, can we make this our goal in 2019, God being our helper?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, please forgive us for allowing our priorities to drift away from the most important person, and the most important thing. We are very close to being blessed with a brand new year, where we have the opportunity to make a brand new start in our spiritual lives. We need to draw close to You Lord, for living in this old wicked world has poisoned us into following the ways of Satan instead of the righteousness that would please You, the one who sacrificed Your very own life for us. Please renew within us a right spirit, so that we might get our priorities straight, and may this all happen so that You might be glorified in all things. AMEN!