Priorities and Time Constrains

On 2017-09-252017-09-25 By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, Committed, Distraction, DistractionsLeave a comment

Post Date:	Monday, 2017-09-25
SCRIPTURE
From:	Luke 24:50-53 (NLT)
Text:	⁵⁰Then Jesus led them to Bethany, and lifting his hands to heaven, he blessed them. ⁵¹While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up to heaven. ⁵²So they worshiped him and then returned to Jerusalem filled with great joy. ⁵³And they spent all of their time in the Temple, praising God.
OBSERVATION:
Before being ascended into heaven, Jesus spent some final moments with His disciples, blessing them and giving them reassurance of their reuniting with Him one day. They were very excited over this as they returned to their hometown, and this brought them so much hope that they practically lived at the temple praising God. Does this sound a lot like us? Let’s have a closer look….
APPLICATION:
Don’t you love to go fishing, and stay out there on the lake, or in the ocean for as long as you want, whether you are catching anything or not? How about those baseball games, when we arrive so early that we could have a tailgate party before the gates are opened, and we don’t mind at all if the game runs into overtime or the hour or two that it takes to work our way through thousands of people and hundreds of cars before heading back home. However, when it comes to church, we are willing to give of one hour per week – for the masses. Nearing that one-hour mark, we see people checking their watches, closing their Bibles and getting real fidgety in their seats. Why some may even take their watches off and visibly shake them, in sight of the preacher so he could see our disbelief about how long this service is going on! So what’s the difference friends? In one case we are spending beau-coup bucks to see overpaid and overweight guys run after a ball all over a large field to possibly score a goal. We know that we will return home without a voice or at least a much diminished voice for a few days, because of our screams in joyous admiration of our favorite player(s). In the other case we are voluntarily going to join other believers who are thankful for the love of the Creator of this Universe; the One who gave His only Son as a sacrifice to save us from our sin; The One who has promised us life eternal with He and His Father in heaven. However, most in attendance hardly sing, or smile, or say a word, or shout with excitement or bring their Bible to follow with the preacher. Furthermore, the excuses I hear my friends making for not being there, I am convinced that this must be way less important than a football game. I realize that this may sound far out there for some who may read this blog today, but is it the unfortunate truth? Remember, you should never lie to God and say that you didn’t have time to attend church, tell it to Him straight – it was not a priority for you. Friends, my desire is that we get back to worshiping our Master and our Lord – personally. When we do a good job personally, then we could join in on the excitement of worship when we come together with other believers, and truly worship our Lord, with our heart’s condition being the only thing that might interfere, or place constraints on our time with the Lord in corporate worship.
PRAYER:
Lord, we have allowed the ‘fun’ things of this world to take priority over our time with You. I’m sure that this is one of Satan’s tools to distract Christians, but Lord I pray that You would reach down and touch Your children once again and remind us of Your love and Your sacrifice, so that we might have a future to look forward to in glory with You and the Father. Forgive us Lord for our lack of commitment and the ease of distraction from Your love for us. May we serve You in all honesty and truth, without hindrances from the evil one, AMEN!
FOOTNOTE:
There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Distractions in Ministry

On 2017-07-24 By Ed AlgreenIn Distraction, Distractions, Effective Ministry, Excuses, Servants of God, Serve, ServiceLeave a comment

Post Date:	Monday, 2017-07-24
SCRIPTURE
From:	Luke 9:61-62 (TLB)
Text:	⁶¹Another said, “Yes, Lord, I will come, but first let me ask permission of those at home.”⁶²But Jesus told him, “Anyone who lets himself be distracted from the work I plan for him is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”
OBSERVATION:
The verses hyperlinked above actually shares two accounts where individuals that God had called into ministry found excuses why they couldn’t assume the task at that time. Not a whole lot different to what we do today, but I believe God would have us be reminded again how He feels about this.
APPLICATION:
In a first glance, or reading of this Scripture, we probably look at our pastors and wonder why they might question the call of Christ on their lives, or procrastinate following the call after clearly hearing God calling them into service. Friends, most churches have election of officers and teachers each year, and I believe I would be safe in saying that nominating teams have probably heard every excuse possible when asking an individual to serve. In the section of Scripture we are looking at today, we see where one needed to bury his father before he could assume the call of Christ. In the second instance the other one needed to check with his family first to make sure they could manage without him. While we will also look at our excuses, think for a minute who it was that called these two individuals – Jesus, the very Son of God. Did He personally know their hearts and all about the possible excuses they could have given Him? Of course He did. But by sharing these things with us, it help us to also consider the excuses that we tend to give when asked to join the ministry team at our respective churches. I believe that three of the most popular excuses used today are: 1). I feel so unqualified to teach; 2). I cannot speak well in a classroom setting; and 3). I live such a busy lifestyle that I couldn’t possible take on one more thing. Friends, don’t you think that it is God that gave you the gifts to do His work and the time to do it? Don’t you know that God is well aware of your qualifications and gifts and that He has you handpicked to accomplish a task you are being asked to accomplish? A Nominating Team or Pastor who may asked you to fill a position at church has probably bathed the matter in deep prayer, so I feel like when we make excuses why we can’t fulfil the request, we are actually complaining to God. Let me suggest that if you feel that time might be the issue, try responding that you can’t make that a priority in your life right now. Jesus could have found many excuses and could have called many angels to His rescue when beaten and led to the cross, but He accepted His unfortunate task as a priority – just for you and I. God is not looking at your abilities, because where you are lacking He fills that void so that He might be glorified. All He wants is your availability.
PRAYER:
Dear God, please forgive us for the excuses we make to not use the many gifts that You have blessed us with. Thank You for not giving up on us, as easily as we give up on trying to serve You. Oh Lord, may we be obedient to Your call on our life. May we be a living sacrifice, willing to always testify to Your calling in our personal witness to others and to help make Your work in our local church complete. You have truly blessed us beyond anything we deserve, may we learn to bless You through our availability and willingness to serve in local ministries, so that the world might know You and believe in You. God being our helper, our enabler and guide. AMEN!
FOOTNOTE:
There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

No Room For Jesus

On 2017-06-19 By Ed AlgreenIn Priority, Relationship, TimeLeave a comment

Post Date:	Monday, 2017-06-19
SCRIPTURE
From:	Luke 2:6-7 (NCV)
Text:	⁶While they were in Bethlehem, the time came for Mary to have the baby, ⁷and she gave birth to her first son. Because there were no rooms left in the inn, she wrapped the baby with pieces of cloth and laid him in a feeding trough.
OBSERVATION:
Very familiar verses that we hear a lot during the Christmas season. Notice that similar words were echoed throughout the physical reign of Jesus Christ, that there was no room, or time for Jesus. Although the people begged His power as desired, yet He was rejected and mocked at almost every venue throughout His ministry. His closest partners in ministry denied Him when placed under pressure, and He was arrested and crucified because of the good He did for others. Surely all of this must have changed after He arose victoriously, like He said He would. Let’s examine this prospect….
APPLICATION:
It is so easy to look down our pious noses and criticize the Jews for what they did to Jesus, because He didn’t fit their mold of what their king should look and act like. It is so easy for Christians to look down their pious noses at unbelievers and strongly criticize them for rejecting our Savior and Lord. But I would like for us to stop and consider both groups in this devotional: Unbelievers – We often hear excuses like: I would like to have all of my earthly fun before surrendering my life to Jesus, or in other words: before I could find room or time for Jesus; I see so many cases where those ‘Christians’ have just as many struggles as I have, plus most of them are hypocrites anyway; I have way too much to do with my time than all this church stuff; The church can’t relate to us younger folk, because there are so many traditional, old-heads running the church; etc, etc. It all boils down to you not wanting to find time or availability for Jesus, and you are not willing to make it a priority; Christians – Unfortunately, we hear many of the same excuses as listed above, because there is a ‘human’ aspect living inside both groups. However, it is sad to ask a Christian for their testimony and they can’t share the point in time that they truly accepted Jesus. We hear a lot about how they’ve attended church all of their life, so they know Jesus, or they hung around ‘good’ people and that ‘goodness’ rubbed off on them and they therefore now know Jesus. Compare this to your marriage and see if you can get away with telling a friend something similar in the presence of your spouse! Consider what you are saying to Jesus when you can’t find time, or you can’t be bothered to spend time each day communing with Him. Try this friend, each evening before bed try saying a simple prayer of truth along these lines to your Savior: Thank you for dying for me Lord Jesus. I apologize that I didn’t make it a priority in my day to even say thank You, or welcome You to guide my day. You see, it’s not a matter of ‘time’, it’s a matter of ‘priority’. It’s the same as saying something similar to what the innkeeper said to Joseph and Mary, so sorry but there is no room here for Jesus. Jesus sacrificed His very life for you friend. What’s the minimum that you are planning to do for Him today? Do you have room for Him in your time, your life, your work, or your marriage? I believe He is waiting to bless you, if you can make time and room for Him today!
PRAYER:
Thank You Lord Jesus for the awesome sacrifice You made, so that those of us that could make room for You in our lives, could one day worship You endlessly in the glories of heaven. Please forgive us Lord for the times that we ‘shut the door’ on You because we have no room for You at the time. Please open our eyes and our understanding to allow You full reign in our lives, for we need You every hour of every day dear Lord. Please help us to always make room for You, so that others may see Jesus and believe. AMEN!
FOOTNOTE:
There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

THE Most Important Things

On 2015-09-192015-09-19 By Ed AlgreenIn Commandments, Important, PrioritiesLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Matthew 22:36-40): 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. ³⁹The 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.

THOUGHTS: In our fast-paced world today, I believe most of us like to set our priorities for the day so that we could make sure we don’t get side-tracked with all the other things that will be sure to bombard us and try to win our attention. Furthermore, we tend to try very hard to accomplish our top priority items more than anything else for that day. I believe that is good reason why this passage of scripture should be very important to us. 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 carefully:

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. Also, 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 inmost being. And from our mind – in other words, be thinking of ways to love Him more or ways to love Him better than anything else.
Love others as much as we love ourselves – It is very natural for us to love ourselves. Often this love is corrupt, and often leads 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 and 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 in addition to these. 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 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!

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

Purpose Yourself to Worship God

On 2015-08-292015-08-29 By Ed AlgreenIn Allegiance, Treasure, WorshipLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Living Translation – Matthew 6:19-21): ¹⁹ “Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.

THOUGHTS: Why do you go to church? Why do you worship God? Did you find God in the corporate worship time? How? – I believe the first two questions would be a good survey to ask folk about to enter a weekend church service, and the last two questions would be great for an exit survey as they are leaving. I believe it would be good for each reader to answer these questions even now! Because you are human, just as I am, I know there are times that we jump out of bed, rush to church, sit back and wait for the entertainment to start. There are times that we have so much going on in our lives that our body attends church, but we hope that no one asks what the preacher spoke about, because we were way too preoccupied solving issues in our minds to hear and apply a word that he said! So how then do we get ourselves in motion and in tune with God? First of all, I believe that worship is a daily, relational thing. It’s a matter of priority, and it’s a deliberate action on the worshiper to think about the Savior of this world and the many blessings that He continually pours out on us. By now you are wondering how all of this ties in with the point of this scripture I bet! Friends, when we place so much of our time and effort into material things, guess where our minds are while our bodies attend church? When we assume control of our finances, instead of allowing God control of this vital part of our existence, we worry about how we will make the budget, and we constantly contemplate where and how we can make more money. It is challenging for us to give God our undivided attention when, in our minds, we have so much else going on. I believe that if we were to sincerely aim at achieving what verse 21 advocates, then we will invest ourselves, our time and our money into the worship and work of the Lord. My treasure is in heaven, is that evident in every aspect of my life?

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for sacrificing Your precious Son, in spite of those that You know would just ignore You and take Your Treasure for granted. Lord we fool no one else but ourselves when we get ourselves so distracted, and we can’t concentrate on You because of all that we worry about. Too often our ‘treasure’ is misaligned and consumes our attention, and draws us away from giving You our full attention and allegiance. Please continue Your work in me and in the lives of my readers, that we may be so aligned with our greatest ‘TREASURE’ that great works will extend from the hearts and lives of Your children and that You will have full access to our hearts for Your use. I ask this in total humility and in the wonderful name of Jesus, AMEN!

Stop, Listen and Consider

On 2015-04-272015-04-27 By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, Listen, PriorityLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Good News Translation – Job 37:14-16): ¹⁴Pause a moment, Job, and listen; consider the wonderful things God does. ¹⁵ Do you know how God gives the command and makes lightning flash from the clouds? ¹⁶ Do you know how clouds float in the sky, the work of God’s amazing skill?

THOUGHTS: I’ve often said around my house that if my family could move to the garden in quiet solitude, without any electronics, including the house phone, and just listen to the birds sing, catch a glimpse of the beautiful creation that God has put in place for us, and after a period of quietness before God, just chat with each other, I believe we would draw closer to God and to each other – if we don’t go totally insane through withdrawal symptoms!!! Ever noticed how we must always be attached to a device of some sort, or have background noise to seemingly block out the quiet? It ‘kills’ me to call someone and compete with the loudness of their television set while trying to speak to them! Like Job, I believe that often someone may try to comfort us or share a message with us, and our minds are so busy that we hardly remember they were in the same room with us. Can this happen with God? Of course it could, for often it’s not until we are laid out on our backs, that we stop, listen, and look up to God to consider how helpless we are without Him. Unfortunately, it’s often not until we have tried everything and failed, before we finally decide to call on God and seek His help. Friends, I believe that it is critical that we make time in our day to get alone with God. We need time in His Word so that we can listen for His voice through the written Word, but we need to stop the busyness of our lives for a few minutes each day to stop and gaze into the wonderful face of our Lord and give welcoming time for Him to just minister to us. Please don’t try to convince me, or God, that you just don’t have time for one more thing in your already busy schedule. When challenged by your accountability partner about your time with the Lord, try saying that it was just not a priority for you that day. For not having time for something directly relates to those things you gave priority to, or didn’t make priority for. I believe that if you respond in this way, you will be quickly challenged by God to reconcile who really is first in your life!

PRAYER: Father, ashamedly I come before You recognizing that the above sermon was first preached to myself, for I allow my day to be filled with so much that I often fail to step away from all of the modern day devices and distractions to truly look into Your wonderful face and savor time with You. I thank You for Your Word, and Your help in giving me energy to meet with you very early each morning to hear You speak through the written Word, but I would love to have time alone, with no other activities or time constraints, so that I might hear You speak through Your creation. Like Job, I have deliberately imposed upon myself very tight and busy schedules. In fact, it may even appear that I have scheduled You right out of my life, and for that I must apologize and seek Your forgiveness. I believe that many of my friends reading this devotional may have developed the same bad habits, so I beg You to patiently speak with each of Your children today and remind us of the importance of our time with You. I could only imagine how You must wait for us each day, and wind up disappointed at how we’ve scheduled You out of our lives yet another day. Please forgive us Lord, and please don’t give up on us. We need Your powerful touch upon our lives, so that we might be revived in our spirits and return to making the ‘main thing’ the ‘main thing’ once again. I ask all this in the patient, yet all-powerful name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior, AMEN!

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

Satisfied!

On 2015-03-032015-03-03 By Ed AlgreenIn Priorities, Satisfaction1 Comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – 1 Timothy 6:7-10): We didn’t bring anything into this world, and we won’t take anything with us when we leave. ⁸ So we should be satisfied just to have food and clothes. ⁹ People who want to be rich fall into all sorts of temptations and traps. They are caught by foolish and harmful desires that drag them down and destroy them. ¹⁰ The love of money causes all kinds of trouble. Some people want money so much that they have given up their faith and caused themselves a lot of pain.

THOUGHTS: Life seems so simple when one has nothing, doesn’t it? I once heard an international missionary say about the poor people in the area they served: “but the people are happy, because they don’t know about what they don’t have”. That made me think back to my earlier childhood days, especially when I now hear my parents talk about the rough times we had back then. But the truth is: I never noticed that we were poor and were going without many of the things that others thought were so important to life. In this scripture today, and through his mentoring to Timothy, Paul is teaching us to be very careful to not let our ‘want-to-haves’ overpower our good sense. We are often taught in the Bible that our God will meet our ‘needs’. Paul is teaching us that basic needs are food and clothing. And although he didn’t mention it, I believe that shelter is also important. Way too often I believe that humans are caught in a growing need to want more, whether money or ‘things’. To achieve these, we fight over job positions, and often tear down another person to build ourselves up, or we find ways to use them as a stepping stone for us to move beyond them. We wind up being such a slave to our employers that we work ungodly hours that often keeps us away from family and church or relationship time with God. Friends, when we are lacking in these areas of our lives, everything worthwhile falls apart around us. Yet the one thing that we hold on to – our jobs, are quickly filled with a replacement when we fail to produce like we’ve always done! When we allow the busyness of life to affect our homes and/or our relationship with God, and yes this is evident in our church attendance, then we must stop and challenge ourselves what then are we really striving for? What is there that offers value to my life beyond my usefulness to my boss? Please don’t get me wrong, I am a devoted businessman, but I pray that I will always be a more devoted husband, father and worker for the Lord in His vineyard here on earth. I’m reminded of a gospel song that speaks about just this, listen as you finish reading! But how about you friend, what’s your status on priorities? Please take time to re-evaluate your life today and be sure that you have a right balance in these areas of your life!

PRAYER: Father in heaven, I believe that this scripture this morning probably applies more to the times we are now in, than ever before. For while many might be greedy towards making more money, in spite of the millions they would probably never live long enough to enjoy, yet there are some who worry about the financial aspects of their retirement years and therefore see the need to work at least one more year to ‘top off’ that spendable income during retirement. Not knowing how much longer we will live, I realize that this is just Satan’s way of pushing our families further apart, and closing down even more churches because of lack of attendance and/or commitment. I am convinced that You never intended life to be this stressful and complicated, so I plead with You today to help me keep the main things in life the main thing. Please continue to lead me into more quality time with my family. More quality time in Your Word and in faith building efforts around Your saints here on earth. May I be the person You can use to grow Your kingdom through the witness I might display while around others. Please touch the lives of my readers today and allow Your Word to penetrate their lives and impact them in a way that they too will seek Your perfect God-designed will for their lives. Please have Your will and way in our lives today, is my humble prayer that I ask in the name of Your Son, Jesus my Lord, with thanksgiving, AMEN!

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

The Traps That Ensnare Us

On 2014-12-042014-12-04 By Ed AlgreenIn PrioritiesLeave a comment

The Holy Bible

⁹But now you know the true God. Really, it is God who knows you. So why do you turn back to those weak and useless rules you followed before? Do you want to be slaves to those things again?

(Bible Translation and Location: New Century Version – Galatians 4:9)

Thoughts:

I believe that there is nothing Satan hates more, than to see one of his children come to know Jesus and accept Him as Lord of their life. I also believe that in spite of God’s power, Satan is constantly trying to win us back, so there is a constant tug-of-war going on in our spiritual lives. For example, our religious practices forbids idolatry, yet many ‘Christians’ practice spiritual idolatry in their hearts. For what a man loves most, and cares most for, that is his god: some have their riches for their god, some their pleasures, some their favorite sport, and some their lusts. Many ignorantly, and unknowingly, worship a god of their own making; a god made all of mercy, and no justice. For they persuade themselves that there is mercy for them with God, though they repent not, but go on in their sins. It is possible for those who have made great professions of faith, to be afterwards drawn aside by Satan from purity and simplicity. Friends, just as in marriage you don’t walk out of the church saying “I do” and walk into oblivion believing that love and unity will grow in your marriage whether you live together or not, so it is with Christianity and your kinship to God. Sure, God is with you always and everywhere you go, but what good is it if you ignore Him? Please remember, our God is a jealous God. He gave the ultimate gift of His precious, and only Son, to show His love for us. I am personally convinced that He deserves our unwavering commitment, our intentional worship and daily, or more frequent, communion with Him. There are several scripture references that would support my statement that God is to us, based on what we are to, and for, Him. Could this be why so many churches and ‘Christians’ are in trouble today? If we only grudgingly give God an hour on Sunday (or Saturday), why should we expect any more from Him? There’s a hymn entitled “I Need Thee Every Hour”, why then should we only worship Him for one hour (or less) in a 168-hour week, and expect Him to be there for us?

Prayer:

Dear Lord, we have become such a spoiled and rotten bunch. We open our arms to receive from You 24/7 365 days per year, yet we can’t make time to thank You daily, or to worship and praise You at least one hour per week. We continually ask for so much from You, yet we complain when we try to give even an hour per week back to You. Please forgive us for our unworthiness, selfishness and pride. We make time for everything else in life, yet way too busy to find time to stop and pray. Our priorities have become very warped, and Satan is really catching a grip on weak Christians. Father, I am thankful for what You did for me at Calvary. Please continue to guide me into all truth and keep me on a path of righteousness, for Your name’s sake. I love You Lord and I lift my voice to Worship You, Oh my Lord, Rejoice….. I respectfully ask all this with a thankful heart and in the name of Jesus Christ, AMEN!

Nuggets From God's Word

Tag: Priority