Trust In God, His Promises Are True

On 2022-07-042022-07-07 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Promise, Recognize God, Trust, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Monday, 2022-07-04
WRITTEN AT: O Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Isaiah 40:31; 41:10,13
TRANSLATION: The Voice (VOICE)

BIBLE TEXT: 40:³⁰     But those who trust in the Eternal One will regain their strength. They will soar on wings as eagles. They will run—never winded, never weary. They will walk—never tired, never faint.
41:¹⁰    So don’t be afraid. I am here, with you; don’t be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, help you. I am here with My right hand to make right and to hold you up.
41:¹³    After all, it is I, the Eternal One your God, who has hold of your right hand, Who whispers in your ear, “Don’t be afraid. I will help you.”

APPLICATION: Often troubled times will face us and, we will automatically respond in certain ways, based on past experiences and on our support team at the time. However, all too often there will be a certain twist to our current dilemma that we are facing for the very first time. It seems to me that we respond, or react, based on information that we have fed to our brain over the years. I wish for you, my friend, what I would desire for myself, that there would be so much of God fed into my life each day from the Scriptures, such as the verses we are meditating on today, that I would respond to life’s circumstances in a way that is pleasing to God, and that I would submit to the authority of His all-powerful hand. It is so easy for us to assume the position of knowing it all, and that we only need God for those decisions that we are stumped on, but I pray that over the years you may have developed: faith in God; a trust in His all-powerful capabilities; a yearning for our all-knowing, all-loving God. As we meditate on these verses today, we are reminded that God has promised to care for us, protect us and direct us along the right path each and every day. The way we tap into that is by trusting in Him with all our heart, soul and mind, so that we might be encouraged to consult with our God, and be willing to obey what He leads us to. Trust God, my friend. He created us and this world in which we live, so He knows every little intricate detail about what is going on personally in our lives, and in man’s inability to deal with the many self-destructing moves that we make politically in our respective countries. If it’s from Scripture we already know, then I believe He will quickly bring it back to active memory. If it’s a new revelation, then I believe God will make it known to us and He will direct us. Let me encourage you to read over the above verses again, and allow God to saturate your minds with the assurance of His love, His wisdom and His direction for your life. He’s got this! All we need to do is to tap into His goodness and allow Him to be our Master and our God.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: God cares for us and He will take good care of His own, if we trust Him to do it!

PRAYER: Praise the Lord we serve a God that can do the things that are impossible in man’s eyes! Not only am I convinced of the truth of Your Word in the above verses Lord, but I was also reminded of this in my New Testament reading today where You healed the sick, cast out demons and quieted their mouths. Praise God, You truly are a God who can do miraculous things, even those things that we think might seem impossible to us. Lord, with that confidence, please allow me to ask for You to touch the hearts of the unsaved in my community. Please open their hearts and minds to the message of Your Word, convince them of their sin, and create a desire within them to know You personally. Please convict the hearts of the saved. May we never be ashamed of the Gospel, and may we always be such examples of our Savior that the unsaved will see You and want to accept and serve You. Oh that You may be glorified through Your children today, and may the power of our awesome God be evident in all that we do and say. 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!

How To Spend Your Spare Time

On 2022-07-032022-07-05 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Believers, friends, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Worship2 Comments

DATE POSTED Sunday, 2022-07-03
WRITTEN AT: O Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Acts 21:3–4
TRANSLATION: Contemporary English Version (CEV)

BIBLE TEXT: ³We came within sight of Cyprus and then sailed south of it on to the port of Tyre in Syria, where the ship was going to unload its cargo. ⁴We found the Lord’s followers and stayed with them for a week. The Holy Spirit had told them to warn Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.

APPLICATION: By using one of the only means of transportation from one place to another, a sailing ship, Paul wound up having to be at the Port of Tyre for over a week while goods were being unloaded for the local people. In our world today, think about when a cruise ship stops into a port. They will inevitably have lots of tours and/or suggestions for its passengers, but I don’t believe you would hear them suggest time with friends, or at a religion establishment, or listening, and ministering to the poor and downtrodden. But what about you, what do you tend to do while on vacation with regards to God, His church and/or His people? Do you tend to take a vacation from all of your ‘God related things’ also? I once heard a sermon entitled ‘Saints on Vacation’, and it truly was an eye opener! Here’s what I really enjoy about attending a church in the area in which I vacation: (a) It is refreshing to see God at work not only in my home church, but also in fresh new ways that are so apropos for the area that I am visiting. In other words, ministry in a rural town to mostly farmers, might look quite different to ministry in a coastal town to mostly college-aged kids. (b) I find that there is greater freedom to worship in a place that I am visiting, because we tend to build a box around us, as to what is permissible in worship at our home church, mostly because of what our friends and family may think. (c) I look for ideas that I could bring back and share with my home church. Perhaps a bulletin, or other literature; and (d) I find it refreshing to just worship with these new-found believers without the distraction of any side jobs on my mind. In Paul’s case, he placed the sightseeing aside; he wasn’t attracted to the shade trees overlooking the ocean where he could catch up on his rest; he simply had a hunger to be with fellow believers! When it was time to leave the island, Paul’s new found Christian friends followed him to the seashore and sent him off with a prayer meeting. I believe that visiting a church while on vacation, might bring similar results, for fellow Christians are often out to minister to attendees – especially visitors! Be sure to always seek out fellow believers, and plan to attend a local church the next time you visit an area. Paul did, and he was blessed with receiving a word from God through his new friends. Let’s get used to being with fellow Christians while here on earth, as that will be the norm around the throne of God!

PRAYER: Father, we are either a Christian or we’re not. We either want to be with you, or we don’t. These things will hold true in our normal work week, but they will also hold true when we’re out of town, and even when out of sight of our pastor or church leaders. Mixing with saints of other towns remind us a lot of what it will be like when we worship around Your throne with saints from all nations and all cultures from all over the world. Please help us to hold true to our faith, and to desire times of worship with other believers, even when out of town or far from our local church. Heaven will not just be made up of members of our home church, so please help us to get used to the idea of worshiping with other believers while still here on earth. Thank You Lord for who You are and especially who You are to such a vast cloud of witnesses/believers here on this earth. I look forward to the day that we will all be gathered around your throne worshiping at Your feet! AMEN!

Motivated & Inspired By God’s Love For Us

On 2022-07-022022-07-02 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Christian love, Faith, Faith in Action, Mature, Needs, On guard, Praise, Recognize God, Stand Firm, Unconditional love, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Saturday, 2022-07-02
WRITTEN AT: O Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 1 Corinthians 16:13
TRANSLATION: Amplified Bible (AMP)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹³Be on guard; stand firm in your faith [in God, respecting His precepts and keeping your doctrine sound]. Act like [mature] men and be courageous; be strong. ¹⁴Let everything you do be done in love [motivated and inspired by God’s love for us].

APPLICATION: I have been blessed to serve at a church that sent off short, and long-term missionaries, and I have been blessed to serve on a short-term missions group sent to a country where the needs were great. Church leaders did an awesome job in ‘sending us off’ with their blessings and their prayers. But for the one who draws a blank on what advice to give such a group, I believe that you could easily adopt Paul’s words and be right on target. Some may choose to go on these trips for various personal reasons, but if we are truly going to represent God on a Mission’s trip where we intend to show the love of Jesus to those on the Mission’s field, and share with them all that God has done for you, then we must prepare our hearts and be willing to let God guide our footsteps, our words and our actions. However, if we try to speak the truth of God’s Word every day while on the trip, but our actions misrepresents what the people expect of Jesus, then their hearing will become blocked and their eyes will become very critical of our mission. In other words, our actions could become a stumbling block to the Gospel going forth to a people who need the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course this teaching very much applies to our daily lives also, for we meet family, friends, coworkers, restaurant and department store help that also need the Lord. Will they see enough of Jesus in us to convince them of what they are missing? In John 17:4, Jesus told the Father that He had completed the work that the Father sent Him to do and that God was glorified through His work. Can you commit to that kind of prayer at the end of each day, or at the conclusion of a Missions Trip? We may have had the best day, or we may have accomplished every goal set out by our Missions team leaders, but did we complete our tasks with a heart of love and represented the Master well? Finishing the work God gave Him to do wasn’t just an idea in His journal or a thought stirring in His mind. It was something Jesus did. Has God called you to teach Sunday school? Do it and stay with it until He leads you in a different direction. Has He called you to have a time of morning worship? Then do so. Has He spoken to you about spending time discipling your kids? Then do it. I believe the Lord wants every one of us to be hugely successful in the things of the kingdom. Be encouraged as you remember: His burden is easy, and His load is light. The only question is, will you stand fast? Let me encourage you to re-read the Bible verse we focused on today, and make it your aim to be on your guard, stand firm and always represent the One that sent you into the mission field to spread the Gospel. Be sure that your mission is aligned with the mission spoken of by Jesus. Know Jesus today dear friend, and allow Him to influence your life in every way so that you will represent Him fairly in all you do or say.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: What a honor and a privilege it is to tell the world about Jesus, and to show them through our actions, what it means to love Him and share His love with others who need Him!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, it is obvious that mere man will accomplish only man-sized efforts. Please impact the lives of those of us who strive each day to be Your representative here in our mission’s field. They need You oh Lord, not more of me. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You oh Lord, and use me to spread Your joy, Your love, and Your sweet communion with everyone I touch every day. For the believers reading this devotional, I pray that You would also pass this blessing on to them . For the unbeliever who may have happened across this devotional, I want to thank You for drawing them to learn more of You, but also ask that You would humble them to realize that it is only the blood of Jesus that will wash away their sin and ready them for eternity in heaven. Until we all leave for our eternal home, please bless us with boldness and a commitment to stand firm in our faith and committed to share it with others in Jesus’ name! AMEN!

Reasons Why We Can’t Heal

On 2022-07-012022-07-02 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Faith, Healing, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Friday, 2022-07-01
WRITTEN AT: O Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Mark 9:18-19; 28-29;
TRANSLATION: New Life Version (NLV)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹⁸Wherever the demon takes him, it throws him down. Spit runs from his mouth. He grinds his teeth. He is getting weaker. I asked Your followers to put the demon out but they could not.”
¹⁹He said, “You people of this day have no faith. How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to Me.”
²⁸When Jesus went into the house, His followers asked Him when He was alone, “Why could we not put out the demon?” ²⁹He said to them, “The only way this kind of demon is put out is by prayer and by going without food so you can pray better.”

APPLICATION: It would be enlightening to see the results of a survey answered by first time visitors to our church services. Think about how you might answer such questions as: 1). Why did you chose this church today?; 2). Did the pastor show an interest in you, or your needs today?; 3). Did a regular church attendee show an interest in you, or your needs today?; 4). What brought you out to church today?; 5). Based on what you heard today, do you have a clear understanding of how you might know, or draw closer to God?; and 6). Do you feel like your needs were met at this church today? | Based on our Biblical story today, I feel like we could probably answer the above questions for the dad who brought his son for healing. The bottom line is, that up until his encounter with Jesus, his needs were unfulfilled. BUT Jesus issues a compassionate invitation when He says, “Bring the child to Me.” The father had come seeking help from the disciples, but the disciples were unable to help. But isn’t that like us a lot of times? Perhaps we might bring a child, a friend, a co-worker to church or Sunday School, but they were not helped. However, we should be comforted that we brought them to where the disciples of Jesus are, and guess who shows up sooner or later? Jesus Himself! Through a testimony shared, a study given, a story told, a song sung—something will happen! Jesus will come! “Bring your child to Me,” Jesus said. But often we are so filled with doubt and fear, that we will quickly respond: ‘But how?’ Morning by morning in our devotional time with Jesus; teaching him what you’re learning from the Word as you do errands together; making sure he’s growing through fellowship with other believers; showing love and compassion like Jesus showed to us; etc. The cause of evil and destruction in this world is Satan. The cure is Jesus. The question is: Will you bring your friends and family to Him? For the disciples (followers of Jesus Christ), you might find the excuse that there was no time to fast and pray when a situation suddenly presented itself to you. Friends, we must maintain a life of prayer and fasting, because when the demonized boy is before you, it’s too late to start. Often something exceedingly important could take place, but we feel impotent and powerless because we haven’t been praying, fasting, reading the Word, or seeking the Lord. Let me encourage you by saying that: As a father, I have no other recourse than to maintain a life of prayer and fasting because I never know when the Enemy will strike my child – For he has, he does; and he will; As a believer, I have no other choice but to maintain a close walk with God because I never know the next conversation that will open up before me at work, the grocery store or in the park with a neighbor, and Jesus may speak through me with words that will impact them for eternity. We MUST be ready dear friends! Always ready!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Jesus is compassionate about our needs, just as He was about the boy brought to Him by his dad. As representatives of the King of all kings, we must be filled with faith, ready, available and willing to speak truth and power in Jesus’ name, so that the Devil will flee and never impede us or our friends ever again.

PRAYER: Thank You Lord Jesus for being patient with us, although we are reminded from Your response to Your disciples, that You become frustrated by our lack of faith and our willingness to open up and let You have Your will and way in the lives we touch each day. Please Lord, help us to be ready on every occasion to represent You and be used of You for healing, salvation or just encouragement to help others go on in the faith. Just as You touched the little boy that You called to You, I pray that You will powerfully touch the lives of those who place their faith and trust in You today, for this world needs Jesus more today than ever before. AMEN!

Redeemer

On 2022-06-302022-06-30 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Thursday, 2022-06-30
WRITTEN AT: O’Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Ruth 2:10-12
TRANSLATION: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹⁰Then Ruth bowed very low to the ground. She said to Boaz, “I am a foreigner, so I am surprised you even noticed me.”
¹¹Boaz answered her, “I know about all the help you have given to your mother-in-law Naomi. I know you helped her even after your husband died. And I know that you left your father and mother and your own country and came here to this country. You did not know anyone from this country, but you came here with Naomi. ¹²The Lord will reward you for all the good things you have done. The Lord, the God of Israel, will pay you in full. You have come to him for safety, and he will protect you.”

APPLICATION: The book of Ruth is well known for the faithfulness of Ruth towards her mother-in-law, Naomi. This faithfulness developed in spite of Ruth’s husband, who was also Naomi’s son, being deceased. In those days, the the culture dictated that one of Naomi’s other sons would have married Ruth as part of his loyalty to his deceased brother, but there were no other sons. The remaining alternative would be that Ruth would return to her parents home until she would possibly date and marry again. But seeing that Naomi had also lost her husband and had no one to care for her, Ruth insisted on staying by her side to help her in every way possible. This included a move by Naomi back to her hometown of Judah. And despite Naomi’s insistence for Ruth to return to her parent’s home, Ruth was even more persistent to accompany Naomi and care for her for as long as she could. Besides the move to a strange land, Ruth was a Moabite by birth, and the Jews despised the Moabites. However this did not stop Ruth from trying in every way to support her mother-in-law. In trying to seek self help, Ruth tried being a gleaner in a nearby farm. She was surprised to see how well the farm owner cared about her – a foreigner and a stranger. For you and I, we might approach Jesus, the owner of all land here on earth, as a sinner, or a foreigner. After all, imagine approaching Jesus, the One who was perfect in every way, and whose teachings we may have ignored for years. However, having created us in His own image, and having died on a cruel cross for the forgiveness of our sins, I discern that Jesus sees no ‘foreigners’ or ‘strangers’ but rather a lost child without hope for a perfect Heaven to be with his/her Maker. Boaz was considered a ‘redeemer’ to Naomi and Ruth. Jesus is our ‘Redeemer’ for He is the only means of redeeming the ugliness and bitterness of our sin. Boaz never looked on Ruth for what her background was. In spite of our sin and separation from God, yet all He sees a gold mine in us when we seek Him, find Him, and ask Him to forgive our sin. Love came natural for Boaz, and even more so for Jesus when He looks on us. Dear friend, Just as Boaz accepted Ruth and ordered every blessing on her, so will Jesus accept you and redeem you of your sin, for He died and rose again, so that He could be your Savior and Lord, just as He is for me. Ruth sought help for she and her mother-in-law and she met their savior/redeemer (Boaz). I trust that you will not sit idly by and ignore the perfect Son of God – our Savior and Redeemer (Jesus)!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Jesus knows all about our good works and He also knows our hearts. He will reward us for coming to Him for safety and protection!

PRAYER: Thank You Jesus for watching over Your children and being so accepting of us in spite of our sin. Thank You for forgiveness of our sin. We acknowledge that You are the only One capable of forgiving our sins and loving us in spite of all the mean and hateful things we did prior to accepting Your lordship. Ruth was accepted by Boaz in spite of her background. Praise God that we become new creatures when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. Please Lord, soften the hearts of those who will read this devotional today, but still living like the world. May each one find Jesus today – our eternal hope! AMEN!

Led By The Holy Spirit To Be Tempted?

On 2022-06-272022-06-29 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Surrender, Temptation, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Monday, 2022-06-27
WRITTEN AT: O Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Luke 4:1-3
TRANSLATION: The Passion Translation (TPT)

BIBLE TEXT: ^1–2From the moment of his baptism, Jesus was overflowing with the Holy Spirit. He was taken by the Spirit from the Jordan into the lonely wilderness of Judea to experience the ordeal of testing by the accuser for forty days. He ate no food during this time and ended his forty-day fast very hungry. ³It was then the devil said to him, “If you are really the Son of God, command this stone to turn into a loaf of bread for you.”

APPLICATION: I’ve heard friends talk about the kind of challenging day they had, and they attributed that to their absence in the Word of God that day. I’ve also heard just the opposite – about the peace one may have had after an intimate time with God in prayer and in the Word. However, I believe the message in this Scripture for us today, will remind us of a few things:
1). Jesus was so pumped up after experiencing God in baptism in the Jordan river, that He willingly and obediently went into the wilderness, knowing that the same God who reassured Him of His love, would also be with Him through the most challenging times of life, and especially in the wilderness;
2). There are no respecter of persons in Satan’s world. If anything, Satan will make it a point to go after God’s chosen children, because the others are already his! But we are reminded in Scripture that ‘greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world’. Our part is to stay in fellowship with the One that we choose to follow, so that there is no doubt in our minds, or question of confidence in the power, protection and willingness of our Master.
Friends, I’m here to tell you and/or remind you, that there is no other god like my God, for He is the One that came down in the form of a dove, blessed and encouraged His Son, then strengthened, directed and protected Him in the wilderness, so that you and I might be reminded of the power of our God in all circumstances of life. The other lesson I see in this Scripture for our meditation is that temptation came upon Jesus when He was ready in His spirit, His mind, and in the current circumstances of His life. What about us? How prepared are we for the temptations of Satan? Can we truly lean upon and depend on a sound, totally committed relationship with God? Have we been consistently worshipping Him and depending on each word from His Book every day? Have we been consistently obeying His command to join in worship with other believers as often as they come together? If not, can we truly feel secure in His promises to even us? I can’t be sure about your situation, but when my spouse and I are at odds, or I have chosen to ignore God in my daily life, I am hesitant to approach God with my ‘wants’ list. God is not a puppet that we could hide in our pocket when we are ashamed to show Him off to our friends, but then the ‘King of all kings’ when we desperately need His help. In a honest and committed relationship with Jesus, we can do like Jesus did when He boldly walked into the Wilderness. We become confident in whom we serve, and in whom we could depend. How spiritually and mentally prepared are you for the temptations and challenges of your day? Do you have a support team standing besides and behind you, that includes a friend like our awesome and powerful Savior? Let me encourage you to read my Footnote and the associated links included, to see if God might have some additional decisions for you to make today? We know from Scripture that our God is able, will you can test that today by surrendering your life to Him? I implore you do do that today, my friend!

PRAYER: Precious Lord, it is evident that Satan is still very much alive today, just as he was in the Wilderness when he tempted and tried You. We carefully read from Your Word how You overcame the temptations of Satan, and we have reminded ourselves how this is still a BIG problem for us today. Having been given the answer to this dilemma, I pray that we will humble ourselves before You, seek your face, and surrender our lives before You. Please Lord, touch the hearts of my readers whose hearts are hardened to the things of Christ. Help them to understand that the answer to all of life’s challenges lie at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ. May we surrender our all to you today, is my humble plea. AMEN!

A Brand New Body!

On 2022-06-242022-06-24 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Eternity, Good News, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Friday, 2022-06-24
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 1 Corinthians 15:42-44
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: ⁴²It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. ⁴³Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. ⁴⁴They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies.

APPLICATION: Isn’t it interesting how, in our unique human form and intelligence, we decide when it’s time to go see a doctor or rush to the hospital to receive help, or a cure for our ailments? Some may also build a home, and before construction ever starts, they call their insurance company to make sure that their investment is protected. Yet, each of us have relatives and friends who are mentally alert and generally make fairly good decisions in life, yet they are unconcerned about their eternal welfare. Some might give the excuse that this whole Christian life seems like too much of a sacrifice for them to decide to assume while they have so much time left here on earth. Some might say that this is something that might become appealing to them when they enter the hospital for the very last time. While others will go as far as saying ‘let the chips fall where they may’, if they go to Hell, there will be many of their friends already there. Friends, I am desperately hoping that each ready or listener will have a conversation with our Lord today and ask Him to help us identify those in our circle of influence who are not prepared for Heaven, so that we might intensify our prayer life to include a humbling in their spirit that will cause them to look towards the Master and petition before Him in earnest for our loved ones. In our Scripture today, notice that Paul used no ‘if’ statements, for just as we are born, so we will also die. For those who die without having accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior, they are promised an eternity in Hell with it’s evil master – Satan. However, for those who have accepted the lordship of Jesus, their bodies will assume immortality so that they might live forever in Glory with the Father (God), the Son (Jesus) and all the saints who have gone on ahead of us. So to my unsaved friends who might come across this devotional, let me just challenge you for a moment: if you believe in your heart that something could happen – just out of the blue, to your home, or to your car, that caused you to purchase insurance to protect your investment, isn’t it much more important to protect your soul and ensure your eternity? The former things are just that – ‘things’, but the latter is your very soul – body, mind and spirit. Convince yourself which is more important. Please don’t wait for what might be your last hospital stay, for many never made it to the hospital to die near doctors and nurses. Age is of no significance to death, for children and adults are buried every day of varying ages. Please know that anytime while in your sinful body you think of eternity, that’s the voice of Jesus speaking intently to you about the decisions you have made about securing your future after this life. You are important to God, and loved by Him, because He wants a relationship with you, so of course your decisions are important and concerning to Him. Being my friend, you are also important to me. So with all the love in my heart, let me encourage you today to accept and follow Jesus, just as I did almost 50 years ago. I look forward to having you kneel with me around the throne in heaven!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Enough of this old battered and ailing body, my next body will be fit for eternity with my Lord and Master – Jesus Christ! Praise the Lord forever!

PRAYER: Lord, I am anxiously awaiting my heavenly body, and the opportunity to join all the saints around Your throne! Thank You for this assurance, and thank You for this reminder today. Oh that this may penetrate the hearts and minds of readers or listeners who have yet to decide on their eternal fate. Thank You God for considering us when You sent Your Son into this world for our redemption. We await Your call and are ready for our new body and our new home, but most of all we want to see You in all Your glory and majesty! To God be the glory, for all You have done! AMEN!

A Lifestyle Change

On 2022-06-222022-06-24 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Eternal Life, Fruit of the Spirit, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Victorious Life, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Wednesday, 2022-06-22
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Luke 3:7-9
TRANSLATION: The Voice (VOICE)

BIBLE TEXT: John the Baptist: You bunch of venomous snakes! Who told you that you could escape God’s coming wrath? ⁸Don’t just talk of turning to God; you’d better bear the authentic fruit of a changed life. Don’t take pride in your religious heritage, saying, “We have Abraham for our father!” Listen—God could turn these rocks into children of Abraham! ⁹God wants you to bear fruit! If you don’t produce good fruit, then you’ll be chopped down like a fruitless tree and made into firewood. God’s ax is taking aim and ready to swing!

APPLICATION: Have you ever been in a store, or at work, or at the mall, and found yourself near enough to overhear an individual tearing another employee apart verbally? Then, as you drew near enough to the heated conversation, you saw that it was someone from your church? I know, church attendees are human, and they could still become agitated, frustrated, unhappy and upset over certain circumstances just like everyone else, right? So why then do you suppose that John addressed this problem, and why would God have instilled this in the heart of Dr. Luke to present this as part of the Gospel? I believe it all goes back to a phrase that became very popular some years ago ‘what would Jesus do’ (WWJD). For circumstances will present itself as a test so the world could see what we are made of. In this teaching today, we could see that Luke used a similar tactic to that of Jesus, where he demonstrated a truth to the religious leaders through a parable. He likened their lives to that of a tree that bears fruit. For a farmer will cut down a tree that bears no fruit, so that the fruit bearing trees might flourish. But how would this apply to people, you might ask. I believe that you would be upset if a child for whom you paid years and years of tuition fees to gain their medical degree, finished school, and did nothing more than hang around the house without a desire to work in his/her profession. They may have a medical degree, but if they refuse to work in that profession and keep up with their trade, are they really a doctor? The same example holds true when looking at a married person who refuses to sleep at home, take care of their spouse, and continue to flirt with everyone walking into a nightclub. So what about one who felt a nudge from the Master, and surrenders their life to the lordship of Jesus Christ? The Bible says that the Holy Spirit then resides inside that individual and leads them in a life dedicated to God’s commands, His teachings, His example as told in the Bible, and they will therefore operate in accordance with God’s will, and His direction for their life. When all of this is in place and the individual decides to ignore the Holy Spirit’s leadership and do his/her own thing, how do you think God must feel? Don’t you know that these Pharisee Leaders showed up for no other reason but to trap John, poke fun of his teaching and baptism, and retain the allegiance of their people? Don’t you think that John was probably spot on with his accusation of them being a brood of vipers? Friends, I believe that our take away today is that we must be true to what we claim as our life’s influencer. If this is Jesus Christ, then others will see ‘fruit’ in our actions, our priorities, our words of encouragement, our prayers, the books we read, the places we frequent, and the results of all these things will impact our outlook on life and the love we show towards others. At the time of conversion to our new Master, we will learn to stay in tune with Him through reading His Word; communicating with Him through conversation (prayer); and through a solid commitment to honor Him through our words and actions. If there is no lifestyle change, can we truly prove to Jesus and to our family and friends that there has been a change in our lives? These new changes are displayed as proof, or ‘fruit’, of our lifestyle change. In our new relationship with Jesus Christ, we have chosen to imitate Him! When this happens, the world will know that we are authentic in our Christianity, and John sensed that this was not the case with the Pharisees. If God is your Lord, your Savior, and your Master my friend, seek His help and He will also be your Guide and your Deliverer in every circumstance of life! And there is nothing, absolutely nothing, that you and God can’t do!

PRAYER: Precious Lord, please touch Your children today and help us to never take for granted all that You did so that we might have life everlasting. Oh that we may take our commitment seriously to give you FULL control of our lives, and that we may be obedient in every way to Your Word – Your Book of Instructions for the Christian. As we follow You, I believe that our lives will reflect the very image of Jesus – fruit (evidence) that the world will see, know and appreciate in our lifestyle change. But we need You to do this in our lives Lord, for in and of ourselves we are helpless in overcoming the evil that’s all around us. I know You can, and I believe You will, so I thank You in advance dear Jesus. Be glorified today because of Your committed children being obedient to You, Your Word and the Holy Spirit. AMEN!

Everything You Do Will Succeed

On 2022-06-212022-06-24 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Listen, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Success, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Tuesday, 2022-06-21
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Psalm 1:1-3
TRANSLATION: New Century Version (NCV)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹ Happy are those who don’t listen to the wicked, who don’t go where sinners go, who don’t do what evil people do. ²They love the Lord’s teachings, and they think about those teachings day and night. ³They are strong, like a tree planted by a river. The tree produces fruit in season, and its leaves don’t die. Everything they do will succeed.

APPLICATION: In the Word of God, we are told that God himself called David a man after His own heart. In other words, David’s life imitated what God expected from His creation. I believe this should be every Believer’s goal, for we know that when we follow God’s commands and His teachings, then it must be pleasing to God! In this very first Psalm, David gives us some attributes, or indicators of a blessed and successful person, and I wanted to draw attention to these qualities so that today we may strive to achieve these qualities ourselves:
1).  They don’t listen to the wicked – this might happen when we listen to what the world is directing us to do for happiness. Unfortunately, every time we turn on the TV, we are given these options;
2).  They don’t go where sinners go – they don’t go to a place where you might be embarrassed to take Jesus with you. Remember, you invited Him into your heart. Remember He lives and reigns in us, through His Holy Spirit. Will you really take Him into a questionable place?
3).  They don’t do what evil people do – the ’evil people’ are those who don’t know Jesus nor are they concerned about Jesus in the things that they do. Our actions are to be compared to what Jesus did, and what He taught us to do. Pilots and doctors follow their text book for obvious reasons. We should be doing the same thing – those things that God has taught us to do or that His Holy Spirit is directing us to do. These will be totally opposite to what the evil person might lead us to do;
4).  They meditate on the Word of God, love His teachings and continually think about them – God’s Word is our textbook. It is our guide to living like Jesus expects of us. To keep it fresh in our minds and to follow its directives, we must make it a priority to read it and meditate on it regularly. When we prepare for a test, we study the text book thoroughly and consistently. In this life, we are tested every day. Making the Bible a part of our mental abilities, we will tend to use its advice whenever we are tested by the world.
So often we tend to feel like it all depends on what we say to a person that may convince them of the Truth of God’s Word. Notice that David only emphasized actions? Isn’t it yet another reminder that people will watch our actions more intently than our words? David said that when we follow the above, we become strong in our faith and committed to God’s commands – successful servants of God. We will not be easily eroded away like a tree beside the water’s edge, but we will stand firm so that others might catch a glimpse of what Jesus actually looks like, and how, through faith, our lives are living examples to the unsaved.
Let me encourage you to reflect back on your life over the past few days, who have you imitated? Does your life reflect the ways of Christ, or just the general public (this world)? Did your life show enough of the qualities of Jesus that you were accused of being a ‘Christian’? Friend, you shouldn’t have to tell someone you are a Christian, they should know you are by your actions, and your demeanor. Let us all commit to live our lives with the teachings of the Psalmist very prominent in our character and our actions. Then, perhaps, others will see Jesus and want to also know Him personally.

PRAYER: Lord, we your children need You. We need You desperately to help us live in this world, yet to not live like the world. Living in Your example is like swimming upstream here on earth, for it’s like doing just the opposite of what the rest of the world does. And this has become quite a challenge for us. Please mold us into the person that You need here and now to touch the hearts of the folk that are still in need of you. We need the same power that You gave David. The characteristics to be called a man after Your own heart. You also gave Moses the fortitude to stand firm for You, even when his people were plotting to kill him. I know that You can still give that kind of strength and fortitude to each reader and listener, so I ask for Your grace to help us stand firm against the evil of this world. Please have Your will and way in our lives today, I humbly plead in Your precious and holy name. AMEN!

Warning – They Will Treat You Like They Treat The God You Represent

On 2022-06-202022-06-20 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Representative of Christ, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Monday, 2022-06-20
WRITTEN AT: Ocean Breeze, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 1 Samuel 8:6-8
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 6 Samuel was displeased with their request and went to the LORD for guidance.
7 “Do everything they say to you,” the LORD replied, “for it is me (God) they are rejecting, not you. They don’t want me to be their king any longer. 8 Ever since I brought them from Egypt they have continually abandoned me and followed other gods. And now they are giving you the same treatment.

APPLICATION: Times have not changed very much, for when we consider our churches, and how they treat their pastors when they are true to preaching the unadulterated Word of God, without regards to whose toes they might step on, then I believe that we could easily identify with Samuel and the Israelites. Friends, it is so unfortunate that we tend to blame someone else for issues that we have caused. It is likewise unfortunate when we look beyond the issues in our own lives, or the condition of our family, or our church or our group, and see so much wrong with others. Let’s think for a moment about issues with a church. Of course, we all know that it’s not the building where the church meets that is the problem, for the challenges exists because of folk like you and I that attend the church. Thats where the challenges begin. So look no further than inside yourself when issues arise, or at that ‘friend’ who sits next to you at church. Some may feel like the church should changing the pastor, or the style of music, or update the sanctuary building, but according to our story today, the people will be unsatisfied until we give in to the demands of the people, much like when God told Samuel to go ahead and give them what they wanted. Friends, because our family and the people in our circle of friends rejects Jesus each and every day, the more we commit and dedicate ourselves to becoming more like Jesus in every aspect of our lives, then we could expect nothing different to what Jesus felt and saw when the people rejected Him. Becoming one with Jesus, means a perfect life, a life without sin – and that should be our aim every day friends. Only then will we contribute positively to our churches and the groups that we become involved in. Remember, the world hates Jesus. Always have, and always will. So if we look enough like Jesus, they will hate us also, just like God told Samuel. So what shall we do? Determine this day who you will serve, and give it all you have. Oppose sin and promote Jesus to this lost and dying world. Be determined to serve only God and His righteousness, so that He might be glorified in everything we do and say!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Although the pressures of this sinful world might steer us away from our goal to be like Jesus, always remember that He will never leave us nor forsake us.

PRAYER: Lord we so desperately need You in our lives. We want to add positively to groups that we become involved in, because of Your love that is steeped in to everything we do and say. Anything else would only add to the confusion and the hatred that normally results. Unfortunately, this also happens in church groups we join, so we are seeing churches that are marred terribly by the impact of this evil world, instead of seeing a church that is always ready to forgive, always looking out for the best in the other person, always contributing to the best in others, always praying for and supporting their pastor/shepherd/leader. Lord, it is very obvious that we need more of You in our lives individually so that we can see more of You in our churches, so that we can see Your church effectively reaching out to the lost community that we serve. We need You in our lives personally Lord, please humble us to earnestly seek Your face and allow You to rule in our lives. AMEN!

Nuggets From God's Word

Tag: Promises