Tag: purpose

Everyone Eligible For Life Eternal

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Adoration, Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Awesome God, Beyond Description, Blessing, Celebrate God, Eternal Life, Needs, Praise, Praise-worthy, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED: Thursday, 2023-04-13
WRITTEN AT: O’Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: 1 Timothy 1:15-16
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 15 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. 16 But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.

OBSERVATION: Credit Card companies will advertise using words similar to my title today, for they want everyone to apply for their credit card, and they know that some will feel like they couldn’t possibly qualify. When invited to know Jesus, most individuals will respond that they are so unworthy of acceptance by the King of all kings and Lord of all lords. But God knew this would be the case, so He arranged an example in and through the life of Paul to help us understand that His grace is sufficient and reaches to every child created by Almighty God. Stay tuned to be reminded of how important you are to God!

APPLICATION: Although not referenced in today’s Scripture, Paul’s former name was Saul. When Paul makes reference to him being one of the worst sinners, he was referring to the days of Saul, when he was known as a persecutor of the church and of Christians as a whole. Today we sometimes hear of a church being burned down, or burglarized, or riddled with gunshots, but I don’t know of any crimes that could be compared to the evil done by Saul. However, God met up with Saul, convicted him of his sin, saved him, changed his name to Paul, and sent him on to do the work of the Lord instead. So, when you drum up excuses of why you can’t attend church, or why a Christian shouldn’t waste their time worry about why they couldn’t lead you to Christ because of your evil deeds, please try to remember the story of the former Saul, and the new Paul who went on to reach the unchurched and place churches where there was no presence of godly teaching. If God could deal with such a terror as Saul, could He not also challenge you on your sin? If God could start life anew in Paul, and put aside all the bad he had done, could He not turn your life around. Please try to remember from all Bible accounts that speak of God changing a man. Never does it say that God went after the worst sinners, or the one with just a little sin. A person who sins, disobeys God. There is no such thing as a minor sin or a major sin. God sent His Son, Jesus, to save mankind from their sin – period. ‘Minor’ sins may not even get the attention of the authorities today, for governments have come to accept many things that God might consider ‘sin’. But, please don’t forget that ‘sin’ occurs when one disobeys the laws of God. Authors in the Bible went to a great extent to help us understand what God established as His law for mankind. Satan first tempted Eve about how insignificant he felt the laws of God was, and of course Satan has intensified his pressure on mankind today with this misguidance to make sure that God won’t win us over. Dear friends, I am a firm believer that ‘greater is He (God) that is inside of the child of God, than he (Satan) that is in the world. You have a fairly straightforward decision to make. Are you prepared to accept Jesus, the Creator of the universe; the One sacrificed on Calvary’s hill for the redemption of our sin; the One who sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for us; the One waiting to receive us into His eternal kingdom (heaven) for all eternity? Unless you make a decision, you are doomed for eternity in the fires of hell with its leader, Satan. I feel like the decisions is obvious, but Satan may be pounding it into your head like he did with Saul, that his way is the only reasonable and fun way. Friend of God, Trust in the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind, and lean not on your own understanding. Today is the day of salvation. Seek the Lord while He may be found!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: It is very possible that others will see Jesus evident in us and desire to accept Him as Lord of their life also! It will be worth it all!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, please open our eyes to the truth of Your Word. Paul identified reasons why You saved him, and he glorified You for using him in spite of his past. Please develop with us a sense of why You saved us, and the purpose for which You’ve still allowed us to stick around. Each man faces a decision of where they will spend eternity. Thank You Lord for opening my blinded, sinful eyes and allowing me to see the love of Jesus. Please open the eyes of our relatives, friends and all who have yet to make a decision regarding their eternal destiny. As they are reminded of the change You made in the life of Saul, may they also be reminded that You can do the same for them, if only they will allow You to bless them and save them from eternity in Hell. 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!

Purpose Yourself to Worship God

On 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!

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!

God’s Plan – Our Purpose

On By Ed AlgreenIn Purpose, WorshipLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (The Message – Colossians 1:15-18): We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body.

Thoughts: At times we might purchase something, use it for whatever we intended, or had in mind when we purchased it. After seeing it break down and fail so often, we might pull out the instruction book and discover that there were some important steps we were neglecting, that could easily have caused a failure in the expected life of the item. Now, re-read the scripture verses and see if it doesn’t spell out for us why we fail individually, and especially why our churches are failing to reach the masses. Friends, it is obvious that all things were created by God and for Him. Being made by his power, we were made according to His pleasure, and for His praise and glory. He not only created us, but it is by the word of His power that we are sustained or upheld. Christ as Mediator is also Head of the body of believers, the church; all grace and strength are from him; and the church is His body. So who are we to interfere with God’s plan – His purpose for us? I want to challenge you today to look inward at yourself (not your sister or your brother) and ask God to examine you and highlight the parts of your life that you have not totally surrendered to your Maker and Designer. There may be good reason why you are struggling with worshiping God or representing Him fully to your unsaved loved ones. If you truly belong to God, then according to these verses, I believe that you should be a miserable person anytime you are doing something other than worshiping or serving God. He made you to worship Him. Your very existence is purposed in Christ. The last part of these verses speak to unity in the church (the body of believers in Christ). Friends, if you are upside down in your relationship with God, don’t you know that you will also have the same negative impact on anything that you take part in, even church leadership? Always remember and respect who the head of the church is. The last thing you want to be guilty of is having a negative impact on the work of God’s church to reach, minister and glorify Him, through the ministry of Christ, to the folk that He died for. So I believe that the message in these verses today is that we reevaluate our relationship with the Lord. Are we glorifying Him in everything we do in or out of the church? Do we recognize the local church as God’s body of believers that He put in place to glorify Him? Be sure not to place self in the middle of that friend!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for placing me here on this earth with such honorable purpose. Please reveal to me areas of my life that I must seek Your help on. Areas that I must reevaluate and allow You to change so that I might glorify You more completely. Please forgive me if I have allowed self to step in the way of Your work in and through Your local church. I beg Your guidance so that I might give glory to You for being head of any church that I become a part of and through which I seek to serve You. I know that You are head of the church, and I must therefore always seek Your will and Your guidance to be a part of it and it’s ministry to my community. Thank You for the church in which I now serve! Thank You for all the churches represented by readers of this devotional. May we all take our rightful places and honor You with our praise and worship so that You might receive glory from us individual and corporately. For I believe it is then that You will have freedom to reach into our families and minister to the unsaved. I am seeking Your favor oh God, through asking all this in the precious name of Jesus, 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 my church home, 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!

Intent of the Heart and Obedience to the Word

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Christian, Faith, God our Helper, God’s Word, Honesty, Humility, Imitator of Christ, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Pleasing to God, Reflecting Christ, RighteousnessLeave a comment

Scripture: Matthew 5

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

17 “Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose.18 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.19 So if you ignore the least commandment and teach others to do the same, you will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.20 “But I warn you—unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven!  Matt 5:17-20 (NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

I believe that today we know many who try everything to get around the law, or they try to see how close they can come in doing something without getting arrested or caught for actually doing the crime. Take for instance speeding on the highways. We know that we could get a pricy ticket if we are caught, so we purchase a ‘fuzz buster’ to tell us when we are approaching a highway patrolman. Now in God’s records, can we be accused of breaking the law of the land? Of course we can. Just because we may hide behind a ‘fuzz buster’ or a lie, or anything else, God knows what actually took place. In fact, Jesus taught that even if we are angry enough to murder, we have sinned, even if we didn’t actually pull the trigger, or plunge the dagger. These were the type of folk that Jesus was teaching in this passage, and I believe that as I described, our folk that He would be teaching today. Even though I can’t think of how this applies to me, what caught my attention is verse 19, where Jesus teaches that if we ignore in the least, one of His commands, and we teach others to do so, then we would be considered one of the least in His Kingdom. I trust that I will be devoted to serving Christ to the fullest and obeying His commands each and every day, and that this will be so evident in my life that others will not be misled. If our hearts have been hardened to the Word of God, may we be blessed with a man of God to preach the Word to reveal our shortcomings this week.

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father I know that many times we will do something often enough until we will lose sight of whether it is wrong or not. I pray today that You will open my mind and my understanding to anything that I may do that is not in line with Your Word and in obedience to Your commands. I pray that my every word and every action will be from a heart devoted to You and with the intent of leading others to know You and understand Your teachings. Please touch my heart daily and give me the desire to obey Your commands, followed by the actions that would display the intent of Your Word.

Make God First in Your Life, then……

On By Ed AlgreenIn Allegiance to the Lamb, Bible Believing, Bold Confidence, Born Again, Chosen by God, Christian, Disciple, Faith, Follow Jesus, God’s Word, Imitator of Christ, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Pleasing to God, Reflecting Christ, Righteousness, Servants of God, Surrender, Work Til Jesus ComesLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE Studied: Matthew 4

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

18 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living.19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!”20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too.22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind. Matt 4:18-22 (NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

While this seems like a miraculous thing for Jesus to call these men from what they were doing, and especially for them to leave their secular jobs and follow Him, I believe that this also occurs today. We were created by God, and while our flesh strives to live in and enjoy the pleasures of this world, I believe that our inward soul longs to be with Jesus and live a life pleasing to Him while here on this earth. Unfortunately I believe that the latter is not possible until we accept that deep longing to accept Jesus as Lord of our life. We can always stop and think of what life could be like if we weren’t so stuck on pleasing others. It is so unfortunate that we try so hard to please our peers, our family, our friends, our co-workers, our boss, our pastor and then with whatever is left in us we try to please God. Friend why not try and do this in reverse order – surrender your heart to God, give Him 100% of your effort to please Him and follow His commands, then watch how easy it will be to see others accept you for who you are. A life surrendered to, committed to and following the commands of Jesus will result in a happy, satisfied, fulfilled life with a purpose and a goal oriented mindset that will be fixed on Jesus Christ. Oh that we will do just that this Christmas season – a time on our calendar that we dedicate to the One whose birthday is the whole purpose of Christmas.

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father, I rededicated myself anew to You this Christmas. I pray that You will direct me each and every day, especially during this busy time on my calendar. I pray that You will help me place my life in perspective – You first, and all else to follow as You direct. May I be deep into Your Word daily so that I may learn of and subsequently follow the plan You have designed for my life. May I be an influence to others, especially those that have not yet accepted You as Lord of their lives. Like Peter, Andrew, James and John, may I be obedient to Your call on my life and serve You willingly every day. Please touch the lives of all readers today that they too may first of all accept You as Lord, then submit their lives totally to You and Your service. You gave Your very best that very first ‘Christmas’, may we in turn give our very best to You this Christmas.

The Reward of Thankfulness and Appreciation to God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Bible Believing, Celebrate God, Christian, Faith, God Cares For Us, God our Helper, God our Provider, God Reigns, God’s Word, Heaven, Hope, Listen to the Word of God, Obedience, Our Help comes from God, Righteousness, Testify, Thank You JesusLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE Studied: Genesis 8

OBSERVATION (What is God saying here?)

20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and there he sacrificed as burnt offerings the animals and birds that had been approved for that purpose. 21 And the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things.22 As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night.” Gen 8:20-22 (NLT)

APPLICATION (How Can I apply what God is saying here to my circumstances today?)

Noah could very easily have complained while on the ark about how long he had to be penned up in tight quarters with the stench of animals, and he could have been so relieved after exiting the ark that he could have left everything behind him and went on to the joys of everything he saw in front of him. However, he took time to stop and offer a praise and thanksgiving offering to God immediately after getting off the ark, and before indulging in anything else. Are we careful to do this every time we recognize God at work in our lives? Do we stop and thank God for all He has done? Do we give Him credit for the things accomplished in our everyday lives, or do we attribute the successes to luck, or our personal achievement? God was so please with what He saw in Noah, until He made a few promises that Noah never even thought, or knew to asked for. I believe that God has way more good in store for us than we could ever imagine. He’s just waiting for us to let Him, and to do our part in recognizing Him and thanking Him for all that He does. there’s a song that I like to sing along with, “God of Wonders” that comes through in expressing how awe struck I am as I consider all that God does for me each and every day, and how special His children must be to Him. I want to always be mindful of all that my God does for me and those that I call ‘Brother’ or ‘Sister’. Thank You Father!

PRAYER (With God’s help, what am I going to do differently today because He said it?)

Father, You loved us so much that You gave it all for us. You created us, and everything around us to enjoy while here on this earth. You provided the ultimate sacrifice so that we may have a means to enjoy the ultimate prize of worshipping You in heaven one day. Thank You Father for loving me so much and providing for me every day. Please forgive me when I am selfish and whine about things that really don’t count towards my ultimate journey in being with You.