Tag: Recognize Jesus

Just Minister – The Needs Exist

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Effective Ministry, Healing, Needs, Needs of others, Praise, Recognize God, Recognize Needs, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Saturday, 2022-12-10
WRITTEN AT: O’Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Luke 6:17-19
TRANSLATION: Amplified Bible (AMP)

BIBLE TEXT: 17 Then Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His disciples, and a vast multitude of people from all over Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to listen to Him and to be healed of their diseases. Even those who were troubled by unclean spirits (demons) were being healed. 19 All the people were trying to touch Him, because [healing] power was coming from Him and healing them all.

APPLICATION: No doubt, if you’ve been around churches very long, you may have heard pastors say things like: ‘There’s no retirement in Kingdom work’, or ‘I plan to be about my Father’s work for as long as I have breath’, or ‘My work is finished at that church’ or ‘It’s time for the younger generation to take over’. There are many more sayings that pastor’s make known to their church leadership, hoping that they would prepare themselves for electing another pastor to resume the work of ministering to their congregation. Pastors become disheartened, discouraged and downright tired, especially when they feel like the Holy Spirit has stopped working in the hearts of their congregants. But what if Jesus had taken that stand in today’s story? I was at a church where the youth would normally attend Disney’s ‘Night of Joy’ – an evening where this huge park was transformed into one large Christian event with gospel music echoed throughout the park until midnight on a Saturday. Our church leaders insisted in just one condition, attend, enjoy and be blessed, but church attendance is required on Sunday morning! The preceding verses tell us that Jesus had spent the whole night in prayer before His Father, but at the time that He arrived back in the plains with His disciples, there was a crowd gathered who needed a touch from the Master, and Jesus wasn’t about to let anything affect His impact on them. What if we served in our capacity as servants of the Most High God with the passion of the One we chose to imitate? What if we asked God to give us the strength and willingness to serve, based on the need of the people He sends to us? I never felt that I served in a selfish capacity or for what I might accomplish, or receive from the Master personally, but I’m not so sure that I always served from my heart and tired body, based on the needs of those whose stomachs, spirits, souls and minds depended on the encouragement they would receive from my ministry. I would imagine that I may be alone in feeling this way, but I believe that God wants us to think carefully about that today. Do we minister as to the Lord, and with every intent to please Him with what comes from our mouth, and through our actions? Do we minister with the heart soul and mind of the hearers in mind, and with every intent to help them draw closer to Jesus Christ? Sharing the gospel is like one beggar sharing what bread they have with another beggar. Both are in need of what is given to them, but they eagerly share what they receive with others. I believe that Jesus intimately knew the heart, soul and mind of each one that came to hear Him and be touched by Him. Perhaps if we made it a point to KNOW each hearer in such an intimate way, the Holy Spirit will help us minister to them more appropriately, rather than just checking the box that we gave another sermon, taught another Sunday School lesson, wrote another devotional, etc. etc. When something is given from the heart, it means more to the receiver and the giver!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: The crowd gathered were being healed and walking away whole again, because they were in the presence of Jesus. We are told that Jesus would be with us when two or three gather in His name. Perhaps when we go to church and meet together with others to enter in the presence of Jesus, He will also ensure that mighty works are fulfilled in our presence also!

PRAYER: Dearest Lord Jesus, thank You for the reminder that meeting with You and having a relationship with You, has a lasting effect on us, our ministry and our hope for tomorrow. Please teach us to be more like You in ministering with the needs of the people in mind, and not for any personal satisfaction we might receive. Teach us also to be like the people who came from miles around just to be in Your presence, to hear Your teaching, receive Your healing touch, and to be filled again with Your awesome power. Oh, that You may work so powerfully in our lives, that others will be impacted and drawn to the one source of receiving eternal life. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog might indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

The Moment of Truth

On By Ed AlgreenIn Moment of Truth, Salvation, SinnerLeave a comment

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? Pretty amazing that our awesome God would consider feeding even us with His Word! May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: Luke 5:8-11
Today’s Bible Text: 8 When Simon Peter realized what had happened, he fell to his knees before Jesus and said, “Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m such a sinful man.” 9 For he was awestruck by the number of fish they had caught, as were the others with him. 10 His partners, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were also amazed.
Jesus replied to Simon, “Don’t be afraid! From now on you’ll be fishing for people!” 11 And as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus.
The Bible Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: In earlier verses we read where Simon Peter and his team had been fishing all night, but without any luck. So when Jesus approached them and told them to go out from the shore and cast their nets, Peter responded along the lines of, “now even though we have just returned from an all-nighter, and because You have asked us nicely to do this, we will”. In other words, we realize this may be a case of just extending our bad luck out on the waters, we will do it just because Jesus asked them to do it. What struck me about verse 8 is that, so often we go through the motions of church attendance, perhaps because of a spouse, or a parent, or even a friend, but there is nothing like the time that we have a personal, one-on-one experience with the Master! Suddenly our eyes are opened and we feel a connection to the Savior of the world! We realize that He truly died for our sin and that we can go on to have a personal, intimate relationship with Him. Like Peter, the encounter opens our eyes to the fact that we have been such a ‘dork’ and have totally missed the boat on the love that the Lord Jesus Christ has for even us. No doubt Peter had other earlier experiences with Jesus, or else he would not have obeyed Him in pushing his boat off the shore yet again. But friends, just like Peter, we must quickly realize that our encounter with the King of all kings, and Lord of all lords leads us to realize that we are so unworthy and needy, while He is so awesome and worthy of our honor, respect, obedience and love. We also can be the recipients of the blessings from the hand of Jesus, just as Peter and his friends were. However, we also must be acutely aware that a lot must change about our earthly lives for us to become more aligned with our Heavenly Father, so it may mean that we ditch our lives of contempt and sin, and follow Him, just as Peter did. A moment of truth with the Savior of the world, will cause us to quickly recognize our sinful condition and bring us to our knees, seeking His forgiveness. A time where we leave the old behind and seek to follow our new-found King and His will for our lives. I pray there will be at least one reading this devotional today whose eyes will be opened to the truth of God’s Word, just as Peter received new insight.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, I pray that everyone reading this devotional will be reminded of the incredible power of our God, and the importance of leaving all earthly things alone so that You may receive our undivided attention and dedication. Thank You for loving us and caring for even us in such awesome ways. I ask these thinks 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 contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. 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 www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org 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!

2016