Tag: Represent God well

In Training

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

DATE WRITTEN: Monday, 2020-08-31
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: 1 Timothy 4:7-10
TRANSLATION: New Living Translation (NLT)

BIBLE TEXT: 7 Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. 8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” 9 This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. 10 This is why we work hard and continue to struggle,[d] for our hope is in the living God, who is the Savior of all people and particularly of all believers.

OBSERVATION: Paul was a mentor to Timothy, and he tried to help him become a good pastor to the churches he went to serve in – churches that were in trouble. We can relate to this, because churches tend to change their pastor an average of every 18 months. Regardless of what might be going on at your church, I believe that Paul’s advise to this young pastor is spot on. So let us examine Paul’s advice and see how we might apply this in our individual areas of ministry.

APPLICATION: I believe there is good reason why Paul drew a parallel to physical training, for we all try to condition ourselves to help with many areas of our health. I remember an older lady that was in top shape physically, and following her Unfortunate surgery, she quickly recovered and was back on her feet. She said from the very beginning the doctor knew that she would do well and recover quickly, because her body was well conditioned. But let us just stop and think what constitutes sufficient physical fitness for our bodies to thrive, and for healing to be effective after surgery or an injury. Most doctors will suggest a minimum of a brisk 20-minute walk at least 3 or 4 days per week. So if this will keep our physical bodies in shape, what might it take for us to keep our spiritual bodies in close communion with God, and therefore ready for the battles of Christian life (yes, we still have battles in our new life) and in the spiritual warfare that we will face from Satan and his legion? It is important for you to think about this friends, for Satan comes after laypeople as a way of getting to a pastor and/or destroying a church. Wouldn’t you think that too little spiritual fitness will leave us vulnerable, gullible, and therefore easy targets for the evil one? Paul issued a very real warning to Timothy when he told him to be persistent in avoiding idle chatter, or fables, or just stories. I want you to think about this and reflect on a Sunday School class or a Bible Study where someone derailed the teacher from his/her awesome lesson. After 10 minutes you, or the teacher, realized that your lesson is totally off track and that you will be lucky to get back to the lesson and see it achieve the desired effects that the teacher felt like God led him to teach. You might then leave that class more confused than when you entered, and totally unprepared for the challenges of the week ahead. What if our pastors got into this kind of environment during the week when they would normally study and prepare their sermon? What will happen during the sermon time that Sunday? How might God use him to speak His truth to His hungry children who came searching for spiritual food? Friends, please notice that Paul saw a troubled church, and he saw a young man about to enter the lions den to deal with the issues of their day. Paul said then, what I believe that God would have us discern today: there is no greater training for us than to train ourselves into being good students of the Word of God. All the answers are in The Book for all of life’s challenges. But unless we saturate our lives with the Word, our preaching/teaching/witnessing will be in vain. Is the Word of God oozing out of every aspect of your character, your witness, your teaching, and your preaching, if you happen to be gifted to preach? This is the medicine needed for our hurting world. Let’s be sure that we train, and fill ourselves with the Word of God without it being diluted and/or distracted by Satan and his agents.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, although it is unfortunate that today we still face challenges in our churches like Paul saw in his letter to Timothy, and in spite of all that Paul taught. Please Lord, let the church be the church – Your church that is in place to reach the lost and speak tenderly to needs of the saved. Let us represent You well and let the world see Jesus in every aspect of our lives. Help us to be drawn to Your Word and be entrenched into Your teachings so that our lives may be impacted by the Master of the universe, and may it be obvious through every aspect of our lives. Let us be willing to train regularly and consistently so that You would prepare us fully for all that may come our way. Bless Your church and it’s workers Lord, so that You may be lifted up and rule in our churches. AMEN!

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

Seek God’s Wisdom to Live Like He Desires

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

DATE WRITTEN: Wednesday, 2020-08-12
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

BIBLE REFERENCE: Colossians 4:5-6
TRANSLATION: The Passion Translation (TPT)

BIBLE TEXT: 5 Walk in the wisdom of God as you live before the unbelievers,[b] and make it your duty[c] to make him known. 6 Let every word you speak be drenched with grace[d] and tempered with truth and clarity.[e] For then you will be prepared to give a respectful answer to anyone who asks about your faith.

OBSERVATION: Often we tend to look with regret at something we said or did, but wouldn’t it be awesome to recognize the error of our ways before it comes out of our mouth? Unfortunately we tend to speak, or act, based on the content of our heart. But as we meditate today, let us pay careful attention to the Word of God on how we should walk and talk in order to reflect Christ.

APPLICATION: Don’t you tire of hearing some people apologize over and over, often for the same mistakes, hurts and cruel words that caused a rift between you in a previous encounter? Ever stopped to think about what causes such careless and hurtful things coming from the same mouth that is ready to sing God’s praises on Sunday morning? Friends, let me start by saying that I sincerely believe that we speak and act from the bounty of what our heart is filled with. If we fill our hearts with the Word of God, and we allow it to penetrate our hearts so that our hearts will be impacted by God Himself, then I believe that our lips will be filled with the grace, mercy, love, forgiveness and wisdom of the One in whom we believe, and aspire to imitate in our lives. I know, you go to church at least once per week, so having completed your religious obligation, you should be in good shape, right? Well, since a lot of people will tend to think that way, let me present you with a comparison so you could honestly answer that question for yourself: God has blessed us with 168 hours each week. Allowing for an average of 8 hours per night sleep, you are left with 112 hours. If you minus off the 1-2 hours you spend at church, that leaves you with 110 hours each week that you fill your hearts and minds with TV; Family time; Work time; Meal times; etc. When you react to a tense situation, or someone cursing at you, is it any wonder why you will respond based on something you gained during the 110 hours? If your marriage were to survive from a 1-hour per week encounter, will you have enough going your way to avoid divorce? I don’t believe these examples are any different for us than Paul knew of in his church back at Colossae, and that led him to seek God’s heart for these words. Our lesson for today is that we diligently seek God’s face, and ask for wisdom to live each day totally in line with His example, His teachings, His commands and His will. As we do this, it seems obvious that we will talk about the One with whom we are meditating on each day. In fact, I believe we will be so overfilled with God’s presence, and that His Holy Spirit would be granted such authority in our lives, that we will want the world to know about our Savior! Oh that our words will be drenched with grace – God’s wonderful grace; and may each word be tempered with God’s truth and clarity. Perhaps then, others will want to hear of the answers we might give to their many questions about our God! For the reader who will question what this is all about, and the importance of what Paul taught in our verses today, please allow me to guide you towards the One who died so that you might live eternally in heaven. Knowing Christ will cause you to draw closer to Him so that you would reflect Him in every aspect of life!

PRAYER: Thank You for Your Word Lord, and thank You for Your servant who shared His heart even from behind the bars of jail. I pray that each believer who reads this blog today will gain the same desire as Paul, to desire a church and friends that should be attracted to You enough to live like You and then to share that with everyone they come into contact with, especially unbelievers who are searching for truth, and for ’real’ Christians who live like their Master. As Your children, Lord may we always seek to look like You in every aspect of our lives, so that others will desire to know You, and that You will be glorified here on earth. AMEN!

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

Your Walk Is Under Scrutiny

On By Ed AlgreenIn Honest, Sincere, Witness2 Comments

May I encourage you to get your spiritual ‘Nuggets’ to start your day off right? May I encourage you to read the whole devotional, and look for a blessing, friend!………

Today’s Bible Reference: 1 Peter 2:11–12
Today’s Bible Text: 11 Dear brothers, you are only visitors here. Since your real home is in heaven, I beg you to keep away from the evil pleasures of this world; they are not for you, for they fight against your very souls. 12 Be careful how you behave among your unsaved neighbors; for then, even if they are suspicious of you and talk against you, they will end up praising God for your good works when Christ returns.
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take Away: I believe there are really two things that can result from today’s scripture challenge. People that you hang around will have one of the following to say about you:

  1. You are who you say you are – This means that your life around them has proven who they thought you were, or who you claim to be. This is where they have seen proof of your Christian walk, and your talk has aligned with the Word of God. Friends, I have seen this go both ways, for there have been proclaimed Christians who have lived among friends with no distinct witness. In other words, you could not tell the difference. However there have been times where Christians have lived their claim to the gospel in front of their friends, just like they would do in front of their pastor. I believe that Peter is reminding us that we must be very careful not to be a stumbling block to those we hang around, for although they may live like the devil himself, they will not consider changing that lifestyle if they are afraid of being hypercritical like they may see in you and I. In another part of scripture we are told that we should let our yes be yes and our no be no. Don’t say that we are a child of God, but not evidence that in our character. It should be evident to those we hang around, even without walking around with a huge Bible under our arms.
  2. You are indeed a fake, just like everyone suspected – Friends, this is probably the worse thing that could happen to us. Our neighbors have seen us rushing out of our homes to go to church at the appointed times, yet they can’t get to sleep most weekends because of our loud parties. They refuse to let their kids hang around us because of our foul language. They wish everyday that they would have the opportunity to speak with your pastor, so they could really tell him who his parishioners really are. Do you suppose that you could ever witness to that neighbor and ask them to accept your Lord as their Savior?

I believe that Peter is telling us that it is best that we live in such a way, that if someone is spreading gossip about us possibly fitting the 2nd description, that there is enough evidence preceding that incident, that your non-Christian friends would speak up and try to correct the false statements about you. So where do you think that you stand friend? Do you live the life that you claim to your Christian friends? Others will watch your actions a whole lot closer than they would listen to your words. May I encourage you to be sure that your life always reflects whose you are? Be careful to not cave in to the things of this world when backed into a corner with a bunch of friends. Be a Christian at work, at home and at play, just as you are in church.

Prayer: Precious Lord, You stood up to all opposition and hesitated enacting Your awesome power on the cross because of Your commitment and obedience to the Father . Please help us to be just as committed to following You in obedience and dedication to our Lord and Savior, especially out in the world as we hang around folk that need to see physical proof of You in and through Your children. Lord, may it always be evident whose we are, even when it may mean us standing out from the crowd. May our lives always be about You and in full obedience to You. I ask these things in the precious name of Jesus, my Master and my Lord, 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