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Post Date: |
Friday, 2017-11-10 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
John 11:23-26a (TLB) |
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Text: |
23 Jesus told her, “Your brother will come back to life again.”
24 “Yes,” Martha said, “when everyone else does, on Resurrection Day.” 25 Jesus told her, “I am the one who raises the dead and gives them life again. Anyone who believes in me, even though he dies like anyone else, shall live again. 26 He is given eternal life for believing in me and shall never perish…. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Jesus was a friend of Mary and Martha’s, yet when He came a couple days after Lazarus died, they struggled to believe that anything more could be done – even by Jesus. However Jesus reminded Martha that He is not only in charge of life here on earth, but for the believer in Jesus Christ, He is also the One who will raise those who have fallen asleep – died temporarily to earthly challenges and sin. For He will then usher them into life eternally with He and His Father in glory! |
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| APPLICATION: | |
| I believe with all my heart, that Martha was very much like her contemporaries today. For most Christians surrender their lives to the Lord Jesus with a very strong belief that one day He will take us on to heaven to be with Him. While on earth, I believe that most of us will pray to God, through our Lord and Savior, just like Mary and Martha did when they saw their brother’s health diminishing drastically. Because of miracles relayed in the Bible, or even ones we may have heard about around our church, we may even believe that extreme faith in Jesus, might even trigger His healing touch upon our family. And yes, we have seen tremendous victories through these types of prayer meetings. In fact I heard a story recently that reminded me of how casually we pray for the needs of a friend that asked for prayer for one of her kids with leukemia, versus us going before God in desperate prayer for our own daughter with leukemia. There comes a whole new level of serious and sincere prayer when the object of our prayer is personal and dear to our heart. I wonder if it would make a difference in our prayer life if we reminded ourselves of what Jesus consoled Martha with, that He, who is Lord on earth, will also be Lord in Heaven, because He is the Resurrection and the Life! Friends, I firmly believe that when we invite Jesus to be our Lord and Savior here on earth, it will be a joy to reunite with Him as we enter heaven’s portals. Please note that just like Mary and Martha didn’t know ahead of time when their brother Lazarus would depart from this earth in death, so it is with each of us today. We must be very much like our military, ready at all times for the moment that we are called on. The benefits for believers in Jesus Christ are ‘out of this world’! |
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| PRAYER: | |
| Thank you Lord for the wonderful, powerful name of Jesus, the One that came to save us from our sin and paved the way to heaven so that we may live eternally with You. Oh what a Savior! Please help us Lord that we would never put You in a ‘box’ of limited possibilities, for we are reminded in this Scripture today that we not only serve a master who cares for us here on this earth but that You are also the Resurrection and the Life for all who believe in You. We enjoy this wonderful earth that You provided for us, but Lord, we live in anticipation of heaven, where there will be no more pain or heartaches. ‘Oh that will be, glory for me, glory for me, glory for me, when by His grace I shall look on His face, that will be glory, be glory for me’! AMEN and AMEN! |
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| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us! | |
Tag: salvation
God is Capable of So Much More
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Post Date: |
Thursday, 2017-11-09 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
John 11:14-15 (MSG) |
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Text: |
14-15 Then Jesus became explicit: “Lazarus died. And I am glad for your sakes that I wasn’t there. You’re about to be given new grounds for believing. Now let’s go to him.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Earlier in chapter 11 the followers of Jesus had reminded Him of the danger in returning to Bethany, the town where His friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived, because the last time they were there they were stoned. Right after Jesus’ command His disciples to follow Him to Bethany, Thomas spoke what may have been on the hearts of most of the disciples, when he said “let’s follow Him so that we may die together”. However Jesus had a greater mission in mind, and I believe we could also learn from this…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| It seems like our attention is often enhanced by the unexpected. Jesus could have healed His friend Lazarus while he was still alive; He could have brought him back to life as soon as He was told that Lazarus had died; He could have performed the miracle before a large crowd, or He could have done it in the middle of the night. However, I believe that Jesus saw the doubt and limitations being built by His own disciples, so He wanted to go beyond anything they had seen before, to make sure that lives were miraculously touched, and that God the Father received glory. This very much spoke to me about the normal church attendee today. We have come to expect a special order of service, the same speaker bringing the sermon and we have become so accustomed to getting out at a certain time, that we could easily plan our oven to complete cooking lunch at a certain time. Now IF God was programmable, all of this would work within His time-frames, but knowing that He’s not, what would happen if people started getting saved in every service, or Brothers getting healed, or sisters recommitting their lives to Christ in every service? Think about it, Jesus deliberately delayed His arrival to Bethany so that followers would see a different kind of miracle – one that would shake them up from their normal expectation, and they would be reminded that He truly is the Son of God, who could do ALL things. We too get ourselves into a box of believing that God can do only so much, because we have seen or heard of Him doing just that much before. Friends, I believe we are being taught here, along with the disciples, that the God who created us and placed the stars in the sky, is still very much alive and capable of doing way more than we could every dream or believe. I believe that our part is: to believe in the only One who could save us from our sin; trust Him to watch over, protect and guide us in the way of Truth daily; learn to worship Him, thank Him and depend on Him daily; trust Him by never putting Him in a box of limited possibilities; and get excited about the place He has prepared for us in glory. Do you feel like you are lacking in either of these things? Do you feel like you have placed complete faith and trust in Jesus, to accomplish way more than you could ever imagine? We tend to ask for only as much as we could believe, or have faith to ask for. God can do so much more than that friend! |
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| PRAYER: | |
| Lord, I believe that we are just as guilty as Your disciples were in the story of Lazarus, They followed you to Bethany, but they were so worried about their own lives that I believe it was challenging for them to truly appreciate the miracle that You brought about with Lazarus that day. We have become so accustomed to knowing the limitations of everything that we encounter, that we tend to place those same limitations on what our awesome God could do. Please forgive us for our littleness and for the blessings we miss out one because of our limitations. You are worthy oh Lord, please forgive us for our unworthiness and grant us new perspectives about You every day so that we may be overzealous in praise and thanksgiving. AMEN! |
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| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us! | |
The Security Of Knowing Jesus
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Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-11-08 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
John 10:27-30 (ERV) |
|
Text: |
27 My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give my sheep eternal life. They will never die, and no one can take them out of my hand. 29 My Father is the one who gave them to me, and he is greater than all. No one can steal my sheep out of his hand. 30 The Father and I are one.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Jesus was being challenged about all the power He claimed to have. In this Scripture today, He is explaining that if one listens to Him, accepts His authority and obeys Him, then they belong to His Father, and since He and the Father are one, they are ultimately His. The neat thing about these verses is that Jesus never gives any conditions that would undo that security of belonging. Instead, He said that no one will be able to snatch them from His hand. Wow…. |
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| APPLICATION: | |
| From a very early age, we have been used to the idea that anytime we mess up and let a friend down, whether by total mistake or intentionally, then we could almost count on it that we have probably lost a friend. Jesus is teaching just the opposite in our relationship with Him, for He said in our Scripture today that His sheep – meaning those who have surrendered lordship of their lives to Jesus Christ, and are known as children of God. If they would listen to His voice, He would know them, and they would follow Him. BUT Jesus went on to say that His relationship with His children (sheep) is so special that He made it an eternal relationship – meaning that they will never truly ‘die’, but instead transition from earth to glory to be with Him eternally. Now friends, He attached no conditions to this promise, for if you are His, this promise is yours – straight from the lips and heart of the Master Himself! I don’t know about you, child of God, but this reminder and promise is super exciting to me, for we know that we could count on the promises of Jesus way more than what we do with friends who are best buddies one moment, yet the next they might barely want to talk to us. Jesus has a one-of-a-kind love for His children. Are you realizing that love today friend? Have you found the way to salvation in Jesus Christ yet? I would be happy to be that Brother to help you, but you may also follow the instructions in my Footnote. One might buy life insurance to financially secure their family upon their death. However, knowing Jesus, secures His love for you today, everyday and throughout eternity as you kneel at His feet and sing praises to His honor and glory! I am looking forward to that day friends, and I hope that I can convince you to do the same. |
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| PRAYER: | |
| Lord, I believe! I believe in Your awesome power and in Your glorious love for me today and throughout endless ages as I worship You and the Father in Heaven. However, I still have family and friends who have not surrendered their lives to You yet, and I am concerned about their eternal destination, for You have not indicated when our last day here on earth might be. Knowing that this could be today, I humbly pray that You might soften the hearts of those that I am thinking of at this moment, and that You might draw them unto Yourself. Lord, I know that they are precious in Your sight, so I beg You to work on their hardened hearts. For it’s in the matchless name of Jesus that I ask these things, AMEN! |
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| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us! | |
What Pleases God
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Post Date: |
Monday, 2017-11-06 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
Psalm 69:30-31 (GNT) |
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Text: |
30 I will praise God with a song; I will proclaim his greatness by giving him thanks. 31 This will please the Lord more than…. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Just like everyone else in his day, and in ours, David was having himself a little pity party about the way that he was being treated by everyone. The sad thing about feeling this way is that we tend to also feel like God feels the same way, and that He is causing some of the ill effects to come on us. Fortunately David came to his senses and chose to praise God, in spite of everything that was going on at the time. This is a great lesson for us, so let’s expand on this…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| When something goes wrong, or does not agree with what we would prefer, we quickly fall into a little pity party of our own and start feeling like everyone is against us. In fact, it seems like the whole world is on a different team than we are. Friends, as Christians, we should be quick to turn to God and seek His encouragement and His help to overcome how we are feeling. Because, let’s never forget that the same God who sent His precious Son to die on a cross for our sins, will not automatically turn His face the moment we make a mistake, or sin against Him. Through His Holy Spirit that dwells inside of us, we should quickly remember that God is on our side, and that He would never harm us. So when things are not going our way, we need to immediately seek God’s face and determine what it is that He is trying to teach us, or grow us through. When you recognize that God is working for you, and not against you, and that He is training you for bigger and better things, let’s do like David did – let’s praise God with a song – I know, many will read this and complain about the singing ability God has given you, but notice that David didn’t cut an album, he merely used the talent that God gave him, to sing praises back to Him. Will God complain about the voice that He has given to you? Never – for His gifts are perfect! David also burst into a time of thanksgiving! Friends, don’t dare think that you have to wait for Thanksgiving Day to praise God and give Him thanks! I believe that we were made to worship God, and I believe that God gave a lot of talent to our parents to teach us how to say ‘Thank You’ when we are given something. Every day God gives us life itself and the beauty of all His precious gifts every way we turn. We should constantly be filled with thanksgiving to the awesome, generous God that we serve. Remember your manners, as my mom taught us every time we left her side, so let’s not stop now! | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord, You are merciful and good to us, even when we are complaining that things are not going our way. Correction and discipline is always challenging for us to accept as love, or praise worthy, but ever so often we can reflect back and see Your perfect plan being formed even in those times. Surely there is no doubt that we serve an awesome and loving God. Please help us to take our sights away from self and to seek the purpose in Your perfect plan for us, so that we can follow in obedience without hesitation or regret. You are so worthy of our praise precious Lord, please help us to do that even in the storms of 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 could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us! | |
Beware of Thieves
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Post Date: |
Saturday, 2017-11-04 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
John 10:9-10 (Voice) |
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Text: |
9 I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be liberated, will go in and go out, and will find pastures. 10 The thief approaches with malicious intent, looking to steal, slaughter, and destroy; I came to give life with joy and abundance. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Jesus faced an issue that may seem to some as being unheard of today. The leaders of the day made it look like they were out to do the best for their people, but it was known, and was very obvious to Jesus, that they were out for personal gain; recognition; and holding the people hostage to only their belief and lifestyle. Jesus saw straight through this, and took the opportunity to tell the leaders through parables. Let’s see what the application might be in this for us….. |
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| APPLICATION: | |
I’m not sure what the estimated percentage of Christ believers are in each country represented by my followers of this blog, but I believe that each of us are probably ashamed of that percentage, and wish that the numbers were reversed between Christians and unbelievers. So let’s take a moment and see what the challenges may be that’s causing the thieves to get to so many family members, friends, work associates and even church attendees. See if you would agree with me on some of the ‘thieves’ I will list:
I believe that until you are willing to state your Christian beliefs, and be willing to stand up for the principles of Christ, the world will consider you yet another counterfeit. Jesus referred to the Pharisee leaders as thieves that have come to steal and destroy good people. If you were challenged by God on any of the above things, or perhaps others, may I suggest that you revitalize your relationship with the Master and allow Him to direct your path and your priorities. He wants an intimate relationship with you, my friend. He particularly designed you for this. |
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| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, please enlighten us to the distractors in our life. Lord, we want to draw close to You and we know that we can’t do this when we have so many other things distracting us. It is so important that others see Jesus in us, and not the things of this world. Please give us boldness to stand firm in our beliefs and our commitment to You. Today may be a day for someone to see Jesus. Lord shine through each of us so that they may see You. AMEN! |
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| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us! | |
Our Strength and Our Guide
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Post Date: |
Friday, 2017-11-03 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
2 Timothy 1:7-8a (ERV) |
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Text: |
7 The Spirit God gave us does not make us afraid. His Spirit is a source of power and love and self-control.
8 So don’t be ashamed to tell people about our Lord Jesus. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Paul was mentoring his son in the faith, Timothy, and doing everything possible to warn him about situations he would possibly face as he entered his mission field. To face the challenges, Paul found it important to remind Timothy who his ‘support arm’; ‘encourager’; ‘strength’ and ‘guide’ would be. Perhaps we need to be reminded of this as we enter each day and face the many challenges that await us! |
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| APPLICATION: | |
There are probably two or more types of people today. Those who face each day with vigor and vitality, knowing that they have been given another opportunity to bless others and celebrate God. While the other group probably moans over the mistakes of yesterday and can’t imagine how much worse it will be today in their world. Friends, we are reminded in the Scripture today that God’s Holy Spirit resides inside those of us that have surrendered our lives to His lordship, and that we have nothing to be afraid of. Through Paul, God is reminding us that His Holy Spirit:
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| PRAYER: | |
| Thank You Father for Your Holy Spirit. You knew from the very beginning that we could not live in this world under our own strength and still win over the ills of Satan. You have blessed us with power, love, self-control and bravery to not be afraid in this world, for You are with us in every way. What a joy and oh what peace, to know that our Savior is also our Master and Lord. We need your strength each day Lord, please help us to represent You in every part of our character. AMEN! |
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| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us! | |
Ready To Defend Jesus?
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Post Date: |
Friday, 2017-11-02 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
John 9:30-33 (ERV) |
|
Text: |
30 The man answered, “This is really strange! You don’t know where he comes from, but he healed my eyes. 31 We all know that God does not listen to sinners, but he will listen to anyone who worships and obeys him. 32 This is the first time we have ever heard of anyone healing the eyes of someone born blind. 33 This man must be from God. If he were not from God, he could not do anything like this.” |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| A blind man was miraculously healed by Jesus, when He mixed mud with spittle, placed it on the blind man’s eyes and told him to go and wash in the pool. In these verses the man who was once lost is having to defend Jesus before the local leaders. Let’s see how this might apply to us today…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Does the general population hear about what goes on in your church? Do they know how your child go well again? Do they ask about the difference in your character compared to most of your coworkers? I would imagine the answer to most of these questions might be: ‘sometimes’; or ‘when I feel safe, I tell them; or ‘we’re not allowed to talk about religion around work’. Isn’t that strange, when it doesn’t matter that employees talk about baseball games, or lotto winners, politics or just about anything else? This blind man was probably a ‘nobody’ before this healing incident, but when he started to praise God for all that Jesus did for him, it soon got the attention of the religious leaders who couldn’t identify with, or believe that God would change anything in the religious order of their day. In fact, they were so convinced of this that they called Jesus a sinner who just happened into their town. I wonder if this is not one of the things that interfere with folk accepting Jesus today? Perhaps some cannot understand why God would love them so much that He would allow His only Son to die a cruel death as a substitute for the sin of those who surrender their lives over to His lordship. Perhaps some see the lack of reaction of Christians to such an awesome God, that they are convinced there is no big deal to this Christian life and that they barely hear of any miracles or ‘God moments’ with the Christians they know. Friends, I believe the same thing happens in marriage if one of the partners chooses to continue doing everything they did as a single person. The truth is that if we love Jesus, the world will recognize that love. If we adore our King and worship Him at every opportunity, the world might become curious about the source of our happiness. If we stay in God’s Word and make every effort to obey His commands and live according to His precepts, then the world will see the difference and want to know this Jesus who made a change in us. Is there any difference in your life that’s evident to those you come into contact with? | |
| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, You are my Savior, my Lord and my everlasting King. Thank You for being so merciful, wonderful and miraculous in my life, and I pray that You will give me perfect moments to share that with someone who needs to know You personally. I would specifically petition You to touch the lives of Christians once again with a fresh dose of Your love, mercy and grace, so that the world might know that Jesus lives, and that He lives in our heart. AMEN! | |
| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us! | |
So That God May Be Glorified!
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Post Date: |
Wednesday, 2017-11-01 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
|
From: |
John 9:2-3 (GNT) |
|
Text: |
2 His disciples asked him, “Teacher, whose sin caused him to be born blind? Was it his own or his parents’ sin?” 3 Jesus answered, “His blindness has nothing to do with his sins or his parents’ sins. He is blind so that God’s power might be seen at work in him. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Jesus happened across a blind man sitting along the edge of the road. His followers had become such students of their master that they decided to ask about the reason for the man’s blindness. Jesus’ response may have been more than they expected, because He told them how His Father would be glorified even through this man’s blindness. Let’s look into the reasons why God may have particularly had this story included in the Book for us….. |
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| APPLICATION: | |
| It seems like we thrive on things that make us feel sorry for ourselves, and especially those things that might help others to feel sorry for us. Furthermore, we tend to always look for an explanation on why things are the way they are. This is why the followers of Jesus needed to have the matter resolved in their minds, about why the man was made blind. And they realized that it made no sense asking anyone else that question because no one else but God knew the reason, or cause, for his blindness. Now let’s look closer at the response by Jesus: ‘so that God might be glorified in his life‘. Suppose the crippled or the dumb recognized that they were made the way they are ‘for God’s glory‘, instead of them feeling cursed. Suppose you and I recognized this fact each and every day, instead of wishing that we were as pretty/handsome as the neighbor, or as rich as our employer, or as lucky as the lotto winner? Oh that we might recognize and be constantly reminded that we are made meticulously by God and for His glory. Would we not quickly learn to praise Him for our good times, and for those times that we know God is at work in our lives, even though we sure wish that life would be so different for us? Friends, our God made no junk. Each of us are precious in His sight and we are made for His glory. Let’s work hard to avoid distraction from His almighty and glorious plan for our lives. To God be the glory for all He has done, and for all that He continues to do in our lives, especially when we feel like the world is against us and our health is failing, or no one else cares about us. |
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| PRAYER: | |
| Lord, please forgive us when we feel down and out because of feeling less than someone else. Even in our handicap, we have no reason to whine or complain, because we must quickly remember that we are children of the King – the King of all kings. Father, I pray that You might humble those who are proud and those who feel sorry about who they are. I am reminded that we are precious in Your sight and that as Your royal children, we are loved immensely by you. Oh that You may be glorified in all that we do and say, especially when we look inward at ourselves. AMEN! |
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| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us! | |
Importance of The Father and The Son
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Post Date: |
Tuesday, 2017-10-31 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
John 8:19-20 (TLB) |
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Text: |
19 “Where is your father?” they asked.
Jesus answered, “You don’t know who I am, so you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, then you would know him too.” 20 Jesus made these statements while in the section of the Temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested, for his time had not yet run out. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| It is difficult to see the truth or know the man when you don’t trust him or spend time with him. This is what happened to the Pharisees when they were looking for ways to arrest Jesus. They were so intent in looking for the worst in Jesus, and for possible reasons to arrest Him, that their eyes were blinded to the fact that the God of this universe was actually one with His Son, Jesus. I believe that God still wants His children to seek after His Son. Let’s develop an appropriate application for this Scripture…. | |
| APPLICATION: | |
| Often when a person is in trouble, their first instinct is to call on God. This will often include non-Christians and saints. I believe that one of the messages included in this Scripture today is that you are to know Jesus, if you truly want to know the Master of this universe, God. We will hear friends and loved ones asking for our prayers when there is trouble going on in their lives or in the lives of their loved ones. Who is this ‘God’ to them? One who stands ready to save the lives of those who crucify Him again and again each day through mocking and despising His Son? Friends, when there is One who loves you so much that He was born with a specific purpose in mind – His Father wanted to provide a means for us to make it to heaven. He saw where the sacrifice of animals was just not cutting it, so He miraculously sent His Son through a human mother, so that we could see and understand that He was just like us – born of a woman. The Bible records many miracles so that we could see that Jesus was also God. However, just as recorded by the prophets of old, Jesus also died a very cruel death at the hands of mankind who despised Him and didn’t want Him around. We tend to practice a type of crucifixion ourselves when we want to do our own thing, without the accountability of God – the One who loves us beyond anything we could ever imagine. To my readers, some of whom might be my own blood relatives, I want to plead with you to reconsider this Jesus who showed ultimate love for us, through His death on the cross at Calvary, so that we might enjoy life abundantly with He and His Father in heaven for all eternity. If you have yet to surrender your life to Jesus and receive this ultimate gift of love, please do that today. Our time here on earth is not assured beyond the very moment that you read this blog, so please don’t procrastinate, bow your head and invite Jesus into your heart right now and ask Him to forgive you of your sin. |
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| PRAYER: | |
| Lord Jesus, thank You for providing the means for us to spend eternity with You and Your Father, God. A sacrifice that we will probably never fully understand. However, for those of us that have accepted that free gift of love, we are eternally grateful to You and we look forward to the day that we can look full into Your wonderful face and enjoy the sweet communion with You and our Father, God. Please give us wisdom on ways that we could help to touch the hearts and lives of those that have yet to make this decision, for we want to see all of our family, friends, coworkers and acquaintances joining with us in celebration around the throne on that great homecoming day! AMEN! |
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| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us! | |
Obedience In Spite Of Proven Methods
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Post Date: |
Thursday, 2017-10-26 |
| SCRIPTURE | |
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From: |
2 Samuel 5:22-25 (NIV) |
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Text: |
22 Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 23 so David inquired of the Lord, and he answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. 24 As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” 25 So David did as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer. |
| OBSERVATION: | |
| Through obedience to God, David had already defeated the Philistines in the valley of Rephaim. However, when their army returned to the same place, David didn’t assume that the instructions God had given him earlier still applied. He went back before God in prayer again. This time, and in spite of different instructions, David never questioned God, but simply obeyed. Let’s see if we are as careful to ask and then obey, even if the instruction are different the second of successive times. |
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| APPLICATION: | |
| We hear the stories all the time how habitual ways of doing something is the best way. Another common phrase, or piece of worldly advice is that: ‘if it ain’t broken, don’t try to fix it’! Words of advice from a mother to a daughter might be: ‘you can only cook that roast in the manner that I taught you, because grandmothers recipe always works’, however stoves/ovens have changed drastically since the old wood-burning stoves of our ancestors! Friends, church is no different, for we take on some of these same attitudes as just mentioned. The world of electronics and everyday life has changed so much over the years. So, considering some of these things that I have just reflected on, how likely are we to change our tried and proven methods. especially if it results in bringing glory to God? Some folk bring their old King James Bible to church to study from or follow with the pastor’s sermon, while younger generations might bring one thing with them – their cell phone, or a tablet. Can we appreciate both without being judgmental? Look at how much wars have changed. In older movies we see nothing but men on the ground fighting from fairly close range. Today we watch as missiles are fired from miles away and hit a target with precision. Would our military be willing to change their course of action when a general tells them that God told him to do this war quite differently, because He would guide and protect the army into unbelievable success. Really give some thought to what David did in this story. God gave David instructions and because he obeyed, the battle against the Philistines was a huge success. Not long after, the Philistines presented themselves for battle in much the same way and in the same place. Wouldn’t you assume that David would have looked to God and said: ‘OK God, I got this. You showed me how to do this successfully already, and I still remember all of the details’. That is definitely not the course David followed. Just like each day presents itself differently, David went back to God and asked for His approval and His directions. When given different instructions, there is no record of David questioning God. He simple obeyed, and was successful once again. Friends, we need to be very dependent on God. Let’s go to Him every day and on every subject. What worked for us yesterday, may be under totally different circumstances today. God knows that before we take time to ask Him. Seek His face and be obedient to His voice Brothers and Sisters. His decisions are not based on a spin of the dice, for He is God and everything He created is under His control. Work on letting Him be God, and you being the obedient servant. It works – every time! |
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| PRAYER: | |
| Lord God, the Creator and Master of this universe, including all human beings, thank You for accepting me as one of Your children, and for taking the time to listen and direct even me. In facing this challenging world, we are pulled in so many ways. However Lord, we know that only You have the keys to the kingdom of heaven and the answers to all of this old world’s problems. Please help us to remain faithful, and never take the chance of making personal decisions without first being blessed by Your approval and Your direction. May we once again today surrender all at Your feet and allow You to fill us afresh for all that we will face today, for I ask this in the precious and all-powerful name of Jesus, AMEN! |
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| FOOTNOTE: | |
| There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us! | |
Nuggets From God's Word 