We Have A Hope!

On 2015-05-212015-05-21 By Ed AlgreenIn HopeLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The New Living Translation – 1 Peter 1:3-6): ³ All honor to God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; for it is his boundless mercy that has given us the privilege of being born again so that we are now members of God’s own family. Now we live in the hope of eternal life because Christ rose again from the dead. ⁴ And God has reserved for his children the priceless gift of eternal life; it is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. ⁵ And God, in his mighty power, will make sure that you get there safely to receive it because you are trusting him. It will be yours in that coming last day for all to see. ⁶ So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though the going is rough for a while down here.

THOUGHTS: When the world looks at a bad day, or the end of life for someone, there is nothing but despair, depression and a deep absence of hope. Peter wanted to make sure that Christians living in provinces that he served knew that there was more to this life than merely meets the eye. I believe that God led Peter to pen these words so that Christians today – you and I, would know that we need to look beyond our circumstances, no matter how bleak they may seem, and to stand encouraged to know that there is a whole lot more to look forward to, especially after all that we go through on a daily basis here on this earth. Friends, may I encourage you with the words directed by God? Based on the words through Peter, I believe God is telling us that we are to look beyond our temporary issues and challenges, whether it be medical, financial, family related or whatever – look beyond life as we know it today, and remember that the same God who sacrificed His one and only Son to save us from our sin, that He rose again from the dead and sits at the right hand of His Father. This serves as a foresight for us to envision how we also will one day rise from the dead and bow humbly at the feet of Jesus and His Father, where there will no longer be strife, worries, health issues or quarrelling, for there will be no more sorrow there, nor sickness, nor parting over there, but peace forevermore on that happy, glorious day! The logical question by any reading this might be “So when, where or how do I get my ticket, or pass, for this great event?” I’m so glad you went there friend, because unlike any other destination where you may have travelled before, this destination is set aside for those who have made preparation here on earth. You see, it’s because of your choice today that will determine whether you spend eternity in heaven with Jesus, or if you will be faced with an even deeper wrath of Satan than you face daily here on earth. Have a look at the link in my ‘Footnote’ called “How to Know Jesus”. I believe you will find evidence there about what you can expect. Fortunately, if you are reading this, it means that you still have the option to change your destination choice. Unless you already know Jesus as your personal Savior, then if you do nothing you will continue your unfortunate destination to Hell. However, if you act on the information available to you in the referenced document using God’s Word, then you will be assured of your final destination in glory with Jesus and all His precious saints. It’s a matter of choice, friend. You must make that choice personally.

PRAYER: Praise the powerful name of Jesus, my Savior, I Have A Hope! It’s written in this scripture today, and so beautifully sung by Tommy Walker in the hyperlinked title. I praise You Heavenly Father for that wonderful hope, and I thank You from the depths of my heart for impacting my life some 39 years ago by helping me make the most important decision of my life. Father, I pray that each one that You will cause to read this devotional today might examine their heart closely and either be reminded of that hope which is theirs, or be provoked by Your precious Holy Spirit into accepting You as Lord and Savior today. Lord, may they make the right decision today, because doing nothing equates to a decision to continue their path towards hell. For the family that I love, the friends that I admire and the friends that I care so deeply about, I humble plead with You Lord to move in their hearts today. May You be honored repeatedly today as more of your children make decisions to accept the sacrifice You made at Calvary for our good. I ask this all in the precious 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 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 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!

The Prescription For Help

On 2015-05-202015-05-20 By Ed AlgreenIn Prayer, Prescription, TroubleLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (God’s Word Translation – James 5:13-18): ¹³ If any of you are having trouble, pray. If you are happy, sing psalms. ¹⁴ If you are sick, call for the church leaders. Have them pray for you and anoint you with olive oil in the name of the Lord. ¹⁵ (Prayers offered in faith will save those who are sick, and the Lord will cure them.) If you have sinned, you will be forgiven. ¹⁶ So admit your sins to each other, and pray for each other so that you will be healed. Prayers offered by those who have God’s approval are effective. ¹⁷ Elijah was human like us. Yet, when he prayed that it wouldn’t rain, no rain fell on the ground for three-and-a-half years. ¹⁸ Then he prayed again. It rained, and the ground produced crops.

THOUGHTS: Most of us feel a whole lot better if we leave our doctor with a prescription in hand, don’t we? I believe that most of us also feel better when we read God’s Word, and walk away to face our day with renewed strength, encouragement or boldness to share the Word with others, or the joy that fills our heart! I’ve heard older folk offer me certain homemade remedies and they would say, take this for anything that ails you! I always thought that was funny, but I am more and more convinced that we can take in the Word of God, apply it to our lives (not the life of another sinner who, we feel, needs it worse than us!!!!) and then stand amazed of its many applications. I will break these verses apart to emphasize the prescription of each problem mentioned, with hopes that we will reflect on this as we are affected today, or sometime in the future:

In times of trouble		Pray to your Father in heaven;
In happiness		Sing praises to the Father, the instigator of our happiness;
In sickness		Ask your church leaders to anoint you with olive oil and pray for you (olive oil was used in setting one aside for special attention by God);

Friends, we are further assured that the prayers of a righteous person (a person who has God’s approval) are effective, and the example of Elijah is a reminder of just how effective our prayers can be. So these are tried and proven actions that we can depend on, but just like any doctor or pharmacy today – if you don’t know them, or use their services, it is impossible to get the help that friends might tell you they received from them. So please allow me to introduce you to my Father, my Lord, my Provider, my Healer, my Counselor who will listen to my troubles and direct me in the right path, but most of all, He’s my Savior – for Jesus saved me in spite of my sinful life, when I invited Him to. Prescriptions are only acceptable by my pharmacy, if they come from my doctor. Similarly, the prescriptions noted above are only applicable to those associated with the ‘Doctor’ – Jesus Christ. He is within your reach friend! Please read my ‘Footnote’ below, especially the link to ‘How to Know Jesus’ and act on the instructions today friend. Let me know about your decision, so that I may pray with you as you make this change in your life! Jesus loves you, and so do I!

PRAYER: Father, You are my Rock – a firm foundation in which I can depend and lean on in all aspects of my life. Thank You Lord God for being there with me through the good times of life and through the challenging times. My faith has been strengthened when my prescriptions have been filled and followed as You prescribed in Your Word. Thank You for caring for Your children, even when it has been impossible to get in to my primary care physician, or when we can no longer afford medical insurance or attention. Your love for us goes way beyond the cross of Calvary, for it is shown daily in Your watchful care and concern for us. Thank You heavenly Father! Please touch the heart of each one that may take time to meditate on this devotional today, or even to the one that might ‘stumble across this’ (divinely led by You!!) in search of help for circumstances beyond their control. Lead them to the Cross, dear God. Ignite within us a new flame that will be evident to those that we come into contact with today, so that they may have a burning desire to know the source of our true happiness. All this for Your glory oh God, for I ask this in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, with thanksgiving, AMEN!

Don’t Give Up, Strengthen Your Resolve!

On 2015-05-192015-05-19 By Ed AlgreenIn Heaven, Patience, Wait PatientlyLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Voice – James 5:7-8): ⁷ For this reason, my brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the return of the Lord. Look! The farmer knows how to wait patiently for the land to produce vegetables and fruits. He cannot harvest a freshly planted seed. Instead, he waits for the early and the late showers to nourish the soil. ⁸ You need this same kind of patience, so in the meantime, strengthen your resolve because the Lord will be coming soon.

THOUGHTS: One of the toughest things in life is ‘to wait’! Imagine in a written test when you finish first – you sit worried about whether you must have barreled into the test and possibly missed the point. In picking up someone from the airport and you arrive early – you may tend to beat up on yourself for not having gone the speed limit and possibly been more kind to those drivers who just seemed to have poked along. In Christendom we may tend to do something similar – we may become impatient with those who are struggling to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ, or we may lose identity with the unsaved and therefore be challenged to understand their reasoning for delaying their salvation decision. Similarly, for those who easily meet all the bills and have lots of extra to do all those things that some of us can only dream about, they may tend to look down their noses and find many reasons why someone is possibly struggling financially. I believe that James is telling us that, in life we have choices and each of those should really lead towards the ultimate goal of spending eternity in heaven with our Father God, and many saints that have gone on before us. Meanwhile, we each have a personal responsibility – one that applies only to our heart and our life – how can we draw even closer to God? How can we do even more towards our relationship with God and all those that He loves? Try looking at a groom waiting for his bride to walk the isle, he is either in deep thought about what he might do to make his bride more proud of him, or how much more can he do to provide for their wellbeing and happiness, or even what else can he smooth over in his appearance at that moment to look his very best for his bride. So it is with saints of God, while we wait for our ‘BIG DAY’ when we shall see our Savior face to face, we are to be patiently striving to be more like Him; trying to be His hands extended to those around us, by blessing the rich and/or the poor; we are to be deeper into the Word than ever before as we build anticipation of seeing Jesus! Friends, there’s no time to coast along, or get impatient, or even feel like an over-achiever, for we are to be busy about the Master’s work and never give up. Constantly working towards being more like Jesus – the author and finisher of our faith. Let us therefore strengthen our resolve to be as much like Jesus as we can; yearn for His Word daily, ask Him to grant you faith, knowledge and wisdom to be more like Him in every way. Constantly remind yourself and sing.. ‘You’re the One I live for Jesus‘, and look forward to pleasing every day!

PRAYER: Thank You Lord God for providing the means to salvation! Thank You for reaching deep into my heart and convicting me of my sin, causing me to surrender my life to You. Having heard the call by James, I humbly plead with You dear Lord, to touch the hearts of my readers and myself to never think more of ourselves than we are, to never look down on others, but to constantly look for ways to offer a ‘hand-up’ to them. Please help us to look at their soul and not their circumstances dealt to them by this cruel and selfish world. Please help us to never be anxious about tomorrow, while still keeping our eye, and our goal on the prize that lies ahead of us. Your Word is clear, that we are to strengthen our resolve to be more like You every day, as we prepare for that great union with You in glory! Oh, What A Day that Will be, when my Jesus I shall see!! Praise the wonderful name of Jesus! I humbly place these petitions at Your feet oh Lord, for it’s in Your magnificent name that I ask all this, AMEN!

The Originators of Evil and Good

On 2015-05-082015-05-08 By Ed AlgreenIn Evil, Good, RighteousLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Living Bible – James 1:13-17): ¹³ And remember, when someone wants to do wrong it is never God who is tempting him, for God never wants to do wrong and never tempts anyone else to do it. ¹⁴ Temptation is the pull of man’s own evil thoughts and wishes. ¹⁵ These evil thoughts lead to evil actions and afterwards to the death penalty from God. ¹⁶ So don’t be misled, dear brothers. ¹⁷ But whatever is good and perfect comes to us from God, the Creator of all light, and he shines forever without change or shadow.

THOUGHTS: Less Christians believe that all things that happen in their lives after conversion derives from God, James found it important to clarify this. It served as a great reminder to me, so I wanted to share this with my blog audience today also. Just in case we ever feel like God might be tempting us to prove our faith in Him, or tempting us for whatever reason, James clarified this in verses 13 and 14. Friends, it is unfortunate, but the reason why it is so important to stay closely attuned to God through Bible Study, Prayer, Worship and Fellowship with like believers, is because as long as we are here on this earth, Satan will be a constant pain in our side. Always tempting, prodding and making every attempt to have us turn aside from, what he believes to be, a stupid decision to follow Jesus. Of course, as soon as we come to our senses we know that verse 17 is a perfect sermon for us, because while the verse is telling us where everything good and perfect comes from, we can naturally reason that the opposite must come from Satan. So I believe that our lesson in this scripture today is to remind us that when we feel temptation; when we feel evil overtaking us and when we feel like nothing good is happening to us, we must quickly come to our senses and ask God to forgive us for the evil that we have allowed to enter our lives. Ask Him to build a great hedge of protection around us. Send a true messenger of His to encourage us, and to make His presence very obvious to us, Friends, when we find ourselves slipping away from God, I believe you will always find that it is not God who is letting go of our hand, but rather us who wants to try and do things our way. It is then that we become very vulnerable to Satan. Always remember: anything good, loving and worthwhile comes from God. Anything else is caused by our weakened spiritual condition that has allowed Satan access into our lives. We can protect our righteous lives by staying closely attached and attuned to the only Righteous One, Jesus Christ. Try realigning yourself with the King of Glory today friend, and let God be God in your life!

PRAYER: Until we are reminded of all that You have done for us, and continue to do for us dear Lord, we tend to forget and even minimize Your love for us. We know that we should stay in the Word, and we know that we should revere our relationship with You oh God, but it is so unfortunate that often it will take a disaster or major event in our lives to realign our relationship with You. Please forgive us for being so weakened to sin, and so weak in our relationship with You that we would allow Satan access to our lives so easily. We are the temple of the Lord, and God cannot reign where Satan resides. Please help us to stay closely aligned to You dear God, through saturation of Your Word, through frequent prayer and through an unwavering commitment and determination to give You full reign over us. Please forgive us Lord, and be our constant Lord, Master and Ruler over all things in our lives. For I ask this in the precious name of Jesus, AMEN!

Actionable Reminders

On 2015-05-042015-05-04 By Ed AlgreenIn Example, LoveLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Good News Translation – Hebrews 13:1-3): ¹Keep on loving one another as Christian brothers and sisters. ²Remember to welcome strangers in your homes. There were some who did that and welcomed angels without knowing it. ³Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them. Remember those who are suffering, as though you were suffering as they are.

THOUGHTS: In this chapter of Hebrews, we are being reminded what followers of Christ should look like in our everyday life. In these chosen verses, we can see where the following is dealt with:

Love one for another (especially our Christian Brothers and Sisters) – I believe that this is totally related to the extent to which we love our Savior. For when we are totally in love with the Creator, how can we but love all that He has created;
Hospitality – While we often look at Genesis 18 when we see Abraham entertaining angels, I believe it would be good for us to look at this from the point of view of the stranger also. What impression did the stranger get of God when he visited our home? Was he rejected because of the smell or looks of the stranger, or was this stranger accepted in the same love that Christ showed to us when, in spite of His awesome power to overcome, yet He accepted the cross for ‘low-lives’ such as us – sinners;
Those who are in prison – we are to remember them as if we were right there with them. Too often we say that we know how someone feels, and we might be tempted to say the same thing about someone in prison. But we are instructed to remember them as if we were there ourselves. This tells me that I should visit the prison and understand what it is like to live in there so that I could truly remember my incarcerated friend and truly identify with his needs and his hurts – or perhaps his victories;
Those who are suffering – This especially refers to those who are suffering for their testimonies. Paul was beat and imprisoned for his testimony, and no doubt this is still happening to our Brothers and Sisters who minister in troubling parts of the world. We are instructed to imagine that we are right there with them. So let us pay more attention to that missionary who visits our church next time and tries to tell us what it is like in the part of the world in which they are ministering. Let’s try to identify with them so we could truly feel what they feel and adequately pray for them.

PRAYER: How easy it is for us to fall into the trap of our own little ‘world’, where everything may be going along well. However, Father God, You have shown us through Your Word today that for Your children to truly follow in Your footsteps, we are to love like You loved, and feel empathy for our Brothers and Sisters who might be going through something totally foreign to us. Please tender our hearts oh Lord, and help us to make every effort to identify with each other – or show that we care about them, so that we may more diligently pray for them, meet their needs and/or love them unconditionally like You first loved us. Please bless those who will meditate on this devotional. Draw them closer to You dear God, so that they may desire to know and love their family and friends in such a way that the love of God would be evident to them. These blessings I plead before You in the name of Jesus, Your Son – my redeemer and King, AMEN!

God is Coming Soon!

On 2015-04-232015-04-23 By Ed AlgreenIn Eternal Life, Hope, SalvationLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Hebrews 10:36-39): ³⁶Learn to be patient, so that you will please God and be given what he has promised. ³⁷As the Scriptures say, “God is coming soon! It won’t be very long. ³⁸The people God accepts will live because of their faith. But he isn’t pleased with anyone who turns back.” (Habakkuk 2:3–4) ³⁹We are not like those people who turn back and get destroyed. We will keep on having faith until we are saved.

THOUGHTS: To some who will read the subject and the Bible verses, we might hear “Come Lord Jesus, come!”, and they may be referred to by their friends as Paul said of himself, “They have fought a good fight and they have kept the faith, enter now into the kingdom of heaven prepared for you by our Lord”. However, some will try to claim the victory and protest their position with the Lord because of their giving, or church attendance, or the faithfulness of their parents, only to sadly hear the words of Jesus reverberate “I never knew you”. There will also be some who will face eternity as lost as they are here on earth, because they consider the Word of God as ‘fables’ or ‘meant for the people of old who knew no better’. Friends, I believe that you should clearly understand the intent of the gospel – the Word of God, and this scripture serves as a great tool to remind us of that. An example to help explain this might be the need for a driver’s license to legally drive a vehicle on the public roads of any country. You know, and understand that driving without that legal document could lead to a prison term for you. You should also clearly understand that you are required to surrender your life of sin, and ask for forgiveness from the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. According to John 3:16, God loves us all, and if we Admit our sin, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and Confess our unworthiness and our ‘lost’ condition without Jesus, then we will become His very special child; saved from this sinful world and kept secure in His keeping until the day He calls us home to heaven to live with Him eternally. So compare the two scenarios given: driving without legal permission (a driver’s license) will send you to prison; living without ever personally accepting Jesus as your Savior will lead to eternity in Hell with Satan. The choice is clear, but it is totally up to you to decide your destiny, or what you will do. My desire is that God will soften your hardened heart and lead you to the cross of Calvary where you would see the great love expressed by my Savior to make your only positive choice a viable option. The plan is in place Brother and Sister, the choice is entirely yours. Please be smart and choose faith in Christ. I really want to see you in glory where we will kneel together at the feet of Jesus and praise He and His Father forever!

PRAYER: Lord God, we are given the liberty of making choices every day. Often some will lead to success, while others lead to failure, and possible destruction. In Your Word, You revealed our options about whom we will serve while here on this earth, and where that will ultimately lead us to in death, as we know it here on earth. I thank You and praise You that I accepted the best option available for my life, and that, based on Your Word, I have fore-knowledge about where I will spend eternity when the day comes for my graduation from earth to my new home in Heaven! I believe You have led me to clearly explain the above to my readers today so that they may KNOW in whom they believe, and with whom they will spend eternity. I humbly plead for Your help to those who are challenged with making a sound choice today. Please, may this be the day of clarity of mind and sound decisions, so that all who have received this challenge will walk away having made the only decision that leads to eternal life with You in heaven. I ask all this in faith, and in the name of Jesus, my Lord and soon coming King, AMEN!

Important Responsibilities of the Christian

On 2015-04-222015-04-22 By Ed AlgreenIn Christian, Example, Like JesusLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Hebrews 10:23-25): ²³ We must hold tightly to the hope that we say is ours. After all, we can trust the one who made the agreement with us. ²⁴ We should keep on encouraging each other to be thoughtful and to do helpful things. ²⁵ Some people have gotten out of the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord’s coming is getting closer.

THOUGHTS: There are some important reminders for Christians in these few verses today that, I believe, we can be encouraged by, and that also serve to show us our worth, while representing Christ here in this earth:

Because we can trust our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to do all that He has promised to us in His Word, we need to hold on tight to the hope this brings, and not let the trials and tribulations of this earth pull us down, which is exactly what Satan sets out to do every day with children of the Most High. In fact we need to memorize the scripture that Jesus used against Satan when He was being tempted by him (Satan) in the wilderness. Remember, the power of the One who lives inside of us (God’s Holy Spirit) is far greater than any obstacle that might be placed in our way. So let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, and not our circumstances;
Because of this hope that we have, we must be constantly aware of those around us who are getting bogged down in the trials of this world, and the adversary, Satan. Notice the Word said nothing about this being the responsibility of the pastor, although I’m sure that he equally shares the responsibility that is ours. Friends, I believe that if we were to actively look for folk that we could encourage or minister to, we won’t have near enough time to sit and sour about the lack of attention the pastor may have paid to us when we attended church! My experience has been that the more we try to minister to others, the more we are ministered to by the Holy Spirit. Try to bless others, and watch double the blessings outpoured on yourself!
The Day of the Lord’s return is closer now than ever before. It is important that we get used to being around those that we hope to be in heaven with! Church attendance and worship times together are some of the best opportunities for us! Now I’m sure that many reading this can quickly tell me of the excuses why this just doesn’t work for you, but friends, the Word is clear. We are to not only make every effort to attend worship services, but go there with the intention of encouraging as many brothers and sisters as you can. This can be done simply through a smile, or a sincere handshake, or listening carefully to what the other person is sharing with you. Make them the most important person in the room while listening attentively to them. Share with them how God has blessed you. They might be encouraged to continue praying about a need. They might come back for the very next service because of the time you spent with them!

Friends, if you are challenged to do any of the above, may I suggest that you go back to square one and reacquaint yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ? All of the above is characteristic of the King, and since you are supposedly His child, you also should have these characteristics. I believe He is waiting and willing to help you mature in these qualities!

PRAYER: Father in Heaven, thank You for sending Your Son to live on earth and, in turn, showing us the way to live. Thank You for touching these great writers who shared Your heart with us throughout the books of the Bible, and making its contents so applicable to us even today. Please draw Your children closer to You, so that we might be reminded of how much more blessed it is to give, than to receive. Please help us to look for opportunities to minister to others, so that Your love might be expressed through us in the words that we speak, and in every opportunity we have to act in love towards others. Please fill us with Your character and help us to be better representatives of Yours each day, for I ask all this in the wonderful, matchless name of Jesus, my Lord and my Savior, AMEN!

Believers Are Made Perfect!

On 2015-04-202015-04-20 By Ed AlgreenIn Perfection, Sacrifice, SubstituteLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – Hebrews 10:12-14): As a priest, Christ made a single sacrifice for sins, and that was it! Then he sat down right beside God and waited for his enemies to cave in. It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process.

THOUGHTS: Before you conclude that I am crazy in believing that I, or any other believer in Christ, might be ‘perfect’, as announced in my blog title today, please read the Holy Scripture quoted directly from the book of Hebrews in the New Testament of the Holy Bible. You see, God created us and placed us here in a perfect world that He created for us to enjoy. However, God gave us the freedom to live our lives like we want to. Given the knowledge that God is the only ‘Perfect One’, mankind tried finding ways to draw close to God. Unfortunately, in spite of trying every type of sacrifice and trying to obey every type of man-made law, yet a large gap remained between God and man. I don’t believe that God ever wanted us to stay at odds with Him, so He sent His very own Son, Jesus, as a final, and ultimate, sacrifice to provide a very simple means for mankind to seek forgiveness, and to bridge the gap between God and man caused by sin. This process was explained in our passage as Jesus, the only Perfect One, making the way for an imperfect people like us (where sin had created a gap between God and us) to become perfect, even as He is ‘perfect’ before God the Father. Friends, I believe that many times our churches today still try to complicate this process by throwing in many rules and stipulations of their own. I believe that many spiritual leaders today still find it challenging to accept that God made it so simple for us to be made ‘perfect’ just as He and His Son Jesus are perfect. In a life of imperfection, or life without Christ, I’m afraid that you tend to look at life like a pessimist who looks at a glass half filled with water and sees it as almost empty. For Christians who truly know the ‘Perfect One’ in a very personal and victorious way, our glass is always nearing capacity, because we know the hope that our future holds! To live here on earth as a witness to others, is a glorious life! But to be called out of this world to be with Jesus and His Father, is truly beyond our earthly description and/or imagination, for that will be glory, be glory for us!! Have you been introduced to this ‘Perfect One’ that I call my Savior and Lord? Please refer to my ‘Footnote’ for a means of introduction, or at least for contact information so that I may personally introduce you to Him!

PRAYER: To the only true and ‘Perfect One’, I come before You with a heart filled with thanksgiving, for sending Your Son Jesus, to provide the means for us to also become ‘perfect’ in Your eyes. I am amazed yet again by the love that You have shown, Thank You Lord for Saving My Soul‘. While perfection, for the purpose of being better than others is not my goal, I sincerely desire to overcome the temptations of this world and to be more like You in every way possible. I want to see my Savior when called away from this earth, and knowing that He is the ‘Perfect One’, I know that I must strive towards the perfection that only You can provide, so Lord I place my life in Your hands today and ask for a special touch from You. I pray that my friends who are led to this blog today will receive rich blessings from a ‘Perfect Savior’ who loves them so much that He gave His very life for them. Lord, You are so good to us! Bless us this day with Your ongoing hand of perfection. I pray and ask all this in the matchless name of Jesus, my Savior, AMEN!

Qualities of Our High Priest

On 2015-04-112015-04-11 By Ed AlgreenIn Forgiveness, High Priest, SurrenderLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – Hebrews 7:26-28): 26 Jesus is the high priest we need. He is holy and innocent and faultless, and not at all like us sinners. Jesus is honored above all beings in heaven, 27 and he is better than any other high priest. Jesus doesn’t need to offer sacrifices each day for his own sins and then for the sins of the people. He offered a sacrifice once for all, when he gave himself. 28 The Law appoints priests who have weaknesses. But God’s promise, which came later than the Law, appoints his Son. And he is the perfect high priest forever.

THOUGHTS: I wonder what God might say about our form of worship and our Christian leadership today? In this passage in Hebrews there was a comparison between the high priests of the day that the people looked up to as their earthly connection to God, and THE great High Priest that God had provided for the people which, by the way, was provided for you and I until His return to take us up to glory. You see, often we place our church leaders on such a pedestal that we almost consider them a little god. Now friends, please don’t think that I am belittling our pastors/preachers/priests or other church leaders, for they do play a role in our spiritual walk, but PLEASE, you are to always look to God, through His Word, and be attuned to His voice as He leads you to all Truth and a true Godly example. Man could easily disappoint you and/or possibly lead you astray, and into a path of their own personal conviction, that may, or may not, always line up with God’s purest plan for you. Because of our weakness and laziness to help ourselves to the written Word of God, we place our full faith and trust in the ‘God’ taught to us by those church leaders we believe we can trust. Experiencing the works of God and feeling His precious love for us, gives us a much fuller description and view of God that becomes very personal, and is key to helping us form a ‘relationship’ with Him. Trying to draw close to a ‘God’ that someone else may, or may not have experienced, is like looking in from the outside at a marriage between a husband and wife, rather than actually being one of the spouses experiencing the sweet relationship with the other spouse. In the above verses, Take note of the differences between earthly high priests and THE Hight Priest provided by God for us. I have highlighted qualities of the earthly priests in ‘red’ and the qualities of God’s High Priest (Jesus) in ‘bright light blue’. Of particular notice I want you to tune in to the later part of verse 28. Notice that unlike electing a church leader of our liking, or with qualities we feel are important, God invested His very own personal interest in providing us a ‘perfect and eternal’ Hight Priest, by sending His very own Son – One who is a vital part of the triune God and who acts on God’s behalf. He didn’t want us to settle for second best, He gave us His very own so that we might be drawn to Him. This is the ‘real thing’ friends, have you surrendered your life over to this ‘perfect’ High Priest? This was a huge sacrifice by God, we should respond by accepting this ‘gift’. In my ‘Footnote’ I have offered tips on how you might go about this, based on the written Word of God. Be prepared, friend. God could call you home at anytime, and I want you to be ready to meet Him.

PRAYER: Father in heaven, thank You for making provisions for my eternal future with You. Thank You for helping me to look beyond those that I respect in our church pulpits, and coming directly to the foot of the cross, asking for Your forgiveness and accepting Your ultimate sacrificed made on my behalf. You are a merciful and loving God, having shared a vital part of You so that I might become one with You. Thank You Lord! Please touch the hearts of Your children today so that we might be drawn to You in all humbleness and faith, and in great expectation of one day kneeling at Your feet and worshipping You for all eternity! Thank You for Jesus, our perfect High Priest! Please help us to sample our lives after Him so that we too might be an example to others that we come into contact with, and who also needs You. I am amazed by Your love! I ask all this today in the wonderful name of Jesus, our perfect High Priest, and Your loving Son, 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 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!

Business as Usual Won’t Cut It

On 2015-04-102015-04-10 By Ed AlgreenIn Forgiveness, Joy, SalvationLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – Hebrews 7:11-19): ^11-14
If the priesthood of Levi and Aaron, which provided the framework for the giving of the law, could really make people perfect, there wouldn’t have been need for a new priesthood like that of Melchizedek. But since it didn’t get the job done, there was a change of priesthood, which brought with it a radical new kind of law. There is no way of understanding this in terms of the old Levitical priesthood, which is why there is nothing in Jesus’ family tree connecting him with that priestly line.

^15–19 But the Melchizedek story provides a perfect analogy: Jesus, a priest like Melchizedek, not by genealogical descent but by the sheer force of resurrection life—he lives!—”priest forever in the royal order of Melchizedek.” The former way of doing things, a system of commandments that never worked out the way it was supposed to, was set aside; the law brought nothing to maturity. Another way—Jesus!—a way that does work, that brings us right into the presence of God, is put in its place.

THOUGHTS: This appears to be a complex passage for a layperson to try and explain to anyone, or give you the theological meaning of, so I won’t try to do that!! However, I am a firm believer that God’s Word is in place for us to meditate on and allow God’s Holy Spirit to minister to our hearts so that we may be drawn to a closer relationship with the Father. Here’s how this impacted me: I was reminded recently that to understand a passage, try and picture the audience for whom it was written, the time in which it was written and by whom it was written. So for a brief moment, let’s think about the audience, a people who had been used to the leadership of Levitical priests. Then came this new priesthood of Melchizedek, who was radically different to anything the people were used to – a perfect analogy of the ‘priesthood’ of Jesus Christ, the One known as our great High Priest; our spiritual leader; our mediator with God the Father! I believe that God prompted me to share that we must be careful about allowing anything or anyone to be our sole leadership spiritually. Not the church – no matter how much we love our church; and not the pastor/priest/bishop/etc – no matter how much we respect and love them. For, although we should take the teachings of the church and our leaders to heart, what really matters is our personal relationship with the Son of God – Jesus Christ. To have a relationship with Jesus, we must go before Him in reverence and fear, Admit that we have sinned and desperately need a Savior; Believe that Jesus is God’s Son and only He who can forgive us of our sin; and Confess that we can do nothing to save ourselves, short of accepting Him as Lord and Savior. Yes, confess our unworthiness, but seek after His righteousness. Friends, we are told in God’s Word, that no tradition taught by our ancestors could facilitate our righteousness or relationship with Jesus Christ, it is only through us personally Admitting; Believing and Confessing of our sins that we totally surrender ourselves to the lordship of Jesus Christ. Yes, this may be very radical for some who have followed various traditions over the years, like the Israelites did with the Levitical priests, but let me challenge you to examine the Word of God and validate this for yourself, then take the appropriate action to sure up your eternal salvation. Jesus loves us dearly, sacrificially and wholeheartedly. There is nothing greater He would desire of us than to know that we have accepted His great love for us. Do it today friend, before it is eternally too late.

PRAYER: Thank You Fathpossibility for us. As with the Levitical priests back in the day, and with our various denominational beliefs and practices today, they attract us to follow their various twists on what they understand from Your Word, however You clearly made a way for us to come straight to the source – the only Biblical way for us to be saved from our own sinful selves. Thank You for Jesus. Thank You for the cross, but thank You even more that Jesus arose – an expression of the true life that we have in You when we become one with You. Please help us to be a people of the Book, so that we may be led to be servants of Your Son Jesus, who will lead us to all Truth with lives pleasing to You in every way. Our churches and our pastors/leaders are excellent resources for us to grow in our relationship with You, but continue to impress upon us that our true strength comes from You, and it’s You that we should live for every day of our lives. Thank You Father, and I ask that You hear my cry, increase my joy, and answer all my requests today so that I and my readers may be drawn closer to You now, and throughout eternity! AMEN!

Nuggets From God's Word

Tag: salvation