Tag: Savior

Jesus Will Never Give Up On You!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Jesus Loves you, LoveLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – 7–9 Just think—you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all! All God’s gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that. ~ 1 Corinthians 1:7-9 ~ The Message (MSG)

THOUGHTS: I am excited in being reminded of how special I am in God’s eyes! Wow!! But I am not alone in this, for this scripture refers to the special provisions for all those who have accepted Jesus as Savior. That’s you Brother, and yes, you Sister! Now because I believe it is just like God to provoke someone to read this devotional today who is incapable of understanding the same joy in this passage that I find, I would ask that you kindly allow me to highly recommend that you contact me, or any other Bible believing Christian, so we could introduce you to the author of the book from which I extracted these verses. He’s the One referred to throughout these verses as the provider of all good and perfect gifts in store for those who have called on Jesus and surrendered their lives to His care. Friends, I could never expect to benefit from the estate of a very rich unknown person, because I am not a son. In other words, I’m a stranger. However, for those of us that have accepted Jesus as Savior, we are sons and daughters of the King. So these are some of the exciting promises found in just this small clip from His Word:

  • We are in need of nothing!
  • God has provided for our every need until He returns to take us home to glory with him!
  • We have reason to be excited about our future, in spite of how dismal things may appear here on planet earth, for our Lord will come back for us to take us out of this evil world, to join Him in the glories of heaven, in just the right time!
  • Our Savior will NEVER GIVE UP ON US!!!!

To my friends who can’t expect to benefit from this wonderful promise because you are a stranger, and not a part of the family of God, may I remind you that as long as you have breath – and know that you have absolutely no promise of your next breath, but while you can, please consider reaching out to Jesus, asking for His forgiveness of your sin, and ask to become a part of His intimate well-loved family. Jesus has a soft heart for sinners who want to sincerely make a change in their lives. He sacrificed His life so that all who asks may become children of God, so of course that includes you! He has not given up on you friend! This can be the most exciting Thanksgiving for you and your family! Please consider becoming part of the family of God.

PRAYER: Father, what an awesome privilege to call You ‘Father’! Thank You for accepting me as an integral part of Your family! Thank You for all of the promises wrapped up in these verses! Who is mere man that You should be so loving and kind to us? We’ll never know, but thank You for loving us anyway Jesus! Lord, I believe that there are many that will quickly read over this devotional whose ‘love tank’ is probably sucking air, because they don’t feel at all loved by You, or anyone. I pray that You would use the words of Your servant above to trigger a change in the heart of a reader today, or of a family member because of the prayers of Your children. Thank You for being my Father, my Savior and my Redeemer. To God be all the glory, honor and power in my life today, 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!

Loving Jesus and Willing to Follow Him

On By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, Follow Jesus, TransformedLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – 19 ….Then he said to Peter, “Follow me!” 20 Peter turned and saw the follower Jesus loved very much walking behind them. (This was the follower who had leaned against Jesus at the supper and said, “Lord, who is it that will hand you over?”) 21 When Peter saw him behind them, he asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?” 22 Jesus answered, “Maybe I want him to live until I come. That should not matter to you. You follow me!” ~ John 21:19b-22 ~ Easy-To-Read Version (ERV)

THOUGHTS: All of our lives we are trained to think about the other person and not be selfish, but I believe you will note in this scripture today that there comes a time in life where Jesus calls for our undivided attention to what He is saying directly to us. In this chapter of John’s gospel, Jesus had just questioned Peter about HIS relation – HIS love for the Master. Jesus got so personal with that question that He asked it of Peter 3 times. When we repeat a question like that, usually we are trying to make sure that we have the person’s undivided attention, and by the second or third time we ask it, the person is really questioning to himself if he truly understood the question, or if the hearer is doubting his answer. You might remember that this is the same Peter who will deny Jesus three times while Jesus hangs on the cross, even though Peter told Jesus ahead of time that he would be with Him right up the very bitter end. As for how we might normally handle this type of question, I believe it all depends on where we are at and in whose presence. At church, where we are surrounded by a crowd of fellow Christians. I bet we would easily respond in the affirmative to Jesus, as we listen for a loud ‘Amen’ from those around us! But how would our response differ if we were asked the same question by Jesus at work; or at the football stadium where folk all around us are drinking and partying? Would we be as quick to respond affirmatively? However, this was not the only sobering thought of this scripture. As indicated already, imagine if the question Jesus asked Peter was asked of us individually in a crowd. Can’t you see us looking around for support, before we respond? “Come on church, let’s respond collectively”, we might say. Imagine Jesus stopping your parade and saying “wait a minute young man/lady, I am looking for a personal response from you only. May I hear your heart’s response, in spite of what you feel the rest of the church/co-workers/theme park crowd might say collectively with you”. Friends, this is exactly what Jesus did to Peter, for He told me that He was more concerned that he (Peter) would follow Him, even if no one else did. What about you friend? If you were singled out like that, how would you respond to Jesus? Are you at that place in your relationship with Jesus that you will respond, based on your heart, and not what you think the crowd would like to hear? Friend, I would encourage you to join me in solidifying our relationship with the Lord. This could be the day that He decides to take one or all of us home, and I don’t know about you, but I really want to know that Jesus was pleased with my life while here on this earth. That I stood firm in my faith and in my witness for Him. I pray that this would also be the desire of each reader.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You stayed true to Your mission right up to Your time on the cross. Like us, I believe that Peter stayed true to you, but he and us, we are so easily swayed in our decision making, that the crowd (Satan) may easily find a ‘soft spot’ and distract our thoughts and commitment to You. Lord, we are so weak. But praise to Your glorious name, You are so strong. So Lord, we come to the solid ‘Rock’ today pleading for Your strength in our commitment; our boldness; and our witness – regardless of the environment or crowd that we might be in. Please help us to remain strong. For those reading this who have not made a personal decision to accept You as their Lord and Savior, I ask for clarity in their minds so that they might recognize the priority of accepting You as Lord, before following the crowd to ask a total stranger for help. Please impact the lives of Your children today, so that we might stand firm in our faith. May our transformed lives be so sincere, that the lives of others will be transformed when they ‘rub shoulders’ with one of Yours today. For I ask these things in the strong name of Jesus, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com 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!

So You May Believe!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Believe, Disciples, John, Miracles, WitnessLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – 30 Jesus did many other powerful works in front of His followers. They are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. When you put your trust in Him, you will have life that lasts forever through His name. John 20:30-31 – New Life Version (NLF)

THOUGHTS: I believe that in most cases in this life we quickly learn whose words we can trust, because often friends will either add on for emphasis, or simply tell their story so dramatically in order to gain our attention to what they are saying, that many parts of the story is simply placed in there and may not be in line with the truth of the story. I could only imagine that like me, you quickly discern who you have to listen very selectively to, and who you can trust with the whole truth. I remember my dad telling me that if a person has to swear by someone or something when telling you a story, be very careful as that story is probably riveted with lies! Similarly, many people will exaggerate so much in quoting quantities, until I sometime feel like I need to sift through a conversation to determine the real truth! In the gospel of John, we read so many facts about he and his fellow disciples interacting with Jesus, that one could very easily walk away feeling like they may have been present during the events described. I would strongly encourage my readers to take time to read the 20th chapter of John, and to closely examine the actions and words of those that visited the tomb of Jesus. Bear in mind that these were Jesus’ closest friends and followers. Can’t you imagine the content of their prayers leading up to this time, after seeing their Master taken from them, beaten beyond recognition, crucified on an old wooden cross in a public setting and buried in a borrowed tomb? Remember that these prayers were going up to the same One that they attributed multiple healings, bodily resurrection, and many other miracles to. Yet when they saw the miracle of resurrection, again they were flabbergasted. This story, combined with multiple others, which were only a small portion of all the events they witnessed throughout their time with Jesus, yet these things were written down by John for the specific reason written in our key verses above. John wanted to show us what it was like for he and his Brothers to be around Jesus, and how He made a believer out of them. He wanted us to have faith in the same Jesus, who was key in the stories shared with us, so that we might also become focused on Jesus, that we would also become a believer in Jesus, and surrender our lives to Him. John knew that as we are transformed, that we would go on to share our story of this same Savior that rescued us from damnation and the destination of Hell, and that Jesus would use our story to also impact lives for Himself. How are you doing with that friend? John’s story became a part of the best-selling Book in history. How do you suppose Jesus will view your story, and your effort to broadcast it to those within your realm of influence?

PRAYER: Father, You were faithful, You were miraculous in all Your works while in the presence of John and Your disciples. Your plan included the death and resurrection of Jesus to resolve the issue of redemption of our sin, as we seek Your face. You had a very strong influence in the lives of Your disciples. However, with all honor and praise to our risen Lord, we know that You are still in the miracle working business, the greatest of which was transforming the life of a sinner such as I into the likeness of Your very Son, Jesus Christ! So undeserving, yet You love me as a son of the Most High. Father, please provoke a desire into the lives of my readers, my family, my friends and myself to tell our story of Your wondrous works to which we have been a party to or at least a witness. Lord You are so good! We have every reason to share Your goodness with everyone we come into contact with who may not have accepted Your grace and Your offer of salvation yet. May this be a day that others will be transformed because of Your gracious transformation in our lives. Lord, I believe. Please help me to share that with all who may not have reached that state yet – all being for Your full glory and honor. For I ask this in faith, and through the gracious name of Jesus, my Savior and 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 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!

A Person Of Integrity – Godly Characteristics

On By Ed AlgreenIn Character, Determination, Example of Christ, IntegrityLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – 1 Who can live in your tent, Lord? Who can dwell on your holy mountain? 2 The person who lives free of blame, does what is right, and speaks the truth sincerely; 3 who does no damage with their talk, does no harm to a friend, doesn’t insult a neighbor; 4 someone who despises those who act wickedly, but who honors those who honor the Lord; someone who keeps their promise even when it hurts; 5 someone who doesn’t lend money with interest, who won’t accept a bribe against any innocent person. Whoever does these things will never stumble. – Psalm 15 – Common English Bible (CEB)

THOUGHTS: I believe that most of us strive to do things right, or pleasing to those that we hang around! However, in the Christian’s walk in life, we have a greater power that we aim to please, for as children of God, knowing that God went to the extreme of giving up His only Son for us, we look to His Word for guidance on how we believe He would like for us to live. With that knowledge, how then should we live, so that our integrity would not be in question? The Psalmist actually rehearsed this for us, or shall I say that God gave us this guidance through His servant David! I am not questioning your ability to read these characteristics for yourself friend, but I am merely rehearsing them to myself, and sharing that process with you! Here’s what I see in this Psalm:

  • We must have a pattern of life that is blameless – This word means genuine, free from moral or ethical spots, corruption, and inconsistencies, though not morally perfect – since this is humanly impossible. In other words, such a person is a man or woman of upright integrity (Job 1:1).
  • Our actions must reflect righteousness – We must live in harmony with God’s will and standards.
  • We must speak the truth sincerely – rather than being double-tongued, saying what is true some of the time and lying at other times. Concocting stories against others so that we might look better. (2c).
  • We must not slander other people – by saying things that are untrue and destructive about them. I think of gossiping, and backbiting. (3a).
  • We must not do evil to our neighbor – (i.e., those that we come into contact with, (3b); Prov. 14:17–24).
  • We must not initiate or circulate information that would discredit others (3c). This shows intent to harm others.
  • We must not approve of those who turn away from the Lord – we must not approve of sin, or disregard for the things of God or His principles. (4a).
  • We must honor those who choose to follow God’s ways (4b) – encourage them, pray for them and help them succeed in the ways of the Lord.
  • We must keep his promises even when it costs us to do so (4c) – of course this is not financial cost, but it may be at the cost of losing certain friends, or perhaps losing a promotion at work, or something similar.
  • We should not charge interest on money that we loan to our Christian brothers – this could very easily lead to us taking advantage of their weakness (5a; Exod. 22:25; Lev. 25:36).
  • We must not accept a bribe that might lead to hurting an innocent person – for although this may be to our own advantage, it may bring hardship on others (5b; Deut. 27:25).

Friends, David concluded that this type person will experience stability in his life as well as enjoy intimate fellowship with God. A believer needs to make sure he is walking in the will of God consistently to enjoy fellowship with God and stability in his life. Are you prepared to do this friend?

PRAYER: Lord, You are so patient with us. In spite of our weaknesses in caving in to life’s demands, You have shown Your precious and everlasting love for us. You have given us a lot to think about in this Psalm today Lord, for it has hit on many of our weaknesses. However, You have also reminded us throughout Your Word how gracious You are to guide us and lead us into Your righteousness, when we have a desire to do so. Please touch Your children today so that we might find a new determination in this Psalm to go on and be even more committed in our walk, our righteousness and Your will for our lives. We need so badly to be more like You in every way, so that those that we come into contact with may be transformed into Your likeness. May this be a day that those who have still not made a choice to follow You will gain strength from You, and see every reason in our walk and talk to follow through in accepting You as their Lord and Savior. I ask these things in the strong name of Jesus, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com 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!

What will you do with Jesus?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Acceptance, Forgiveness, SacrificeLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – John 19:4-6 – New Living Translation (NLT): 4 Pilate went outside again and said to the people, “I am going to bring him out to you now, but understand clearly that I find him not guilty.” 5 Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said, “Look, here is the man!” 6 When they saw him, the leading priests and Temple guards began shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” “Take him yourselves and crucify him,” Pilate said. “I find him not guilty.”

THOUGHTS: Pilate presented Jesus to the crowd and asked them what they wanted him to do with Him. Each weekend most churches/pastors will present the gospel and ask their congregations to respond to a similar question. Most of us leave our churches having said something very similar to that of the crowd before Pilate. Perhaps by our unresponsive action we are saying: hey, you may as well crucify Him, for we have this ‘life’ thing under control. I don’t need this Jesus interfering and telling me what to do or how I should act, or highlighting my wrongs. Perhaps we totally ignore the message, and the idea that Jesus is in control of us and all of life’s happenings. Perhaps we conclude that since Jesus is available, we could easily and quickly call on Him if, and when, we need Him. Friends, in and of our natural selves we have no desire for godly things. If we ARE alerted to the things of Christ, we are actually being personally admonished by GOD Himself. We NEED to listen and obey, not aim to crucify Him. We are about to enter into another weekend of church services. What will you do with Jesus? He loved you so much that He gave himself upon the cross of Calvary as a sacrifice for your sin, so that you might have the means of getting into heaven and the forgiveness of your sin. How will you respond to that?

PRAYER: Lord God, thank You for loving us so much that You showed evidence of that love when You allowed Your precious Son to suffer the disgrace of the people that insisted on His death. Lord, we are not a whole lot better, for we stand by and watch our family and friends ‘spit in Your Son’s face’ still today, when they are convicted by You, yet they turn away in rejection as if to say that they would rather reject Your unbelievable love and accept the horror and disgrace of the Evil One. They would never be so evil to an earthly friend who blesses them today, by turning their face and rejecting them in spite of their sacrificial giving to them. Dear God, please don’t give up on my family members, friends and coworkers who have chosen to follow the pattern of the cruel, unappreciative, jealous, unloving crowd mentioned in the scripture today. Please, Heavenly Father, bear with them a little longer. Please tender their hearts yet again to the fact that You showed Your love in very obvious and sacrificial ways. Their acceptance of that gracious gift is so valuable that it contains the keys to Heaven and an audience for eternity with the creator of this entire universe. We are truly a blessed people, to have such a loving God. Thank You dear Lord, and hear my plea yet again for those I love. For I ask this in the wonderful name of Jesus – the crucified, sacrificial lamb of God, 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!

How Dare You Criticize The Man of God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Church Leaders, Love, Obedience, RespectLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – Numbers 12:5-10 – The New Living Translation (NLT): 5 …the Lord descended in the pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle. “Aaron and Miriam!” he called, and they stepped forward. 6 And the Lord said to them, “Now listen to what I say: If there were prophets among you, I, the Lord, would reveal myself in visions. I would speak to them in dreams. 7 But not with my servant Moses. Of all my house, he is the one I trust. 8 I speak to him face to face, clearly, and not in riddles! He sees the Lord as he is. So why were you not afraid to criticize my servant Moses?” 9 The Lord was very angry with them, and he departed. 10 As the cloud moved from above the Tabernacle, there stood Miriam, her skin as white as snow from leprosy.

THOUGHTS: I would strongly encourage you to read the short chapter from which this scripture reference was taken, for it had a profound impact on me. Click on the scripture reference above and you will be taken to a place where you could read all 16 verses. You will get a better understanding in verse 3 why God took such a fierce stand against the sister and brother of Moses, for the Word declares that Moses was the most humble man on earth at the time. I believe this was included to help us understand that Moses would probably have loved his siblings regardless of what they may have said about him. What a humbling honor to be considered as the humblest man on earth, wow! Does that not automatically cause us to question ourselves and what we might do to be more humble in God’s eyes? However, this criticizing of God’s servant, truly angered God, and He dealt with it head on, and severely. He had Moses and his siblings go to the tabernacle, and there He called Miriam and Aaron to step forward as He was about to speak directly to them, and He wanted Moses to witness this. Friends, I want you to read verses 6 through 8 and imagine yourself in place of Miriam and Aaron for anything derogatory you may have spoken or thought about your Pastor or other called church leader. Don’t you know that these men have sacrificed their entire lives to any possible worldly success, when they surrendered to the call of Christ to serve Him in the positions He has blessed them with? Are we then not like Miriam and Aaron, where we are criticizing God for the man He has placed as His leader in our local assemblies? I would strongly caution you that we had better be very careful to pray for our leaders and their humbleness to closely obey God’s commands for His local church. Notice that there is no indication that Moses complained to God about the bad things his siblings were saying. God knew their hearts, He heard their words, and He subsequently reacted very harshly – not just with a tongue lashing, but actually imposed the ringleader (Miriam) with leprosy, which caused her to be placed outside of the camp (city) for 7 days, even in spite of Moses’ plea with God to heal her. Friends, we must learn from this that we must respect God and His called representatives – our church leaders. We must also learn that God loves His humble servants so much that He will stand in the gap for them. So if you are a called person of God and reading this devotional, please know that God has your back. Be committed to Him and serve Him faithfully, knowing that He will take care of the back-biting, gossip and ridicule. If God has truly placed you as His leader to His people, it is He who is more hurt by the backlash from His people, as they are really questioning His authority. May we all be found faithful and true to our Master, until the day He calls us home to glory!

PRAYER: Lord God, Almighty Father, thank You for the picture of love for Your humble servant, and the reassurance that there is no reason why You would still not protect Your servants even today. It is so easy to get caught up in complaining or whining about our leaders, especially when they don’t pat our backs just right, or say the things that we like to hear. Please help us to stay focused on Your Word, for I believe that as we do, then we will appreciate the words from the leaders You have placed in charge of ministering to us. Please teach us to be humble like Your servant Moses, and also teach us to follow Your pattern of obedience when it comes to our spiritual leaders. As church leaders, we badly need encouragement for boldness before Your people, yet humbleness to always seek Your face so that we can seek Your favor for Your people. As followers of Christ, please help us to always pray for, and encourage our church leaders as they seek to obey You and follow Your commands for our respective churches. You are holy and deserving of our praise, worship and honor, and when we do this, perhaps we won’t have time to ridicule and/or gossip about our Brothers and Sisters! I love You lord for who You are, and I ask these things in faith and in the name of Jesus my Savior, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

The Prayer of A Father

On By Ed AlgreenIn Prayer, The Father's LoveLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – John 17:13-17 – New Living Translation (NLT): 13 “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to this world any more than I do. 17 Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.

THOUGHTS: I believe that any reader will agree that our hearts are overwhelmed and humbled when we hear a parent praying for our wellbeing and success. In fact, we probably feel the same when any believer takes the time, and seems to be concerned enough about us to pray for us, or with us. Now, consider that our Savior is praying for us here in this passage of scripture! Can you even imagine how special that is? I want you to read the whole chapter for the full prayer, but look closely at this portion of Jesus’ prayer:

  • He is acknowledging to the Father that He has shared a lot with us so that we might be filled with His joy. These shared blessings are still available for us to meditate on as we read His Word today!
  • By speaking to His Father about the tough times we will face as His followers, He is comforting us in the fact that this is expected, because it happened to Him, therefore Jesus prayed for mercy for us as we face persecution;
  • He asked for our protection from the evil one, because He knew that we would be a target for our enemy, Satan;
  • He is reminding us through His prayer that although we physically reside in this world, we no longer belong to it, but we are merely ambassadors for Christ while we remain;
  • Jesus wanted us to know that He is concerned that we remain holy, just as He is holy. And the way to do this is through our ‘input’ in life – through the constant truth of God’s Word. Friends, if we feed our ‘input’ with God’s Word, we will express that in all that we do and say, as it will saturate our lives and our minds.

So this prayer is very much for our benefit, and it is very obvious of the love our Savior has for us, because it is very evident of the concern He has for our Christian walk and representation of Himself. Our Lord loves us friends, and He wants His very best for His children. Be encourage with that today! If you are reading this and realize that Jesus could not have included you in this prayer, because you are not His child. May I remind you that there is still time for you to change that? Check out my ‘Footnote’ for tips on how to accomplish this. You will find my contact information, and I would love to pray with you or counsel with you on any spiritual matter friend.

PRAYER: What an awesome picture, Lord God! To know that our Savior has prayed, and is praying for us. Wow, what a Savior! It seems impossible that You would think of mere man and love us enough to be concerned about our spiritual wellbeing! This is yet another reason for us to look at Your unconditional love for Your children! Praise be to God! Lord, please touch Your children again today and fill us with the boldness, wisdom and strength that we need to be a better witness for You today. May it be evident from our words and our actions that we have been transformed into Your likeness, so that lives that we touch today might be impacted for You. I so appreciate Your love, concern and prayers for me. Please bless my readers in amazing ways today and strengthen us all for the mission we will face today. I ask all this in the precious name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Our Basic Sin Revealed

On By Ed AlgreenIn Judgment, Righteousness, SinLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – John 16:8-11 – The Message (MSG): 8–11 “When he comes, he’ll expose the error of the godless world’s view of sin, righteousness, and judgment: He’ll show them that their refusal to believe in me is their basic sin; that righteousness comes from above, where I am with the Father, out of their sight and control; that judgment takes place as the ruler of this godless world is brought to trial and convicted.

THOUGHTS: In talking about the coming of the Holy Spirit, the third part of the trinity, Jesus told what His primary focus will be. He would expose the godless world’s view of:

  1. Sin – Scripture says that the basic sin of this world is their refusal to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. I firmly believe that this is still a huge problem even today. No matter how much we try to impose laws, or even Jesus’ commands upon people, this will all be meaningless if they refuse to believe in God and His precious Son. Therefore, I believe that the number one priority is to pray for unbelievers to see Jesus and to accept Him as Lord of their life. As Jesus indicated, when their basic sin is taken care of, all other sin will be properly dealt with under the lordship of their new father/leader, Jesus Christ. I believe that many of our churches today will be held accountable by God for the soft stance they have taken on the subject of ‘sin’. Trying to win someone to attend church or be a better person, without dealing with the core problem, will achieve nothing in the life of that person. Jesus saw ‘SIN‘ as a huge problem, the main problem, and until we decide to follow in His footsteps and do the same, we cannot expect to see our world get any better;
  2. Righteousness – This can only come from above, for true righteousness comes only from the Father. Being as good, or righteous as your pastor, even though he might be the best pastor, preacher, leader, friend that you have ever known, yet he is ‘man’ just as we are, and subject to the temptations of this world and subject to imperfections just as we are. Seek to gain your righteousness after God Himself, the only true ‘righteous’ one;
  3. Judgment – Often judgment passed down by our courts could be marred by man’s rules and laws. God is our final Judge, so it is Him that we must answer to and be held accountable to on all the things that we say and/or do. God knows all things, so unlike this world where a good attorney could look for ways to keep you out of judgment by the courts, this is not an option when you stand before our Judge – God and/or His Son Jesus Christ.

I believe that the basic responsibility of the church today is to support the work of the Holy Spirit in exposing sin. How’s your church doing? Please pray for your pastor to be bold in following this command. He won’t be popular, so he could really use your ongoing prayers and support. Encourage him at every opportunity.

PRAYER: Lord God, there is so much that we can praise You for! You are so worthy of our praise, our honor and our glory and our obedience! Thank you for being so forthright in Your Word and for giving us direction on what Your Holy Spirit’s primary ministry will be. I believe that You have shared this so that we might catch a glimpse of what’s important to You and therefore direct our work and our ministry in the same direction. Please use us individually, and corporately as a church to expose the world’s twisted view of sin, and to teach, preach and individually share with friends how critical it is that they come to know the only sin-less One – Jesus our Savior. With Jesus inside of us, how can we do anything but spread the good news and joy of being His child forever! To God be the glory for the great things He has done, can do, and will always do through those who love Him and seek to serve Him! I ask these things in faith, and 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 www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Evidence of Attachment or Detachment

On By Ed AlgreenIn Branches, In Christ, Reflecting Christ, VineLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – John 15:15-8 – The Message (MSG):     “I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you’re joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can’t produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Father shows who he is—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.

THOUGHTS: Throughout Jesus’ ministry He made it very clear that He only spoke what was given to Him by His Father, and He only did what was instructed Him by God also. Because of this it was virtually impossible to separate the character and work of Jesus from that of God. Now friends, let me be quick to say that in no way am I minimizing the work and uniqueness of the Trinity, for we could never explain the awesome work and power of that unity. But another way of relaying my point is that, if Jesus had acted differently from the Father, and went off on His own saying anything that came to His mind, would we truly look at Him as being inseparable from the Father? Would it be clear to us that He was on the same mission as His Father, or would we perhaps think that He had a totally different ministry to that of God? As ‘children of the King’, do you suppose that friends see us as being on mission for Jesus, or a rebel on a selfish or self-seeking mission, off doing our own thing, and attributing our connection to the Father when we find it necessary to try and validate our work? Friends, there is life, and power, and vitality in staying connected to our Savior, for when we do, we will not need to prove whose we are, it will be very obvious because of our obedience – and in spite of controversy, there will be miraculous results that can only be attributed to the power of God. We are merely instruments of God – servants in the work He has assigned to us. But remember friends, when we are detached from that power source, we are merely human pretenders who are so disjointed from God, that it will quickly become evident that we are total fakes, or ‘deadwood’, fit only for the bonfire. For those readers who have accepted Jesus as Lord, I hope that You will join me in seeking the face of Jesus and attaching ourselves so effectively to Him, that no storm or hardship will sever our graft to the Vine, and that our daily strength, protection and guidance will truly come from the Vine – the Christian’s true source of life, so that we may be worthy branches suitable for bearing fruit for the kingdom. If we are truly His, let’s commit ourselves wholeheartedly so that we may be of value to our Lord.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, I am so thankful that I serve a Savior who was obedient to our Father, that His words and His actions were those of the Father. Thank You for teaching us through Your humility; Your honesty; Your obedience; and Your love for Your Father, that You would never want to hurt Him by disobeying Him or trying to be independent of Him. Through accepting us as Your faithful servants; Your children; and Your followers, I believe that You have a strong desire for us to follow in Your footsteps and strive for obedience and total surrender to You, the ‘Vine’, so that You may nourish us (the branches) into usable vessels, worthy of being used to reach others for You (bearing fruit). Lord, it is very obvious that this sinful world in which we live, is in dire need of servants (branches) worthy of being used by You. Please inject us with a renewed desire to serve You wholeheartedly and to be so attached to You that Your love and power may flow freely through us. For those readers who will come across this and have not been introduced to the true ‘Vine’ yet, I pray that You will use this devotional to strongly impact them today. I humble ask all this in the precious name of Jesus, my true ‘Vine’ who brings everlasting peace, love and forgiveness to me daily, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or read through Biblical truths on How To Know Jesus, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com so that we can pray with you and give you help and or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Any words underlined above will indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, Sebring, FL! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

Who Do You Think You Are?

On By Ed AlgreenIn Example, Humility, Mortals, RulersLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE – Psalm 8:3-6 – The Good News Translation (GNT): 3 When I look at the sky, which you have made, at the moon and the stars, which you set in their places – what are human beings, that you think of them; mere mortals, that you care for them? 5 Yet you made them inferior only to yourself; you crowned them with glory and honor. You appointed them rulers over everything you made; you placed them over all creation:

THOUGHTS: I believe that most people who tend to be humble, would probably respond to the question “Who do you think you are?” by saying “Nobody”, because we tend to compare ourselves to many who seem to have their act together; or who are popular with the masses; or who are successful in their jobs; or who have, what appears to be, ‘perfect’ families – especially compared to ours. However, if we can get our noses out of Social Media, or out of computer screens or personal wireless devices, and take a good look at everything that God has created around us, then perhaps we might appreciate why David looked into the heavens and questioned God as to why would He think so much of mankind who, compared to everything else that God made, seem so imperfect and so easily distracted by evil, and who fail so often to follow God’s commands and desires. Friends, David did just this, for he records having looked into the glories of the sky long enough to admire its expanse, beauty and glory. He also recognized the moon and the stars – their perfection, their significance and of course, to just see them suspended in space. Yet our awesome, powerful and all-knowing God, created us – mankind, to be like Him and to be in charge of everything that He created. Can you even imagine how we could be rated so highly in God’s eyes? I wonder if the positive side of all this is just that God wanted folk, just like Him, to represent Him here on planet earth? To do the very things that He commanded, and follow the example that He set for us, so that like Him, we too might minister to the needs of others and lead them towards the knowledge and love of the Savior who died for them. I don’t know about you friend, but when I stop and consider how poorly I do in following Christ like He has commanded in His Word, I can hardly raise my eyes towards the heavens, for I am so ashamed of the ways that I must let my God down. In fact, if it was not for His love, and His promise of forgiveness, I wonder if I would even feel at ease approaching His throne. Friends, our God created us with an awesome purpose in mind. Let’s keep this foremost in our minds, and like Paul, let us set our eyes on the things before us, praise God for the awesome love that surrounds us, and let us press on daily to depend on Him more – with the goal of being more like Him in every way. Who are we? We are children of the King! We are very special and super loved by the Master of this universe! He’s our King! To God be all glory and honor, forever, AMEN!

PRAYER: Lord God, I thank You for creating me in Your image. There is so much to be done here on this earth so that no one will be left behind, for each one was made in Your image. I pray that my readers and I will draw closer to You today, so that we might be usable vessels here on this earth. We touch a lot of lives, so I humbly ask that You might anoint us to be worthy representatives that might impact lives for You. May we be more like You each day is my humble prayer that I ask in the name of Jesus, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com 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!