Is God Angry With You?

On 2016-02-02 By Ed AlgreenIn Humility, Prayer, Seek God's Face2 Comments

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

Today’s Bible Reference: 1 Timothy 2:1-4, 8
Today’s Bible Text: I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity. This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
⁸ In every place of worship, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.
The Bible Translation: The New Living Translation (NLT)

My Take Away: It wasn’t until I got over in to my Old Testament reading in Psalm 74 where God was being asked why was He so angry, that my eyes were opened to these verses that I had just read. You see, in verse 4 above Paul tells us that if we pray as we should, then God will be pleased. I am one that tends to take a verse like that and say, OK but what if we don’t pray like we should? The answer to that question was answered by the Psalmist when he realized that God was angry with His people. Friends, I believe that God is showing us in His Word today how important it is that we follow through in obedience to Him, His teachings and His commands. There are two main aspects to the prayer items that Paul taught Timothy as very important considerations when he ministered, and I believe these things are no less important today. Here they are:

Pray for all people – Start with yourself, then your family, your friends, your coworkers, your fellow church members, your enemies and then everyone else. Pray specifically that:

God will help them – live righteous and noble lives;
God will grant the desires of His heart, and your wish for them – intercede for them. Pray for what you know to be the desire of their heart;
Give thanks for them – yes, even your enemies! We are told to pile heaps of coal, or goodness, or love, or best wishes on them. God created them, and He looks on them just as He does on you!

Pray for your king, or your president, or your prime minister, or your queen – your national government head, and for all others in authority. – The Word encourages us to pray for them as we would pray for those in our first group.

In complying with the above, the Word says these are important so that we will live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity, as this pleases our God. Friends, may I encourage you to check your ‘happiness meter’ and determine if you are being faithful to what God demands of you? If you feel like God is not happy with what is going on, then I would encourage you to go back to step one above and follow through on the expectations of God. I found it interesting that these verses in 1 Timothy was labeled as ‘Instructions to Worship’! That tells me that we must breakthrough in prayer before we could get anything out of singing our praises or learning from God’s Word. I believe that it behooves us to ‘clear the air’ in our relationship with God and others before approaching our holy God. Then perhaps we will hear from God, and He will heal us, and our land!

Prayer: Father, Your Word is powerful and it impacts our lives every time we open its pages and read to understand Your desire for us. Please forgive us for constantly trying to do our own thing in ways that we think best. Without Your touch on our lives we are so unworthy, and we minimize ourselves to praying selfishly. You have made it clear today that unless we pray right, we will not gain Your peace, godliness and dignity. I can’t imagine what value we will be to anyone, without Your precious hand upon us oh Lord. We need You more today than ever before, because I believe that there are more distractions today than ever before. One thing that remains – Your constant love, and Your desire to see us be more like You in every aspect of our lives. Please continue to draw us to You so that we may be used by You to win the lost in our realm of influence. I ask all this in total respect of You oh God, and in the name of Your awesome Son, Jesus, AMEN!

Footnote: If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to www.nuggetsfromgodsword.org and read more, or you may freely to subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Highlands County, Florida area and do not have a church home, I would be thrilled to welcome you at Bible Fellowship Church, located at 3750 Hammock Rd, Sebring, FL 33872! Click the link to check out service times and/or other special activities. God is at work among us! Please consider coming to worship with us!

2016

God Wants You!

On 2016-02-012016-02-01 By Ed AlgreenIn Forgiveness, Salvation, SaviorLeave a comment

Today’s Bible Reference: 1 Timothy 1:14-17
Today’s Bible Text: Oh, how kind our Lord was, for he showed me how to trust him and become full of the love of Christ Jesus. How true it is, and how I long that everyone should know it, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—and I was the greatest of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as an example to show everyone how patient he is with even the worst sinners, so that others will realize that they, too, can have everlasting life. Glory and honor to God forever and ever.
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take Away: We hear about lots of evil that impact so many today, and we wonder when will God come to take us out of this mess. However, seldom do we stop and study what took place in the days of Jesus, and how His believers were impacted back then. We admire Paul as such a valuable servant of God, for we read about his bold witnessing, his imprisonment for witnessing in places where it was prohibited, and many other attributes of this saint of old. We are also blessed by the many writings of Paul in the New Testament. However, in these verses we are looking at today, Paul is reflecting on where God truly brought him from. For God stopped this persecutor of Christians right in his track, convicted him of his wrong doing (his sin) and showed him that through the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross, even he could be saved. I still hear people say today, what Paul must have thought and said back then, how could such an evil person as I (a sinner) stand a chance of being accepted by the pure and holy Son of God? Friends, I believe that God wanted me to share with you yet again today, that His Son was sacrificed on Calvary especially for those who question like this. For His sacrifice was made with full knowledge that we cannot save ourselves and, nothing, or no one else could stand in the gap for our sin, except the one true Savior, Jesus Christ. So there is no need to continue in sin dear friends. There just is no reason to continue carrying that load around any longer. Stop, drop and pray to the Father right now – right where you are at, admit your sin before Him, ask His forgiveness so that He could save you from your current path you are on to Hell. He WILL save you friend! Just imagine the thought of God sacrificing His only Son, and for us to reject that offer of love and continue on our journey to Hell. It must hurt our Father beyond anything we could imagine. He sent His Son so that all might be saved, so of course that includes you. Of course He desires a relationship with even you, for He loves you beyond anything words can describe, friend! Paul acknowledged that his changed life served as a witness to many others who needed Jesus. There may be others needing you to make your big step, to give them the boldness needed to move towards Jesus. Please don’t be a stumbling block for them.

Prayer: Thank You Father for loving us so much that You gave. It’s beyond me that You would give such a sacrifice for mere sinners – people You created to be like You, yet have chosen to do their own thing and live in total opposition to Your teachings, and Your will for their lives. Please forgive us Heavenly Father. Please forgive us for the lack of appreciation for the sacrifice You made Lord Jesus. Please soften the hearts of Your people today so that we might seek Your face, accept Your precious gift, and live according to Your will in full appreciation of all that You did for us. Lord, may this be a day of change for many, especially those who might stumble across this devotional today. I ask all this in the precious name of Jesus, my Savior and Lord, AMEN!

2016

Don’t Miss God’s Goodness

On 2016-01-302016-01-30 By Ed AlgreenIn God's Goodness, ThankfulLeave a comment

Today’s Bible Reference: Psalm 73:1-5
Today’s Bible Text: No doubt about it! God is good – good to good people, good to the good-hearted. But I nearly missed it, missed seeing his goodness. I was looking the other way, looking up to the people at the top, envying the wicked who have it made, Who have nothing to worry about, not a care in the whole wide world.
The Bible Translation: The Contemporary English Version (CEV)

My Take Away: I find life so interesting sometimes, for those who have – wish they had more, and they may even say that THEN they would be happier. For those who don’t have, they may look at those who seem to have material things as ones who are ‘blessed of God’. We have to be careful that we don’t get hung up on this friends, because when we do, we may very easily overlook what God has truly blessed us with. The Psalmist was caught in this trap, for he was looking at the blessings of others and feeling sorry for himself, like he was not blessed at all, just because he didn’t have what they had. It is truly amazing how spoiled we have become! If it rains, we have fewer people in church. Can you think about how blessed we are to have an automobile that can take us to church – dry from the outdoor weather! Can you imagine what our ancestors did who either walked or rode a horse to church, if they were blessed enough to have a horse? Think about us cancelling a church service because the air-conditioning may not be working! Would anyone show up if we planned a tent meeting? Friends, we must never place ourselves in the shoes of another man or woman, for we are rich in God’s blessings just as we are. Unless we center our thoughts on God, and recognize Him as the author of all things around us, we could very easily walk around in this world feeling deprived of God’s goodness – His blessings. Consider the air that you breathed in this morning, the ability to stand up and walk, the ability to see what you are doing, the love of family and friends that surround you, the comfort of your home – even if it is not as palatial as the mansion bragged about by a friend at work. Friends, without any worldly belongings, still we are blessed of God. Can we learn to praise Him for His awesome goodness to us, no matter what state we may find ourselves in? Let’s not overlook the goodness of God to us individually – in spite of what we see going on around us. If you have accepted Jesus as Lord of your life, then because He is King of all kings and Lord of all lords, that makes you an heir to His throne – you are a prince or princess – royalty! It just don’t get any better than that, and it all happens without even qualifying for a bank account!! Trust on the Lord friend, with all your heart, soul and mind, and prepare yourselves for the royal treatment! Read my ‘Footnote’ below if you have yet to surrender your life to Jesus. He is waiting and longing to hear from you!

Prayer: Lord, You are good and Your mercy endureth forever! How can we say thanks in enough ways to show our appreciation and gratitude to You for all that You do everyday for us? Please forgive those that You have created, those that You have blessed, those that You watch over and provide for everyday, for the times that we whine and complain because it may appear to us that a Brother or a Sister may show evidence of being blessed more than us. Wow, what an ungrateful bunch we are oh God. Please be patient with us while we come to our senses and recognize all of Your goodness towards us. May we seek and find reasons to praise You everyday for Your goodness oh Lord. May we truly recognize the Potter and how good You are to those You have molded in Your image. With a grateful heart, I give You thanks oh God. May You be praised today by a multitude of thankful people who recognize your goodness, AMEN!

2016

A Prayer For Our Leader and People

On 2016-01-292016-01-29 By Ed AlgreenIn King, Leader, Prayer, President, RighteousnessLeave a comment

Today’s Bible Reference: Psalm 72:1-5
Today’s Bible Text: Teach the king to judge with your righteousness, O God; share with him your own justice, so that he will rule over your people with justice and govern the oppressed with righteousness. May the land enjoy prosperity; may it experience righteousness. May the king judge the poor fairly; may he help the needy
and defeat their oppressors. May your people worship you as long as the sun shines,
as long as the moon gives light, for ages to come.
The Bible Translation: The Good News Translation (GNT)

My Take Away: With this being a year of election for my country to elect a new president, I believe that while we must be diligent to vote for the one God directs us to as our next leader, we must also be diligent to read God’s Word about what is expected of us (Christians) before, during and after our elections. For interspersed throughout God’s Word we are cautioned in each of these areas. In this scripture today, King David is praying for the Israelites’ new king, his son Solomon. I believe that if we take note of David’s prayer, and acknowledge that God had very good intentions and reasons for placing this prayer as part of His Word, and endeavor to pray similarly for our leader, then perhaps our people will humble themselves and pray, and seek God’s face. Watch how this prayer is all about our leader and us, being more like God and placing Him in His place over us. David prayed:

That the king would judge with ‘righteousness’;
That he would rule/govern with the same justice and ‘righteousness’ experienced from God, especially to the poor and oppressed;
That as a result of the above the people would enjoy prosperity and ‘righteousness’;
That the king would judge the poor fairly and be willing to stand up to the oppressors;
That the people would never fail to worship God today and all the days to come.

Friends, as children of God, I believe we are called to be living witnesses of what our God expects of us. I have just listed some ways that we are taught to pray for our leader and for our people. What do you suppose would happen to our country if Christians chose to pray like God expects of us, and to do it on a regular basis? Let’s remember this year that we are called to be Christ followers first. Let’s not get so carried away with worldly politics that the unsaved lose total recognition to whom we truly belong. The unsaved is looking for what God has done in our lives, not how little difference there is between us and the world. We are to be ‘light’ in this world of ‘darkness’. Please example, teach and preach the Word of God, even during a time when the world around us is so caught up in, what often turns out to be, the hatred and evil of politics. Please remember that God loves all of his children, not just us and our look-a-likes!

Prayer: Lord God, may Your people be Your faithful and true people even during a very passionate time of placing what we believe to be the right person in leadership over our country. May we be so faithful in prayer, trying to ensure that we hear your voice clearly, that we will not have time to step into the filth and ugliness of earthly politics. We are Your ambassadors looking to win as many to the kingdom as possible. May we not lose sight of that mission in things we say, write or portray, especially this year. You loved us in spite of our sin, may we in turn, show that same love to all Your children, by staying on mission for You, and not allowing the political views of the world around us to divide us from, or distract us in, our mission for You. I ask these things in love and because I want You to be foremost in our lives at all times, Lord Jesus, even during a year of elections. AMEN!

2016

You Can Do This!

On 2016-01-282016-01-28 By Ed AlgreenIn Confidence, Guidance, Provider, StrengthLeave a comment

Today’s Bible Reference: Philippians 4:11-13
Today’s Bible Text: I have learned how to get along happily whether I have much or little. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of contentment in every situation, whether it be a full stomach or hunger, plenty or want; for I can do everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power.
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take Away: I found it interesting to visit another country and see how people made the most out of circumstances that many of us may tend to moan and complain about. This was evident in:

The food we ate – simple, yet filling and nourishing. May not have been steaks or ribs, but none-the-less we never went to bed hungry;
The kids and their toys – they were just as happy kicking around a plastic bottle, as our kids are with the best football. In fact, they were probably happier than our kids because there was no jealousy about the nice ball brought by the rich kids, as they all were on the same ‘level playing field’;
No whining or complaining – we never heard them complain about their circumstances or their plight. They were happy, respectable, hard working and looked out for each other.

Unfortunately in today’s society, it is not until we have lost everything that we tend to look to accept help from a neighbor or receive help from them. It’s not until our world comes crashing down that we look to God. Our churches are normally full after a large scale disaster. We tend to look to God when we know that life is out of our control, instead of recognizing that He is always in control of our lives each and every day. Paul spoke these words as one who had been there and done that, for he had been beaten, shipwrecked, imprisoned, gone without food and more, yet he was able to add the tag that he could do everything that God asked him to do because of the power and strength that Christ blessed Him with at every turn in his life. Friends, this is the same awesome God that I know. The same outstanding God that is yours, if you have given Him permission to be your God. The same loving God that will be your God if only you will humble yourself and invite Jesus into your heart and your life. With God in control, we can do this thing called ‘life’, without ever looking at our circumstances, because we will realize and accept that all that He does for His loving children is done out of love and done to draw us closer to Him. You can do this friend! What are you waiting for? Read my ‘Footnote’ for a clearer understanding of how you might go about inviting Jesus to be the Lord of your life. He really loves you friend, and He really wants to be your God!

Prayer: Dear God, thank You for loving us so much that You gave, so that we might live eternally with You. Thank You for drawing me to Your throne of grace and mercy, and for accepting me as Your very own Son. I realize that when I complain about life’s circumstances I am really questioning Your handiwork. Please forgive me, and help me to always look at the love You offer to me every day and in so many ways. Please draw my unsaved family and friends to Yourself today. Please especially touch the lives of those who will read this devotional today, with Your love and Your power. Please cause them to make decisions today that will draw them to yourself. Please be a constant reminder to us that we can do all things You ask of us through Christ who is our strength, guide, protection and provider. I ask these things in the loving name of Jesus, and for His sake alone, AMEN!

2016

Fill Your Minds With……..

On 2016-01-272016-02-09 By Ed AlgreenIn Bless Others, The Mind of ChristLeave a comment

The Bible Reference: Philippians 4:8
The Bible Text: …. Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely, and dwell on the fine, good things in others. Think about all you can praise God for and be glad about.
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take Away: When a cup is filled with water, it replaces the air that the cup was filled with. When leaving your child at college, and you’re pulling out to head back home, what are some the last minute things that you tell your child? Paul was about to leave his brothers and sisters at Philippi, and he didn’t want them to fall back into the condition that he had found them when he first visited with them, so he was coaching them on how they might stay strong in the power of the Lord Jesus Christ. Imagine how the pastor who led you to the Lord would feel if he chose to leave your town and move elsewhere in the country? Don’t you know that he would have some wise words of wisdom for you? I believe that God got my attention in reading about Paul’s words to his people, because these are included in the Word of God for my benefit. God knows that I needed to hear this today, and I am sharing this with you, because I feel like God wants you to hear this. So friends, may I therefore encourage you to displace everything ungodly in your mind with these things:

Those things that are true;
Those things that are good;
Those things that are right;
Think about things that are pure, and lovely;
Dwell continually on the fine, and good things in others. Even in those that you have never been able to get along with;
Be diligent about looking for things you can praise God for; and
Be glad in all things because of the love of God for even you.

And the God of all grace will be with you dear friends, even until the end of time!

Prayer: Thank You Lord, for Your blessings on me! As I sing that song over and over in my mind Lord, I realize how blessed I am to be Your child and to be the recipient of Your boundless grace. These words of encouragement from Paul reminds me that the minds of Your chosen people should be filled with the bounties that You generously pour out on us. When this happens Lord, then our thoughts and our actions will follow our mindset and therefore cause us to be a blessing to others. In doing this, there will be no time or reason for saying or doing those things that tend to destroy and tear down the work that You need to do among Your people. Please soften our hearts and our minds so that we might seek Your face and not Your hand, as we always tend to do. I believe that Your work here on earth will be richer if we reflect Jesus in our lives. Please grant this today dear Lord, for I ask this in the precious name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, AMEN!

2016

Stay Focused On The Goal

On 2016-01-262016-01-26 By Ed AlgreenIn Accountability, Focused on the GoalLeave a comment

The Bible Reference: Philippians 3:12-14
The Bible Text: I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.
The Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take Away: Although our scripture quoted above are the words of Paul, I will seek my Master for strength to live out that same goal in my life! Will you commit to keep your eye on the goal of eternity with Jesus, friend, and will you go public with your goal? I know that some will think that we can’t do this, because it may come across as bragging, or proud, or better than most. Friends, may I encourage you to not listen to the excuses Satan will place in your mind about this. If you aim for nothing, that’s exactly what you will achieve. I would encourage you to go even one step further: instead of just sharing your goal with others, go on to use even more of Paul’s tactics. Later in this same chapter, Paul told his followers that they should follow him. Now before you criticize Paul, I want you to think of the impact of that statement. For he never wanted to hear or see his followers pointing fingers at him for preaching one thing, but doing another. This is called ‘accountability’. It reminds me of Christians who refuse to place a Christian based bumper sticker on their vehicle, because they don’t want the driver behind them to hold them accountable for their actions – speeding, passing on a solid line, pointing fingers at a driver that made a mistake, etc. Fellow Brothers and Sisters, it is time that the public recognizes from our actions who our Master, Provider, Deliverer, Director and Example is. God not only has the power to save us from our sins, promise us a mansion in His dwelling place (heaven), love us unconditionally, and much more, but He also grants us the desires of our heart, especially our desire to walk, talk and act like Him before an unsaved generation. However, our God is a perfect gentleman and He will not just dump all this on us without our permission. If you are tired of your life of sin, ask Him to forgive you and accept you into His kingdom. If you desire a closer walk with Him, talk to your Father and ask for His guidance. If you desire to ‘stay on track’ daily in your walk with the Lord, don’t think for a moment that it will be easy and that you could handle that on your own. Seek the face of Jesus, plead your case to Him and accept His outstretched hand that is filled with mercy, direction and power to lead, direct and guide you through every circumstance of life. He will help you reach your goal, if you have one, but you must ask Him and allow Him to help you. Paul was specially blessed of God, but so can we also be blessed friends, for we are children of the same God – the King of all kings!

Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for living out such an example of purity and obedience in Your life here on this earth. Thank You for the grace that You gave to Your servant, Paul. Just as You totally turned his life around, and just as You gave Him the power to live his life dedicated to You, I pray that You would also do that again in the lives of my readers and I who are focusing on the goal – our life with You and the Father in glory! Thank You for grace! Thank You for mercy! Thank You for the assurance of our future home with You! This is way too exciting to keep all bottled up inside, may we share our joy with others today and be accountable for the life we claim in You. These things I ask in the name of Jesus, and for His ultimate glory, AMEN!

2016

The Value of Knowing Jesus

On 2016-01-25 By Ed AlgreenIn Know Jesus, SalvationLeave a comment

The Bible Reference: Philippians 3:8-9
The Bible Text: Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him.
The Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take Away: I love the illustration Paul used to show how much he valued the relationship he had with the God of this universe. A few months ago my family and had the daunting task of moving out of our home of 27 years into a much smaller accommodation. We had to evaluate all of our earthly possessions to conclude that each item either: 1). Must go with us – meaning we had to find space for it in our smaller accommodation, or 2). We would hold on to the item in storage until we decide if we would ever need it, or are willing to dispose of it, or 3). We could no longer see a need to hang on to the item, and were willing to sell it or give it away. Think about that, together with the mindset of Paul, who was once a valuable resource to earthly kings and nobles, because of his readiness to destroy anything or anyone attributing its value to Jesus Christ. What Paul did could be likened to the example given above about my personal experience, dumping everything we once had, and starting from scratch. Paul did this in giving his total allegiance to Jesus Christ, without the possibility of any interference from anything he may have owned in his past. Paul said that he ‘dumped it all in the trash, so that he could fully embrace the unencumbered grace of Christ’. Friends, it was not until my family and I came to the place that we realized that our earthly belongings was merely ‘stuff’, and added no value to our eternal destination, that we were able to commit to our move. Paul is teaching us in this passage that it is not until we are willing to make Jesus the primary focus in our lives, that we would truly embrace Him and be embraced by Him. Jesus went to the cross with only the wrappings around His body, but He did it because of Him supernatural love for us, and to provide the means for the forgiveness of our sin. How much are you willing to sacrifice today to truly enhance your relationship with such a Savior as this?

Prayer: Jesus, You are my King – my soon coming King! Thank You for humbly following the Master’s will, to prove Your love for myself and all mankind who would choose You as the focus of our lives. You gave it all for us oh Lord. Please use this reminder by Paul to help us examine our motives and our intentions. Whether we choose to publicize our decision like Paul did, or whether we commit one-on-one with You, I pray that at the end of the day we will reflect back on the decision we made. Each day we make decisions, some are very deliberate and very firm, while others are simply made by doing nothing at all and being satisfied with status-quo. Touch Your children today oh God and cause them to deliberately make decisions that will draw them to Yourself and to a glorious promise of one day being with You in heaven. I love You Lord and I thank You for first loving me beyond my wildest imagination. These things I ask in the name of Jesus, the Christ, AMEN!

2016

The Reason I Live

On 2016-01-202016-01-20 By Ed AlgreenIn Evangelize, Living with purpose, PurposeLeave a comment

The Bible Reference: Philippians 1:20-24
The Bible Text: ²⁰For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that will cause me to be ashamed of myself but that I will always be ready to speak out boldly for Christ while I am going through all these trials here, just as I have in the past; and that I will always be an honor to Christ, whether I live or whether I must die. ²¹For to me, living means opportunities for Christ, and dying—well, that’s better yet! ²²But if living will give me more opportunities to win people to Christ, then I really don’t know which is better, to live or die! ²³Sometimes I want to live, and at other times I don’t, for I long to go and be with Christ. How much happier for me than being here! ²⁴But the fact is that I can be of more help to you by staying!
The Bible Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

My Take Away: Of special note regarding this scripture: Paul is in prison at the time of this writing! So if Paul has the fortitude and determination to live so that He could do more of the Master’s work, even from within four prison walls, how much more those of us who are ‘free’ should be striving to do the Master’s work? Friends, we whine and we complain about so much, but do we should really have the heart of Jesus, or of Paul, in wanting to see as many won to the Lord as possible? In the above scripture, I bolded a few sentences that, I believe, is worthy of note:

Living means opportunities for Christ – it is only while we have breath in our bodies that we can be witnesses for the Lord, or care about sinners. Let’s not wait any longer friends, we’re on the winning side and it is our responsibility to share the Good News of our Savior and Lord;
Living will give more opportunities to win people to Christ – Often we will find that it’s the threat of impending death that gives us incentive to share the love of Christ that lives inside of us. Please allow me to awaken you to the fact that we have no assurances about the next minute. The moment of opportunity is the present. Please share the love of Christ who lives inside of you with all that you care about and/or come into contact with today!
I can be of more help to you by staying – Only Jesus Christ has power beyond the grave. He is allowing us to remain here on earth so that we can glorify Him and spread the Good News about the Savior who loved us enough to die for us. In a nutshell friend, this is our mission!

Friends, we remain on this earth to be shining examples of our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not about politics, gossip, sports, the lotto or any other purpose, so make it known to everyone you know that the reason you live is to represent Jesus, and to evangelize the lost, before it is eternally too late.

Prayer: The reason that I live is …….. Lord, as we complete that sentence today in humility and prayer before You, I ask that You will take those completed sentences and correct any misgivings about our mission, compared to the one You have assigned to us. I am pretty convinced that our mission is similar in nature to what Paul shared with the Philippians, because throughout Your Word we are told the importance of surrendering our lives to You, so that we, in turn, may be a blessing to others and convince them of their need for our Savior. Please work on us today and guide us to do Your perfect will, is my sincere and humble plea. For it’s in Your beautiful and bountiful name that I ask all this, dear Jesus, AMEN!

2016

God Will Prevail!

On 2016-01-192016-01-19 By Ed AlgreenIn Deliverer, Ruler, The love of God, The power of GodLeave a comment

The Bible Reference: Judges 2:11-13; Philippians 1:12-14
The Bible Text: (Judges 2:11-13) The People of Israel did evil in GOD’s sight: they served Baal-gods; they deserted GOD, the God of their parents who had led them out of Egypt; they took up with other gods, gods of the peoples around them. They actually worshiped them! And oh, how they angered GOD as they worshiped god Baal and goddess Astarte!

(Phil 1:12-14) I want to report to you, friends, that my imprisonment here has had the opposite of its intended effect. Instead of being squelched, the Message has actually prospered. All the soldiers here, and everyone else, too, found out that I’m in jail because of this Messiah. That piqued their curiosity, and now they’ve learned all about him. Not only that, but most of the followers of Jesus here have become far more sure of themselves in the faith than ever, speaking out fearlessly about God, about the Messiah.
The Bible Translation: The Message (MSG)

My Take Away: I was impacted by two passages of scripture, and both made me reflect on the types of individuals that my God made, and allowed to exist here on earth. In the first scripture we see where the Israelites thought they had everything figured out, so they lost sight of God and worshipped false gods instead. Now look at us – ever noticed how full our churches get after a disaster? For a few Sundays after the 9-11 disaster, our churches were filled. However as soon as folk felt like they were safe to return to their sinful lifestyles, church-going took an unimportant place in their lives. Friends, have you ever stopped to ponder why we hear so many concerns about what appears to be doom and gloom whenever we hear groups talking? Wouldn’t you think that just as God got upset at the Israelites for straying away from Him and worshipping other gods, that He is very likely to also get upset at us for turning our backs on Him? Especially when we really trusted Him to see us recover from the disasters, but soon afterwards wanted nothing to do with God or His body of believers? God declared war on the Israelites, and He even worked against them in their battles. Could He be doing the same thing in our country, our state, our cities, our churches and our families? But look at Paul’s testimony. He was thrown into prison for his beliefs and his bold testimony of what God had done in his life. Ordinarily we would consider that a write-off, for we would think that Paul, or any other Christian in a similar position today, would be silenced and unable to continue witnessing for the Lord. Paul shared in our second scripture that God was able to use him even more in the prison environment – praise the Lord. I have a good friend in a similar scenario, and God is actively using him in the prison system. Friends, I would challenge you today to never give up on God. Never turn your back on Him, for He can use you in every scenario of life, if only you will let Him. Remember, whether it’s through the times when you feel on top of the world and see God actively involved in your life, or times when you are calling on God, but feel alone in this world, God will prevail, and He could easily prevail in all circumstances of our life, if we will let Him. God WILL prevail! And we will also, if we allow God to rule, reign and operate in every circumstance of our lives. Try it friend! What do you have to lose, when you have eternity to gain?

Prayer: Father, please forgive us for so easily giving up on You and instead grabbing the reins ourselves to create such an awful mess for ourselves. Please forgive us for our littleness, and our attraction to the things of this world, rather than remaining faithful and strong to You. Please touch the lives of Your children who will read this devotional today. May they gain strength from Your Word, and may their eyes be opened to the awful effects of sinful and disobedient actions, as shown in Your Word today. Lord, You alone are worthy and so deserving of our praise, while we are so needy and so dependent on You in every aspect of our lives. Please hear our cries today as we seek Your face and desire Your precious hand upon our lives. I ask these things in faith and in recognition of who You are, in the strong and wonderful name of Jesus, my Lord, Savior and soon coming King, AMEN!

2016

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Tag: Savior

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