Maturity in Your Salvation

On 2015-05-252015-05-25 By Ed AlgreenIn Follow Christ, Humility, MaturityLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (New Century Version – 1 Peter 2:1-3): ¹ So then, rid yourselves of all evil, all lying, hypocrisy, jealousy, and evil speech. ² As newborn babies want milk, you should want the pure and simple teaching. By it you can mature in your salvation, ³ because you have already examined and seen how good the Lord is.

THOUGHTS: I believe that a very basic difference between an infant and an adult is that the infant is totally dependent on others, while the mature adult has experienced a lot, and looks for ways to share their experiences and/or knowledge with others. If we’re not careful, often we (adults) will become so independent that it becomes challenging to listen to advice and or follow good, sound advice. There are so many references in the Bible for us to consider the ways of a child, that I believe God is telling us to get over ‘self’ and be willing to listen to Him and or other saints that He may place in our path. Through Peter, God is warning us today that we should rid ourselves of some obvious sins that tend to impact our need for Him and/or His teachings. These include: all kinds of evil (think about this as a soiled garment that you should shed); all lying, all hypocrisy; all jealously and all evil speech. On the last item, I once heard: from the heart, the mouth speaketh. If your heart is full of Christ then You will speak of the One who was crucified, arose, and lives inside of us giving us hope and anticipation of one day living eternally with Him. I believe another way of saying this is that what’s inside will come out in our actions and/or our speech. In our group Bible study yesterday we learned from James 3:13-18 what we should look for in identifying our worldly actions vs our godly actions. I would urge you to read those verses in conjunction with this study today, because the sooner we could recognize Satan’s effect on our lives, the sooner we can realign ourselves with God and draw close to Him. When I think of maturing in our faith, I think of us realizing the futility in trying to solve all of the issues of the world ourselves, but instead realizing our dependence on God, who has proven Himself to us over and over again throughout our Christian life. So friends, I believe this is a message for all Christians today, let us shed off our cloak of evil, let us draw close to God, allow Him to draw close to us, and let’s be willing to stop and listen to Him as He works out His will and way in our lives. It is only then that we will be of any godly good to others.

PRAYER: Lord God, You are merciful to us, in spite of our littleness, our weaknesses and our selfish attitudes. Thank You for loving us in spite of ourselves. Thank You for Your Word that is so alive and applicable to our lives every day. There is so much to be done with this child of Yours, and I am pretty sure that there are many out there in similar condition to myself. So Lord, I place myself at Your feet once again today and pray that Your perfect will might be accomplished in me, so that it might also be accomplished through me, and have an eternal impact on those that I come into contact with. I have a strong suspicion that my readers might all be in a similar condition today, so I pray for their total surrender and obedience also. Lord, we are Your hands and Your feet on the ground here, may we represent You well, and without wavering. May You be exampled in our lives so that the unsaved might catch a glimpse of Jesus. Like a baby, I need You Every Hour. Like an adult, I need Your wisdom, protection, direction, love and boldness to touch lives in the same way that You have been merciful to me. I ask these things in faith, and in the awesome name of Jesus, my Lord and 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 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!

Help In Seeing The Good in Your Trials

On 2015-05-222015-05-22 By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, Surrender, TrialsLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The New Living Translation – 1 Peter 1:6-7): ⁶ So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. ⁷ These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.

THOUGHTS: We must be extremely careful not to doubt our salvation when we, as Christians, have troubles and trials arise in our earthly lives. Think about it friend, if we didn’t have these, what kind of witness would we be to those who need a Savior. For God would not have opportunity to show the unsaved how gracious He truly is to His earthly servants, and the handiwork of His miraculous hands in the lives of His children. Secondly, if we were spared from trials, how might we experience the graciousness of God to be especially loving, caring and powerful in helping us to overcome these things that are way beyond our reach and/or resolution? In this scripture today, this analogy is compared to the proving process used in the precious metal ‘gold’. For when it is brought to extreme heat, it is maximized in strength and durability. Likewise, when we face trials, it’s not that God doesn’t love us or care for us, for it is then that He is preparing us for battle, or to use the phrase of an old TV star, God is preparing us for the ‘big one’! Probably the most challenging thing for us to do, is to praise God, even in the midst of our trials, because we understand, and have faith to believe that He is strengthening us. Friends, when we say that we are Christian and we truly believe that we have placed our hand in the hands of the Almighty God, we must then hang on for the ride of our lifetime, knowing that we are under His control, His protection and His will, knowing full well that He loves us way too much to see any harm or hurt impact us. Can you imagine the admiration and pride that must come across the face of Jesus when He looks on His creation (us) and see us living in full submission to Him, and we finally get the scripture that indicates – all things work together for good, to those who love and have surrendered their lives totally to Jesus? My challenge today is first of all for self, that I may be totally surrendered to the Savior and allow Him full control over my life. Only then can I truly desire to see each of you do the same. However, for yourself, if it’s to be, it’s up to you! Therefore align yourself with the Lord of all lords and the King of all kings, who loved you enough to personally sacrifice His very best so that You might trust in Him, handle life’s circumstances and look forward to spending eternity with Him in glory!

PRAYER: Father God, I adore You, I love You and I praise You for who You are and for all that You have helped me through already in my short life. However, You have taught me through Your Word that I am not perfect, so I surrender my total self to You today and pray that You might use me in ways that might allow Your kingdom work to increase and flourish here on this earth. I am equally concerned for my friends who will read this devotional today, for I always want Your very best for them also. Please satisfy every doubt or weakness in commitment and/or total surrender. Please provoke decisions in their personal lives that will cause Your name to be lifted high and every soul be drawn closer to You in full obedience. May we learn to celebrate You in all aspects of our lives, even when going through tough times. You alone are worthy of our praise in all aspects of our lives, so I worship You and ask all these things in Your precious and holy name, Lord Jesus, AMEN!

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!

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!

If You… Then God will…

On 2015-05-182015-05-18 By Ed AlgreenIn Humility, Near to God, PurifyLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – James 4:8, 10): ⁸ Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Clean up your lives, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you people who can’t make up your mind……… ¹⁰ Be humble in the Lord’s presence, and he will honor you.

THOUGHTS: God loves us unconditionally, but there are some things that He will not do unless He is invited/asked, or until He recognizes our seriousness in asking, by doing our part. Let’s think about this in everyday living. We may love to have company in our home, but unless we invite friends over, or unless we open the door to let them in when they arrive, we will never have friends in our home. God designed us with our own free will, and He respects that so much that He will not intrude into our personal space, or our lives, unless we invite Him to and accept Him with open arms. God is very aware of those times that our mouths may say one thing but our heart feels differently. So while we may say, especially in church, that we want God in control of our lives, but deep inside we expect to hang on to the world, or at least our worldly traits, then this verse is clarifying that God is very willing to wait on drawing close to us until He knows that we seriously want Him to be intimate with us. Friends, unlike other relationships where you may say one thing and mean something differently, remember that with God you are dealing with your very Designer and Creator. He knows how you are put together and He knows the intent of your heart. To meet the conditions placed in vs 8, we must wash our hands and our divided hearts (our inner attitudes and motives) by confessing our sin and repenting of our sin and asking God’s help to remove the filth of sin from our lives. Our hearts are divided when we want to hang on to our worldly desires (sin) yet we know we need a Savior and want to receive His blessings. Friends, this act of surrendering life as you may know it today, for a life fully committed to Jesus Christ, requires a deep humbleness and a total surrender to the lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Is it worth it? I can irrevocably say that after some 40 years of walking with the Lord, I cannot imagine how I would have handled life without the awesome love, protection, care and concern of my Savior, for He Walks with me, and He Talks with me, and He Tells me I am His Own! My life is complete know that Jesus is in control! I would urge you like James did in these verses, to draw close to God and enjoy His presence as He draws close to you!

PRAYER: Lord God, thank You for loving a sinner like me so much that You actually sacrificed Your very own Son so that I might have a way, and the means, to receive forgiveness of my sin, resulting in the promise of life everlasting with You! What a glorious day that was, when You called me to Yourself, and what an even sweeter life this has been with You in control of my life while here on this earth! Thank You Father! I have many family members and friends who have not seen the value of making this important decision yet in their life, so this morning I plead with You to tender the hearts of these ones and all those who will read this devotional with doubts and/or uncertainties about their relationship with You. May Your miracle working hand touch their lives today, incenting them to draw close to You and accept You as Lord, so that You may draw close to them and bless them in miraculous ways. Please have Your will and way in their lives so that they may rid their minds of any divisiveness, and therefore completely surrender to You. I humbly ask all this in the wonderful and all-powerful name of Jesus, my Savior and Lord, AMEN!

How to Shoo the Devil Away

On 2015-05-162015-05-16 By Ed AlgreenIn Humble, SurrenderLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Contemporary English Version – James 4:4-7): ⁴ You people aren’t faithful to God! Don’t you know that if you love the world, you are God’s enemies? And if you decide to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God. ⁵ Do you doubt the Scriptures that say, “God truly cares about the Spirit he has put in us”? ⁶ In fact, God treats us with even greater kindness, just as the Scriptures say, “God opposes everyone who is proud, but he is kind to everyone who is humble.” ⁷ Surrender to God! Resist the devil, and he will run from you.

THOUGHTS: Isn’t it interesting how we get so fed up with Satan, but yet we are unwilling to change anything about our own character and/or life to change that? I was drawn to these verses, especially after just reading Ezekiel 20 – which I would encourage you to read if you are touched in any way by this passage in James. For God gave the Israelites rules and instructions on how to please Him and live together in peace and harmony. After the parents failed, God attempted to help the children become different in their endeavors, but they also failed, and faced destruction. Here in James, God saw where the problem was continuing and He once again gave instructions on how children of God can draw closer to Him and resist the devil. Friends, I would dare say that even in our day, after all that has gone on before us, we still are faced with selfish motives and greed, to the extent that old Satan is attacking us from every side. Unfortunately this appeal especially pertains to Christians, because Satan fears that we may be too involved with Jesus Christ. In this scripture, James is warning us that our relationship with God is weakened when: a). We are unfaithful to God; b). We love the world; c). We are God’s enemies, because He will not reside where sin abounds; d). We doubt the scripture too often and try to handle obedience to it under our own terms; and e). We are proud – assuming that there is something personally that accounts for all we have accomplished or are enjoying. Friends, the return of Jesus is near, and the Bible is clear that we will either face a welcoming smile from our Savior, or we will be turned over to Satan, because of our disobedience and lack of regard for the Savior who died to bring us life everlasting. Are you successful in shooing Satan away? Are you prepared to totally surrender your life to Jesus Christ and allow Him to save you from your sin, and guide you into life everlasting in His presence? If it’s to be, it’s up to you! Please read the help in my ‘Footnote’ on how to make a change in your life. The benefits are ‘out of this world’!

PRAYER: Thanks for being so patient with us dear God. I can’t imagine how our lack of appreciation, and lack of desire to please You, must hurt You, especially considering all that You have done for us and our ancestors. Thank You for Your forgiveness, Your undying love and Your amazing grace. Thank You for loving us in spite of our failures. I pray that You will especially ignite a renewed fire within the lives of my readers and myself, so that we may totally surrender ourselves to You and subsequently reap the rewards of being a child of the King. Oh how I look forward to one day being in Your holy presence and worshiping before You in person! Please impact the lives of my readers and I today, is my humble and sincere prayer that I ask in the name of Jesus, the Christ, AMEN!

Where Does Your Wisdom Come From?

On 2015-05-152015-05-15 By Ed AlgreenIn Godly actions, Wisdom, Worldly actionsLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (Easy-To-Read Version – James 3:13-18): ¹³ Are there any among you who are really wise and understanding? Then you should show your wisdom by living right. You should do what is good with humility. A wise person does not boast. ¹⁴ If you are selfish and have bitter jealousy in your hearts, you have no reason to boast. Your boasting is a lie that hides the truth. ¹⁵ That kind of “wisdom” does not come from God. That “wisdom” comes from the world. It is not spiritual. It is from the devil. ¹⁶ Where there is jealousy and selfishness, there will be confusion and every kind of evil. ¹⁷ But the wisdom that comes from God is like this: First, it is pure. It is also peaceful, gentle, and easy to please. This wisdom is always ready to help people who have trouble and to do good for others. This wisdom is always fair and honest. ¹⁸ People who work for peace in a peaceful way get the blessings that come from right living.

THOUGHTS: I praise God for the wisdom expressed through His servant-writers in the Bible! These few verses help us to identify which of our actions are Godly, and which are not. For certain actions reveal a Godly form while some actions show our old carnal ways. I know, some may think that because we are Christian, those carnal ways are gone. May I remind you that we are ‘a work in progress’, for as long as we are left here on this earth, Satan will give a constant fight to distract our walk for the Lord. So friends, have a look at the following list, taken straight from this scripture today, and based on your own actions, determine the source of your actions, and which ones you still need to seek God’s help with:

Worldly Actions		Godly Actions
Boasting (a lie that hides the truth)		Humility
Proud		Pure wisdom
Selfish		Peaceful
Jealousy		Gentle
Instigator of Confusion		Easy to please
Every kind of evil		Always ready to help people in trouble
		Doing good for others
		Always fair
		Always honest

Verse 18 tells us that as we seek God to help us attain the actions in the right column, we will receive true blessings! I would challenge my readers and myself to pray, and work diligently on eradicating our ‘Worldly Actions’ and to ‘press forward towards the goal’, as Paul said he was, to become more like our Savior every day, by living out ‘Godly Actions’. If we persist, then one day, with God’s help, we will consistently produce truly Godly Actions every day. Let’s strive to minimize Satan, and maximize God, in our lives every day!

PRAYER: Lord, you never said that life here on this earth would be easy, but You clearly promised that You would always be with us! We know that You have the power to do ALL things, and we know that You have the power to overcome Satan. Please remind us of this any time we struggle with those actions listed in the left column above. I believe that You want us to succeed in being like You, and I know that You have the power over Satan, so Lord I ask that You strengthen us for every challenge. May it be obvious that You are in control as we show signs of success in these areas of our character. In the interim period, please teach us to be dependent on You as we strive to honor Your Word and be obedient to Your teaching. Help us to squish Satan and those worldly actions in our lives, so that we may be bold witnesses for You while permitted to stay here below. I ask these things in the precious name of Jesus, my Lord, AMEN!

Small, But Powerful!

On 2015-05-142015-05-14 By Ed AlgreenIn Blessing, Hurt, TongueLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Message – James 3:7-12): ^7–10 This is scary: You can tame a tiger, but you can’t tame a tongue—it’s never been done. The tongue runs wild, a wanton killer. With our tongues we bless God our Father; with the same tongues we curse the very men and women he made in his image. Curses and blessings out of the same mouth! ^10–12 My friends, this can’t go on. A spring doesn’t gush fresh water one day and brackish the next, does it? Apple trees don’t bear strawberries, do they? Raspberry bushes don’t bear apples, do they? You’re not going to dip into a polluted mud hole and get a cup of clear, cool water, are you?

THOUGHTS: It is unfortunate, but in spite of the warnings by James, it seems like we have paid little attention to his words. Still today, we are finding where many are being blessed by the good things that come from our lips, but yet we are also seeing friends hurt by the things that we say without regard to their feelings and/or implications to their reputation, and/or the chances to convince them to follow our Lord and Savior. James is telling us to do a self-check, because we can’t possibly deliver blessings using a small instrument in our body – the tongue, and also with the same instrument deliver bitter words and hatred. He likened it to a spring where we would never expect to see fresh and brackish water come forth from the same spring. Also as part of our inner check, James has challenged us to consider how friends we are witnessing to would never expect to see us righteous and holy one minute, and the very next minute see us being a bull-headed, cruel, mindless, thoughtless, abusive and hateful person, spitting forth evil and hurtful words. He likened this to a tree that bears only one type fruit. I believe the sobering part of this whole discussion and exhortation by James, is that God knows the ‘real’ us. We may try to convince people of our goodness, but God knows all about us. Friends, we must be sincere every hour, every day and with every word that comes forth from our mouth. If we truly belong to Christ, then every word and every action must exemplify Him. How are you doing friend? It’s a constant battle for me, which leads me to the cross daily for much needed help. Are you a child of the King and can go directly to the throne for help? If so, please surrender your thoughts and your entire life to Jesus daily for His guidance and blessings. To be like Him – speak like Him and act like Him, you must be closely attuned to Him. Bible Study and prayer is two very important habits that will draw you closer to God and tune your ears and mind to His powerful touch. If you have not surrendered your life to Jesus’ control, please read through my ‘Footnote’ and follow the links for the help offered. With God’s help, we can do ALL THINGS for His glory!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, each day I want to grow stronger in You and become more like You. To do this, I am reminded that I must give You full control of my most inmost being, because I believe that from the heart the mouth speaks. So Lord, although it’s my tongue that I particularly want You to have ultimate control over, I also know that it is of even greater importance that I give You total control over my heart, mind and soul. Clean on the inside will produce clean and wholesome words on the outside, but this can only be achieved with You in total control of my life. Please take control dear Lord. I’m yours! Please speak to hearts of all my readers that may meditate on this devotional today. May they be impacted by You, for I ask all this in the precious and worthy name of Jesus, my King, AMEN!

Evidence of our Faith

On 2015-05-132015-05-13 By Ed AlgreenIn Evidence of Faith, FaithLeave a comment

THE HOLY BIBLE (The Contemporary English Version – James 2:14; 21-23): ¹⁴ My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don’t do anything to show that you really do have faith? Can that kind of faith save you? …… ²¹ Well, our ancestor Abraham pleased God by putting his son Isaac on the altar to sacrifice him. ²²Now you see how Abraham’s faith and deeds worked together. He proved that his faith was real by what he did. ²³ This is what the Scriptures mean by saying, “Abraham had faith in God, and God was pleased with him.” That’s how Abraham became God’s friend.

THOUGHTS: Ever noticed how we evaluate people to determine who they truly are? After a short meeting with, or introduction to, someone, generally we can come away with our minds set on who they are deep inside. James is getting a similar point across to us in these verses today, for He tells us that if we truly have faith, there will not be a need for us to tell folk that we have it, but that it will shine through in our actions. The example given by James is a mind opener on this subject. Imagine Abraham exercising his faith in God to the degree that he is headed to the place of sacrifice prepared to place his own son on the altar to be sacrifice, because this is what God ordered him to do. Imagine doing something like that, being assured that God will work out something for His good, if we follow His command! Friends, I believe that this story is pure evidence that the faith of Abraham was far greater and convicting to him than any earthly possession. Matthew Henry said in his commentary on these verses: “This place of Scripture plainly shows that an opinion, or assent to the gospel, without works, is not faith. There is no way to show we really believe in Christ, but by being diligent in good works, from gospel motives, and for gospel purposes.” I truly believe that we are tested each day on our level of faith, and by the end of the day we can analyze how much of what we said or did was based on our faith in God and dependence on Him, versus how much was a result of our selfish will for our own selfish purpose. I believe the question to ponder today is, “do we truly believe in God?” If so, “Why do we not exercise sufficient faith in Him to prove our faith in, and dedication to Him” If we never said a word to our coworkers about our Christianity or belief in God, would they know by our faith that we are a Son, or Daughter, of the King of all kings, based on our expressed faith?

PRAYER: What a mind-sobering thought for us today oh God! We say with our lips that “we believe in You”, but is our faith truly evident and noteworthy to those that we come into contact with? What’s inside of us will truly come out when we face relatives, friends and coworkers who have gained knowledge of us through everyday dealings. I wonder, have they seen through my actions alone that there is a God, or that I am controlled by, and encouraged by, the very God of this universe? Please help my friends reading this devotional today, and myself, to truly put our heart where our mouth is. It is very easy to say at church, or in the presence of fellow Christians, that we are ‘Christian’. May our hearts be so affected by Your grace dear Lord, that our actions will overflow with the abundant faith of our hearts, and may You be glorified if this faith is recognized by anyone, because it’s all about You Jesus. I ask all this, in faith, and in the wonderful name of Jesus, my Lord and soon coming King, AMEN!

Nuggets From God's Word

Tag: Savior