Tag: Savior

Here’s Why Jesus Was Born

On By Ed AlgreenIn Caring, Celebrate God, Christian, Christian Principles, Christmas, FaithLeave a comment

Thursday, 2018-12-06

Bible Reference: John 18:37
Translation: Easy-To-Read Version (ERV)

Bible Text: ^37 Pilate said, “So you are a king.” Jesus answered, “You are right to say that I am a king. I was born for this: to tell people about the truth. That is why I came into the world. And everyone who belongs to the truth listens to me.”

OBSERVATION: Jesus taught us great lessons throughout His ministry. In this Scripture today, when Jesus was being tried by the authorities, He still showed His compassion; His calmness; and He declared His whole purpose for coming to this world. I wonder what we would say is our whole purpose on earth?

APPLICATION: At different stages of our lives we may have sat and declared what our purpose in life is. For example, the transition from high school or college into the working world, you may have committed to be a doctor or an accountant, etc. When you got married, you made have declared what kind of spouse you would be. When you got saved, you may have promised God a drastic change in your lifestyle or in your habits. But was there ever a time that you declared what your whole purpose in life is…..? You see, Jesus was known as ‘Truth’, and for that reason we can measure absolute ‘Truth’. I sincerely believe that the Truth that Jesus spoke of here is the absolute Truth that He represents in being God’s precious Son. In other words, looking at Jesus and hearing His words, were just like seeing and hearing His Father – God. With that in mind, what is the real truth that others experience in you? Do they experience with you, what they really hear from you? Do you have to tell them that you are a Christian, or do they see that in you, and hear that from the words that you speak? As ‘little Christs’, our aim here on earth should be much like that of Jesus – to represent Him completely; honestly and wholly, so that the world may know and believe in the One who saved us from our sin and condemnation. To the unbeliever reading this blog today, let me assure you that God loves you also, and He wants you to come to Him believing in His precious Son. Seek His forgiveness my friend and give Him control of your life. He would love for you to experience His love; His forgiveness; and His caring – just like a real loving father would do for that very favorite son or daughter.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I pray that Your love will shine so strongly through my life that it will be evident to the world that You are having an awesome impact in my life, then may You be glorified by all that I come into contact with. Thank God for the grace and power expressed through His gracious Son. Thank You Jesus for accepting me as Your gracious son. May I represent you as well, so that others may see and believe. AMEN

Always Be Ready To Share

On By Ed AlgreenIn Acceptance, Accountability, Acknowledge God, Allegiance to the Lamb, Answered Prayer, Awesome God, Faith, HopeLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2018-12-05

Bible Reference: 1 Peter 3:14-16
Translation: Easy-To-Read Version (ERV)

Bible Text: 14 But you may suffer for doing right. If that happens, you have God’s blessing. “Don’t be afraid of the people who make you suffer; don’t be worried.”[a]15 But keep the Lord Christ holy in your hearts. Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have.16 But answer them in a gentle way with respect. Keep your conscience clear. Then people will see the good way you live as followers of Christ, and those who say bad things about you will be ashamed of what they said.

OBSERVATION: Peter wanted to be sure that followers of Jesus Christ be prepared for the questions that folk will ask of us, especially when they see us acting and speaking differently to the majority of individuals they will come into contact with. In other words, if someone special resides inside of us, then His character will be revealed through us. Nothing to be ashamed of, and it should be nothing for us to brag about, but when we are asked ‘why?’, we should always be prepared to answer them about the hope that is ours, who know Jesus as Lord and Savior!

APPLICATION: Over and over I’ve seen friends whip out their wallet, or their phone, to show a photo of the latest thing that brought joy to their life – perhaps a baby boy, or a granddaughter, or a son-in-law! I have a coworker who always responds to a greeting with the words “I love my job”. He has a response that make me smile, and makes me proud of him everytime we greet each other. I wonder how willing, or prepared, or quick, Christians might be to respond truthfully about the root cause of happiness; joy; expectation or hope that is being expressed through them? I would challenge those of us who know Jesus as Lord to ensure that each day we have a fresh encounter with our God. Talk with Him – through prayer; Listen to Him – through His Word; Be guided by Him – as we ask for His direction in all decisions known and unknown that we will face today; and Praise Him – through expressing gratitude and honor for all that He has done for us. Please be careful to recognize Jesus as the healer, deliverer, guide and everlasting Father that He is. It will be so easy to follow the way of the world and attribute your ‘blessings’ to luck, or medical staff, or good friends, or the knowledge of man, and while these are awesome in their own way, our faith and our hope lies in the One to whom we belong. Friends, let’s be willing and ready to give an answer to anyone about the hope that we have. In fact, let’s be careful to give the same answer to our friends as we would give to God about our hope!

PRAYER: Merciful Father and all powerful God, thank You for choosing to work in my life. Oh though so unworthy, still I’m a child of the King! Lord, help me to not only sing that song to myself, but freely and willingly share that with others that may ask about the hope that I have. Oh that You might be glorified in and through all saints that allow You access, and ask for Your help today oh Lord, AMEN!

Love Beyond Human Understanding

On By Ed AlgreenIn All have sinned, All-powerful, Ask and Receive, Awesome God, Bible Believing, Love, Love God, Merciful Savior, Obedience, UnconditionalLeave a comment

Tuesday, 2018-12-04

Bible Reference: Psalm 144:1-4
Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

Bible Text: ^Bless the Lord who is my immovable Rock. He gives me strength and skill in battle. 2 He is always kind and loving to me; he is my fortress, my tower of strength and safety, my deliverer. He stands before me as a shield. He subdues my people under me.   3 O Lord, what is man that you even notice him? Why bother at all with the human race?[a] 4 For man is but a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

OBSERVATION: Most often we expect love in forms that we might consider showing love ourselves. Therefore, when we recognize the love of God, we are blown away. David was in one of those ah-ha moments in our Scripture reading today, for he recognized that God’s love was not dependent on his strengths, abilities, or whether he deserved it or not. Let’s look deeper into this awesome love that God displayed for David, and that He has for us.

APPLICATION: I believe that we will all agree that it is somewhat easy to return love to someone for the love that they show towards us. Conversely, I believe it is not our usual nature to return love to someone who has been downright rude to us, and may have even shown hatred towards us in some form. To sum this up, I believe we could easily say that we most often return love, in response for the love shown towards us. So how is that different with God? Let’s start with this example of David. As a young man, he was held back from battle by his dad, because he (David) was his dad’s prized child that he loved unconditionally. David was used as a messenger to go and deliver food and supplies to his brothers, but as he arrived on the scene he found a standoff between the Philistines and his home team. The standoff was mostly controlled by a giant, named Goliath. Having been directed by God to fight many other ‘giants’ out in the field while protecting his sheep, David was astounded that his brothers and the rest of the Israelite army were allowing this to stand in their way. So in our Scripture today, David had a time of meditation with the Lord in preparation for taking on this giant. Child of God, let us meditate on the ‘giants’ in our lives today. Do we have the kind of relationship with God that we could stand before Him with the same courage that David did? Have you stopped to ponder why the God of this universe; the God who created each of us and everything else around us, would care enough to listen to us and act on any requests we may have for Him? Why who do we think we are? Have we been exceptionally good in praising God for every blessing, every day? Have we loved Him enough in return for the unconditional love that He showed our Brother David, or showed on the cross for our benefit? Who are we that He should even love us and care about our welfare? Friend of God, please know that our God is a God of love. I believe that He would have sent His Son as a baby, if we were the only one on earth that needed a Savior. I believe that He would have bore the pain of crucifixion if our sins were the only ones needing to be cleansed. Just like David, I am awestruck daily to imagine that God would love even me, but I know He does! Praise God! For the unbeliever who may be reading this blog today, please know that my Savior also loves and cares about you! Surrender your life to Him and allow Him to show His unconditional love to you today, won’t you? Please go on to read my Footnote and allow God to work in your life friend!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, knowing that I’m a child of Yours, gives me confidence to know that You love me unconditionally and that You would move anything aside to ensure my safety, security and ultimate destination stays in tact. But why me Lord? There are so many that have done so much more for the kingdom, but just like David, I stand before You today in amazement that You would love and care for even me. Lord, there will be others who will read this blog today that need to know You personally and in a very real way. Please consider their plight and draw them to Yourself. Oh that they may surrender themselves unconditionally to You today, is my humble prayer. AMEN!

God’s Discipline

On By Ed AlgreenIn Accountability, Actions, Believers, Born Again, Church attendance, Clean Heart, Cleanse me Oh God, Discipline, RighteousnessLeave a comment

Thursday, 2018-11-29

Bible Reference: Revelation 3:19
Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

Bible Text: 19 I continually discipline and punish everyone I love; so I must punish you unless you turn from your indifference and become enthusiastic about the things of God.

OBSERVATION: I am reminded that discipline comes in many forms, and from almost every person in authority over us. Jesus (the Amen, as referenced in several translations) saw the need to say this to the church at Ladocia because they ‘sat on the fence’ – they were not hot, or cold. For they said they were servants of God, but they didn’t allow Him to be God in their own lives. Could God be bringing this to our attention today so that we may closely examine our own lives, and that of our own churches? 

APPLICATION: From a very early age, good parents will discipline their children, as a way of stopping wrong doing, and guiding children towards the right way to act and do things. As children mature, they go to school and teachers are forced to instill discipline in their lives also. As young adults, they then find the need to test the systems outside of the home and school systems. So law enforcement and the courts come into play. Then they enter the work environment, where supervisors or managers take responsibility for guiding them as adults, and holding them accountable for their actions. Imagine what a parent will do if the young man who just landed a job, went home one evening and ignored everything his parents asked him to do around the home? In fact, all that he learned in growing up seemed to have drained out of the young man, for he is also ignoring his manners, respect and chores that were assigned to him. So the parents are looking at their son from birth, yet his attitude has changed into something they just can’t identify with. They want to love him, because of his ‘sonship’, yet they don’t want to reward unappreciated, rotten  behavior with their precious love. In our Scripture, Jesus is looking at a church that He gave up His very life for, yet He is disappointed at their disregard for His teachings; their refusal to participate in a number of church meetings that were designed to grow Christians; their withdrawing from certain activities that particular families are a part of, because they just don’t like them. Imagine the lack of appreciation Jesus must feel, knowing that He loved the church so much that He freely gave up His life for their good, and for their victory in overcoming the world’s weaknesses, and living with the promise of eternal life in heaven with Jesus and His Father? Do you suppose that He would be tempted to spew them out of His mouth, and possibly start over with a new group that may show signs of hope? What kind of discipline do you feel might be most appropriate for a church such as I described? Do you feel that you would be one who is caught up in the worldly actions described, or one of the few that may be praying for God to help them clean up their mess and live righteously before a holy God? Friends, I would encourage you to look inward before criticizing the church at Laodicea, or trying to pin the actions I raised on certain individuals. Does Jesus see an individual with a clean and contrite heart, filled with His righteousness, and appreciative for all that Jesus did for the church, when He looks intently into your heart? Precious Lord, may it be so for myself, and for many who will read this devotional. Please teach us to alway seek the truths of Your Word, and to humbly obey Your teachings.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for giving wholeheartedly of Yourself so that we might be saved from the attractions of this world. Thank You for helping us to look with joy at the realization of heaven and the wonder of the King of all kings and Lord of all lords, welcoming us home as a ‘son’ or a ‘daughter’! Our hearts are overwhelmed with joy over the promise and expectation of this, as we patiently await Your return to take us home with You precious Lord. Please ‘jerk our chain’ as we lose sight of whose we are, so that we would never be tempted to stray away from the commands of our General – our Lord and Savior. Thank You Lord for loving us enough to bring us through this challenging world with our eyes fixed on You. Please help us to maintain ‘tunnel vision’, so that the things of this world will grow strangely dim, in the light of Your glory and grace! AMEN!

God Knows Your Heart ……… And your Love for Him

On By Ed AlgreenIn All-powerful, Believers, Bible Believing, Bless Others, Blinded by Sin, Christ's Representative, Christ-Like, Christian Living, Christian Principles, Church, Church LeadersLeave a comment

Monday, 2018-11-26

Bible Reference: Revelation 2:4-5
Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

Bible Text: 4 “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! 5 Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first. If you don’t repent, I will come and remove your lampstand from its place among the churches.

OBSERVATION: In this book of Revelation, God is speaking to the seven churches about their condition, and the subsequent result of their condition. For the church at Ephesus, God was pleased with some aspects of their ministry, but in these two verses we can see where God is getting to the root of their ineffectiveness. Let’s pay close attention to this, because I believe we will find God speaking to us about our own respective churches as we study this Book.

APPLICATION: From time to time we hear of many churches that fail for various reasons. Often we will hear of churches declining at such a rate, that it will only be the matter of time before they are forced to close their doors. Friends, churches are made up of folk like you and I, so when we say that our church is failing, I believe that we are really saying that we have become a sorry people. I know, that sounds really harsh. But allow me to challenge myself and you with a few sobering questions: When last have you prayed for your pastor? When last have you attended prayer meetings, to join hearts and souls in prayer about the needs of God’s people? Do you tithe and give generously to the work of the local church? Just like you need money to run your home, so the church needs money to pay salaries, and other operational expenses, plus support worldwide missions. When last have you visited the sick or helped the widow in need? No, that’s not the responsibility of the pastor, for we all should be obedient to the Word of God. Friends, I believe that when the church – you and I, becomes ‘the church’ and we follow the commands of our Lord Jesus Christ, then it will be evident who rules and reigns over us. People still need the Lord, and when they see God at work through His people, then perhaps they will be convinced of His existence and their need to accept Him as Lord. Looking back at our focal verses, we will see that God accused the church at Ephesus of losing their first love. Please take a moment and meditate on the days and weeks following your conversion. Remember how ‘in love’ you were with Jesus? I know, you still love Him, right? But I want you and I to think of the differences that are evident in our love now, compared to our love for Jesus at the time I referred to. What happened? I believe that such an influence of this old world has found its way into our lives, that our actions now portray more of the world than that of the One who saved us. Will the church – we the body, survive and flourish like this? Do people that we touch see more of Christ, or the world? Unless they unmistakably see Christ, let’s not think for a moment that we have a flourishing church. Examine yourselves and draw close to the One who gave up everything for you my friend. Only what’s done for Jesus will truly last!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for not giving up on us. Your Word is a light to our path, because It illuminates our earthly condition, that is often far from the path that You have laid out for Your people. Lord, we want our family and friends to know the Lord, so we want to look and sound more like You in everything we do and say every day. Please touch us once again and draw us close to You. May we become Your hands and feet on the ground, so that our people can see You and experience You when they come into contact with us. AMEN!

Guard My Mouth

On By Ed AlgreenIn Accountability, Acknowledge God, Characteristics, Christian Living, Christian Principles, Guide me2 Comments

Saturday, 2018-11-24

Bible Reference: Psalm 142:3-4
Translation: Amplified Bible (AMP)

Bible Text: 3  Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; Keep watch over the door of my lips [to keep me from speaking thoughtlessly].  4  Do not incline my heart to [consent to or tolerate] any evil thing, Or to practice deeds of wickedness with men who plan and do evil; And let me not eat of their delicacies (be tempted by their gain).

OBSERVATION: No doubt David had given some thought to what may cause him to do and say some crazy, human things at times. Because it is evident in these verses today that David looked deep within to find the root cause of things that may have helped him to mess up. I believe that we do the same thing on a regular basis, therefore I feel it would be good to stop and meditate on this for a short while today.

APPLICATION: Kids who are generally good, will often be challenged to look deep within after being tempted, or drawn into bad behavior or wicked deeds, because they hear things from family or good friends like: What on earth got into you? Or: The devil got hold of you child, because you weren’t brought up to think like that, or do those things! It seems like David had an awakening like that in this moment of his life. I find it interesting that God led David to search inwardly first, and then to subsequently share with us, the following thoughts: Firstly, David asked for help with his mouth. Isn’t this something that still tend to generally get us into our deepest trouble today? I believe that, like David, we need the powerful hand of God to help us avoid the need to say something on every occasion, especially things that are not intended to build up. Often we have helpful things that we could lend to a conversation, but more often than not, we are simply trying to show off our knowledge, our worth or our value. I love the way that the Amplified version clarifies that we have a general tendency to speak thoughtlessly. Secondly David prayed that God would protect his heart from evil. Friends, from the heart, our mouths will speak! In other words, we will only speak what’s deep inside of our hearts. If we feed it filth, we will speak filthy. However, if we fill it with words of wisdom, love and compassion as exampled by Jesus Christ, then don’t you know that your words will be filled with these good things. David also wanted to make sure that he would stand firm when the wicked perform evil deeds or practice wickedness.  This is probably one of the most challenging to deal with, because you could very easily be called Mr. or Mrs. ‘Goody two-shoe’, or accused of knowing it all. But to sit idly by and say nothing, might indicate your condoning of the behavior, speech or evil deed. I am convinced child of God, that if we fill ourselves with the Word and person of God, then it will overflow from our lips and through our deeds. When we see something different occurring, it is high time that we draw closer to God, so that He may wash us of our worldly tendencies and fill us with the love and person of His Son.

PRAYER: Thank You Lord for working in the life of David. We come humbly before You today knowing that our hearts are impacted by this old world in much the same way that David found himself. So Lord, I pray that You might wash us clean of the evil that has rubbed off on us from this world, and that being filled with Your Holy Spirit, we might instead be a lighthouse in this world for You. Lord, may You be seen in our actions, heard through our words, and experienced by those who have given You full control of their lives. Lord, may witnessing followers of Yous have a deep impact on those who have rejected You as Lord up to this point in their lives, for this is my heart’s cry today. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Sebring, 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!

It’s Time To Go!

On By Ed AlgreenIn Accept Jesus NOW, Believers, Christ's Return, EternityLeave a comment

Friday, 2018-11-23

Bible Reference: Revelation 1:7
Translation: Amplified Bible (AMP)

Bible Text: 7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes (nations) of the earth will mourn over Him [realizing their sin and guilt, and anticipating the coming wrath]. [kSo it is to be. Amen.

OBSERVATION: In the first 6 verses, time is spent introducing the legitimacy of how John became authorized to share these revelations with us. It is obvious that these words came from God, through Jesus, to John. It is also obvious that our soon coming God will be for ALL people that ever existed and who exist at the time of His coming. No need for an earthly judge to say who His coming applies to, or don’t apply to. Seeing that this will apply to all reading this devotional, it is really important that we meditate on this for just a while today.

APPLICATION: At an airport, a plane will leave only with those ticketed for that flight, regardless of how many travelers are in the airport. Unlike the airport scenario, the God who created us, also provided an alternative to the flight ticket, by sending His only Son as our means of getting from earth to heaven. For those who have accepted the  gift of God’s Son, we will have a much better outlook than most, on the day that the whole world looks up and sees Jesus bursting through the clouds. Notice a few things about this truth from the very beginning of the book of Revelation: (1) Airline flights are contingent on so many things, like weather; availability of fuel; an operational airport in which to pick up its passengers, etc. However, in our verses today, we are told that Jesus IS COMING – period. In other words, there is nothing that will stop Him (praise the name of Jesus!); (2) ‘Everyone’ will see Jesus when He comes for us. Stop to think that also includes the person that you tried to witness to, and they thought you were from another planet! Also the person that follows a cult, and absolutely scorns the name of our Jesus; (3) Notice that John was told that the glorious return of Jesus will not be a time of rejoicing by all who see Him coming back to earth. My mind went on to think of what it would be like for any of us to hear of our national leader coming to our town. Some will protest, and some will rejoice and party. The Bible says that it will be much the same when Jesus returns. Some of us will rejoice endlessly that our Savior has finally come to take us home – that’s the group I will be in, because I have accepted the Gift of God’s Son – the only One, the only thing that opens the doors of heaven for an earthly sinner to claim righteousness and redemption of sin. However friends, the Bible says that some will be extremely sad, because they will finally realize that their rejection of Jesus Christ, and their disbelief in the one true God, was a BIG mistake. But the huge warning for all that may happen across this devotional today, is that, when that day occurs – and it could be today, tomorrow or even next week, but on that day, it will be a point of no turning back, or changing of minds, for it will be the day of judgment. A day set aside to judge the entire population of the world. Only you will know the verdict that will be passed down to you by God, friend. No attorney will help convince the Judge, for He already knows every little detail about every one of His creation, including the condition of our heart and to whom we belong. I’m ready to go friend, are you?

PRAYER: Come Lord Jesus come! Thank You Lord for saving my soul, thank You Lord for making me whole, thank You Lord for giving to me Thy great salvation so rich and free! For Your love, forgiveness, and eternal provisions, I give You sincere thanks dear Lord. Please be an instrument of love in the hearts and lives of all who will read this devotional today. May they be inclined to get into Your Word and learn more about their Creator and their heavenly King. Lord, may no one who is reminded of Your awesome grace be in the sad, weeping crowd on the day who will look towards heaven and see You coming in the clouds. Oh Lord of heaven, may the hearts of the unsaved be softened today and drawn to You, so that they may joyously await Your return. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Sebring, 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!

Let Nothing Take God’s Place In Your Heart

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Accept Jesus NOW, Accountability, All have sinned, God ReignsLeave a comment

Wednesday, 2018-11-21

Bible Reference: 1 John 5:20-21
Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

Bible Text: 20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God.[e] And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life. 21 Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.

OBSERVATION: In the verses leading up to our focal verses, John had gone into depth explaining the presence and importance of knowing Jesus, God’s only Son, and the only Perfect One. However, John also warned his people that they must be aware that Satan is also very real, and that he would try every trick in the book to try and distract those who claim Christ as King of their lives, to mess up and turn the other way. God gave John a cure to share with his folk about this, and I believe it is so applicable to us today. Let’s meditate on this for just a while.

APPLICATION: We are so careful about keeping our babies away from a stove, or a fireplace, or broken glass, because we don’t want to see them get hurt. Yet we work so diligently with our family and friends to see the bright light of Jesus Christ, and as soon as they make a decision, we turn our backs on them and move on to the next person we were praying for. The logical steps are great, for we should concentrate on helping someone else along, but we must constantly remind ourselves that the new Christian is just like the creeping baby that I shared in my example above. Often they will need our loving guidance, and our warnings about the troubled things that they might be distracted by and drawn into. However, while here on this earth, all of us are subject to the same temptations, because we are all prone to interference by the evil one. I would have two things that might encourage our walk towards righteousness: 1). Flood our lives with the Word of God. For that is where we receive our Godly direction and wisdom from, and that is where we learn about how Jesus overcame temptation, and in spite of it, yet He walked a righteous and sinless life, and 2). Let us strive to live out verse 21 above. Being careful to let nothing take the place of God in our hearts. We do this by making sure that our hearts are constantly filled with God, therefore there is no room for anything else. To the unsaved, or uncommitted friend that may be reading this devotional today, let me encourage you to seriously consider reaching beyond the troubles and trials of this world, seek Jesus – the King of all kings, and Lord of all lords, and allow Him to rule and reign in your life. He created you, and He is desperately waiting for you to join Him some day in glory to spend eternity with He and His Father! That’s awesome news, but be warned my friend, the Word of God is clear that heaven is reserved for those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Won’t you do that today my precious friend? Please read through, and follow my Footnote, and if you don’t know a Bible teaching pastor, please drop me a note so that I can pray with you as you begin this relationship. I would be honored to welcome you into the family and pray for you!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for accepting me as Your Son. Thank You for forgiveness of sin – even mine. Lord, You are so, so good to me! I also thank You for the reminder from John today, and I ask for Your ongoing guidance to help me stay totally focused on You and Your Word. May my life be so filled with Your goodness, mercy and grace, that Satan will find no room there. Lord, as readers meditate on these thoughts today, please speak gently to them and give them direction to help them live strong, noble and righteously for You every day. Please also touch the heart of the one that might come across this devotional that may not know You as Lord. Convict them, and lead them to a decision to accept You as Lord today, please? AMEN!

Pray In Anticipation of What’s To Come

On By Ed AlgreenIn Acknowledge God, Almighty, Answered Prayer, Awesome God, Blood of Jesus, Celebrate GodLeave a comment

Tuesday, 2018-11-20

Bible Reference: John 17:13-17
Translation: The Living Bible (TLB)

Bible Text: 
13 “And now I am coming to you. I have told them many things while I was with them so that they would be filled with my joy. 14 I have given them your commands. And the world hates them because they don’t fit in with it, just as I don’t. 15 I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from Satan’s power. 16 They are not part of this world any more than I am. 17 Make them pure and holy through teaching them your words of truth.

OBSERVATION: A dad who is about to take a long trip, or be away for any period of time, will carefully review what must be done while he is away, and he will make preparations so that the job left behind for his wife and/or kids is simple to implement. It seems like Jesus felt that same sympathy for us, for He wanted to make sure we were taken care of until He returns to take us home to glory. This is so comforting friends!

APPLICATION: Jesus was about to leave this world and return to His Father. While on earth He touched the hearts of many and saw them come to a saving knowledge of the Father. However, He knew that there was great opposition to the stand His followers took as children of God, as compared to the rest of the world being led by the evil one. So while Jesus was happy to return to His Father, He dreaded the idea of leaving His children among the likes of Satan and his earthly tempters. I believe that is most admirable of our blessed Savior, don’t you? So I believe that the question for us today is that knowing what our Lord did for us, how concerned are we for those we love? Can we honestly stand before God and say that we have prayed in all sincerity for our lost ones, or that we have shared the Word of God with them? I believe that we are prepared to pray that they be shielded from the evil one, because we would never want to see anything bad brought to them, but how often do we in all sincerity pray for that? As a child of the King, and aiming to be more like Jesus every day, I believe that God would rather see us imitate the example of our Lord and Savior, more than anything else that may seem somewhat important to us.  Friends, let us be reminded that we have only one life to live here on this earth, and only what’s done for Jesus will last. Oh that we will start each day determined to live a life pleasing to God, and that our relatives, friends and loved ones might come to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior, based on the reality of what they see lived out in us. This is so important, especially knowing that one day soon we will stand before the throne of God and answer for our choices that we have made here on earth. My determination is that God might look intently into my eyes and share His pleasure with the choices that I have made and the life I have chosen to live here on this earth. May I count on you to do the same friend? If there is anything I can do to help you insure your eternal destination, or anything I can help you pray for regarding a loved one you fear is still without Christ, please drop me a note and allow me to pray with you. Jesus knew that we who are left on this earth would suffer through the temptations of this world and its leader, but He also knew that for the joy of what lies ahead of us, we may stand strong and joyful in the fact that greater is he that is in us than he that is in this world! Friends, we are assured that joy lies ahead for those of us that have the eternal hope of being with Jesus on that great resurrection morning! Based on the word of God, I can be confident in that fact that joy will come in the morning for me, I pray that you can do the same!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, thank You for all that You have done for me and Your other children who have accepted You as Lord and Savior. We may struggle in our circumstances today, but praise be to the God of this universe, I know what the future holds for me and I know who holds the key to that future hope. You provided the way, and through Your Word You have shown us the way to eternal hope in You oh Lord. Please help us keep our eyes of faith focused on You and a burden for the souls of those that we love and care for, as we should be most concerned about their current decisions in preparation for their eternal hope. Please burden us with an urgent heart for the eternal destination of our family and friends so that together we may look full into the wonderful face of  Jesus on judgment day and sing praises to the King of Glory, together with our loved ones. AMEN and AMEN!

Search Me Oh God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Heart Knowledge, Know God's Heart, Obedience, Obedient, Sincere, SincerityLeave a comment

SCRIPTURE  FROM:   Psalm 139:23-24 (ERV)

TEXT:  23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test my thoughts. 24 Point out anything you find in me that makes you sad, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

OBSERVATION:   In the preceding verses, David had just done something that many of us may find ourselves guilty of at times. He had just asked God to deal with all those around him that didn’t seem to have their act together. Then in these verses it seems like the Holy Spirit caused David to look inward, and personally, for a moment and ask God to take the board out of his own eye first. Let’s stop and look inward today, because as the day progresses, we are bound to see the evil in everyone else.

APPLICATION:   I was chatting with a coworker of mine one day about the faults of others that seem to challenge us in our workplace. Soon the coworker turned and said to me: ‘and did you know that they are saying the same things about you?’. Ooouch! I can’t remember how many years ago this happened, but those words have left an indelible impression on me. Friends, I know that many of you are probably familiar with these two little verses, but they pack a huge punch. Others who deal with you might see the smiling face, and they might see the kind deeds at times, but do they truly know your heart? No, do they really know your thoughts? Think about Jesus for a moment, and how he did kind deeds for others, knowing full well what the ultimate outcome would be. The ten lepers – He knew at the time of healing them, that 90% of them were there for the healing and nothing else, yet He healed them anyway! I’m afraid that our attitude might be that we would never look at helping a leper again, since they are generally unthankful – based on the Biblical account. It is so easy to see fault in others. I believe that is one gift that God has truly given to us with a heightened awareness! Conversely, I believe that one of the areas that Satan has really dipped his ugly nose into with Christians, is the tendency to look right over our own personal weaknesses while going on to criticize the poor guy next to us that is trying so hard to live a life pleasing to God. I believe that the only way that we could correct our dilemma is to plead daily with God to truly open our eyes to our weaknesses so that we may humble ourselves and ask for His help to overcome those things. Often I will bounce decisions off my wife, or someone close to me. This may help sometime, but often those closest to us may find it challenging to truly be constructive with us, so it is always good to seek God and His righteousness, for help in dealing with a situation that might be sensitive or might tend to pull someone else down. Imagine the positive impact of doing this, versus having to approach God after you have screwed up, to help you correct things with a hurt Brother or Sister. Let’s try to clean up the inside, then whatever comes out of us will come from a clean heart, and with loving thoughts.

PRAYER:   You know my thoughts, my mind and my intentions Oh Lord. That’s a scary thought if we have something to hide, but it is so comforting to know that my Lord and Savior still accepted me, even though He knows my heart. There is no greater love than that offered by the Master of this universe! Thank You Heavenly Father for accepting even me as Your child. Because of Your Word today, I am praying that my readers and I will kneel before Your throne in humility and obedience, and begin our time with You by asking You to search our hearts and our very thoughts. Please reveal Your Truth to us so that we may begin a cleanup job like never before. Lord we already know that You will not occupy a dirty vessel, so teach us the very basics of our Christianity – to live our lives in total obedience to Your Word. Please have Your perfect will and way in our lives Lord, for we want You to fill us with so much of Yourself that we will overflow with Your goodness. We need You precious Lord, AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog that will provide you with additional information, one of them being ‘To Know Jesus’.  If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading this devotional, please click on the above page, or speak with a local Bible Teaching Pastor, or contact me at NuggetsFromGodsWord@outlook.com. Please allow someone to pray with you and give you help and/or encouragement as you begin, or continue your walk with Jesus. Words underlined in my blog could indicate a link to a song that came to mind as I wrote the devotional. Feel free to click on the link and listen as you continue to read or pray. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and read more, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. If you are anywhere near the Sebring, 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!