Tag: Savior

The Pyramid Of Life Decisions

On By Ed AlgreenIn Commitment, Like Jesus, PerfectionLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Friday, 2017-04-21
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Mark 4:15-20 (NIV)

Text:

 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
OBSERVATION:
In the earlier part of chapter 4, Jesus had taught the crowd through a parable that totally related to where they were at in life. He used a farmer, that probably applied to most who were in the audience at the time, so I’m sure they totally ‘caught His drift’. However, just like we tend to dance around the truth today by applying an interpretation that suits our circumstance, Jesus wanted to make sure that His teaching was caught and applied, so He went into detail about the parable. Let’s see how, or if this applies to us….
APPLICATION:
I recognized a pyramid in this teaching, and I believe that we will place ourselves in one of the levels of the pyramid, and I’m hoping that we will seek the face of God to help us strive for the top level (#1) of the pyramid through constant growth in our relationship with God, through His Son Jesus. Here is what I am seeing in this pyramid, starting with the bottom level:

5. Unbelievers – Although not mentioned in the parable, there are some who refuse to listen to the Word of God;

4. Easily accessible by Satan – These are ones who my live with godly parents, or work alongside a Christian, so they see God at work, and may hear the Word spoken at times, but Satan has full access to their heart, without any filters. So he immediately fills their heart with ‘sweet nothings’ in order to prevent their minds wandering away from his evil ways. They may hear the Word of God, but Satan quickly erases the thought from their minds;

3. Stoney ground – I believe these may have accepted Jesus as Lord at one time, probably through peer pressure or to please mom or dad. But they have no desire to grow in their ‘Christian walk’. So hearing the Word of God has no impact in their life. It’s like going to the top of a hill and trying to find enough soil to plant something that needs a foot of soil for its root system. The Word does not impact their lives;

2. Persistent thorns – Planting the Word of God in the life of one so distracted by the world, makes it almost impossible to take traction in that person. God said in another place in His work, that we are to be still and know that He is God. When we enter into a Bible teaching classroom or sanctuary, with our minds so bogged down in the worries of this world, or the sinful place that we attended last night, the distraction, or thorns of sin, will control our minds and block our acceptance and/or understanding of the Word being taught;

1. Good soil – A farmer finds the best soil to plant his seeds in, to ensure the most healthy and productive growth. A Christian whose aim is to be more like Christ in every aspect of life, will look for ingredients to enrich their lives. This might be daily quiet daily times that include some time in the Word of God; prayer; and reflection on God and His awesome goodness. These followers of Christ will look to produce fruit by finding ways to produce additional Christians and bringing ones up the pyramid. Just as farmers tend to spend more time enriching the soil, watering the plants and eradicating the weeds, so these Christians will have a deep desire to grow in their faith and find ways to not only develop a closer relationship with the Lord, but especially find ways to encourage those around them.

So I wonder friend, at which level of the pyramid did you find yourself? If, in your honesty, you found yourself below level ‘1’, may I encourage you to ‘Have a little Talk with Jesus’ and pour out your soul to Him. Ask Him for help in attaining level ‘1’ and watch how He will drive you to a deeper walk with Himself! I truly believe that His desire is to see us all be little ‘Christ’s’ because of our personal desire to do His will.
PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, Savior, Master, and King, thank You for loving us enough to care about us and accept us as Your children in spite of our ugly past, or our easy tendency to sin. Your Word is so mind provoking, that we are frequently reminded of our inadequacies; our weak approach to holiness; and our walk that exemplifies a ‘perfect’ Lord. Please forgive us for deliberately keeping one foot in the world, while striving to place the other foot in a circle filled with Your holiness and righteousness. Although I plead Your blood and Your holiness on all those who my read this devotional, ‘It’s Me Oh Lord, Standing in the need of prayer’. Please work on Your humble servant so that I may exemplify You in every walk of life and with everyone that I may find myself associating with. With all glory to You oh King! 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 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!

The Family Of God

On By Ed AlgreenIn Family, Love, Love others, Love your Neighbor, Mothers, The Father's Love, Unconditional loveLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Thursday, 2017-04-20
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Mark 3:31-35 (NIV)

Text:

 31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
OBSERVATION:
The mother and brothers of Jesus went to search for Him to make sure that He was safe, and not getting into any trouble. At first glance, these verses may seem like Jesus was not respectfully recognizing his family members, but on closer observation, it is clear that He was using their appearance as a ministry opportunity.
APPLICATION:
When close family members come to town, we often halt many activities in order to spend quality time with them. Some may take a few days off work; others may not attend church; while others go out of their way to find extra special activities or shows to attend and therefore entertain their guests. How does this compare to the effort we assume to win a sinner to Christ, or to entertain a new believer and disciple them in the faith? Do you see the connection that Jesus made between the two? We have no question about who our blood relatives are, but please be reminded that for those of us that call God ‘Our Father’, we automatically become brothers and sisters, for that’s what children of the same father are called, and considered. So let’s look the the parallel again with this in mind. I jumped on a plane and traveled about 150 miles to see my sick mom recently, and to encourage her in her spirit. I wonder how quickly I would be willing to sacrifice the dollars and precious PTO days off work, if that was a Christian Brother in the same condition that my mom is in? Jesus considered the connection one and the same. Don’t you think that if we considered our Christian Brothers and Sisters like Jesus did, and showed no prejudice to one or the other, that more Christians might be encouraged in their everyday lives, and be drawn closer to God because of the ministry one brother or sister to another? There’s a song entitled ‘I’m So Glad I’m a part of the Family of God’, I love that little song, but it really speaks volumes to the theme of this devotional today. I pray that each one reading this will do their part to treat mother, father, brothers and sisters so that the world will see evidence of our Father in action through us – His children!
PRAYER:
Father/Dad/Loving Lord, thank You for adopting me into Your family and treating me like a son. Lord You are good, and Your mercies are endless and beyond anything I could ever desire or ask for. As Your son, may I please ask that You speak to the heart of Your children, as You did with me this morning. Please help us to invest our time into the lives of other brothers and sisters who need to draw close to You, or may be struggling with something beyond their control. I don’t believe we can help others, if we are personally struggling to survive the discouragement, hatred and depression brought on by Satan and his suppressors. Please help us to look heavenward to the Creator of this world and all human beings. May we see the welcoming face of our Father and be willing to share that same love with others as if they were our closest blood relative. Be glorified through Your children today oh Lord, especially this humble servant, 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 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!

A Cry For Help

On By Ed AlgreenIn God our Helper, Help, Our Help comes from GodLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Wednesday, 2017-04-19
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Psalm 27:9-11 (NLT)

Text:

 9 Do not turn your back on me.
    Do not reject your servant in anger.
    You have always been my helper.
Don’t leave me now; don’t abandon me,
    O God of my salvation!
10 Even if my father and mother abandon me,
    the Lord will hold me close.

11 Teach me how to live, O Lord.
    Lead me along the right path,
    for my enemies are waiting for me
OBSERVATION:
David was not afraid to cry out to God for help, and in this Psalm he was desperate enough to say that even if his parents turned their backs on him, yet he KNEW that his Savior lives and would always listen to his cry and help him in his time of need. Wow! ‘Oh What A Savior’!
APPLICATION:
I was reminded as I read this Psalm this morning, of the importance of developing and maintaining a strong relationship with the Savior of the world. Friends, it is one thing to build a great relationship with your spouse, or relatives, or friends, but can they really do anything for the hurt you feel at times, that seems so deep and troubling? Can they really give you direction for your life, by knowing what’s in store for you tomorrow? Can they really mend a broken heart? Are they truly prepared to prove their love for you by placing themselves in the way of death, so that you may go on and enjoy the glories of your God and King? How desperate are you really, for this type of relationship? Are you willing to set aside the evil and sin that seems like so much fun, to accept Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord, and be filled with joy everlasting about the prospects of heaven one day? Friends, Jesus knows the sincerity of your heart, so please give this your careful attention. Dedicate your life to Jesus today, and allow God to rule, reign, love, protect and guide you while you finish up life’s journey here on this planet. There are much brighter days ahead for those of us that have placed our trust in Him. I pray that you can be counted in that number today.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, it is so hard to imagine the love that You have for us, because we have nothing to compare that to here on this earth. I pray that my family, friends and readers will develop the kind of joy that David spoke of here in this Psalm that we read today. He developed such a relationship with You that he was content to celebrate Your help in times of obvious successes, but he also felt very comfortable presenting his troubles at Your feet for help, comfort and direction. Oh Lord, I pray that we will be a people like Your servant David, where we celebrate our joys with You, and then run quickly to You when we can’t figure things out, or feel alone, or frustrated over not knowing which way to turn next, or just desire a more intimate relationship with You. You are my rock and my salvation, and I sincerely thank You for being my guide throughout the rest of my days on earth. I am so looking forward to seeing You and worshiping You face to face in glory, but ‘Until Then, My Heart will Go on Singing’! 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 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!

With Hearts of Worship, We…

On By Ed AlgreenIn Imitator of Christ, Pastors, Witness, WorshipLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Tuesday, 2017-04-18
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Mark 3:1-2 (Voice)

Text:

 1 On the Sabbath, Jesus had come into a synagogue where He saw a man with a withered hand.2  The Pharisees held their breath: would Jesus cure this man on the Sabbath, right there in front of everyone? If so, they could charge Him with breaking the Sabbath law.
OBSERVATION:
It is interesting to see how evil the leaders (the Pharisees) of one religious sect (the Jews) could be, and how persistent they could be about trapping the leader (Jesus) of another sect (Christians). Why it was becoming a threat to their longstanding beliefs and practices. Aren’t you happy that those practices were all due to the immaturity, prejudices and hatred of that day? Or were they?….
APPLICATION:
I have always remembered the words of a tour guide that took my family and I through Fort Charlotte, in the Bahamas. He showed us, and explained to us, how the stretch chamber was used when the British soldiers wanted to force the captured pirates to talk. His words still echo in my mind: “sure glad I wasn’t born in those days. ha, ha, ha”! Those words came to mind as I read these verses, because I’m afraid that many of us sit innocent in our church services and really criticize the Jews for being so awful to Jesus. And while I could agree with you, I believe we often ignore how much of that attitude we still bring to our churches today. Having just celebrated Easter and our risen Lord, our hearts are probably still overflowing with thanksgiving after being reminded about all that Jesus did for us at Calvary. We probably celebrated in worship more this past weekend than we have in a long time. But how is it going for most of you after being back in the workforce for a part of the week? I realize that for most of us, we could easily get defensive about how precious our own churches are, but friends I would encourage you to pray a hedge of protection around your pastor(s) and teachers, for Satan is out to attack them in much the same way as the Pharisees did to Jesus. In fact, many of them have probably received way more emails, letters and/or visits to criticize the efforts of Resurrection Sunday than to thank them and encourage them for their efforts amidst family visiting with them and the normal day-to-day pressures of pastoring. Can you imagine the awe of what our worship times together could be, if we:

  • Prepared our hearts for worship by asking God to remove the busyness of the week from our minds so that we could concentrate on Him, if only during our designated times of worship;
  • Support and uphold our pastor(s) and teachers, by praying that God will find them to be usable vessels through which He could minister to us;
  • Pray that those that we love, and have invited to church, will stop the excuses and actually show up, so that they might be encouraged and hear a word from the Lord;
  • Pray for, and try to encourage a few people in attendance, for many are struggling with personal issues, and enormous pressure from Satan to turn away from God;
  • Reflect personally on the awesome worthiness of God, and how truly needy we are when stacked up against His awesome worth. Prepare to celebrate this with other believers of like mind;

Friends, I truly believe that when we prepare our hearts like this, we will find less time and importance in seeking out the bad in our pastor and church leaders, and the hypocrite sitting two rows in front of us, and instead this will lead us to open the doors of heaven and seek Jesus for who He is, and ask for His perfection in our lives so that we might be usable vessels in His earthly ministry. You see, there’s way too much need personally, than to waste our time trying to be God and judge everyone around us. That’s not a part of worship to our heavenly Father.
PRAYER:
Dear Lord Jesus, please humble our hearts so that we might seek Your perfection in our lives. Please humble us to serve You and others instead of waiting to be catered to in all walks of life. Help us to imitate You in all walks of life, so that others might be reminded of You, Your character, love and godliness. ‘People need the Lord’, oh that we might encourage and provoke that desire into reality, rather than being a stumbling block that might turn them away forever. You’re in control of us dear Jesus, and You control those around us, please help us to communicate with You about the needs that we see, rather than trying to invoke our own ideologies on the needy that we come into contact with. May it be obvious to others today, whose we are! 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 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!

Our Greatest Need

On By Ed AlgreenIn Cross, Good News, Greatest Need, Needs, SalvationLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Saturday, 2017-04-15
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Mark 2:2-5 (NLT)

Text:

 2  ….While he was preaching God’s word to them, 3 four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. 4 They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. 5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”
OBSERVATION:
The determination of these men carrying the paraplegic is to be admired. They didn’t let the crowds stop them, nor the leaders that were probably there helping with crowd control. They didn’t let the walls of the building stop them, for they got up on the roof with the man on the stretcher. The roof was no hindrance, for they dug a hole through it that was large enough to fit a stretcher through it – probably 80″ by 30″ or more. They had a determination to get their friend before Jesus, no matter what obstacles stood in their way.
APPLICATION:
I wonder how disappointed the men were after going through all that they did, yet when Jesus saw the young man He didn’t immediately address the issue of paralysis, but rather attended to the condition of his heart and his readiness to meet God. I wonder how much this story parallels our earnest prayers to God, where we are concerned for our family and friends’ welfare or health, but seldom show deep concern for the salvation of their soul for eternity? Would we ‘go to bat’ over their salvation as much as we would for other things in their life that we feel might impact their normal living here on earth? How often do we forget that the things of this earth are temporal and could very easily be gone today or tomorrow? Yet the condition of their soul will determine their eternity. Should we be concerned for the physical, financial and personal welfare of our friends? If we didn’t then one would question if they are truly our friends, but I believe Jesus showed the Pharisees, and is showing us, that there is one concern that trumps all other concerns in life, and that is the spiritual condition of the individual. When you know that your friend is ready to meet their Savior and Lord, and that they are living daily to be more like Him here on earth, then all other needs will fall into place, for God cares intimately for His children and He will not bring anything on us beyond what we can bear, nor will He burden us with anything that will not bring glory to Himself. So friends, let me encourage you this Easter weekend, to look just a little differently at those you love and will spend time with this weekend. Look beyond their physical and material needs and pray with them about their spiritual needs, should there be a need to do that. Our greatest need in life is to be the individual that God designed us to be – one that will worship Him and bring glory to Him, in everything we do, until Jesus returns to take us all home to heaven to spend eternity with He and His Father. I’m ready for that reunion friends, and I want each of you, and all of my family and friends to also be ready to join me for that meeting at the foot of the cross! ‘What a Day That will Be’!
PRAYER:
Thanks You Jesus for all that You willingly did that very first ‘Good Friday’ and the glory of that first ‘Easter’ morning! As we celebrate the events of that occasion again this year, I pray that although we will be touched by the drama of all that You went through, yet we will never lose sight of the fact that You did it all for us. Thank You Lord Jesus! I am eternally grateful Heavenly Father! In much the same way that You were willing to do whatever it took to save Your children from the awful stain of sin and damnation, I pray that each of us will commit to being so concerned about our family and friends that we would recommit to sharing Your love with them and allowing them to see the meaning of the cross and the possibilities of their eternity with You. There was nothing more important to You Lord Jesus. I pray that we would be very much the same in our concern for others. May You be glorified and lifted up this weekend, for I ask these things in the precious name of the crucified, yet risen Lord Jesus, 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 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!

Obedience Vs Disrupting God’s Work

On By Ed AlgreenIn God's Will, Healing, Obedience, Obedient, Stumbling blockLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Friday, 2017-04-14
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Mark 1:40-45 (HCSB)

Text:

 40 Then a man with a serious skin disease came to Him and, on his knees, begged Him: “If You are willing, You can make me clean.”

41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out His hand and touched him. “I am willing,” He told him. “Be made clean.” 42 Immediately the disease left him, and he was healed. 43 Then He sternly warned him and sent him away at once, 44 telling him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go and show yourself to the priest, and offer what Moses prescribed for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” 45 Yet he went out and began to proclaim it widely and to spread the news, with the result that Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. But He was out in deserted places, and they would come to Him from everywhere.
OBSERVATION:
God blessed this leper for the faith he showed in presenting himself to Jesus for healing. However, in his zealous and joyful heart after his healing, he wound up doing exactly what Jesus told him not to do, and this disrupted the ongoing work of Jesus.
APPLICATION:
This is a challenging one for us to learn, for the question becomes: How often do we override the commands of God, to do what we feel is best? Yes, even when our plan is to supposedly honor and glorify God. This reminds me of what we do when someone tells us a secret and asks us to keep it between us two. What’s the first thing we do? We find someone who we feel is trustworthy and we preface our gossip with: “Now ‘Tom’ told me to keep this between us two, but I know you won’t say anything, and I really believe you should know this…”, right? Now I know that God never made a mistake, so I’m sure that He knew this leper would instinctively go and tell the world that a man whom they despised and rejected is now perfectly whole again, and it was Jesus, the Christ who healed him. However, look at what happened to the ministry of Jesus when the healed leper allowed his will to be done, instead of the will of the One who just healed his body. Jesus said up in verse 38 that His whole reason for coming to earth was to preach the Word of God in all villages, then in just a few verses later we see where Jesus’ ministry was then restricted to to isolated places outside of the city. I wonder what impact our cruel, unthoughtful words; or our selfish and often bitter attitudes; or our prideful and arrogant treatment of others; must have on the work of the Lord in our circles of influence? Remember, that our knowledge and our vision of what lies ahead in a situation is restricted by what we can see in that present moment, compared to the eternal God who knows and sees all things, including what the future holds for those involved. He has a purpose in commanding us to follow His Word,  even when it seems so strange to us. Oh may His perfect will be done, so that His glory might be revealed, resulting in awesome praise and worship to the Father, for ‘Our God Is an Awesome God!’
PRAYER:
Father, please forgive us for the times that we deliberately jump out in front and decide to do things that totally disrupts Your work. Yes, we always think that we know enough to make sound decisions or recommendations, but oh how limited our knowledge truly is. The leper in our story today probably thought that he was doing the best possible thing, for he was promoting the name of Jesus by telling the world that He is the one responsible for his healing. However, Jesus didn’t tell him to go and do what he thought best, which is exactly what we tend to do way too often. Please open our eyes to the innocence of raw humility and strict obedience to You oh Lord, so that You might accomplish Your will and Your work in our midst, without us erecting stumbling blocks along the way. Your way is perfect, please help us to always be mindful of that, 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 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!

Share The Amazement of Jesus

On By Ed AlgreenIn Miracles, Personal, Personal testimonyLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Wednesday, 2017-04-12
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Mark 1:25-28 (TLB)

Text:

 25 Jesus curtly commanded the demon to say no more and to come out of the man. 26 At that the evil spirit screamed and convulsed the man violently and left him. 27 Amazement gripped the audience and they began discussing what had happened.

“What sort of new religion is this?” they asked excitedly. “Why, even evil spirits obey his orders!”

28 The news of what he had done spread quickly through that entire area of Galilee.
OBSERVATION:
The New Testament is filled with accounts of awe as many people witnessed the power, the love and amazement of our Lord Jesus. There are many accounts of eyewitnesses going and spreading the good news of all that this Son of God was capable of doing, as they had witnessed it with their own eyes, or experienced it personally. Our story today is one such story, as it shares the power of Jesus to even demand evil spirits to leave a troubled man.
APPLICATION:
Walk in to any sanctuary in your area and I’m sure you will find people in attendance for various reasons. For some, it’s just the place to be on Saturday or Sunday mornings – tradition; for others, it’s the music that blesses your soul and you look forward to the next service to participate in and be blessed by the music; others might find comfort in being around nice people; while others are blessed beyond measure to hear their pastor speak. Can you think of any other reason why people show up for church services? Notice one thing missing from all of the reason I shared? How many actually show up for church to meet Jesus there, or are excited to be there because they want to be the first to celebrate what Jesus will do again today in our midst? Wouldn’t it be neat if people would walk in the doors of our churches and be looking all around to see where Jesus is at work, in response to their prayers? Friends, our churches are probably more needful than patients in hospital, for there are some burdened by sin; some hurting very badly from a bad marriage or sibling rivalry; there are some who are hurting terribly because of the pain in their bodies; some overwhelmed by finances or by kids who are headed in the wrong direction; and praise God, there are some who are ready to shout for joy and share an experience of Jesus being active in their life during that week. Let me ask you to ponder, what might our community hear about if each of the above groups returned home with their ‘cups filled and running over’ from God meeting their needs at church that day? What would be the difference to the neighbors in what they saw in the past, to what they might witness when we go to church expecting to meet God there, expecting a miracle? Friends, God did precisely this many times before in stories related in the Bible, and there is great satisfaction and excitement in Christians not only knowing that God is alive, but that He is actively at work in each of our lives still today! Is this possible? Of course it is, our God is alive and ready to work in our lives if we will pray to Him, search Him out, expect to find Him, and make ourselves truly available to Him. The world will believe and accept this when they see it for themselves through God’s messengers here on earth. That’s you and I, Christian Brother and Sister!
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, thank You for loving us enough to not only make a way for us to enter heaven’s glory and spend eternity with You, but also to be actively involved in our lives each and every day. Please helps us to constantly be in a state of recognizing Your involvement in our lives, and even more, help us to never be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the miracles of our awesome God! Praise God that You are alive today precious Jesus, and praise Him that You are alive and active in my life. Please be especially visible to my friends who will read this devotional and to all my family and friends that I will touch in some way today. Glorify Your name oh 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 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!

A Test of your Belief System

On By Ed AlgreenIn Believe, Bible Believing, Know and Believe, Know Jesus, WitnessLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Monday, 2017-04-10
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Matthew 28:7-8 (NLT)

Text:
7 And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and he is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there. Remember what I have told you.”
8 The women ran quickly from the tomb. They were very frightened but also filled with great joy, and they rushed to give the disciples the angel’s message.
OBSERVATION:
The women referred to in verse 8 witnessed a second earthquake in just 3 days, for they were at the cross when Jesus died and the first one occurred, now as they arrived at the tomb to check on the body of Jesus, another earthquake occurred as He arose from the dead. Ordinarily this would put folk in a panic, but these ladies waited for the message from the angel, then ran to give the message to the disciples!
APPLICATION:
There were three types of hearers in this resurrection story:

  • Believers – The women heard what the angel said, and quickly obeyed the command to go and tell the disciples. Most of the disciples believed the women, even though they weren’t present to witness the angel or his message. This group are like Christians today who believe on the Son of God, even though they have never seen Him in person;
  • Doubters – Some of the disciples heard the women, but doubted that Jesus could be alive. The chief priest and leaders doubted what the guards told them, but yet they put a plan in place to have the guards lie about what really happened, and instead tell a lie to cover up the miracle that happened before their very eyes. This group reminds me of those today who hear a very convicting testimony, but choose to ignore the call of Christ on their life without a personal experience or miracle;
  • Unbelievers – There were some who heard and didn’t believe. They didn’t want to believe, because they had rejected who Jesus was when He was alive, and they wanted to continue rejecting Him even after hearing that He was alive. This group were much like those who refuse to hear the Word of God today. They are close minded even when presented with facts from eyewitnesses.

Friends, as you celebrate this Easter season, I pray that in all honesty, your eyes will be opened to placing yourself in one of these categories. My prayer is that God will convict you to move up the above list in your belief and conviction system, and that you will be open to the gospel message one more time. Although Jesus arose from the grave many years ago, I pray that He will truly come alive in your life this year!
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, the Bible speaks very clearly about Your death and resurrection, and from eyewitnesses, the evidence is clear that You are alive! Thank You Father for the evidence of Your mighty works in my life – clear evidence of a heavenly Father who loves me and, through Your precious Son, prepared a way for me to approach You as my Father! Lord, may my experience with You be such that others may see You and have a greater desire to know You better, and this is my prayer in deepest sincerity, 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 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!

See Us As We Are, Not Past Failures

On By Ed AlgreenIn Changed, Forgiven, Forgiveness, Love, Redemption, The love of GodLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Saturday, 2017-04-08
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Psalm 25:7-10 (Voice)

Text:

 7 Do not HOLD against me the sins I committed when I was young;
    instead, deal with me according to Your mercy and love.
    Then Your goodness may be demonstrated in all the world, Eternal One.

8 IMMENSELY good and honorable is the Eternal;
    that’s why He teaches sinners the way.
9 With JUSTICE, He directs the humble in all that is right,
    and He shows them His way.
10 KIND and true are all the ways of the Eternal
    to the people who keep His covenant and His words.
OBSERVATION:
Like many of us, David felt like approaching God in the light of who he was as a teenager, might be a hopeless case. However in light of who God is, and the mercy and grace that He is known for, David knew that there was hope for himself and for all who commit to serving Christ and obeying His commands.
APPLICATION:
It is so easy for us to listen to Satan and believe there is no hope for us because of all that we were. I found it refreshing to be reminded that when I committed my life to Jesus and accepted the outstanding grace that He offers to His children, that He not only cleansed me of my sin up to that point in time, but that He looks on me as a sinner saved by His grace. Sure I make mistakes still, but with the Holy Spirit living in me and prompting me to the way of the cross, I am constantly reeled back in and redirected to the King who reigns over me. Friends, I don’t believe I am alone in feeling this way at times, for I’ve heard from many how hopeless they feel at times. May I implore you to be encouraged by the words of David in this Psalm today and be renewed in knowing that those whom Jesus has welcomed into His fold, will never be released to any other Master. Think of your earthly mother and father – you can’t undue the fact that they are your blood parents. Jesus would never accept you into His family and then push you away every time you mess up. He wants you to seek His face daily and realign your will and way with His, every moment of every day. He loves you beyond anything you could every imagine and He wants to see you in glory one day around His throne. Would you commit to follow the last verse of our Scripture today and remain true to God’s Word and keep His commandments? The promise is that He will remain kind and true to you Brothers and Sisters! There is no better companion than to have Jesus on your side while here on earth and when we see Him face to face in heaven!
PRAYER:
Lord You are so good to us. Praise God that You are able to see us as ‘white as snow’, because of being redeemed by Your precious blood. Most of us have nothing that we could brag about from our past, and absolutely nothing that we can place before You as redemption for our sins. Thank You for Your enormous sacrifice, and for Your uncompromising love for us, in spite of who we used to be. In being cleansed by Your blood, because of Your amazing grace, we are united with You in spirit and filled with the promise of eternity around Your throne. Oh what a Savior! Lord teach us daily to live like who we are, and not like who we used to be. 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 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!

On Recognizing Jesus

On By Ed AlgreenIn Decisions, Know Jesus, SalvationLeave a comment

Post Date:

 Friday, 2017-04-07
SCRIPTURE

From:

 Matthew 27:54 (AMP)

Text:

 54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, they were terribly frightened and filled with awe, and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
OBSERVATION:
Scripture mentions a few of the people on the scene at Calvary where Jesus was crucified. Of course there were guards on hand to make sure that Jesus, who some thought was a criminal, would not escape from His destiny, to die on that Roman cross. The guards saw the heart of God in His Son throughout this whole ordeal, especially as Jesus died, for at that very moment, they concluded that, surely, ‘this truly was the Son of God’.
APPLICATION:
There comes a time in our lives that Jesus becomes ‘real’ to us. For some, it might be through the proclamation of His Word in a church service, but for others it might be through something in nature, or a miracle that you witnessed in response to earnest prayer by a saint of God. Some folk respond to these first experiences with Jesus by bending of the knee, seeking His face in prayer, asking for forgiveness of their sin and surrendering leadership of their remaining life to Him. Others become distracted by trying to apply some other phenomenon that may have contributed to the miracle they just witnessed. Friends, for all of us there will come a time that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we will recognize God for who He is. We will immediately respond to that experience in one of several ways: Try to ignore it; Try to reject it; Try to reason it away from our minds; or stand in awe of the presence of the holy Son of the living God because of His awesome and powerful Holy Spirit convicting us of our need for a Savior. You may have done one or more of these things already in your life, and you are still remaining with us here on this earth for another opportunity. Just yesterday I heard of two men who went into eternity very unexpectedly. In fact, so quickly that they would not have had time to ask for acceptance by Jesus. If at some point in their lives they stopped making excuses and accepted the tug of Jesus on their heart, then their spirits united with Jesus yesterday, otherwise they are facing the damnation of Hell for all eternity. The choice is exactly the same for you today, friend. Your decision today affects where you will spend eternity. If you have read this blog, then you are making a decision again today. If you have never accepted Jesus as Lord, and you do not invite Jesus into your heart today, then you have made the decision to spend eternity in Hell. I would not wish that on anyone, especially you my friend. Know Jesus today and know eternal peace, won’t you?
PRAYER:
Father, You created us to love, honor and follow Your commands as Your loving children. I pray that hearts will be softened and reopened to the truth of Your Word today as this blog goes out to the world. Please allow those who need a Savior to happen across this blog, and may Your all powerful Word return fruit as it is read and understood. Please allow the excuses to cease and acceptance and commitment to prevail. I ask these things solely for Your glory oh 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 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!