Tag: Set the example

The Evidence & Results of True Faith

On By Ed AlgreenIn Faith, HopeLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (The Contemporary English Version – Hebrews 11:13-16): 13 Every one of those people died. But they still had faith, even though they had not received what they had been promised. They were glad just to see these things from far away, and they agreed that they were only strangers and foreigners on this earth. 14 When people talk this way, it is clear that they are looking for a place to call their own. 15 If they had been talking about the land where they had once lived, they could have gone back at any time. 16 But they were looking forward to a better home in heaven. That’s why God wasn’t ashamed for them to call him their God. He even built a city for them.

Thoughts: I believe I was renewed in my faith as I read this scripture, and was reminded of the faith shown by our forefathers. The writer reminds us that all the faith shown by these powerful men of God, such as Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Jacob was not necessarily on the promises that would be revealed to them during their lifetime, but because their minds were not fixed on eartly things and/or places, God was not ashamed of their human failures and instead prepare a heavenly home for them that, no doubt, was their ultimate goal. I am reminded of a saying that often we are so earthly minded that we are of no heavenly good!! It sounds just the opposite for these great saints, and I believe that this may be much of the reason why they were particularly made a part of the scriptures – to help show us what 'true faith' really looks like. To my readers, let me encourage you to join me in re-evaluating the level of our faith. Let's begin with evaluating our priorities – are they more earthly minded than heavenly? Do our actions reflect the qualities learned from our relationship with Christ, or those inherited from our earthly interactions? Would God be ashamed for us to say that He is our God, or would He be proud of His children? We have a hope friends! We have a heavenly home and a gracious heavenly Father that awaits our arrival in His presence. Are you ready? Let's make Him proud of us as long as we are allowed to remain on planet earth, and may others be drawn to our Savior through the faith they see in us!

Prayer: Father God, I thank You for the awesome experience of knowing You, and being blessed by the many ways that You have already touched my life. Please help my readers and I to place our relationship with You as our very top priority, and please help us to learn from the faith of our ancestors, while giving us the urgency to also allow our faith in You to be so obvious in us that those following in our footsteps would see more of Jesus than of our sinful selves. May our lives be so focused on You, oh Lord, that You would be proud to hear us call You our Father and our God. May all who come behind us find us faithful! I ask this in humility and in the wonderful name of Jesus, my Savior and Lord, AMEN!

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

 

 

Necessary Actions for Effective Ministry

On By Ed AlgreenIn Men, Prayer, WomenLeave a comment

The Holy Bible  (The Message – 1 Timothy 2:8-10): Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray—not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God. And I want women to get in there with the men in humility before God, not primping before a mirror or chasing the latest fashions but doing something beautiful for God and becoming beautiful doing it.

Thoughts:  In giving direction to Timothy for ministry among the churches, Paul knew that the driving force behind a successful work of the Lord would be: prayer; commitment by the church (Christian brothers and sisters); their respective attitudes, and their roles being controlled by the God they intended to serve. Friends, these same characteristics are necessary for the successful work of the Lord in our day also! To achieve the desired dedication, commitment personal effectiveness of the people, Paul had a few guidelines for Timothy to teach them, and since I already stated that this is much like our efforts today to spread the gospel, I believe this applies to us also. Here’s what Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, taught us:

MEN – Pray, pray, pray! As I studied this deeper, there is indication that Paul wanted men to pray everywhere. That tells me that we are to pray even in public places, not just in our closets as alluded to in earlier scripture. Also, just as Solomon did in 1 Kings 8:22 and Psalm 141:2, Paul felt it was important that men lift up holy hands before a holy God. Not only is this a sign of surrendering self to God, but doing this in all holiness is also reemphasizing Psalm 24:3-4. Prayer should be the first thing a Christian man should do in every circumstance. In fact, Paul indicated that this should be done rather than showing our anger against those who abuse us or harm us in any way. Think about it Brothers, when we ‘PRAY’, we are showing respect to God, humbling ourselves to His authority and His power to fulfill His way in our circumstances, and to grow us into being more like Him. Going off and doing our own thing defies submission to God and shows disrespect to the authority of God.

WOMEN – Depending on the Bible version you read this verse in, women may be offended by what Paul was teaching here. But ladies/friends, please allow me to remind you that the Word of God is not intended to be a ‘feel good’ book of instructions for everything you may like. In fact, why have a book of instruction if you want it to always make you feel good about what you are doing, or want to do? Based on supporting study material, I believe Paul is instructing our beautiful ladies to not spend so much time on the physical appearance, but instead on the inward person. For the outward appearance will attract undesirables, but the inward loving, caring, beauty and example of a God-fearing woman will serve to display the love and concern of our loving Father who wants so badly that all may come to know Him personally. Your humbleness to your Christian husbands will be a display of the respect Jesus showed for His Father in depending solely on Him for knowledge, timing and direction. Further, women have a built in mechanism that tends to nurture their children, much like Jesus wants to nurture all those that surrender their lives to Him and His authority.

Friends, if we are to see the work of God flourish, we must take our respective roles very seriously. God used this opportunity to help Paul see how to grow the churches in His day, and His Word still speaks just as clearly and loudly to us in growing and nurturing His church today. Are you on board?

Prayer:  Thank You for Your precious Word dear Lord. Thank You for considering us and how we might accept You, know You intimately, and showing us the way that we might love and care for others as You would. Please speak to myself and our Christian men that we might learn to pray more and learn to be more submissive in our prayers, so that Your perfect will might be accomplished in our world. Without You in our lives, we have absolutely nothing to offer this world that might serve to improve their standard of life. However, because You hold the key to eternal life and heaven, Your rewards are simply ‘out of this world’. May the unsaved recognize this before it is eternally too late. May we, as Christians lean on this as our encouragement for self, and as our determination to share the love of Jesus with all that we know and come into contact with. May our precious ladies have an example to follow in us as their earthly leaders, caretakers and lovers. May they see Jesus exampled in us, and may they in turn, seek to live disciplined and controlled lives led by Your sweet Holy Spirit. All to You I surrender Lord. More of You and Less of me, is my song of dedication to You today oh Lord. Thank You for taking time to listen, comfort, cheer and encourage this child today! Please be a special blessing to all who will read this devotional. May they be drawn to You. For I praise You and request my petitions in the wonderful name of Jesus, my Lord, AMEN!

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