Tag: Stay Alert

Make Good Use of Your Time

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Give thanks, Needs, Power of Prayer, Praise, Prayer, Recognize God, Time, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Tuesday, 2023-01-31
WRITTEN AT: O’Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Colossians 4:2-6
TRANSLATION: Good News Translation (GNT)

BIBLE TEXT: 2 Be persistent in prayer, and keep alert as you pray, giving thanks to God. 3 At the same time pray also for us, so that God will give us a good opportunity to preach his message about the secret of Christ. For that is why I am now in prison. 4 Pray, then, that I may speak, as I should, in such a way as to make it clear.
5 Be wise in the way you act toward those who are not believers, making good use of every opportunity you have. 6 Your speech should always be pleasant and interesting, and you should know how to give the right answer to everyone.

APPLICATION: Paul was a born again, bold, dedicated man of God. His life was transformed from that of a persecutor of Christians, to that of loving Christians so much that he would take time to speak truth into their lives, even from prison. It was for the very reason that Paul was in prison, that he rose up to share with believers, even while still being punished. My heart was touched by Paul’s declaration to Christians, for I could see that individuals and their churches could rise up and be a mighty force for the Kingdom, if only we would take Paul’s instructions to heart. Let’s look deeper into how effective we have become in following the commands of Paul:

  • Be Persistent in Prayer while Giving Thanks. And Stay Alert (vs 2-4) – There’s probably two words in this one command that challenges the church of God today. For it is challenging to find workers who are persistent in their commitment and in their lifestyles. Many, but not all, who claim to be ‘Christian’ will find their way out to church on Sunday mornings, if there’s nothing better going one, or if the weather is not good for beaching or other activities. To pursue the godly needs of our community, we cannot disappoint a Sunday School classes by not having a teacher show up because this was not their priority that day. The second challenging word in the command is ‘Prayer’. There was an elderly gentleman who threatened the pastor, at a church I attended, that he would not return to midweek services if all he was going to do was ‘Pray’ at our ‘Prayer’ meetings! Many times, I wonder if that is the mindset of many church members, because Prayer meetings are the worst attended service, and the one that forces attendees into a withdrawn corner of their world. They can’t pray in public, is the frequent excuse. Do you suppose that one who doesn’t pray in private might be one who is challenged to pray among other believers? But isn’t the value of prayer seen throughout the Bible? Remember what happened on the day of Pentecost? Always give thanks for what God has already done in response to your prayers, and always stay alert to what others are praying for, for those are their needs and their cry for fellow believers to pray with them for those concerns. Just as Paul asked his church to pray for him and his ministry, I am convinced that our own pastors flourish in their calling when the Holy Spirit responds to our prayers for our pastors and their respective ministries. I had a pastor who said that he tried very hard to use the KISS method in his preaching. Keep It Simple Silly! In the secular world we were encouraged to make our correspondence readable by a 6th grade level student. For if we wrote something very professional, spent postage for mailing the letter, only for the recipient to struggle in understanding what we wrote, then we have truly wasted our employer’s money, and failed to get our purpose across in writing the letter. Paul knew that time was short, so he asked that the people pray for him to keep his message clear and simple. I am convinced that our pastors still need that same prayer on their behalf today. Keep it simple Pastor! Dummy that message down so that even the illiterate could understand!
  • Be Wise how you Act towards the Unsaved (vs 5-6) – Some say that you must not visit the local theater, or pub, or…. anywhere else that non-Christians hang out. While I understand why proponents of that statement feel that way, I’m not so sure that principle has not taught believers to avoid non-Christians. I believe that Paul is proposing that we show the love of Jesus to everyone, especially the unsaved. Don’t shrug off questions by the unsaved, but instead try to encourage them through the love and inspiration of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us. Be ready to speak to what it is that inspires, blesses, heals, and fills you to overflowing each and every day, and how you are anxiously awaiting the day when Jesus will call you home to glory!

Friends, as we read our Bible each day, the Holy Spirit will open our eyes to what we need, and how we should use what we have. It worked for me today, and I pray that in my sharing, it will help you catch a glimpse of the glory of knowing Jesus as your Lord and Savior!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Imagine God using you to represent Him, or be an ambassador for Him, to all that you come into contact with today!

PRAYER: Who are we that a King should live and die for? Yet You loved us so much that the very purpose of Your life became evident when You hung on the cross at Calvary, and rose again, so that we might enjoy our final destiny – our heavenly home with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit! Thank You Jesus that You saw such value in a sinner such as I, that You saved me and handed me the keys to Heaven! My readers, listeners and I are forever grateful for the hope of eternal life. But while allowed to remain on earth a little longer, please use us for Your glory to encourage the unsaved and point them to the empty grave and their hope for eternity in heaven. Give us boldness to stay as strong as Paul was and give us a deep desire to adhere to Paul’s instructions to the church, plus Your commands and teachings. Oh, that they might see Jesus, is my humble plea for all that we will make contact with 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 might 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. You may also visit me on Spotify and listen to Nuggets while you’re out and about. I would encourage you to find a church home near by your home, and attend as frequently as you could. Get to know God, and allow His people to encourage and strengthen you in your Christian walk, while making every effort to be a blessing to them. God is at work among His people! Please consider growing in your faith, as you worship with fellow believers!

A Call To Prayer and Witness

On By Ed AlgreenIn Prayer, WitnessingLeave a comment

The Holy Bible (The Contemporary English Version – Colossians 4:2-6): 2 Never give up praying. And when you pray, keep alert and be thankful. 3 Be sure to pray that God will make a way for us to spread his message and explain the mystery about Christ, even though I am in jail for doing this. 4 Please pray that I will make the message as clear as possible. 5 When you are with unbelievers, always make good use of the time. 6 Be pleasant and hold their interest when you speak the message. Choose your words carefully and be ready to give answers to anyone who asks questions.

Thoughts: In Paul’s departing remarks to the church at Colossae, he shared a few things that God laid on his heart that would help the people grow in Christ and improve the effectiveness of the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that these points are very important to us today as we continue the ministry in this evil world in which we live. Here are some points that really got my attention in the highlighted verses:

  • Prayer – Paul even had some sub points to this particular need:
    • Never give up – just because we may have prayed for something last week doesn’t mean that we don’t pray for that need again this week. Be consistent, and persistent, in prayer;
    • Stay alert – when we hear of a Brother hurting or in need, pray. He may not have asked for prayer, but we can discern that he needs our prayers. We may hear of disasters, such as currently happening in churches in Africa at this time. It’s a news item, but we know that these are our Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, so let us lift them up to the Father in prayer. Let’s be alert to the needs of one another;
    • Be thankful – Let’s learn to always thank God for His provisions, or perhaps His healing, or His guiding and protecting hand upon us, before we ever start our ‘grocery’ list of needs. Let’s be a thankful and appreciative people before God;
    • The ministry – whether it’s our own teaching or preaching, or that of our church leaders, let us pray that the words of God spoken through mere man will impact the lives of listeners. Let’s pray that people will not be distracted by the weaknesses of man, but instead by the power of the Holy Spirit, working through God’s messengers.
  • Witness – This one really stung, because way too often we will sit with an unbeliever and talk about everything under the sun, without ever rejoicing over the Son that lives within us and has played such a key role in us. In our midweek teaching at church last night we were reminded of the words of a great preacher who said, “In a day when everyone is ‘coming out of the closet’ what is stopping Christians from doing the same”! Of course, this is referring to the ‘closet’ of witnessing, for Christians are so afraid of saying anything that might ‘hurt the feelings’ of an unbeliever. However, should we not instead be enthused to share a life-changing, rescue-from-Hell, tip with someone we care enough about to sit and chat for a period of time? If they were about to walk across a very dangerous intersection, we would loudly shout out any life-saving tips to them. Why then do we hesitate to shout, or gently give them life saving tips that affects their eternal destiny? The tip from Paul in vs 5 is that we always make use of the time we have with our non-Christian friends, for they too need the Savior that we love and adore. They too deserve eternity in Heaven with the creator of this universe. What then are we waiting for?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, as You are well aware, the needs are great here on earth, especially the need for Your Son, and the need to surrender our pride to Him. We badly need Your power, Your boldness and Your direction to show enough love for our fellow man by sharing Your message of salvation with them. There are folk that we know, love and care about, that are dying and going to Hell because we have been afraid to put self aside, and share the Love of Jesus Christ with them. I sincerely apologize for my shortcoming in this area Lord. Please forgive me. You died to save ALL who believe on You, please help me to not withhold sharing this good news with everyone that I know and associate with. Please don’t let me stand in the way of extending this privilege to family and friends of mine. Please impact my readers and I with Your Word in such a way today Lord, that we may be more constant in prayer and a bold witness of You to all that we come into contact with. May it be our mission to spread the joy of our salvation with all whom we come into contact with. We need You Lord, and we want You to be a part of our everyday life. I humble place these requests at Your feet with expectations of You working Your perfect will in and through us. For I ask this in the wonderful name of my Savior, Jesus Christ, with thanksgiving, 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!