Identify Yourself With Christ

On 2022-03-182022-03-18 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Preach, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Friday, 2022-03-18
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Romans 1:1-4
TRANSLATION: Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)

BIBLE TEXT: ¹Greetings from Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus.
God chose me to be an apostle and gave me the work of telling his Good News. ²God promised long ago through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures to give this Good News to his people. ^3-4The Good News is about God’s Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. As a human, he was born from the family of David, but through the Holy Spirit he was shown to be God’s powerful Son when he was raised from death.

APPLICATION: You’ve heard it before, a long detailed biography is read for a politician who is about to speak at a meeting you might be attending. Generally you will hear everything about the politician, their parents and everyone that might make his or her life appear important enough to gain our confidence, and ultimately your vote. For a new pastor being introduced to our church, we will hear about his largest congregations, his achievements, his theological degrees earned in seminary, and we may even hear his testimony. Paul’s primary focus was on his relationship with the Master, and how God was instrumental in his desire to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As I looked at what commentators had to say about this introduction, and the Gospel in particular, I felt like I must share the best one I found: John Courson said:

‘Truly, the gospel is Good News—not just good advice. A lot of preachers, authors, and speakers try to make Christianity a bunch of good advice. Most best-selling Christian books today are full of good advice about child-rearing, financial planning, or marriage counseling. But remove the name of Jesus Christ from most of them, and it won’t affect the book at all.
We’ve got something so much better than good advice, folks. And I would encourage you to be on guard against sermons or authors, churches or organizations that give you good advice. If you can take Jesus Christ out of a sermon without affecting it, you’re probably wasting your time listening to it. If you can take Jesus Christ out of a book without affecting it, you’re probably wasting your time reading it. Paul wasn’t separated unto the good advice of Christian living. He was separated to the Good News of God.’

But to top this whole message off, Jesus gave His disciples a few conditions that would generate supreme trust in the Almighty God. I went with a group of missionaries from my church to Mexico for a week. Other than finances, the next greatest challenge was in packing minimally as space would be limited on flights and in the vans used for ground transportation. So can you imagine trying to ‘GO’ under the restrictions ordered by Jesus in (1) noted above in our Scripture? Homes were opened to accommodate the missionaries, as there were no provisions for commercial accommodations, if any existed. This has become a huge problem today, as most church members will refuse to have a missionary or visiting preacher in for a meal, much less opening their home to one. I trust that you can appreciate the difference. Most of us will do everything possible to be accepted by the townspeople in which we minister. But what do you do if you are not accepted? Jesus knew this would happen and probably disappoint His disciples, just as it would impact us, so He prepared us in advance in (3) above for such an unfortunate event. Bible scholars will tell you that Jesus didn’t just tell His disciples to go some foreign place and, when you get – tell and heal. But instead, He told them in their language that as they GO, tell and heal. It is so important that we represent God and tell the Good News everywhere we find ourselves, not just at one specific building, street corner, country or city. As you go each day, brothers and sisters, in every way possible, tell the story of Jesus and His love for everyone you meet, God being your helper and guide.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Being ‘in Christ’ and directed by Christ, helps us better identify that we are qualified to tell the Good News about Jesus Christ. With Christ, we are more than conquerers. Without Christ, we are nothing at all!

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for all You did on Calvary, for the sake of Your precious children. You created us, and because of Calvary You identified with us by fulfilling our need for a Savior, so that Eternal Life might be within reach for us. Without a Savior we would be destined for the pit of Hell. Please help us to never dissociate ourselves with that love shown through Your sacrifice. Oh that we might be like Your servant Paul, and tell the world that because of our relationship to You, and our association with You, we are more than conquerors and therefore well qualified to share the love of Jesus Christ with them. Help us to turn a deaf ear to the teachings of the evil one, who would rather us be afraid, timid, withdrawn, ashamed, and ignorant of the things of God. Your precious Holy Spirit is within us and will embolden us to overcome all of the above and instead stand firm on our faith in You – Almighty Father, Son and Holy Ghost. The world needs You. As Your representative, may we never disappoint them! 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!

Personal Preference – Heaven or Earth?

On 2022-02-142022-02-14 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Evangelism, Evangelize, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Worship2 Comments

DATE POSTED Monday, 2022-02-14
WRITTEN AT: Okeechobee, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Philippians 1:20-24
TRANSLATION: The Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT: ²⁰For I live in eager expectation and hope that I will never do anything that will cause me to be ashamed of myself but that I will always be ready to speak out boldly for Christ while I am going through all these trials here, just as I have in the past; and that I will always be an honor to Christ, whether I live or whether I must die. ²¹For to me, living means opportunities for Christ, and dying—well, that’s better yet! ²²But if living will give me more opportunities to win people to Christ, then I really don’t know which is better, to live or die! ²³Sometimes I want to live, and at other times I don’t, for I long to go and be with Christ. How much happier for me than being here! ²⁴But the fact is that I can be of more help to you by staying!

APPLICATION: Of special note regarding this scripture: Paul is in prison at the time of this writing! So if Paul has the fortitude and determination to live so that He could do more of the Master’s work, even from within four prison walls, how much more those who are ‘free’ should be striving to do the Master’s work? Friends, we whine and we complain about so much, but do we should really have the heart of Jesus, or of Paul, in wanting to see as many won to the Lord as possible? In the above scripture, I bolded a few sentences that, I believe, is worthy of note:
* Living means opportunities for Christ – it is only while we have breath in our bodies that we can be witnesses for the Lord, or care about sinners. Let’s not wait any longer friends, we’re on the winning side and it is our privilege, our honor, and our responsibility to share the Good News of our Savior and Lord;
* Living will give more opportunities to win people to Christ – Often we will find that it’s the threat of impending death that gives us incentive to share the love of Christ that lives inside of us. Please allow me to awaken you to the fact that we have no assurances about the next minute. The moment of opportunity is the present. Please share the love of Christ, who lives inside of you, with all that you care about and/or come into contact with today!
* I can be of more help to you by staying – Jesus Christ has a plan for each of us. He is allowing us to remain here on earth so that we can glorify Him and spread the Good News about the Savior who loved us enough to die for us. In a nutshell friend, this is our mission!
Friends, we remain on this earth to be shining examples of our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s not about politics, gossip, sports, the lotto or any other purpose, so use every opportunity with everyone you know, to let them know that the reason you live is to represent Jesus, while evangelizing the lost, before it is eternally too late for them.

PRAYER: The reason that I live is …….. Lord, as we complete that sentence today in humility and prayer before You. I ask that You will take those completed sentences and correct any misgivings about our mission, compared to the one You have assigned to us. I am pretty convinced that our mission is similar in nature to what Paul shared with the Philippians, because throughout Your Word we are told the importance of surrendering our lives to You, so that we, in turn, may be a blessing to others and convince them of their need for our Savior. Please work on us today and guide us to do Your perfect will, for this is my sincere and humble plea. It’s in Your beautiful and bountiful name that I ask all this, dear Jesus, AMEN!

Because Of Your Witness

On 2021-11-132021-11-12 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Evangelism, Evangelize, Needs, Personal Witness, Praise, Recognize God, Witness, Witnessing, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED Saturday, 2021-11-13
WRITTEN AT: Ormond Beach, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: John 4:39-42
TRANSLATION: Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC)

BIBLE TEXT: ³⁹Now numerous Samaritans from that town believed in and trusted in Him because of what the woman said when she declared andtestified, He told me everything that I ever did.
⁴⁰So when the Samaritans arrived, they asked Him to remain with them, and He did stay there two days.
⁴¹Then many more believed in and adhered to and relied on Him because of His personal message [what He Himself said].
⁴²And they told the woman, Now we no longer believe (trust, have faith) just because of what you said; for we have heard Him ourselves [personally], and we know that He truly is the Savior of the world, the Christ.

APPLICATION: Having worked in the public eye before, it was challenging to remember that interacting with my customers could have impacted them as much as I am reminded of today. I’ve heard stories of widows or widowers visiting their bank every day so they could associate with friendly employees. I’ve seen very angry people who tend to bury themselves in self-pity. But as a Christian, even though I’ve always heard about the importance of sharing Christ with others, I don’t believe I was ever impacted as much, as what God dealt with me on in meditating on this Scripture today. I remember journaling on this story before, but it suddenly hit me today that the Samaritan woman had a choice to make, based on several things about the message today: 1). She could have returned home quiet and subdued, perhaps embarrassed because she realized that the Master of this universe knew all about her marriages and about her current living conditions; 2). She could have gone about her business as usual without arising suspicion among the town about her sanity in thinking that a Jew would have anything to do with a Samaritan, much less a woman; 3). She could have adopted the new catch phrase that tends to pop up in today’s culture ‘Just asking for a friend’, and she could have pretended that she overheard someone speaking with a friend at the well whom she believed could have been Jesus; or 4). No restraints, just let go and share what you know happened to you at the well. Today, your friends could choose to believe you, or not. Friends, when something exciting or miraculous happens in our day, we want to share that with whomever will stop and listen. This is the option that this woman at the well chose to do, and praise God she did, because look at the immense impact it had on her townspeople! So as we meditate on our God today, I believe that it behooves us to evaluate whether we are diligent in sharing our encounters with God with those that we come into contact with. In today’s society, it seems like we are hesitant to mention the name of Jesus in our conversation anymore, because we don’t want to impose our religion on those we come into contact with. Notice how Jesus not only spoke to this woman at the well, but He asked for her assistance. He wanted communion with her. I am reminded that God knows us intimately. He knows our hurts; our worries; our friends; our sins; our weaknesses; and everything in between. I am convinced that when He blesses us, it could be for many more reasons that to just make us feel special or important. He could have touched our heart in last week’s church service because He wanted to fire us up to tell others about our awesome God and our encounter with Him. The very one(s) that we choose to share that with, could very easily be the one questioning if anyone cares about them, or perhaps wondering if God really does exist. Notice that in spite of the woman’s reputation, the townspeople believed what she shared with them, and they were convinced enough that they wanted a personal encounter with Jesus. The main thing that excited me about this story is that when the people had their personal, one-on-one encounter with Jesus, they thanked the woman for drawing them to this mighty man, but they were exuberant about claiming Jesus as their own personal Savior! Friends, that’s a precise example of what happens when we share Christ with our family and friends, and they finally decide to attend church with us. For it is there that many look at more than our story, but instead they look full into the face of Jesus and experience an intimate, personal relationship with Him. Join me in being challenged to just open up and share what Jesus has done for us. Seminary is not required, just share your personal experience with Jesus! It could make a life-changing difference for others, for all eternity!

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Just as God miraculously reaches in and touches our life, we might help in encouraging others to also seek our God. He could change their eternal destiny, as they find Him and trust Him!

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, You are more precious than silver or anything else in this world, because You saw us in our sin and mire, and You accepted our plea for salvation anyway. We are concerned for family and friends who show evidence of not knowing You personally, please embolden us and direct us to these individuals with the right words to share with them. Lord, I believe Your return is imminent and that it will happen soon! We don’t want to see any left behind, but we need You to do the work and use us if it will help. The Samaritan woman did this, and I believe You can also help us to be a better witness. Use us in Your service Lord, for Your kingdom’s sake. AMEN!

Can’t Help Telling

On 2019-12-242020-03-09 By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, Share God’s Word, WorshipLeave a comment

Tuesday, 2019-12-24

Bible Reference: Acts 4:18-20
Translation: The Voice (VOICE)

Bible Text: ¹⁸The leaders brought the prisoners back in and prohibited them from doing any more speaking or teaching in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹Peter and John listened quietly and then replied: You are the judges here, so we’ll leave it up to you to judge whether it is right in the sight of God to obey your commands or God’s. ²⁰But one thing we can tell you: we cannot possibly restrain ourselves from speaking about what we have seen and heard with our own eyes and ears.

OBSERVATION: Gossip is one of those evils that many of us become involved in, and we just can’t help ourselves from sharing the juicy news that we just heard from a friend! But think about it, when something miraculous or disastrous happens in our lives, we openly share that with family and friends also. Peter and John was much like us, in that they didn’t feel like anything, or anyone, could stop them from sharing the outstanding miracles they witnessed while in the presence of Jesus. As we meditate, let me encourage you to think of the miracles in your life, and whether you were as prone to share that news as our brothers (disciples) did in this story.

APPLICATION: Is there anything more beautiful than a newborn baby? Is there anything that will prevent that mother, father or grandparents from bragging about the new addition to their family? What about that young man who was given his death sentence by an attending physician, but later found that God had intervened, healed his body, and restored him to perfect health? Would you ever imagine him staying silent about his miracle, and the God who ordained it all? But as for our Christian friends, isn’t it amazing how we tend to listen to those leaders mentioned in verse 18, and try to avoid being offensive to anyone, or hurting the feelings of the criminal down the street, and we stay in our little corner and keep very quiet, or we try to avoid the subject of our faith while speaking in the presence of that individual. Why, in the United States, Christians sat back and allowed Satan and his followers to take God out of our school system – no prayer in schools – much like the leaders were telling Peter and John to do. At work; in the restaurants and around our business places, often you will find that patrons listen very carefully to Satan’s leaders and do their best to avoid hurting the feelings of every one else. Or is that really what Christians are afraid of (hurting the feelings of others)? Peter said that the leaders could draw whatever conclusions they wanted and/or demanded them to do, but nothing, or no one could stop them from sharing the love expressed to them, the miracles that took place right before their eyes, the intimate times of praise and worship they enjoyed with the Master, and the promises that He shared with them. In fact, it was so embedded in their minds and in their hearts, that NOTHING or NO ONE could stop them from sharing it with others. So why are we not like our Brothers (Peter and John)? Do we have something to share? If so, why would we ever allow anyone to stop us from sharing that exciting news with someone else? May I challenge you dear Christian believer, that we find it very easy to share with others what we fill our hearts and lives with? A good baseball game the night before, will result in an exciting discussion the next morning at work. A graduation party will result in a lot of bragging about our precious kids the following morning. But what about a church service where kids surrendered their sinful hearts to a holy God – the Creator and Master of this universe? They turned from the wickedness and sin of this challenging world, and decided to follow Jesus! Why listen to worldly leaders and hide that exciting news? Surely we would not opt to see them die and go eternally to Hell with Satan and his demons, while we know from experience how we might help them avoid that pitfall? What’s your stance today dear friend? What do you do in these situations? What would you prefer doing when these situations arise again?

PRAYER: For all that You are, all that You do for us, and for all that You have promised us for eternity, we give You eternal thanks oh God. You are our hope today and throughout eternity. Please continue to prompt us towards holiness and righteousness because of Jesus. Please remove every selfish desire, and give us boldness to share the love extended to us by Your Son, so that others may know You and want to serve You while still remaining on earth. We have everything to share, and nothing to fear, and with Your strength, wisdom and boldness I am convinced that we could assume the same stance as our Brothers Peter and John – nothing can stop us from sharing the love and power of our Lord that we have experienced ourselves. May You be glorified through everything we say or do oh Lord. AMEN!

Lives that Reflect God’s Good News!

On 2019-04-11 By Ed AlgreenIn Evangelism, Evangelize, Good News, WitnessLeave a comment

Thursday, 2019-04-11

Bible Reference: Mark 1:14-15
Translation: New Living Translation (NLT)

Bible Text: ¹⁴Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where He preached God’s Good News. ¹⁵“The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”

OBSERVATION: The order of events shows that Jesus showed up to be baptized by His forerunner, John the Baptist; He was then ordered to the wilderness to be tempted by Satan; then He returned to begin His earthly ministry of sharing the best news ever – God’s Good News of the home He has prepared for His saints to settle in one day with He and His precious Son, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. There is nothing that would match this good news when shared with people of this earth!

APPLICATION: This great news that Jesus shared with the people of Galilee, is still the greatest news that we can share with the world today, friends! Pastors do this from our pulpits, teachers do this through Bible studies and/or Sunday School and those who have that assurance of salvation – Christians, we share this each and every day through our words and through our actions. Ever stopped to ponder what message you are unconsciously getting across to those you work with or associate with every day? Unfortunately the unsaved have chosen to reject the Bible and its teachings, but they are constantly looking for a life, or a witness, that appears happy and successful to them, so that they may seek the source of that joy. And that’s where Christians come in, it’s not how often we attend church, or how good we are at quoting parts of the Bible. Friends, they are looking for changed lives – ones that stand out and are sincerely living a life that imitates everything they have heard about Jesus. I believe that our takeaway from this Scripture today is that the Good News must still go out to the unsaved today, if they are ever expected to know and believe on Jesus. Are we conveying that message through the lives we live? May our words be reflective of the Good News of Jesus Christ that we live our lives by, so that the world might know.

PRAYER: Spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ and the salvation of those that believe on Him, was of super importance to Jesus. If we are to live like Him, then we must follow in His footsteps and fulfill the ministry of the saints to share the love of Jesus and the saving grace that comes form Him alone. The world needs this, but how will they know unless we tell them? Lord, please direct Your children today. As you share the Good News, may we follow in doing the same today. Amen!

Good News!

On 2017-04-11 By Ed AlgreenIn Evangelism, Evangelize, Good News, WitnessLeave a comment

Post Date:	Tuesday, 2017-04-11
SCRIPTURE
From:	Mark 1:14-15 (NLT)
Text:	¹⁴Later on, after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galilee, where he preached God’s Good News. ¹⁵“The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”
OBSERVATION:
The order of events shows that Jesus showed up to be baptized by His forerunner, John the Baptist; He was then ordered to the wilderness to be tempted by Satan; then He returned to begin His earthly ministry of sharing the best news ever – God’s Good News of the home He has prepared for His saints to settle in one day with He and His precious Son, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. There is nothing that would match this good news when shared with people of this earth!
APPLICATION:
This great news that Jesus shared with the people of Galilee, is still the greatest news that we can share with the world today, friends! Pastors do this from our pulpits, teachers do this through Bible studies and/or Sunday School and those who have that assurance of salvation – Christians, we share this each and every day through our words and through our actions. Ever stopped to ponder what message you are unconsciously getting across to those you work with or associate with every day? Unfortunately the unsaved have chosen to reject the Bible and its teachings, but they are constantly looking for a life, or a witness, that appears happy and successful to them, so that they may seek the source of that joy. And that’s where Christians come in, it’s not how often we attend church, or how good we are at quoting parts of the Bible. Friends, they are looking for changed lives – ones that stand out and are sincerely living a life that imitates everything they have heard about Jesus. I believe that our takeaway from this Scripture today is that the Good News must still go out to the unsaved today, if they are ever expected to know and believe on Jesus. Are we conveying that message through the lives we live? May our words be reflective of the Good News of Jesus Christ that we live our lives by, so that the world might know.
PRAYER:
Spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ and the salvation of those that believe on Him, was of super importance to Jesus. If we are to live like Him, then we must follow in His footsteps and fulfill the ministry of the saints to share the love of Jesus and the saving grace that comes form Him alone. The world needs this, but how will they know unless we tell them? Lord, please direct Your children today. As you share the Good News, may we follow in doing the same 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 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!

Nuggets From God's Word

Tag: Tell the Good News

Identify Yourself With Christ

Personal Preference – Heaven or Earth?