Tag: thoughts

Persistent in Prayer and Faith

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Adoration, Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Awesome God, Beyond Description, Blessing, Celebrate God, Needs, Praise, Praise-worthy, Recognize God, Worship2 Comments

DATE POSTED: Monday, July 24, 2023, and I was blessed to be at Orlando, FL when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find, read or listen to any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE FROM THE Contemporary English Version (CEV) IS FOUND IN Luke 18:5-8

THE BIBLE TEXT IS: I will help this widow because she keeps on bothering me. If I don’t help her, she will wear me out.” The Lord said: Think about what that crooked judge said. Won’t God protect his chosen ones who pray to him day and night? Won’t he be concerned for them? He will surely hurry and help them….

MY INITIAL THOUGHTS: In this devotional, I believe we may be prompted to consider the difference between persistence and nagging, or faith versus vainly begging for something. Stay tuned and ask God to reveal Himself through His Word as you join me in meditating on today’s Scripture.

APPLICATION OF THE WORD: Every so often we need reminding about our awesome, forgiving, loving Lord who cares so much for us. This story reminded me of a young waiter who served my wife and I at an upscale local restaurant. At a time when our daughter was looking for a job, I asked the young man how did he land a job at a nice restaurant like the one we were at. He responded that his persistence paid off. After submitting his application, he visited the restaurant to ask if they received it, then every day or two he would revisit the restaurant to see if they had made a hiring decision yet. He attributed his success in landing the job to more than his limited qualifications, but in showing the restaurant management how serious he was about wanting to work for them. Sounds similar to the story of the judge mentioned by Jesus, right? But how persistent are we in praying without ceasing for the concerns of our life, and that of the ones we love? Are you negligent in the importance of prayer? Do you lack in the faith to believe that the same God who raised Jesus from the dead is the same God you are asking to heal a broken heart, or restore strength to a concerned heart over daily issues in your family or at work? But how is your relationship with the God to whom you need to ask? Is it one where you communicate daily with Him to celebrate the times of answered prayer and share with Him the concerns you are anticipating that day? Do you always remember that the same one who brought sight to the blind in John 9:6, and made the lame to walk again in Mark 2:11, and restored life to the likes of a dead man as in John 11:38, is the one to whom you are asking to do miraculous things for you today? Friends, we serve an awesome God, and He is eager and ready to accept you into His Kingdom if you surrender your life of sin to His will and purpose today. Remember, Jesus knows our thoughts and therefore knows the desires of our heart. I believe that He stands ready and willing to hear our prayer, or cry, for help, surrender, and in sharing our heart’s cry for help and direction in all walks of our life. I believe He desires to be magnified in us and glorified in all that is achieved in and through us, but we must make the first move. Is it ‘life as usual’ for you, or are you ready to partner with the King of all kings and Lord of all lords today, and for all eternity?

BLESSINGS WORTH NOTING: I often feel guilty of asking God repeatedly for things. But it seems like Jesus is encouraging us to pray frequently, and ask without ceasing. I’m so happy that God loves us unconditionally and He knows the innermost parts of our heart. Bombarding Him with our prayers will serve to show that we trust Him with our innermost thoughts and concerns over and over again.

PRAYER BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT OF TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Precious Lord, You created us and You know our innermost thoughts. Only You can mend a broken heart, and only You can satisfy our desires and solve our concerns. Please teach us to be faithful in offering up our sacrifices of praise, plus the deepest desires of our heart. Things that seem impossible to us are all minor to You, for nothing is impossible with You. Humanly, we tend to cave in to constant bombardment of those in need, but with You Lord, I believe You knot only know our thoughts words and deeds, but You are constantly preparing the way for us to represent You in every aspect of our lives. May others see Jesus today, Lord! AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There’s another page on my website, entitled ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading or listening to this devotional, please go to this 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. If you would like to read more of my devotionals, or subscribe for a daily email containing each new devotional, please go online to NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. For my podcast, go online to Apple Podcasts or, using the Apple Podcast app, simply search for Nuggets From God’s Word to hear more episodes, or click ‘Follow’ to be notified of Podcast updates. Friends, please allow me to 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!

Wisdom – Our Thoughts, Heart and Prayers

On By Ed AlgreenIn A Lamp unto My Path, Adoration, Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Awesome God, Beyond Description, Blessing, Celebrate God, Needs, Praise, Praise-worthy, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED: Saturday, October 14, 2023, and I was blessed to be at Advent Christian Village, Dowling Park, FL when God inspired me to prepare this devotional. My Footnote will tell you how to find, read or listen to any and all episodes that I have shared over the years.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE FROM THE GOD’S WORD Translation (GW) IS FOUND IN Proverbs 15:26; 28-29;

THE BIBLE TEXT IS: The thoughts of evil people are disgusting to the Lord, but pleasant words are pure to him.
The heart of a righteous person carefully considers how to answer, but the mouths of wicked people pour out a flood of evil things.
The Lord is far from wicked people, but he hears the prayers of righteous people.

APPLICATION OF THE WORD: I believe that way too often we overlook the fact that Solomon’s words of wisdom in Proverbs was ordained by God, just as John 3:16 and other Scriptures in the Holy Bible. So, when God got my attention to our key verses today, I felt like He wanted to remind me of a few things in my character that could bless Him and evoke blessings from Him, as well as see things that might deter His blessings on me. In sharing these thoughts with you, I believe that many of you – my readers and/or listeners. are probably not a whole lot different to me and will also be challenged by the Word of God. Each verse seems to concentrate on distinctive parts of our being:
-> Our THOUGHTS – Before you question whether God knows our thoughts, let me give you just a few independent verses where scripture writers cleared this up for us: In Psalm 139:1-2, David tells us: “O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar.” Isaiah 55:8 states, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.” In Psalm 139:23–24, we can read a humble cry for God’s presence in our lives, ‘Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!’. Now, in our above verse, Solomon assures us that God is very unhappy with the evil thoughts of the wicked, but from the righteous, He is blessed by our outward expression of a pure heart and the pleasant words that exude from our mouths.
-> Our HEARTS – From the heart of a righteous man – one who is right with God and lives for His glory, God is honored to see how we carefully analyze a situation, and a person’s emotion, before we answer. To the contrary, God is not at all happy with the evil person who is careless about what they say or are deliberate in calculating hurt towards someone by what they say. If I’m ever tempted to not show love, I tend to use these scenarios as a barometer to help me see if I’m going off track and allowing Satan unwanted access to my heart. Let’s be sure that we stay consistent in pleasing God, regardless of how much we detest a person, what they stand for, and what they probably want to achieve through the words they speak to us and the evil looks that accompany their words. To have the heart of Jesus, we will always display words and actions that portray His love for His children.
-> Our PRAYERS – Although distant to the unrighteous, praise God for the reminder that He listens carefully to the prayers of the righteous. What an awesome reminder and encouragement to always stand closely tuned to God through our deep and sincere prayers to Him! In good relationships, we tend to communicate more. Oh that we will always pour out our heart to our loving Lord and Savior.
What awesome reminders that our God knows our heart, is pleased with our thoughts and listens for our prayers as He stands ready to answer in full accord with His perfect will for us!

PRAYER BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT OF TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Lord, You created us and You know us better than we know ourselves. Thank You for using the wisdom that you gave to Your servant, Solomon, for Your children to be reminded today about how patient, loving and kind You are. You know our thoughts, our heart and still You are willing to listen to our meager acts of worship and our many excuses for failing to spend adequate time with You and obey Your commands. Thank You for being our kind and faithful Father. Please continue to impress upon us the need to obey Your commands and follow Your will for our lives, for You have much better things in store for us after our battles here on earth with the evil one. Please allow us to become so much like You that the unsaved will be reassured of a Savior because they see the evidence in us. Lord, may we never be a stumbling block to anyone that we interact with, for instead be genuine witnesses and representatives of Yours. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There’s another page on my website, entitled ‘To Know Jesus’. If you have been challenged to make a decision today after reading or listening to this devotional, please go to this 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. If you would like to read more of my devotionals, or subscribe for a daily email containing each new devotional, please go online to NuggetsFromGodsWord.org. For my podcast, go online to Apple Podcasts or, using the Apple Podcast app, simply search for Nuggets From God’s Word to hear more episodes, or click ‘Follow’ to be notified of Podcast updates. Friends, please allow me to encourage you to find a church home nearby 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!

Let Heaven Fill Your Thoughts Today

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Heaven, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Wednesday, 2021-07-07
WRITTEN AT: Williams, AZ

SCRIPTURE FROM: Colossians 3:1-3
TRANSLATION: The Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT:  1 Since you became alive again, so to speak, when Christ arose from the dead, now set your sights on the rich treasures and joys of heaven where he sits beside God in the place of honor and power. 2 Let heaven fill your thoughts; don’t spend your time worrying about things down here. 3 You should have as little desire for this world as a dead person does. Your real life is in heaven with Christ and God.

APPLICATION: When Christians worry, do you suppose it’s because we are worried that God will not do what He promised? When we doubt and stress out to the limit, do you suppose that we are concerned that God is unfaithful? When we feel unloved and like no one cares, do you suppose that we allow ourselves to ponder if God must have left us alone, and He no longer cares about us? Friends, I believe that when we allow these types of feelings and/or thoughts to enter our minds, it’s because we have taken our eyes off Jesus and becoming overwhelmed by the the things of this world, and perhaps looking for the attention of earthly friends or loved ones. I believe it might be times like these that Satan moves in for the attack, for he sees that we have taken our eyes off Jesus and allowing the distractions of his world to take hold in our lives. I would highly recommend these verses to all Christians today, for if we follow the advice in verse 2 and fill our thoughts with heaven – our future home, then we will be reminded that it is a place prepared just for us. A place where we will unite with Jesus at the foot of His throne and worship Him with unending praises. A place where we will hear the voice of the Father who will encourage us with words such as “well done good and faithful servant”! A place where we will glorify the Creator of love, the One who loved us enough to die on a cross so that we might have everlasting hope and assurance of heaven. A place where there will be no distractions, but instead where our full undivided attention is centered on the Savior of the world! Try getting away where you are totally disconnected from cell phones and devices for a week. Wow, what a release! Oh how our attention is quickly drawn to the things and people who are truly important to us! Friends, I must remind you that we have allowed so much interference in our day that we not only lose sight of our one-on-one time with the Lord, but we also have lost that one-on-one time with our spouses, our children, our friends, our coworkers and all others. Is it any wonder that we have trouble evangelizing to them? If we can all agree that verse 3 is totally spot on and accurate, then we will agree that our real life is in heaven! I would dare say that our minds, our attention, our aim and our devotion should be there today and everyday. Perhaps it is time that you take a little time to get with Jesus and make sure that every little this is alright with Him. It’s important, friend.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: Heaven should be the home we are headed for, and we should live each day preparing for that future home with the King of Glory!

PRAYER: Lord God, we are such worry warts, but it’s always over things that really don’t matter – things of this world. Being reminded in this scripture that our minds are to be set on our heavenly home, and our time with You, we humbly come before You today asking for forgiveness for our misguided thoughts and worries. We realize that all these things do is to distract us in our walk with You and our witness of You. For when we become solid in our faith and demonstrate it in our walk with You, we will influence those who follow in our steps. Lord I pray that You will do an awesome work in my life and in the lives of my readers, so that we might become healthy Christians focused on the ‘main thing’ – our heavenly home. I further pray that this new focus will have such an impact on us, that the unsaved will desire a close and intimate walk with You. I humbly ask these things in the strong, mighty and holy name of Jesus – your Son, and my Redeemer, 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!

God Knows Our Hearts

On By Ed AlgreenIn Answered Prayer, Appreciation, Needs, Praise, Recognize God, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE WRITTEN: Tuesday, 2020-12-15
WRITTEN AT: Paul B Johnson State Park, Hattiesburg, MS

BIBLE REFERENCE: Psalm 145:16-19
TRANSLATION: The Passion Translation (TPT)

BIBLE TEXT: 16 When you open your generous hand, it’s full of blessings,
satisfying the longings of every living thing.
17 You are fair and righteous in everything you do,
and your love is wrapped into all your works.
18 You draw near to those who call out to you,
listening closely, especially when their hearts are true.
19 Every one of your godly lovers receives
even more than what they ask for.
For you hear what their hearts really long for
and you bring them your saving strength.

OBSERVATION: Based on conversation with our children, we know what they like, and what they wish for. Imagine how much more God knows what we need and what we wish for! For adults, who have pretty much gotten over the idea of gifts on every occasion, hopefully we have a list of loved ones that we wish God would get a hold of and bring them to their senses. What, or perhaps who, is at the top of your wish list today? As you still your heart before Him, may you see God answering your deepest wishes.

APPLICATION: A heart that has been surrendered to God and steeped in the Word of God, will often long for and desire to see God also work in the life of a relative or loved one. We may often pray in deepest sincerity for the loved one, and we may even visit with them to encourage change in their life, but our hearts are burdened for them and we will often sigh in trying to express to our Heavenly Father our deepest desires for that loved one. We are reminded by David that we serve an awesome God, who is fair and righteous in all He does. Isn’t this encouraging to know that God’s decisions are not twisted by our selfish and evil desires at times? We tend to be so driven by vendettas and selfish desires that often we make decisions that are not always in the best interest of the other party. But God respects and loves the sincere hearts of His children, and will therefore listen closely to our cry for help, and for the desires of our humble and contrite hearts. How do we stay humbled for what God expects from His children? We stay in His Word and aim to be more like Jesus in every aspect of life. You see, He was the only perfect One. So there are no others that we may try to imitate who will help us to also lean towards perfection in our lives. Learn to share your heart with the Master dear friend. This will help you realize what God must be seeing in you.

PRAYER: Way too often we could be accused of seeking Your hand for all that You might give to us, instead of seeking Your face in recognition of the awesome God that You are. Thank You Lord Jesus for blessing us, even at times when we didn’t ask for it. You know our very hearts and our innermost thoughts, so You know our desires and our intimate wishes. Because David reminded us of Your fairness and Your awesome love for us, I humbly ask that You touch the hearts of all my readers and myself, so that You might not find selfish desires within us, but instead, always seeking to see our family and loved ones accept You as Lord and Savior of their lives. Thank You Lord for saving my soul. Please teach me to always seek to know You better and be concerned about the salvation of all those within my realm of influence, all for Your glory and honor. AMEN!

FOOTNOTE: There are two more pages on my blog at https://NuggetsFromGodsWord.org 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 or listening to this devotional, please go to 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. If this devotional was forwarded to you and you would like to see more, please go to Nuggets From God’s Word and see all of my posts, or you may freely subscribe for a daily email conveniently containing each day’s devotional. 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!