Tag: wise

Be Guided in Life by Godly Wisdom

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, Wisdom, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED: Friday, October 20, 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 Voice (VOICE) IS FOUND IN Proverbs 16:2-3; 11;

THE BIBLE TEXT IS: Even when you think you have good intentions, He knows your real motives.
Whatever you do, do it as service to Him, and He will guarantee your success.
The Eternal requires that business be conducted honestly; He wants fairness in all your dealings.

APPLICATION OF THE WORD: Being in this world, it may often be challenging to be separate, and determined to live a life patterned after Jesus, our Lord, seeing that it would be so different to everyone else around us. However, we manage to do that for our parents; for our teachers; for our spouse; and when around those who tend to look up to us; so why not for the One who sacrificed life itself, even while we were yet sinners, so that we might one day be with He and the Father in glory for all eternity? I found Proverbs chapter 16 quite intriguing, and the three verses quoted above to have wisdom for many who might read and/or listen to this devotional. Please allow me to expand just a little on these verses:
-> Have the right motives – I realize that there are times we have to force ourselves to do what is right, at least until our mind catches up with what we know God desires of us. However, unless we commit ourselves fully to the lordship of Jesus Christ, we might try to convince our inner man what it might look to the rest of the world for them to determine that our intentions are good. Friends, let’s always remember that our God is invincible and even if we hide ourselves from the rest of the world, God still knows our most intimate thoughts and He sees every outward action and reaction. God is reminding us through this Proverb today, that He knows our motives for doing what we do, or saying what comes out of our mouth. Wouldn’t it be awesome for us to see Jesus thanking and praising His Father for our words and actions, because He saw how genuine we were?
-> Please God in everything you do – Many of us might have different standards in behaving the way we do or saying what we say in certain circumstances. In the presence of the boss at work, most workers will excel in doing everything they feel the boss expects of them. For the child of God, He wants us to always work and/or speak in a manner that we would do if we saw Jesus standing beside us in every scenario of life.
-> Be fair, as you want God to be fair with you – A common theme that we hear about the business world is ‘It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there’, meaning that everyone does whatever they can to make as much as they could in the limited time that they are given here on earth. I believe that God is challenging us through this Proverb to be different from the rest, and instead be a Christ follower – even in the business place, or in your business dealings as well. Now this will require you to dedicate your whole self to the Lord. For I believe you are saying to God that you want Him to guide you in your personal life, whether it be at home, at work, in your community or anywhere else that you may find yourself. When this happens, you are asking God to help you think, speak and act like Him. To truly be His representative, or ambassador here on earth. When we follow Christ, and when we strive daily to be obedient and follow His commands, He will direct our path and correct our intentions to be aligned with His will for us. The difference should be obvious to the world when they deal with a greedy business person, versus dealing with a child of the King striving to do business God’s way.

PRAYER BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT OF TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Lord Jesus, I am ever so grateful for the example You set before us. Also for Your encouragement to see Your children follow in Your footsteps, so that our people today will know that You are alive because of the evidence they see in our lives. Thank You for Your Word – our guide to everything You desire of us. Lord, may we read it and digest it each day, so that we will live under the umbrella of everything You shared with us. I thank You Lord for the difference You have made in my life. Please help me to live in a way that others will see Jesus through my entire character. Please bless those who will read or listen to this devotional. Open their eyes to the truth of Your Word and help them to commit themselves to live Christ-like lives before a people who need encouragement, and also many who need You personally involved in their lives. 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!

On Becoming Wise and Loving Enough To Discipline

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, Wisdom, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED: Saturday, August 26, 2023, and I was blessed to be at 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 New Living Translation (NLT) IS FOUND IN Proverbs 13:20; 24;

THE BIBLE TEXT IS: Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.
Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.

MY INITIAL THOUGHTS: The book of Proverbs is filled with wisdom to help guide God’s people along and make wise decisions in the things they practice or do every day. I can’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t prefer to walk and talk in a way that not only pleases God, but that may help others. So, the wisdom of Solomon is shared with us to help us do just that. It is often said that having children comes with no handbook on how to properly raise them. I believe that today’s Scripture gives wisdom and direction in this matter. Meditate with me on the Word of God!

APPLICATION OF THE WORD: I recall the wisdom of my mom when I was being raised, and I just couldn’t understand why she made some decisions that seemed to ‘punish’ me and keep me apart from my peers. However, now that I’m reading the Bible for myself and seeking God’s direction and wisdom to lead me in His intended way for life, it makes all the sense in the world what my mom and dad did in raising me. There were times that I heard things like ‘I just don’t want you hanging around with that crowd’; and ‘I want you to do your best in life’, etc. I now wonder if it wasn’t the Word of God she was practicing and quoting to me. For I see where Solomon gave the same advice in verse 20 today. To those who are not versed in the Scriptures, you may have various opinions about the wisdom shared by Solomon. After all, following in the steps of those who pay no attention to the direction of the God who created us and the creation that we enjoy, could only mean that we are resolute in allowing the evil one to direct us in his wicked and sinful ways. Friends, our direction in life should be one that, deep inside, causes us to do better than the wisest person that we know. OR if we allow Satan to have his way, it will cause us to do worse than the most evil person we know. In the former statement, we aim to please God by being the best He has to offer to this world. In the latter statement, we settle for promoting Satan’s message of evil and destruction of all that God has created or aims to promote. As long as we have breath, God can help us turn from evil to good; sin to glory; Satan to Eternal Life with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Please allow me to encourage you to examine your life and decide today whom you will follow. If you conclude that it’s Jesus you want to follow, then call on Him in sincerity and accept the sacrifice that He made for you on Calvary. Believe on the name of Jesus and you will be saved. Seek His forgiveness of your sin and ask for His power to follow the wisdom of His Word and those who He are saved already here on earth.
For those who have struggled through the circumstances such as described above, and you have not sought help to turn that around, you may also struggle with raising a child to follow in the wisdom of Almighty God. For those who have accepted Jesus and then become blessed with the opportunity to raise a child. Please remember that God shared through Solomon how we must all raise our children in the love and admonition of the Lord. A good place to begin this process is to stay firm in sharing your beliefs and remain committed to direct that child in the way of the Lord. That ‘directing’ works exactly like a ‘rod of correction’. Each will help to steer a child in the way they should go. A child is similar to a ship, each will wonder along being steered by the wind. In the case of the ship – actual wind as we know it, might blow from the port side of the ship and will steer the ship too far right, if not corrected by the rudder controlled by the ship’s captain. In the case of a child, the circumstance of life will steer that child unless corrected and kept on course by a parent who has God’s leadership and wisdom to overcome and/or avoid evil. Notice how I included the words ‘God’s leadership’. An unbeliever following the ways of Satan cannot direct a child in the ways of God. You can share what you have, not what you’ve heard about and don’t practice yourself.

BLESSINGS WORTH NOTING: God loves us enough to tell us, shows us, and help us do what is right in His sight, and to share that with others who need a ‘rudder’ or good godly wisdom to overcome evil.

PRAYER BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT OF TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Dear Lord Jesus, what a reminder! From the time we are born here on earth, until the time we are called out of this world, there are steering currents that impact our lives. Some contribute to our godly delinquency, and others steer us aright to obedience and correctness in the ways of God. As long as we are steeped in the ways of the world, with Satan as its leader, we will have little chance of correcting our ways and changing our allegiance. Praise God, You taught us in Your Word that all things are possible with God, and You have shown us examples of ways that you have turned hardened sinners into faithful and true saints of God. While some of us may have lots of education, some may have had very little. But I believe that since You made us in Your image, You have given us the ‘smarts’ to listen and obey You and to follow the direction You have laid out for our lives. Please Lord, besides giving me strength and direction each day, please also touch the lives of those who will read or listen to this devotional. May each one choose life – eternal life with You in glory. 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!

How To Acquire Wisdom

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, Wisdom, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED: Thursday, June 1, 2023, and I was blessed to be at O’Brien, FL when God inspired me to write this blog post. 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 The Passion Translation (TPT) IS FOUND IN Proverbs 9:10-12

THE BIBLE TEXT IS: The starting point for acquiring wisdom is to be consumed with awe as you worship Yahweh. To receive the revelation of the Holy One, you must come to the one who has living-understanding. Wisdom will extend your life, making every year more fruitful than the one before. So it is to your advantage to be wise. But to ignore the counsel of wisdom is to invite trouble into your life.

MY INITIAL THOUGHTS: What is wisdom? As a child I often heard my parents speak of ‘that wise old man down the street’. But what did that mean? Unfortunately, I always assumed that if there was ever anything I wanted to know, I should go to ‘that wise old man down the street’! But Solomon was the wisest man on earth, while Jesus was the wisest man who ever lived. However, the Bible teaches us that God is still interested in teaching us how to acquire wisdom, and its benefits, once acquired. Let’s examine this today.

APPLICATION OF THE WORD: One of my favorite Bible commentators teaches that wisdom is: ‘the ability to understand the divine perspective and apply it to life, comes from God. He’s the only source. If you’re going to become wise, you have to get to know God through his Word and take him seriously.‘ Many Bible versions tell us that wisdom begins with the fear, or deep respect of, God. When we stand in the presence of our Holy God and humble ourselves; pay our respect to Him; and honor Him with our praise, worship and adoration, then we are truly recognizing His unique power and lordship over us. We acknowledge that God is supreme, and just like a baby bird would wait with an open mouth to receive food from its mother, we too stand before the Almighty waiting to be fed by His teaching and instruction. In verses 7 – 9, Solomon teaches us why some will not subscribe to such a feeding from the Creator of this earth, therefore we can better understand why our churches are no longer filled with folk looking to be fed by God. But let’s try to concentrate on the subject today – how to acquire wisdom. Notice it’s not through a better high school, a foreign based college, or the degrees we might gain through further education. Wisdom begins as we recognize God and humble ourselves to believe in and accept the awesome power and wisdom of our Creator. Remember, He was always here, He created us and the beauty of everything around us, He provided the only source of salvation for us to achieve Heaven and to be with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. God protects, loves and guides His children through every walk of life. He is God, when we stand on the mountain tops and shout praises to Him, and He is still God, when we slump into depressive times in the valleys of our life. If He was a school pal with all these attributes, we would trust them completely with our lives and our belongings, and we would sing accolades to the awesome person that they are. Yet, God not only does all that, but He also has prepared a place for us to live eternally with Him, so He is the God of our beginning, our ongoing life on earth, and the eternal God who will care for us forever. Shouldn’t we all the more stand before Him in awe and appreciation for who He is and for all that He has promised to do for us. Friends, as God fills us with this kind of wisdom, He will open our eyes to see Him for who He truly is. Please consider joining me, as together we bow at the feet of Jesus and worship Him, and as we open His Word each day and allow Him to fill us with wisdom from on high. There is no greater love and no greater wisdom my friends. Husbands tend to tell wives that they could conquer the world with them by his side. I believe we can say without a doubt that we, the children of Almighty God, can not only conquer earth and its daily challenges, but we are given cause for endless worship in knowing that our future is secure in heaven! Praise to our ever-living God!

BLESSINGS WORTH NOTING: Verses 11 & 12 read: Wisdom will extend your life, making every year more fruitful than the one before. So it is to your advantage to be wise.

PRAYER BECAUSE OF THE IMPACT OF TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: To seek after wisdom is a personal choice, so Jesus, my wonderful Savior and Lord, please incent me to always seek after the wisdom that is only possible from You. Being reminded of the rewards for seeking more wisdom and persistently seeking to become wiser, I pray that we will all take full advantage of meeting regularly with the great wisdom-giver, our only wise and holy God. Please help us to learn, understand and follow Your ways oh Lord, so that others may see You in us and want to know You personally. Thank you for Your words of wisdom through Solomon in verses 7-9 where You showed us who would appreciate the wisdom we offer to them. Please help each reader or listener to join me in being faithful to sharing the wisdom from on high, without looking for any personal acolades. 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. 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. 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!

How To Become Wise

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, Wisdom, WorshipLeave a comment

DATE POSTED: Tuesday, 2023-04-11
WRITTEN AT: O’Brien, FL

SCRIPTURE FROM: Proverb 1:7-9
TRANSLATION: Living Bible (TLB)

BIBLE TEXT: 7-9 How does a man become wise? The first step is to trust and reverence the Lord! Only fools refuse to be taught. Listen to your father and mother. What you learn from them will stand you in good stead; it will gain you many honors.

OBSERVATION: Ever looked back on life and wished you had made better choices about a certain faction of your life? But this would only have been possible if you were wiser, or if you had realized sooner that you could use the help of others in those decisions. The queen of Sheba traveled to try and discern what Solomon was doing to make himself so successful in life, and she discovered that he was in a class of his own in being extremely wise. Now in the book of Proverbs Solomon is sharing with us how we might become wise, so I believe we should ask God to open our eyes of understanding and listen for the tips on becoming wiser.

APPLICATION: I am intrigued by infants who quickly use their natural instincts to do what they want, and make sure that everyone else around them do what they want! I’m not so sure that we ever grow out of that, but it is evident that God has built into us a desire to want our own way while also realizing that we could do way more than we are capable of, by learning to lean on the support of those who love us and want to see us succeed. Let’s examine the sources of help that Solomon teaches us to lean and depend on:

  • Trust and Reverence the Lord – If God made us and designed a world for us to live in, I believe it is critically important that we trust His correction, follow His commands and respect Him as our Lord. If He sent us His Son, so that we might have forgiveness of sin when we invite Him into our life, then I believe it is evident that God’s end goal is for us to return to Him after our time here on earth is over. Good parents remain parents for their whole life! Sure, a spouse will most lightly enter into the lives of most adults, but there is absolutely no substitute for mom and dad! Why then do we feel like we can take over from the authority of God and lead a life that we design and plan to achieve? If He had the beginning in mind in our birth, and He has the end in mind, our eternity in heaven, wouldn’t it make sense that He has special plans in mind for us while we battle with Satan and his army here on earth? Trust in the Lord your God, with all your heart, soul and mind. Remember, He is God, and beside Him, there is no other. Reverence Him, not only as your God, but also as the God of the universe!
  • Only fools choose not to be taught – Ever received a good grade because of the effort you put into resolving a challenging question? You may be rebellious in school, but I hope that you will always use the good sense given to you by God and learn something new each and every day! Be on the lookout for Jesus and be amazed by the wonderful God that He is!
  • Listen to you mom and dad – Even at 68 years of age, I still reflect on the things taught to me by my dad, and I stand amazed at his wisdom that he so freely passed on to me. Remember, our parents have a vested interest in our wellbeing, and they want to see us succeed. Learn from their successes and also from their failures, There is no reason to repeat their mistakes.

Solomon didn’t just offer up wisdom and tell us to obey his tidbits because He said so, but rather, he shared the value and benefits of obedience to God, and to those who nurture us. He assured us that the values we assume from others willing to teach us, lead us in, and support us through, will stick with us our whole lives. Friends, think about all those who have impacted your lives. They may have walked alongside you in your struggles, they may have taught you in school or at home, or they may have shared amazing successes with you while teaching you to reach for the stars, like they did.

BLESSING(S) NOTED: While there may be some out to destroy us, there are many willing to share the love of Jesus with us as they interact with, and care for, us each day. To enhance our wisdom, let’s depend on God; listen, love and appreciate those He sends our way.

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I am amazed at how You care for us. Just when we think we know it all, You send someone our way to open the doors of heaven and show us how we need You, and also our fellow man. Your Holy Book is filled with information to guide us in the way we should go and to keep Your way holy and set apart with a rich and meaningful life here on earth. Even more importantly, You show us daily that others also need us, and never should we be selfish enough to stick to ourselves and let them do their own thing. I believe that You’ve placed us here to worship and honor You, and to share Your love, care and protection towards all people. Please continue to bless us as we go our way and may we always share Your love with others, especially those in need of a Savior. 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!