Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks's devotional series: Thoughts

Thought 152

Strengthening

     For the past several months I hadn’t really heard from the Lord or felt anything from Him. I don’t know why.  I did not have the joy and the excitement of praising God that I had experienced so vividly in the past. But today God brought me to a certain place in Scripture, and after I read those passages and prayed, thanked, and worshiped God from my heart I experienced His joy again. My very inmost being was strengthened as I felt that God had come near again.

      The Bible says, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 (KJV) Wow!  If you feel distant from God or discouraged, seek Him and patiently wait. Strengthening will come; either from the Holy Spirit directly or through people, circumstances, and many other things.

      Emotional experiences alone are not anything in comparison to the times that God touches your heart, your soul, and your life! No relationship, other than one with the Triune God of the universe, the CREATOR of Heaven and earth can give greater satisfaction, fulfillment, and assurance of purpose. Let’s praise Him right now!

I sing a psalm to God from my heart and I bid you to do the same:

O Lord hide not Your face from me again!

Strengthen me in the light of Your glory all my days.

May my strength and assurance rest in You and not the wisdom of myself or men.

O God of my fathers, O Lord God of the Founding Fathers,

Come heal the land I live in.

USE me as a beacon in this dry and thirsty land.

I need you Lord, do not depart from me. Always show Your faithfulness to me.

Guide me to teach and to reach people for You, O Lord.

Let You be my focus! May Your power spill out of my life.

Amen and I say it again, Lord, Amen. May the world rejoice in you.

Amen.

       Take a moment and sing or write a personal song of praise to the Lord. When I praise God, I have the strength to continue. If there was a key to the Christian lifes’ success, I believe it would be true worship (prayer and worship from the heart in song, thought, word, and deed), because the joy and strengthening that you then receive no man can take from you.

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book series: Thoughts

Thought 151

Be joyful in the Lord!

    Have you ever had an unexplainable joy come upon you, a joy form the Lord? It is a spiritual mountaintop experience. It is not just an emotion, it is a blessing from God. If you have never run in the joy of the Lord I pray that God will bless you with the gift of running in joy one day.

     Some people call this being “drunk in the Spirit,” but I do not really care what they call  it because I know that it is real.

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book series: Thoughts

Thought 150

Believe what God promises

Read 1 Chronicles 17:16-27 (NIV)

      Have you ever struggled believing something that God told or revealed to you because it just doesn’t make any sense? I have. The only thing that I can tell you is that when you feel like giving up and not holding to that promise(s) anymore, is that you take a moment and cry out to God for help to stand firm and continue to fight the good fight to believe. When you want to give up because it isn’t normal or because it isn’t what is “in” or when you just don’t want to believe because it is hard to press on, guess what? God is still there.

       I know that some people are reading this book and thinking “this kid is only a fifteen or sixteen something, but how can he know all this stuff.” The truth is I know nothing. Without God, I am nothing. God is teaching me and has taught me things that are contained in these pages. The Holy Spirit personally teaches me, the Scriptures have showen me the TRUTH, the Father has continued to pour His affections on me, and the Son—Jesus Christ!— has saved me from all my sin by dying on that Cross for me. And I know that God wants to teach you as well: to guide you, to direct your steps, and to commune with you. I am a nobody that God chose to make a somebody. God wants to make you a somebody too. Talk to Him, and if He chooses to talk back…listen!

        I have failed my Lord so many times. I have doubted, sinned, lusted, despised, and disobeyed the words of my God. May He forgive you as he has forgiven me.

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book series: Thoughts

Thought 149

Take God at His word

²⁶Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, 'This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says concerning the words you heard: ²⁷ Because your heart was responsive and you humbled yourself before God when you heard what he spoke against this place and its people, and because you humbled yourself before me and tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the LORD. ²⁸ Now I will gather you to your fathers, and you will be buried in peace. Your eyes will not see all the disaster I am going to bring on this place and on those who live here.' " So they took her answer back to the king.  2 Chronicles 34:26-28 (NIV)

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book series: Thoughts

Thought 148

 Do you know Christ?

Matthew 7:21-23 (NIV)

 ²¹"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' ²³Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

    Take a moment… read the surrounding verses of this passage… do you need to get something right with the Lord Jesus? …….pray.

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book series: Thoughts

Thought 147

“Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” (Mark 10:9 NIV)

     Mere men and women should not separate what God has joined together and disobedience to God’s Word requires correction, just like disobedience to earthly parents requires punishment. Because men and women are not honoring the fact that God has joined them together families are being broken, children are being left fatherless, hearts are being broken, and people are selfishly following their own “needs” instead of God today.

    Are you the victim of a divorced family? Do you want to be the victimizer of another? Hopefully not! Dear friend, we must acknowledge what God has done: joining marriages for life. May we obey lest we reap the lasting consequences of our hastily sown seed of divorce in this country.

Think about this today:

Before a man and woman marry, one important block to lay in their relationship is the fact that they will never separate the bond that God created between them.

They say this in their vows, but won’t live it without true                                 commitment, that is, true love (1 Cor. 13).

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book series: Thoughts

Thought 146

An AMAZING ‘love’ story

    Read through the love story of Isaac and Rebekah in Genesis 24.

    What did you learn? In modern times, this type of story doesn’t seem possible, but God moves beyond cultures and ages to accomplish HIS will. Take some time and pray that God becomes part of your future or existing “love story.” Invite the Lord to permeate this area of your life so much that many people are touched with your joy and understanding that guidance to “the One” is given by God.

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book series: Thoughts

Thought 145

“And the two shall become one FLESH….”

      God moves on to tell us in the first few chapters of Genesis that the reason for a guy and gal have to leave their mom and dad is marriage (Genesis 2:24). They leave so that they can become one flesh; and the two becoming one flesh is much deeper than the physical closeness of sex that some interpret it to mean. Instead, it is a spiritual bond, one where two individuals become one that is personified in two bodies. This one fact explains why divorce and losing a spouse is so devastating—they lost a part of themselves, not just a person they knew.   . . . what God has joined, let no man separate.

      When two people (a man and a woman and only a man and a woman) become one flesh, something happens to the one that has now been formed. Men become husbands, fathers, and providers. While women transition into wives, mothers, helpmeets, and nurture. Today, contemplate why God created the two to become one and how their new oneness is more balanced than their individuality.

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 144

Marriage – an examination of the destination

    We are going to dive into an intense series where we will look at courtship, marriage and romance from God’s guidelines. Genesis is the best place to start, so your assignment before moving forward is to read Genesis 1:26-2:25.

      Adam and Eve’s “love story” is the first picture of marriage in the Bible. God created the Eve for Adam. God brought them together. It is important to note that they did not seek each other out or place an order. It was God’s working. The Lord knew that Adam (man) needed a helpmeet (woman), thus He brought them together in an extraordinary way.

       The name that Adam gave his helpmeet’s gender says a lot. Some scholars believe that Adam called Eve “woman” because she was the “womb man” in other words, that she was from the womb of a man (Adam’s body, his rib).  Another viewpoint, which isn’t scripturally grounded, is that Adam called Eve “woman” because when he saw her he was saying “WO!!! MAN!!!”

      For today, pause and contemplate the significance of God orchestrating the entire relationship between Adam and Eve and the fact that Eve came from God through Adam.

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 143

1 Corinthians 7:27 vs. Proverbs 18:22

The Finding Principle

 ^“Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife.” 1 Corinthians 7:27 (NIV1984)

“He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.” Proverbs 18:22 (NIV1984)

    At first glance these Scriptures can appear to contradict each other: after all, one says don’t look for a wife and the other says that he who finds one receives favor from the Lord. How do you find something without looking for it? The answer is actually  very simple. Think about when you have misplaced an important item like your keys. As you look in odd places, you find things that you didn’t even know were there, right? It’s the same in our lives. If we seek the Lord Jesus and His kingdom first, then everything else we need will be added to us (Matthew.6:33). If you need a wife (or husband), God will provide (check out Genesis 24 for an example)!

    Are you unmarried? Don’t go looking for a wife! Seek the Lord. He will lead you and, as you follow Him, you will find that wife: find what is good and receive favor from the Lord!

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 142

Top two Commandments

#1 Love God with all you heart, all your soul, and with all your mind.

#2 Love your neighbor as yourself

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 141

Greed

“…men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain . . . People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” 1 Timothy 6:5-6,9-10 (NIV1984)

    We need to have wisdom in our finances, be faithful stewards of all the resources the Lord has given us, and work hard. However, if you love money and think that being a Christina is a way into getting more money, be careful! The Bible is full of financial principles in the Proverbs and elsewhere, but the Word also says, “Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a rich man whose ways are perverse. (Proverbs 28:6 NIV1984)”

     I am not saying that it is holier to be poor than rich, but I am saying that contentment with the Lord is where the real gains lie. Gains of peace, joy, and eternal things.

     Loving money is not providing for your family or working hard to save for a house or other need. The passage in 1 Timothy simply teaches, don’t be eager for money. Greed is the problem, that is the attitude/motivation/spirit that God is dealing with in Scripture. So don’t be afraid to work hard, give, save, invest, and manage money wisely. Thank the Lord for what He has given you and for providing for your and others’ needs through your labors. The Lord simply wants us to be faithful with everything that He has given us and He has warned us of the common pitfalls of leaving faithfulness to self-centeredness to guide us.

Read 1 Timothy 6:3-10.

May God bless you in your finances and stewardship. And may you be humble and thankful for what the Lord has given, no matter how great or how small.

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 140

Endurance: Standing Your Ground

Read Ephesians 6:10-20 (When you read verses 19 and 20 please pray those things for me, I need your prayers).

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood. . . .Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

Ephesians 6:12,13 (NIV1984)

    Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but it feels like it sometimes. However, let’s examine that feeling for a minute. When people just seem to get your nerves is it really them that you are frustrated with or is it something about them or something that they do? Read Ephesians 6:12 for the answer to what are struggle is with.

    I have been going through tremendous pressures recently. Not just a week or a few days, but months. At times, it feels like I hear so many lies and don’t see anyone sharing truth. It’s frustrating, but it is an opportunity to get to draw near to the Lord.

    I can’t say that it’s easy to stand and endure, but I can say that the Lord is with us! In the midst of the fight—yea the struggle!—stand firm! Let’s look at some Scripture and place our confidence in the Lord. Take courage in these, hold fast to them:

“So if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 1 Corinthians 10:12-13 (NIV1984)

“Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long . . . .Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways. He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant. . . .The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare.” Psalm 25:4-5,8-10,14-15 (NIV1984)

Thought 139

Sometimes you have to say NO! to ‘good’ things

    At times, we have to turn down “good opportunities” in order to do the work that God has given us or has for us to do.

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 138

Choices

    The choices you have made are determining your life. Do you compromise? Are you following Jesus? These choices will determine a lot about your life. The same principle applies to large groups of people. Has a church become as wicked as the newly believing Corinthian Church or faithful like the Bereans? Again, choices determine a lot.

    Many Christians are not very different from the world other than the fact that they believe in the Lord Jesus and this is largely because of individual choices. They watch the same movies, are addicted to the same porn, take the same drugs, speak the same foul words, believe the same lies about male and female relationships, and the worst thing, is that many in the Body of the Lord Jesus Christ, have prostituted themselves. Yes, prostituted! Because they are intimately connected and entwined in the fallacies and lies that entangle the Lost! . . . Come to the Lord. He is here, waiting to take you back in His arms, to forgive you and restore you with the full privileges of sonship, adopted into His family.

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 NIV1984

“Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:8-10 NIV1984

Read Luke 15.

  This devotion may have struck a chord with your heart, and if it really did, let the Lord speak to you and don’t read on. To those that read this objectively or had the Holy Spirit testify within in you that you are being faithful with your life, I ask you, and I believe our Lord Jesus would commend you as well, to pray for those who have read this devotion today—or will read it at some later date—that they may hear the Holy Spirit clearly and respond as the Lord convicts them. Please just pause right now and pray.

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Day 136

Start Praying Now

Hey guys, how many of you want to be married?

Hey girls, how many of you want to be married?

    Alright, most of you probably want to get married one day. Are your reasons Biblical or LUSTFUL, though? The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, will tell you if you’re honest with yourself.

     Pray for that ONE. Right now, set aside some time and pray for her or him. Pray for God to give him or her strength, to equip them, to empower them, to embolden them, to loose the TRUTH of God’s Word within them, to develop character in them, for them to have a thriving and dependent relationship with Jesus; for them to live stewardship right now (i.e. tithing, financial wisdom, and wisdom with their time, resources and talents - for God) and you complete the list.

       Invite God’s hand into the life of your future spouse—they need CHRIST and so do YOU. Give Christ Charge in their life today! Pray that special helpmeet or servant leader into the throne room of God right now. You may not know them, but prayer spans the miles.

“The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” James 5:16 NLT

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Day 137

Role Model

     What kind of example do you display? Do people follow you for who you really are or as somebody you pretend to be? If people follow you, do you lead a rebellious riot or a united Christian body? Do you encourage others to obey authority, God, and the rules by your actions (that is, the fruit of your life)? 

     In my work with young men, I have experienced and had to deal with “rebels.” You see, when you are a young man and you “outrank” some other young men who are your friends, you will probably encounter some difficulties as you pursue trying to mentor and teach them. One thing I have taken note of is that there is usually a ring leader who stirs up the people. Authority should be respected because it is all chosen by God (Rom. 13:1-7); therefore, it should only be opposed if it is directly going against the Word of God. For example, I do not care what the government says about abortion; whether they declare it legal or illegal, I know that God is against it. However, when authority is opposed just because someone doesn’t like what they’re doing, it’s just have rebellion. What I am saying is without Biblical grounds, we shouldn’t oppose authority.

Be an example. more people than you know are watching you, trust me. Do your best to live an example, because your life bears the fruit of reputation. What kind of Biblical reputation do you want? “Hang around” people that model it and search the Scripture for it.

Call for Prayer and Fasting

"Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you are good, O Lord." Psalms 25:7 NIV1984

  The situation of our nation, America, is grave. Our sins are mounted right up there with Sodom and Gommorah. Readers, I call out to you to pray. Please fast. Please ask the Lord to not remember our nations sins and our rebellious ways, ask Him to remember our nation according to His love. Pray for an outpouring of His mercy and that many may come to Him in a great revival.

  We must humble ourselves and pray and seek the Lord's face, or our nation won't last (2 Chronicles 7:14), but we have His promise right here in the Word that if we do, He will heal our land. Halleluajah and Amen!

 Please start off by spending some time contemplatively reading all of Psalm 25 and Ephesians 6:10-20 (please pray for me and all in spiritual leadership as Paul requests in verses 19 and 20).
Please pray!

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Day 135

Lack of Dependence on Each Other = DIVORCE ???

    Dear readers, as much as some of us hate to admit it, we are all dependent on others. For example, I am more dependent on my parents than I let on. They counsel me, bandage my bruises, and instruct me in the way of the Lord; but I still have a choice to make: will I be healthily dependent on them? What I mean is that I need to grow up, get a job, move out and get marred one day. It wouldn’t be healthy to be dependent on them for everything when I’m 40 when I have the capacity physically and mentally to provide for myself and a family.

     Without the same principle of dependence, a marriage is not possible. A husband and a wife are supposed to “become one (Gen. 2:24).” What does that mean? I have heard Kevin Swanson illustrate it this way:  an ax head and an ax handle are both needed to have an ax, right? One piece alone cannot, and will not efficiently cut down the tree. In the same way a man and a woman that have married need each other to “get-the-job-done.”

        When marriage is no longer dependence on one another; but rather, two separate people that just said some vows, live together, and have children, there is no reason for a marriage to continue in many minds. People get bored of a life like that. But God meant marriage to be so much more than what we think it is. It is to be the foundation of the family, yet also an intimate relationship where two people become one in the sight of God. O this is a mystery!

Dear Christians, the divorce rate is higher in the Church than the world!

We do NOT live what we preach and what Jesus taught!

      Young adults, children, young men and women, older boys and girls or whatever you want to be labeled, you need to ground your marriage in God! Both of you being dependent on God together will be the strongest binding force of your marriage. Please, do not just become another statistic in the divorce rates when you get older. You have a role to play in a lasting marriage! When you marry, you have a part to play in the one person that emerges from two. Work together, love each other, but most importantly grow in Christ’s Truth together!

     Dependence is a key to marriage. You must be dependent on each other and God, you cannot separate, that is the only way a marriage can last. Husbands, no other woman will do. Wives, there is no other man for you. You are made for one person. Your vows last the whole lifetime that you are both to spend in this world. Live, learn, and grow in God’s love; grace; purpose; plan and everything else HE has for YOU TWO.

Read 1 Peter 3:1-7.

    God bless, and may this simple description of God’s rules change your life and convict your actions. In Jesus Name, amen.

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 134

Women, fulfill Your Biblical Role

      Women, your Biblical purpose is to be a helpmeet (Gen. 2:18, 20-23). Submission, modesty, and character comprise your helping purpose (Prov. 31, Titus 2, 1 Tim. 2:9-15). God knew that men needed somebody to support them, to help them be balanced, to help train the children, to live closely and intimately with, and a fellow Christian to serve the Creator.

      The subject of submission is misunderstood by many today. Submission is not a man ruling with an iron rod. The best example of Biblical submission is Jesus Christ. Christ was submissive to the Father. Here is how the spiritual chain-of-command works: Christ is submissive to the Father, men are submissive to Christ, women are submissive to their husband, and children are submissive to their parents.

Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language defines submission as: 

1.     Acknowledgement of . . . dependence ; humble or suppliant behavior.

4. Obedience ; compliance with the commands or laws of a superior. Submission of children to their parents is an indispensable duty.

5. Resignation ; a yielding of one’s will to the will or appointment of a superior without murmuring. Entire and cheerful submission to the will of God is a christian duty.

     Scripture tells men that they must live their lives sacrificially for you as Christ did the for the Church. Women, your husbands have it pretty hard as well, don’t think that people are pointing fingers at you telling you to “submit.” The only submission we’re looking at is Biblical submission.

Read Ephesians 5:22-6:9, this explains submission perfectly.

     You have to decide if you will follow Scripture. Nobody else can decide that for you. What will you choose, regardless to how un-cool or counter-cultural Scripture might be?

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 133

Accept the Challenge –Be a MAN!

      Some “men” really are not men. Yet, some “boys” really are men. Let’s look at the Biblical definitions of a man: he provides for his family (1 Timothy 5:8), he is a servant leader (Eph. 5), he is humble (1 Peter 5:5), he is committed to Christ, (Phil. 3:12-14), and he is diligent (Heb. 6:11). There are many more Biblical qualities of a man, but we do not have enough space to go into them all.

Boys, you are not growing into men of God in our culture. You cannot be both a child and a man – you can only be one or the other.

 "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Luke 16:13 NIV

“When I was a child, I talked like a child; I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.” 1 Corinthians 13:11 NIV

Are you obedient, submissive, and dependent to the Father? Are you bold, confident, and sure of your faith in Christ? Men . . . .  and boys, you like a challenge, don’t you? Here’s one: except the challenge of genuine manhood. You can never be perfect, but by God’s grace you can improve, grow and learn (from the Holy Spirit and Scripture). Dwell on these character traits of manhood below, really think about what they mean. You might even want to write down ways to apply the two or three that you need most right now.

Humility                            Initiative                                 Motivated

Loving kindness            Strong Character                     Grounded

Strength                         Providing Spirit                      a Defender

Warrior                              Patience                                 Firmness

Resilience                      Peaceableness                      a Slow Tongue

Conviction                         Frugality                                 Fruitfulness

Willingness to Listen       Diligence                                Responsibility

Commitment

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Day 132

Romans 14-15:13

Please let this text speak for itself. Ask for the Holy Spirit to give you insight into this passage and then listen for His small, still voice.

Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. It is written:

“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,

‘every knee will bow before me;

every tongue will confess to God.’”

So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way. As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.

Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.

So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written:

“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;

I will sing hymns to your name.”

Again, it says,

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”

And again,

“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,

and sing praises to him, all you peoples.”

And again, Isaiah says,

“The Root of Jesse will spring up,

one who will arise to rule over the nations;

the Gentiles will hope in him.”

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 Romans 14-15:13 NIV

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 131

The Spirit of the Law

  Jesus taught that the physical act of sin is wrong, but so is contemplating that wrong in your heart. For example, a man that lusts after a woman has already committed adultery with her (Matt. 5:28). If the man lusting is unmarried, guess what? He has still sinned sexually with that woman in his heart!—he’s not exempt because he ain’t married! Likewise, women are not exempt from lust. It is not just a male problem. In fact, Eve, the very first woman, was the first human to lust when she “desired” the fruit (1 John 2:16, 1 Tim. 2:14).

  Lust and coveting seem to be synonyms, both are extreme and burning desires, longings if you will of want, and they are both tied directly to pride. Both lust and coveting are definitely all about, you, yourself, self-centeredness, it is PRIDE! Therefore, we should humble ourselves and pray in repentance, turning (constantly and consistently) from our wicked ways. Ladies, if you think about a man in a way that you should not and desire him in a way you should not; for instance, because of his strength, then you have sinned as well. Likewise a man or woman who hates another has already committed murder according to the Spirit of the law.

Read Romans 8 & Matthew 5:17-48

  Every married couple is composed of two murders and two adulterers. Why? Because each has lusted and each has hated someone at least once. It’s an uncomfortable truth, but think about it. . . . Some people commit the physical acts of adultery, murder, sex before marriage, sodomy, etc… but Christ died, He was NAILED to the cross, for both the physical acts that I have done and the lustful thoughts that I have had. HE DIED because I hated someone in my heart.

  Do you need to repent today?