Forgivness O How Sweet! It is the Gift, the Grace of God to Me

There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel's veins,
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains.

William Cowper

Help Lord!

 

Help Lord!

“Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.”

Psalms 12:1-2 (NKJV)

       Are you that one person that remains godly and faithful while everyone else seems to slack off? You may ascertain your situation correctly, or you may not, but I can say this: there will be a time, for many of us, where like David we cry “Lord, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. They speak idly….!” If that is where you find yourself today, pray this with me:

  Dear Lord Jesus, I come to You as one feeling broken and abused: everyone seems to be living out wickedness around me! Lord, please give me strength. May I have the resolution to stand firm and remain (abide) in Your vine. Open my eyes to see Your hand in this situation. And, Lord, I thank You for Your peace which passes all understanding which the Scripture promises me I’ll have when I abide in You. Amen.

 

Thought 271: Falling Astray from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 271

Falling Astray

(Hebrews 4:1-13, Hebrews 5:11-14, and Hebrews 6:1-12)

        It is possible to leave the faith that one has in Jesus Christ, and many are leaving faith today. But there is hope! If you or someone you know has fallen astray, you can truly ‘renew vows’ and be welcomed back into His kingdom. The Prodigal Son is a classic example of falling away. But the Prodigal Son came back! And his father joyfully received him!

Call upon His name, and deny yourself daily,                           crucifying your flesh, to follow Jesus.

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:9-13 KJV

Thought 268: Extreme Delivery from Ryan's devotional book Thoughts

Thought 268

Extreme Delivery

      Do you struggle with the guilt of sins tormenting your mind? (I think we all have at times) If you do remember this: upon salvation Christ has “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us (Psalm 103:12).” We need to do some extreme mailing and cast those condemnations from the devil away from us to the cross and recall that Christ’s blood to covers it all.

Thought 206: Your Deepest Fear from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 206

 Your Deepest Fear

     One of my greatest fears has been dying a slow and painful death in a hospital with needles pocked into every square inch of your body. But I can’t just remain afraid because the Bible says not to fear the things of this earth. We must battle these fears and we must look to Christ as the bearer of the ultimate pain and the worst fear possible–being shunned by God because of sin. Even if our worst fears are do come to pass we must still look to Christ as our source of strength. No matter what your deepest fear(s) are, Christ is still the only source of strength that you need. Turn to Him and ask Him to teach you how to cast your cares upon Him. He will listen and help those who come to Him.

“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28 KJV

Thought 188: Contentment from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 188

  Contentment

     Time is rolling away and we need to do our best to stay content, fruitful, obedient, and, most importantly learning from who should be our most intimate Friend—the Lord.

I describe that Friend as the one who pulls me through. How do you describe Him?

     Contentment seems to come in a very simple way. The best way that I can describe it is taking life minute by minute with peace. Yes, planning things can be good; but when my life becomes a series of events or ministry involvements without contentment, I feel that my personal ministry loses power and I lose closeness in my relationship with the lover and Savior of my soul, the Author and Finisher of my faith, Jesus Christ; and I know that I need to slow down. Jesus truly has changed my life! and by taking life step by step with Him I believe that all of our lives will be following His leading. Amen? If we aren’t practicing stillness; resting and being content in the Lord’s presence, it is very hard to be encouraged and rejuvenated, especially when serving in ministry.

         Without rejuvenation, we “ministers” take the sole responsibility of leading and taking care of a flock of souls, but the problem is that we do so in our own strength. This is very stressful! But what did Jesus say about all this? His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Could it be that when we step out of contentment we start pulling away from His yoke? Paul mentions that he has peace in all situations (Philippians 4:11-13). The best way to follow His hand, that I know, is to commit everything to Him: my future, beautiful wife; my family; my job; my ministry; my rest; my mentorship; my growth; everything!

Daily Devotion from Ryan's devotional series, Thoughts

Thought 156

My Comforter

 

Lord, thou hast known me from my making,

In my mothers’ womb You knit me.

And You gave me whispers of Your Word

To strengthen my developing soul.

Praise be to You for what You

Have made!

ME!!!

Consider the meaning of this poem and check out Job 10:8-12, Jeremiah 1:4-5, & Psalm 139:13.