Thought 220: Benefits of Blessing from Ryan's devotional series Thoughts

Thought 220

Benefits of Blessing

        You can either bless, or you can curse. Think of it in these terms: building up or tearing down. It takes time to build, but hardly any time to tear down. The foundation of the Bible, of Jesus Christ (the chief cornerstone, the capstone) must be laid down first, because it “will not be shaken” (Isaiah 54:10, Psalm 62:6, Psalm 16:8, Acts 2:25).

Thought 219: Living a Counter-Cultural Life from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 219

Living a Counter-Cultural Life

Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

“He committed no sin,

and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. 2 Peter 2:11-25 (NIV1984)

Thought 218: Scripture from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 218

Scripture

Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the man who loves God is known by God.

So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one. For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall. 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 (NIV1984)

Thought 217: Why Do Young Men "chase" Young Women? from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 217

Why Do Young Men “chase” Young Women?

One word L-U-S-T!

      Sadly, many times young men chase young women with lustful intentions. Some run after the ladies to obtain a meaning in their life (to fill a void for companionship or to satisfy a false understanding of love) or to have “fun” (they use the woman for a while, while she is fun—just like a video game, an object—but when interest is lost and the thrilling hype is no longer there, they “trade” her for someone else that catches their eye).

      O Christians, have young men made a fatal mistake in how they ‘go after’ a young woman? Have they ever read Proverbs? Do they not know of anything that will last them through life?

     Sadly, many young men know only worthless things: thrill, pleasure, laziness, and  distraction. I have committed all four of these worthless acts—and pursued them! in my youth—but I have learned that they are hollow and deceptive, they are lies of Satan. I used to use video games as a drug. When I was tired, discouraged, depressed, or confused, I would just turn on a video game and tune it all out. Just letting a distraction free up my mind. O the folly! I should have been turning to the Lord on my knees in fervant prayer, rather than such a worldly solution! I pursued the way I felt (pleasure), I was slothful, and I fed on the lustful thrill of chasing young women for my own selfish pleasure—I didn’t really care about them or about a marriage created by God. But I found a real relationship with the Lord and the became Holy Spirit my teacher! Then, I was led by the Word and convictions. My faith has become my life instead of an accessory to my life.

      May we all recognize the follies of sin and it’s many rooted lusts and all turn our hearts to the Lord!

Read Matthew 6.

Thought 216: Faster, Faster, 'Cram-it-all-in' from Ryan's devotional book series Thougths

Thought 216

Faster, Faster, ‘Cram-it-all-in’

     Have you ever found yourself in the mindset of having to go faster and cram more in? Sometimes I don’t feel like I am ever going to accomplish this book and then I sit down, be still, and write and God has helped me to finish five or seven devotions in an hour! At times, it even feels like my personal ministry is too much for my schedule; but I have discovered that God never asks us to do more than we can do–He will make a way. But we do have the responsibility to choose what we spend our time doing. If we choose to sit and read or play video games instead of getting done what we need to or  don’t set aside a day for the Lord, we will find ourselves worn out, depressed, discouraged, doubting, tempted, and battling against the Devil more than we would be if we were living as we should. 

     We cannot run around in busyness forever; if we try, we will fail and wither away. Only running the race that God has ordained us to run will bring peace and joy. Yet, many times the way to go fast with the Lord is to go slow. As we sit and listen to what the Lord has to say, whether literally sitting and communing, reading the Scripture and allowing God to reveal truths to us, or reading great Christian books that encourage us to live for God, grow, and examine ourselves, sitting before the Lord has to be a part of our time budget.

        You can lay your head down, dear Christians, without wandering where you will go if you die, but O the horror for the unbeliever! He does not have that assurance. Christians, if we can lay down are heads assured of our relationship with Christ, why do we get up and run around living like we don’t have Christ with us? The Lord has ordained that we live this way:

LIVE QUIET AND PEACEABLE LIVES (1 Thess. 4:11, 1 Tim. 2:2)