Devo Blast 20, Baptism!

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                Devo Blast 20, Baptism

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 121

Scripture

           Read John 14 with this in mind, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12 NIV

A Devotion for Thought

It’s better to do the Hard Stuff

“It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.”

Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 NIV1984

     This Scripture presents a mindset that is a polar opposite of what we often hear in America. We hear the message of just live and enjoy life! Smile more and don’t think too hard. The Word declares a different message right here, though. Read the verses above again slowly.

“It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting.” That Scripture has impacted me big time as a young Christian man. I have seen two applications which I’d like to share with you. 1) Is it really better to just feast on life or to consider and contemplate some of its hardships like death. If death comes so quickly, how should I live my life? Should I really just not stress about the small stuff, or is the small stuff what determines whether I’ll ever make it to the big stuff (faithfulness principle, Luke 16:10)? While almost everyone young seems to cheer, “just have fun and experience life!” think about your actions. Look at what Ecclesiastes 11:9, 12:1 say:

  “Be happy young man, while you are young, and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth. Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment. . . .Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, “I find no pleasure in them” (NIV1984)

  2) Going to a funeral may actually be for your benefit. Preachers know that at a funeral, many more people are open to Christ that may be very stubborn at other times, the reason is because the people are considering death and its reality right then. Eternity seems much closer.

   Another point on funerals, even as a Christian, I was impacted by going to a couple of funerals. This verse was in my mind around those times and the tragedies that had occurred also brought many to the side of the family and sharing of the impact that the deceased had made. I was speechless and struck to the heart—life is so fleeting and next to accepting Christ, reaching and touching others lives with Him is very important.

   What we have looked at today is probably not the most encouraging, but it is the Word. Let’s pray:

  Lord Jesus, may You speak to us by Your Holy Spirit who You said will lead us into all truth (John 16:13) and give us insight into what we should do with what we have read. Lord, may every heart be receptive and moldable to Your small, still voice speaking to them. In Jesus Christ’s Mighty Name, may these things be done.

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 120

Legalism

          I have walked down the road of legalism before, have you? I once decided to read the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Bible) for my devotional time. At that time, I usually read one chapter a day, and after I got through Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy I became really legalistic. The reason that I fell into legalism was because I was solely dwelling on the laws of the Old Testament and not remembering the balance of the grace and salvation of God for several months. My “Bible knowledge” at this time was also very patchy. I knew the Sunday school stories, but themes of Grace, Mercy, Forgiveness, and Love had never really been ‘hit-home’ (internalized) to me. It is not wrong to read the Old Testament; the Bible clarifies that in 2 Timothy 3:16-17; but, both the Old and New Testaments should be viewed in light of each other. The temptation to be legalistic has occurred multiple times as I have read the Bible, but the Holy Spirit has protected me by revealing to my mind the correlation of Scripture verses from the New Testament to the Old. The same has occurred as I write these devotions, the Holy Spirit often brings a Scripture to mind and then helps me to understand it so that I can write a Biblically-sound devotion; and when I go blank on where a Scripture is located—thank God for the internet and all the Bible tools/concordances that are available there.

Another Angle:

           Vincent Newfield, a man I respect, mentioned in one of his Sunday school classes that, “Where your focus goes, the power flows.” My focus used to be exclusively on the laws of the Old Testament; as a result the power of God’s grace was limited in my life because I was only reading and meditating about sins and rules. Regulations became the determiner for spirituality in my mind during that time. Yet God protected also me during that time, and kept me from being snatched away by the enemy and eventually showed me the error of my thinking. Even now, I sometimes have to fight that old pattern of legalistic thinking.

            I became like my friend(s) during those months of reading and dwelling on Old Testament Law. To clarify, my friends were the laws at that time: your friend can be a person, a game, a book of the Bible, a fantasy, research, technology, wisdom, finances—anything! Where our attention focuses we naturally invest time and energy, and we must be careful that our focus is not always on the studying the law, sin, and rules; but rather, a balance of the grace and forgiveness of Christ coupled with the hard commandments of our Lord—there must be balance.

 Points to Contemplate:

Ø  Without the vital balance in our focus, as described above, we cannot be as effective in witnessing as God wants us to. We cut ourselves off from the Holy Spirit when we trust following certain rules and rituals rather than following His leading. Beware, you become like your friends. Will you stand against the ideals of the culture and embrace God, the Word, and a relationship with the Holy Ghost over lifeless rules and rituals?

Ø  The biggest argument for a legalist not to be a legalist is the Salvation message.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 119

                                                                        Broccoli

         During my mother’s pregnancy with my little brother Ben, it seemed like my family had to eat broccoli every night. In reality it was not every night, but it got old fast! I remember many times where I groaned when I saw more broccoli on the table and whenever my Dad heard it he gave me another big helping for voicing my opinion. I should have learned a lot about keeping my mouth shut about broccoli and other things at that time in my life, but I didn’t. I did not apply the principle my father was trying to teach me to other areas of my life, and as a result, I only learned to keep my mouth shut so that I didn’t have to eat more of what I did not like, instead of applying the self-control that keeps the dangerous act of complaining (it is sin) away.

“Now the people complained about their hardships in the hearing of the LORD, and when he heard them his anger was aroused. Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp.” Numbers 11:1 NIV

“Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.” James 5:9 NASB

“And do not grumble, as some of them did—and were killed by the destroying angel.” 1 Corinthians 10:10 NIV

"’Stop grumbling among yourselves,’ Jesus answered.” John 6:43 NIV

“It's better to live alone in the desert than with a quarrelsome, complaining wife.” Proverbs 21:19 NLT

“Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NIV

         Apparently, God doesn’t like complaining. It is a sin and it is wrong. It infects other people, it is punished, and it is just plain evil.

Questions for Application:

V  How can you apply this story to holding your own mouth shut?

V  Where are you complaining?

V  Now that you realize the seriousness with which God addresses complaining, what are you going to do? Will you earnestly strive to not complain, or will you continue to do so?  

“. . . . ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.’ “~ Matthew 3:2 NIV

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 118

Breaking DVD’s because of conviction

          There I was faced with a decision: would I break the DVD’s that I was convicted about or would I leave them sitting there on my shelf to be a painful reminder of disobedience to the Holy Spirit’s conviction. . . . . I ended up breaking $200 worth or more of my DVD’s and video games because I was convicted about them. They did not line-up with what I stood for as a Christian; yet I had often watched them and played them. Those movies displayed the false view of “macho” manhood, sexual immorality (the worldly view of love), lying, lust, and blasphemy of Jesus Christ’s Holy name. In the video games were ghosts, murder, the capability to beat virtual men to death, zombies, cursing, violence, and more. Those DVD’s and video games were a hindrance to my spiritual growth, and if I hadn’t obeyed the Holy Spirit’s conviction I would not have grown. Thankfully, I have learned this: God brings us, at times, to a point where we must make a decision: one decision is clearly of God and the other of our pride. At that point, even if I don’t want to, I need to do right thing and obey the Holy Spirit. Feeling like being obedient doesn’t matter; OBEDIENCE is what matters.

           Will you choose God’s way when the Holy Spirit brings you to an intersection where one option leads you away from God and the other towards obedience? Choose obedience! Being obedient will bring you closer to God.

           I had some accountability when I destroyed those DVD’s and video games—my brother and sister watched as I destroyed them: my brother laughing and my sister probably thinking I was crazy. I do not remember the whole incident in minute detail, and I don’t believe that I explained to my siblings why I was doing what I was doing, although I did have them there with me. At first, I felt nothing as I broke those DVD’s and video games, but as I broke several freedom began to come, rising up within my spirit. I felt like a weight had been lifted from my chest! After I was finished and my siblings had left, I was filled with joy and I felt so light, I felt free! HIS presence was upon me and I was just enjoying it! Yes, God brought freedom, but it was not instantaneous, rather I had to continue being obedient to receive it.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”   

Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 117

Praying for Future Generations

         I have heard about praying for the future generations that will come through your children; but I have seldom done it. Right now, please take some time to pray for your (future) children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and more.  Those kids will be real men and women one day and the life they live will either be one with Christ as the center or one with their pride as the center. They need your prayers!

         Are you stuck and don’t know what to pray for? I suggest simply starting by praying for them to have a deeper relationship with God than you ever had and a greater hunger for Him than you ever experienced.

“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands.” Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 116

Finding God

“But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 4:29 NIV

         When you earnestly seek God, you will find Him! Personally, I have been seeking the Lord with all of my heart and soul, and guess what? He has allowed me to find Him! God is great, but at times I don’t remain faithful and focus on seeking Him; yet the Gracious God of Heaven is still waiting with His arms wide open for me to seek Him again! Let’s seek Him. Let’s rely on Him. Let’s live for Him and for nothing else.

          Do you sense the importance of what I am saying? Many of you have already accepted Christ and some of you are “Spirit-filled,” yet you do not seek Him. Please, seek the Lord. You should be deeply grieved without Him; you should hate leaving His presence. Let’s seek Him!

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 115

                                                           When I almost left God

          Have you ever had a pity party? I have. I remember one time that I told God that I was just so discouraged that if He didn’t do something to show me He was really there for me then I was going to stop following Him. That evening God worked, my grandmother brought a DVD of Facing the Giants over to watch. That movie came at just the right time! I needed to know that I could continue trusting God, and He used that movie to help me to realize He was with me the whole way, no matter how big my giant was. I still struggle at times believing different things that God has revealed to me, especially when I don’t see any movement in that or those area(s), what about you?

  Lord, help me, and theses readers, to have the strength to resist the doubt and discouragement that the Enemy brings against us. I can’t resist the devil and his minions in my own strength, so please empower me, Lord, and may the joy of Lord be our strength (Psalm 28:7 and Nehemiah 8:10). Accept our desire to have greater faith in You. . . . My faith often, if any, is small, yet You said that even that can move mountains! Thanks God, I don’t feel better, the doubt isn’t gone, but please continue to help me take life one step at a time, trusting in Your strength.

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 114

The LOVE Command of the Song of Solomon

          Dear reader, the Song of Solomon says several times “. . . Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.”(Song of Solomon 8:4 NIV) What does this “arousing” or “awakening” of love mean? Let’s start by looking at the definition of arouse.

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

To excite into action, that which is at rest ; to stir, or put in motion or exertion, that which is languid ; as, to arouse one from sleep ; to arouse dormant faculties.

          LOVE is often associated with feelings or physical actions, like a kiss or sex in our 21^st century culture, but God’s WORD describes LOVE as something else. Read first Corinthians 13.       

          First Corinthians 13 describes love as patient and kind. In light of these two attributes, do you really love someone? Or are you just lusting after them? Lust is wanting and love is waiting. Let’s be wise, there is no need to “. . . arouse or awaken love . . .” (Song of Solomon 8:4 NIV). Those unmarried, let’s wait until God directs us to arouse/awaken romantic love in marriage. We will experience God’s blessing on a relationship only when we are obedient, but how can we expect to have God’s blessings without obeying His rules of on real love? LET’S WAIT. Adults, what experiences do you have of arousing/awakening romantic love before God gave the ok? Your experience is what the younger generation desperately needs to hear! Please share it; because we need to know the pain that comes with ignoring God’s righteous way. Let’s return to the Scriptures, stop lusting and start truly loving.

Personal Question:

V  Are you “arousing” the physical side of a relationship that is supposed to come only in marriage in any way?

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 113

What is Purpose?

       Purpose is to have a meaning, to live for a reason. Without a sense of purpose we feel miserable. I felt this way, like I was without a purpose; but when I sought God for guidance on what He wanted me to do I found joy, contentment, and direction. I do not always have a crystal clear understanding of what I am supposed to do, and when I get off track I feel pressured and troubled inside. I don’t know exactly how God speaks to everyone, but I can assure you that He does SPEAK today and in those times of discouragement, you can run to the Lord and His wonderful Word and find meaning. As you seek the Lord, He may speak to you. I have never heard God audibly, but God can speak that way or He may just speak to your heart as a still small voice. The point is: will you seek the Lord for your purpose?

     I know that my current purpose is to make a difference in other people’s lives. It is to share the Word, fellowship with believers and speak the Truth. What is your purpose? You might not know and that’s ok, nothing is wrong with you. However, I do challenge you to seek God, His Word, and your gifting/talents for an answer to what your purpose is, and how you are to glorify God.

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 112

Success

           Success comes by following God, but that doesn’t matter in the WORLD’s eyes. What is your definition of success?

           Where God wants you is the truest purpose and success that you can have in this world. However, the world’s views of success are often based on the size of your pay check and what you own. Take 5 or 10 minutes and commune with the Lord. Ask His Spirit to reveal what His definition of success is and ask Him which definition you are living.

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 111

Guide Me

Guide me through the hard times, Lord,

Laugh and play with me in the good.

Lead me to Thy secret place

And guide Me to Thy will.

Lord, accomplish Thine will in me, and let mine be

Cast to the side.

Reflection: God is always with us, but do we thank Him for that? Ponder it.

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 110

Our Culture

           Our culture is truly an honest display of Sodom and Gomorrah, maybe even worse! Each and every man that lives today has a greater purity struggle ahead of him than that of his father did during his younger years, why? . . . because the culture has become more wicked. Our country is honestly perverted; yet there is hope through Jesus Christ!  Homosexuality, rape and murder are prevalent in our “civilized” society today; but God is still in control, He is still working and He still wants to do great things for the world through you and the rest of His Body (the universal Church) as we disciple the nations. Will you step out? Will you stop waiting to be perfect and try the dream to disciple (and be discipled) that God has placed inside of you?

A word of caution: Just because you are part of the Body of Christ and subsequently one of God’s vessels; do not go emptily handed into what God has for you. Know His Word for yourself not just what other people tell you, but most importantly know and follow HIM as you fulfill the Great Commission: discipling the nations.

           What are you going to do now that you have the Truth, the Life, and the Way inside of you (John 14:6)? As for me, I want to be led by the Spirit (Rom. 8:14, Psalm 143:10), and serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15).

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 109

Creation

(Based Genesis 1-2)

         God created the entire universe. The world that Adam and Eve lived in was perfect. The earth contained ground that was not cursed; there were no weeds or parasitic plants. On top of that, Adam was assigned to be a gardener by God (Gen. 2:15). The Garden easily provided for him: huge plants, beautiful sunsets, bountiful harvests, peaceful animals, and a perfect climate were present—it was refreshing spiritually and physically in the Garden of Eden. In that garden one could just stand in awe of the awesomeness of God.

          Lush, gentle, rolling hills spanned the landscape. Beautiful forests with perfect trees grew in the oxygen-rich air. Every animal and its offspring were destined to live forever because death did not yet exist (Rom. 8:18-21). Animals lived in complete harmony with other animals and humans (Gen. 2:19-20). Plants didn’t die either, so they would continue to grow and produce food for the ages to come. Pain did not exist, nor sickness. Truly God proclaimed this blessing!–no cancer! No common cold! No flu! No viruses! No infection! No mourning! No death! No destruction! No mental disorder! No poverty! And no sin!! It was perfect! What is all this a picture of? Perhaps, it is a picture of our eternal, glorious home with Jesus Christ—Heaven.

          God is so good, it is mankind’s fault that we don’t live in that same splendor today.  We did wrong, we disobeyed, we sinned! And for violating His one command (Gen. 2:16-17), God had to initiate justice by punishing us (Rom. 9:14, Gen. 3:17b-19) for what we did. Instead of concentrating on the disobedience and punishment that occurred in Eden, today, let’s thank God for what He created and the beauty we still enjoy—despite the fact that we are living in a fallen world. And let’s thank Him for redeeming us through His Son, Jesus.

Read Genesis 1 and 2.

Cool Facts about Creation:

V  Rain did not exist! The Bible says that a “mist” covered the ground at night and that water came forth from the ground (Gen. 2:6)!

V  Animals and mankind ate only plants (Gen. 1:29-30, Isaiah 65:25)!!

V  There was no physical death (Rom. 8:18-21, Rom. 5:12-14)!!!

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 108

The Crucifixion

(Selected Scriptural accounts: Matt. 26-28, Mark 14-16, Luke 22-24, & John 17-20)

 The following is the author’s paraphrase of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ:

         The only perfect man, Jesus, is willingly being beaten. They (the Roman soldiers) smack him with sticks and they yank out his beard . . . . Then they spit in his face. The Christ screams in agony! Inside, He must be constantly saying, “Not my will but yours be done, Father!” Then the whip! Crack!!! Smack!!! Jesus’ flesh is being ripped to shreds! And after his brutal whipping, the soldiers shove a crown of thorns into his skull.

Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!! He screams.

          This afflicted man is the Messiah, Christ the King! And as if His beating was not enough, they continued:

           “Ha! Ha!” mock the soldiers. They now make Jesus, God in the form of a man, who has just been beaten, scourged, spit upon, and his back ripped to shreds; carry His cross to Golgotha. As Jesus stumbles, weakened by His beatings, the soldiers grab a business man from the crowd and force him to help Jesus carry the cross. . . slowly, they go on . . . . when they make it to the hill where Christ will be crucified, they take His cross and assemble it. Then . . . . BANG!!! Can you hear it? The soldiers drive nails through Christ’s feet and hands. Blood shoots out of Christ hands as the nails are driven through His flesh. Then the soldiers hoist up the cross, with the freshly nailed Messiah attached, and drop it into a hole so that Jesus will slowly die vertically, for all to see.

           As Christ hangs on that tree, that cross, that piece of wood that He created in the beginning, He is forsaken by His Father because of your sin that He bore. The spotless lamb, Jesus, took the punishment for every sin ever committed! Christ now bearing the weight of all sin of the murder, the rapist, the serial killer, the guy who made a mistake, the unwed dad, the greatest thief, the adulterer, the adulteress, the luster, the conformer, the compromiser, the Scripture-twister, the drunkard, the mocker, the scoffer, the fornicator, the pervert, the self-righteous, the heartless one, the one disobedient to his parents, the woman who had an abortion, the doctor that “performed” the abortion, the false witness, the hypocrite, the liar – do you want me to go on? . . . . He died for You!

            Christ died for you. And the sin of you and I nailed CHRIST to that tree: everyone, even the sweetest people, rejected Him—nailing Him there—yet He died for them all while they were still sinners who hated Him. Because He died in your place, bearing the punishment for all sin, you can be forgiven from all your sins. All you have to do is accept the gift of eternal salvation that Christ offers you. He DIED for YOU.

Here’s how to accept His sacrifice:

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." Romans 10:9-11 NIV

Rest assured that you are now forgiven: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 NIV

Now, live for the Lamb’s Glory! Seek Him through prayer, godly counsel, and His Word and your relationship with Him will grow.

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 107

Reward

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:21 NIV

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Luke 12:34 NIV

Where is your treasure? (Hint: It’s where your heart is.)

          If you struggle on this issue, and we all do at one time or another, I encourage you to get a hold of a copy or read online (http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Mansion.html) the short story, The Mansion, by Henry Van Dyke. It depicts the meaning of this verse very well.

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 106

Thought Life—The Determiner of Who You Are

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.” Proverbs 23:7 KJV

Our thought life is really important and, gentlemen, you especially have to fight to keep this area submissive to Christ, trust me I know. And shepherds, your mind is the first place that I think the Enemy is going to try to get you to stumble.

In our culture today lust is the center of many of the relationships, purchases, and, unfortunately, entertainment. But what is lust? It is something that you desire strongly yet is contrary to the Bible and God. In other words, it is the sinful desire to have something that God says is not for you. Let me give you an example, if a young man grows up accepting what the world tells him is right about relationships, then he will likely indulge in dating the “hot girl” that catches his eye. Similarly, watching a large number of movies that he should not watch will strengthen his susceptibility to the temptation to “sneak-a-peek” at some porn or to have sex numerous times out of wedlock because he feels like it, but is this mindset right?

We think about a lot of things before we do them. When you are all alone what do you think about or what do are you tempted to do? What are the things you have thought about that you would hate other people to know and, more importantly, would you confess them to Jesus’ holy face? Would you “feel good” having Jesus watching as you think the about the things that you do? Or would you feel ashamed knowing that Jesus is watching as you continually think about, constantly dwell on, meditate on some sin? The truth is that He is always watching so please don’t grieve Him.

“Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'” Matthew 22:37 NIV

“The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your right hand;” Psalm 121:5 NIV

“Whenever I would heal Israel, the sins of Ephraim are exposed and the crimes of Samaria revealed. They practice deceit, thieves break into houses, bandits rob in the streets; but they do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them; they are always before me. ‘They delight the king with their wickedness, the princes with their lies. They are all adulterers, burning like an oven whose fire the baker need not stir from the kneading of the dough till it rises. On the day of the festival of our king the princes become inflamed with wine, band he joins hands with the mockers. Their hearts are like an oven; they approach him with intrigue. Their passion smolders all night; in the morning it blazes like a flaming fire. All of them are hot as an oven; they devour their rulers. All their kings fall, and none of them calls on me.” Hosea 7:1-7 NIV

Take an honest, meditative look at your thought life, whether you are young or old, male or female, and then apply the following verse: “. . . take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV).

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks book Thoughts

Thought 105

Matthew 18:4 NIV

“Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”

 For today, ponder this one Scripture and journal what the Holy Spirit shows you about “becoming” like a child.