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Sunday, September 30, 2012

INTERESTING, VERY INTERESTING


The common knowledge of today says that Thomas Jefferson was a diest has no substantial evidence based on His life. The so called "Jefferson Bible" was not made because Jefferson was cutting out spiritual elements he didn't agree with. Modern Historians renamed his book the Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth to be this "Jefferson Bible." In reality, that book was written as an evangelism tool to
the Indians. Jefferson took out everything but the red letters of Jesus words to make this book because he believed that the WORDS OF JESUS WOULD CHANGE LIVES and that this is what the Indians needed most.

Further, he helped found the Virginia Bible society which distributed the whole Bible (nothing cut out) to Americans. Jefferson gave large sums of his personal finances to this society to spread the WHOLE Bible. HISTORY HAS BEEN REVISED TO TEACH US A LIE.

My Source: This article was written by me (Ryan Marks), but the facts were learned from American Heritage Series By David Barton

Thought 183: The Faithfulness of OUR Lord from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts


Thought 183
The Faithfulness of OUR Lord
  You have seen how God has been faithful in the life of the Apostle Paul and how the Lord has been faithfully there for me throughout many trials. God is my faithful and dearest friend. He renews our strength, He has washed us as white as snow, He has given us the blessing of repentance, He has given us the blessing of growth through sometimes painful prunings, He allows us to experience and actively participate in the great gift called FORGIVENESS, He calls us to be real Men, and (women) to be genuine, feminine women.
God sticks closer than a brother, a son, a father, or an earthly friend.
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners--of whom I am the worst.”
1 Timothy 1:15 (NIV1984)

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Thought 182: "Here am I, send me!" Isaiah 6:8 from Ryan Marks devotional book series Thoughts


Thought 182

“Here am I, send me!” Isaiah 6:8

(NIV1984)

  If God asks for something to be done are you ready to say I’m here, Lord, let me go! I want to do it! If God needs you to witness, to a “Hard Thing,” to speak in front of real people, to teach a lesson, to scrub toilets, to write, or to accomplish a goal (i.e. a medal, a test, a website, a book, a movie, etc…) will you say “Send me, Lord!”

 May we stand! May we be willing and obedient so that God be able to use us to accomplish His plans!

  If God needs someone to polish those golden streets in Heaven one day will you accept?

  May we be given a desire, a hunger, and a ravishing drive to accomplish the will of the Lord! May He guide our steps in our relationships, careers, callings, purposes, beliefs, disciplines, confrontations, hard times, and mountaintop experiences.

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39 (NIV1984)

Friday, September 28, 2012

Thought 181: the Sabbath from Ryan Marks' book series Thoughts


Thought 181

The Sabbath

I am not saying that we have to be legalists. Jesus Himself said that the Sabbath was created for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27). In the United States today, we don’t honor the Sabbath—the Lord!—the way that we have previously in our history. I ask you today to consider these verses.

 

If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath

and from doing as you please on my holy day,

if you call the Sabbath a delight

and the Lord’s holy day honorable,

and if you honor it by not going your own way

and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

then you will find your joy in the Lord,

and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land

and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”

The mouth of the Lord has spoken.  Isaiah 58:13-14 (NIV1984)

 

 

Go, proclaim this message toward the north:

“‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord,

‘I will frown on you no longer,

for I am merciful,’ declares the Lord,

‘I will not be angry forever.

Only acknowledge your guilt—

you have rebelled against the Lord your God,

you have scattered your favors to foreign gods

under every spreading tree,

and have not obeyed me,’”

declares the Lord.

“Return, faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion.  Jeremiah 3:12-14 (NIV1984)

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Thought 180: Prayer from Ryan Marks' Thoughts book series


Thought 180

Prayer

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.’

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:5-15 (NIV1984)

Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. Psalm 55:17 (NIV1984)

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Thought 179: Walking on the Water (Matthew 14:22-36) from Ryan Marks' book series Throughts


Thought 179

Walking on the Water

(Matthew 14:22-36)

     Peter had his eyes “on the prize,” he believed! Then he looked at the circumstances, and started to sink. He was only saved because he cried out to Jesus, and Jesus took his hand and saved the sinking man of doubt. When the Lord Jesus tells us something and we have faith in it, we are like Peter and we can walk on the water in the midst of a storm. But also like Peter when you and I focus on the circumstances, not trusting the Lord we sink. Have you tried to “brave-the-waters” alone, and failed, yet Christ followed you, He was nearby, and grabbed your hand when you cried “Help, Lord!”?

 

Dear brother, how will you trample lust?

Dear sister, how will you not “give-your-heart-away”?

 

    We have to constantly CRY OUT to Jesus for help. We are human and we fail so miserably at times. There is no magical solution for faith, we simply have to believe, and if doubt is creeping up behind you like a deadly poison ivy vine, you need to cry out to Jesus, and if “WAIT” is the answer, then stand firm and use your sword (the BIBLE) until the Lord makes you victorious. We ARE more than conquerors in Christ Jesus.

Another Angle

The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.”

He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

“All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”  Luke 10:17-24 (NIV1984)

Don’t get prideful that you have the power to win. Instead, rejoice that you are saved and that God has had mercy on your soul.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Thought 178: Check out some Scripture from Ryan Marks' book Thoughts


Thought 178

Check out some Scripture

        “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the Lord.

    “As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV1984)

Monday, September 24, 2012

Thought 177: Christians have to be united from Ryan Marks's book series Throughts


Thought 177

Christians have to be united

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

Matthew 12:25 (NIV1984)

“Without these ends in mind, we will undoubtedly find ourselves in head-butting that may ultimately prove impossible to resolve. When the glory of the Lord and the forward march of His kingdom are our key concerns, however, we will have vision and wisdom enough to fight for those things that are essential and abandon those things that are not.” - From Solid Foundation page 213 by Dr. LeRoy Bailey

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Thought 176: A Quote Worthy Quote from Ryan Marks' book series Thoughts


Thought 176

  A Quote Worthy Quote

“We must learn to let every action be guided by His command. In other words, we need to learn how to 1) hear the Lord’s voice, 2) do what He says, and 3) patiently sit still during those times that we don’t hear Him. I am known for saying, “If the Lord didn’t say ‘do it,’ then don’t do it.” – From Solid Foundation page 197, by Dr. LeRoy Bailey

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Thought 175: What type of books should I read? from Ryan Marks' book series Thoughts


Thought 175

What type of books should I read?

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.”

 Philippians 4:8  (NIV1984)

      Books should be viewed carefully. What we dwell on becomes part of us. Therefore the focus of our mind, if it is centered on the wrong stuff, will have a negative effect on our lives.

         My 10th Grade English video teacher, Mrs. Thompson, told us that the books we read will determine what we are. So true. For those who have read tons of horrible literature there is hope!—there is a way not to become like the worst book you have ever read: it is by renewing your mind in God’s Holy Word (THE BIBLE), because the Word of God will never lead us astray, we ourselves do that when we give into temptation (James 1:14).

        Many men died so that we could have the Bible. As a matter of fact, it was the Bible, the first book printed on Gutenberg’s press that brought us out of the Dark Ages. That book was spread by smuggling into many nations and when someone had that book they experienced personal revival. Why fill your mind with impure things when you can read something praiseworthy, excellent, noble, pure, right and true? Remember, we do become what we read. If you don’t believe that, I challenge you to study what the American people believe because of what they read for 12+ years of education.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Thought 174: Friends=company...right? from Ryan Marks' book series Thoughts


Thought 174

Friends=company…right?

  Check out: 2 Corinthians 6:14, 1 Corinthians 15:33,  Proverbs 13:20, Ephesians 5:11, & 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15

Let God teach your soul today and may God bless.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Thought 173: Do your best for God, HE says it not me from Ryan Marks' book series Thoughts


Thought 173

Do your best for God, HE says it not me

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Colossians 3: 23-24 (NIV1984)

Contemplate this verse.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Thought 172: What is you foundation? from Ryan Marks' book series Thoughts


Thought 172

What is your foundation?

For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.  1 Corinthians 3:11-15 (NIV1984)

Contemplate this verse.

 

Check out some more Scripture:

Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.

Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” So then, no more boasting about men! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God. 1 Corinthians 3:16-23 (NIV1984)

Contemplate this verse.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Forgive, don't hold onto your debt--you can't pay it!


Thought 171

Forgive, don’t hold onto your debt – you can’t pay it!

When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” Matthew 18:31-35 (NIV1984)

Monday, September 17, 2012

Thought 170: The Lord Will Direct your Path


Thought 170

The Lord will direct your path

“Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21 NIV1984

 Contemplate this verse.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Comparison


Thought 169

Comparison

     Another man took some time and gave me two words of advice to carry through my life. One was prayer (which was mentioned previously) and the other is comparison. He told me that because I had earned my GMA (Gold Medal of Achievement), that other boys where going to be compared to me and I need to correct that. I am not the answer, and an entire church ministry should not follow me as the ultimate example. He also told me to be careful, not to compare myself to others. When we do not compare ourselves to others we can be used more effectively for the furtherance of the Gospel, we are more sensitive to God when we are focusing on doing HIS will rather than trying to beat someone else’s records.
 

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Be Guided by His Spirit


Thought 168

Be Guided by His Spirit

       One of my Royal Ranger Commanders told me to be guided by the spirit. He said, “Ryan, I won’t lie to you, I am just an ordinary guy; but when God gives those feelings to do something for Him, don’t ignore it.” He proceeded to give me three instances that God had given him a burden to pray for people, once for a friend and another time for his wife, and an instance where he simply had to trust what God had spoken to his wife.

   Be guided. If you have received Christ you have a guide to help you and the Bible calls Him THE COMFORTER.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Remember Your First Love


Thought 167

Remember: Your first love

      A man from my church took some time to give me this piece of advice: remember you first love. He wasn’t talking about a young woman who would become my wife, he was talking about Christ. He told me to persevere— that if I stumble and fall to get back up, not to fall down and stay down, and to do everything I can not to fall, but to get up if I do. He related these things to the story of Marry and Martha. He told me that I must remember to sit and listen to Jesus and not always be “busy” like Martha. Martha was so busy that she cried out to God to have Marry help her, but she was supposed to sit and listen by putting everything else aside.

How can you ‘remember your first love today’?

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Daily Devotion from Ryan's devotional Thoughts series


Thought 166

A Spirit of Urgency

      Every day, brothers and sisters, the coming of Christ grows closer. As much as I want that day to come so that I will never experience death, I also dread it. Let me explain what I mean before you label be as just another Hypocritical Christian. I love to think about how Christ will come back and rapture His Church “in the twinkling of an eye (1 Cor. 15:52),” yet I dread going because of all the people that will no longer be affected by the Christians of the World. I have a spirit of urgency surrounding my life. Will I ever live another day? How can I affect someone now? I am only fifteen years old, and I can’t have a ministry, let alone run one, right? No, regardless of age God can use you and me for His Glory. The Lord might lead me to write and to preach, but for you He might call to give cookies to the new neighbors down the street and share Christ with them, yet each is just as important for the body because it AFFECTS someone.

      Dear readers, you must understand that the Early Church lived everyday as if Christ was coming back, with this viewpoint or spirit of urgency, as I call it. We can shake the world; not in our own strength, but in His! Persecution will come, Christ promised that if we follow Him that is a necessary aspect that we will partake (John 15:20).   But we should not live each day just asking questions like What Would Jesus Do?, How does God want me to evangelize for Him today? And do I need to recharge my “spiritual batteries” before ministering today?  These questions are focused on me– what do I do? That’s the problem—me focus. Instead, will we do as the Holy Spirit teaches us?

True obedience isn’t prideful.

    Even though we can sense Jesus’ soon return–whether He truly does return in our lifetimes or not—hopefully we will be more open to being used by Him. There will come points in our lives when we have to do something uncomfortable in order to obey Christ, but we often choose to refuse, and when we do we get confused, we often wander through a desert for a while, until God picks us up, dusts us off and says, “Here, I have ______ for you to do.”

     It is not doing all the right things, but a relationship with Jesus Christ that changes us. If we aren’t obedient to Him we aren’t changed. Obedience is the medium that change works in, but do you believe it? We can keep saying WWJD and do good deeds that aren’t God’s plan for us or we can get alone with Him and be taught what to do.

After all, each day we grow closer to Christ’s return and

Each day more and more people are eternally cast into

Hell, because they didn’t accept…A FREE GITFT.

Do you have a spirit of urgency? Is it also saturated with peace and freedom from worry? Would you like it to be?

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks devotional book series: Thoughts


Thought 165

Prayer

   An elder at my church, gave me two words of advice once. One of them was prayer. He told me that people are always praying for a great event to happen, but they fail to realize that prayer is the GREAT EVENT. You get to talk to the God of the Universe! The richest dude ever! The King of Kings!

    Prayer is important. I encourage the young men and boys that I mentor and teach to pray for their future wives now. Few of them have probably even met her yet, but they can pray for her everyday starting today. They can pray for her salvation, that she is guided by the Word, that she is grows in her spiritual walk, for her faith, etc… In the same way, young women, begin praying now for that guy. Pray for his boldness to stand for God, pray that he doesn’t fall prey to lust, pray for him to persevere, to love God, that he would beware of the danger of compromise and not just ‘go-with-the-flow,’ that he will initiate the relationship between you and him, etc…

      I felt directed by God to start praying for my future wife about a year and a half or two years ago. Since that time my Dad and another mentor, on separate occasions, have prayed for her with me. That mentor told me that the most important relationship I will ever have on this earth is with my wife. I will LOVE her more than my mom or my dad. I know that he is right, but I cannot do anything for that amazing woman yet . . . but pray. . . . Will you pray? . . .  Will seek God about a “romantic relationship” first or follow your heart?  . . .  Will you obey if God says wait?  . . . What if God says, “Not at All!”? . . .  Will you stand, even though your friends fall around you in the “love game”? Will you focus on God or girls (or guys) first? . . . . Remember: where your focus goes the power flows.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Daily Devotion from Ryan Marks Thoughts devotional book series


Thought 164

Do You know your tool?

    Do you know your Bible? The Bible is the only tool that applies to every situation, circumstance, hardship, and pastime. A man once gave me advice about knowing your tool, the Bible. He told me, “…you need to know your tool. If it just sits in your pocket, when you need it you will not know how to use it…” Do you know what verses apply to marriage, sex, and guy/girl relationships? I have them on the top of my head – Proverbs 31, Ephesians 5,the entire Song of Solomon & 1 Corinthians 7. Do you know prominent passages about the End Times? Matthew 24 & 2 Timothy 3, not to mention the books of Revelation and the second half of Daniel. Do you know the books or chapters of the Bible that are all about raising children, becoming a man, and becoming a godly woman? Titus & Proverbs are important. So do you see the pattern here? We need to KNOW the WORD, not just let it sit in our pocket. We need to search it out, explore, research, and act on what we have learned. The Bible has NO errors . . . either you believe that statement or you don’t, you cannot be neutral.

      That same man, also told me that he had built his life on Jeremiah 29:11 and encouraged me to do the same then prayed with me about my future wife, but before he did he told me that the relationship with my wife would be second only to my relationship with God. I only have written this devotion down because if the advice helped me it might help another Christian. Please, internalize the Word. Know it, apply it, use it.

“For waging war you need guidance, and for victory many advisers.”

Proverbs 24:6 NIV1984

Monday, September 10, 2012

Daily Devotion from Ryan's devotional Thoughts series


Thought 163

“….wars and rumors of wars….”

“And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Matthew 24:6 KJV

   Matthew chapter twenty-four is all about the end times. Jesus gives us much insight. Yes, wars are going to happen. Young men, our county may call upon us to defend the U.S.A. during this time of warring. But do not be troubled, because these things must happen, “…but the end is not yet.” Let us stand behind the Divine Hand of Providence; our God will guide us in the midst of these times. And may we Remember the Providences of God in the past, because if we do not we cannot persevere or fight as effectively as we can if we understand His-story (Psalm 77:11, Ecc. 1:9-10).

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Daily Devotion from Ryan's devotional book series, Thoughts


Thought 162

 Remember My Dad

       This day will be a description of my Dad and what he has taught me. The focus is to realize our parent(s) strengths, and discard their weaknesses. Boys need to learn to be men and fathers are a major part of that, second only to God.

Remember

My Dad

     “Diligence…Integrity…Don’t give up, son…Stick to what you committed to first do…honor… America is blessed, don’t forget it…commitment … follow God” – these are the things that my Dad has taught me.

       I realized tonight, June 27th, 2010, the day after my sixteenth birthday; that I only achieved my Gold Medal of Achievement (equivalent to an Eagle Scout) because of what my Heavenly Father and earthly Father have taught me. DETERMINATION, INTEGRITY, and PERSERVERANCE (even though it is a struggle many times) my father’s example taught me, prepared me, encouraged me, cheered me on, and pulled me through. My Dad supports me even when I mess up. He reflects Christ in many ways.

       Dad … I love you! I thank you for praying for my future wife with me & telling me that you are proud of me just because I am your son. Thanks for telling me that even though I have accomplished a lot in my sixteen years that you are proud of me, even if I hadn’t accomplished all those things. Dad, thanks for putting up with my youthful vigor and excitement (at times). Dad thanks for letting me learn from other men to: Mr. Wassall, Mr. Newfield, Mr. Wenneker, Mr. Schnable, Mr. Williams, Mr. Sherrill, etc… Dad, without you allowing me to grow and learn from these and still other men, in addition to what I have learned from you, I wouldn’t be the person that I am today. Surely God has blessed me with a Dad like you. HE knew that you’re the Dad for me!

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Daily Devotion from Ryan's devotional book series, Throughts


Thought 161

The Beauty of the Clouds

        Have you ever looked up and been amazed at the beauty of the clouds? Have you spent time trying to find clouds that looked like people or an object? The sky is amazing! God has given us this beauty to enjoy, yet we think of it less and less the busier we become. But one day an amazing thing is going to happen! Jesus is going to come back in these beautiful clouds!!

Friday, September 7, 2012

Daily Devotion from Ryan's devotional book series, Thoughts


Thought160

The Heart is the issue

  Why do we sin? What is the greatest problem in life? What can love sometimes yet lust at others, trust sometimes yet doubt at others? The heart. The heart is the issue.

 The Bible says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23 NIV1984

In the New Living Translation Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”

     You cannot change your heart by your willpower. Trust me, I have tried! The only way your heart can change is if God changes it. Ask the Lord to give you a heart transplant.

       Lord, please give us all a Heart Transplant. Change our hearts, create a new heart within us that is attune to Your will, loving, and the heart that You want us to have in this season of life. In Jesus Name, amen.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Daily Devotion from Ryan's devotional series, Thoughts


Thought 159


Why God Punishes


   God is just, therefore He must punish sin. Take a look at what Deuteronomy 28 in the New International Version says:


Deuteronomy 28


 1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:

 3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.

 4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

 5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.

 6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

 7 The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.

 8 The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.

 9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. 11 The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.

 12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.

 15 However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:

 16 You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.

 17 Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.

 18 The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.

 19 You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.

 20 The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him. [a] 21 The LORD will plague you with diseases until he has destroyed you from the land you are entering to possess. 22 The LORD will strike you with wasting disease, with fever and inflammation, with scorching heat and drought, with blight and mildew, which will plague you until you perish. 23 The sky over your head will be bronze, the ground beneath you iron. 24 The LORD will turn the rain of your country into dust and powder; it will come down from the skies until you are destroyed.

 25 The LORD will cause you to be defeated before your enemies. You will come at them from one direction but flee from them in seven, and you will become a thing of horror to all the kingdoms on earth. 26 Your carcasses will be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away. 27 The LORD will afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors, festering sores and the itch, from which you cannot be cured. 28 The LORD will afflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind. 29 At midday you will grope about like a blind man in the dark. You will be unsuccessful in everything you do; day after day you will be oppressed and robbed, with no one to rescue you.

 30 You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and ravish her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit. 31 Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them. 32 Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand. 33 A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days. 34 The sights you see will drive you mad. 35 The LORD will afflict your knees and legs with painful boils that cannot be cured, spreading from the soles of your feet to the top of your head.

 36 The LORD will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your fathers. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone. 37 You will become a thing of horror and an object of scorn and ridicule to all the nations where the LORD will drive you.

 38 You will sow much seed in the field but you will harvest little, because locusts will devour it. 39 You will plant vineyards and cultivate them but you will not drink the wine or gather the grapes, because worms will eat them. 40 You will have olive trees throughout your country but you will not use the oil, because the olives will drop off. 41 You will have sons and daughters but you will not keep them, because they will go into captivity. 42 Swarms of locusts will take over all your trees and the crops of your land.

 43 The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. 44 He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the tail.

 45 All these curses will come upon you. They will pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the LORD your God and observe the commands and decrees he gave you. 46 They will be a sign and a wonder to you and your descendants forever. 47 Because you did not serve the LORD your God joyfully and gladly in the time of prosperity, 48 therefore in hunger and thirst, in nakedness and dire poverty, you will serve the enemies the LORD sends against you. He will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.

 49 The LORD will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will not understand, 50 a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or pity for the young. 51 They will devour the young of your livestock and the crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no grain, new wine or oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your flocks until you are ruined. 52 They will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust fall down. They will besiege all the cities throughout the land the LORD your God is giving you.

 53 Because of the suffering that your enemy will inflict on you during the siege, you will eat the fruit of the womb, the flesh of the sons and daughters the LORD your God has given you. 54 Even the most gentle and sensitive man among you will have no compassion on his own brother or the wife he loves or his surviving children, 55 and he will not give to one of them any of the flesh of his children that he is eating. It will be all he has left because of the suffering your enemy will inflict on you during the siege of all your cities. 56 The most gentle and sensitive woman among you—so sensitive and gentle that she would not venture to touch the ground with the sole of her foot—will begrudge the husband she loves and her own son or daughter 57 the afterbirth from her womb and the children she bears. For she intends to eat them secretly during the siege and in the distress that your enemy will inflict on you in your cities.

 58 If you do not carefully follow all the words of this law, which are written in this book, and do not revere this glorious and awesome name—the LORD your God- 59 the LORD will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses. 60 He will bring upon you all the diseases of Egypt that you dreaded, and they will cling to you. 61 The LORD will also bring on you every kind of sickness and disaster not recorded in this Book of the Law, until you are destroyed. 62 You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left but few in number, because you did not obey the LORD your God. 63 Just as it pleased the LORD to make you prosper and increase in number, so it will please him to ruin and destroy you. You will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess.

 64 Then the LORD will scatter you among all nations, from one end of the earth to the other. There you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known. 65 Among those nations you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart. 66 You will live in constant suspense, filled with dread both night and day, never sure of your life. 67 In the morning you will say, "If only it were evening!" and in the evening, "If only it were morning!"-because of the terror that will fill your hearts and the sights that your eyes will see. 68 The LORD will send you back in ships to Egypt on a journey I said you should never make again. There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.

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