Is a Storm Coming to America?

    HOPE FOR WHEN THE STORM HITS is about the realities of what is happening and coming in our country, America (the storm); and the hope that we can have despite it all. Talking with my Grandfather, who was born following the crash that began the Great Depression, I know that he is very concerned about my parents’ and my generation in the midst of the problems going on in our country. Yet, my Grandpa Deason has also shared with me some hopes that I believe are key to motivating those who read this book to move forward intentionally in the midst of another impending “Great Depression.”

 

      The signs are clear. Our nation has wholesale rejected God and pursued evil (Isaiah 5:20-21, Proverbs 8:13). A few, a remnant of dedicated followers of Christ remain. Regardless of one’s spiritual position, almost the entire country has become dependent and comfortable in many ways. If food supplies could no longer be purchased from a store and one had to find and preserve his own food, many would starve and die following a season of trying to steal from those who were somewhat prepared. This book is about casting hope. My Grandfather told me how even though times were “hard and tough” when he grew up and they were “poor” that they had food, a good life, and people were really close back then. What do people want today? Well, the same things ironically. They want close relationships and their basic needs met. Contentment can be summed up pretty well by what my Grandfather told me: “I didn’t try to make a lot of money. But I had a wife and kids, and now look at how many grandkids and great grandkids there are that came from your Grandma and Me. What more could a man ask for?” At the time of this writing some 29 people are either 1^st, 2^nd, or 3^rd generation descendants (5 children + 18 grandkids + 6 great grandkids) of my Grandfather and Grandmother. Another 9 people are spouses of the 1^st and 2^nd generation descendants. Family. Relationships. Love. Those are the things that will still be considered the greatest blessings when the coming storm hits (unless the Lord does a miracle and has mercy on us).

          What will follow, first of all, is my Grandfather’s description of what it was like in the “hard” yet good times that he grew up in. After that, I will talk about some strategies that can be implemented to prepare for the coming storm and to build self-sufficiency now so that we can       1) take care of our families and 2) help others if hard times strike.  

 

Wisdom is more important than gold or silver

       “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold.” Proverbs 3:13-14 ESV

 

 

 

 

..........

      I went for a walk with my Grandfather one Thanksgiving to walk his dog and he told me about his concern for me and my parents’ generation and the mess that the country is in. He told me, “The White House…and Washington, D.C…..you gotta fix it.” This book is my first step in sounding the alarm to that end. I realize that I may never have an opportunity to speak to the leaders of this nation; however, I will write and speak about how to “fix it” by doing the right thing instead of just doing some-thing. What follows is my vision—well really a Biblical conviction based on study of God’s Word and time spent with the Lord—of what we as individuals and families can do. We cannot keep going down the path we are going as a country without consequences. Realistically a storm is coming. God can do a miracle! I pray for Revival, I hope for a complete turnaround, but realistically I have to be honest and so do you that we do not see a 180 happening. However, I do know that Scripture is very clear about this: God will preserve and take care of His Remnant.

        The truth is that unless the United States of America dramatically changes course, that the judgment of God will come upon our land (Jeremiah 23, Romans 1:16-32).

But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.   Psalms 75:7

 

And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings  Daniel 2:21

 

       Therefore, I believe we must be realistic. God will always preserve a Remnant for Himself, as I will go into later (and am even doing a book project on with a good friend—Ken Zimmerman, Jr. which is scheduled to be released in 2014). But before we go on I want to make clear what my intentions are as we move forward. The reason why I must do this is I am going to mention very specific ways that we can prepare for a coming economic storm; however, without the proper foundation these preparations and ways to increase one’s income will become idols in our lives.

1)      Seek and Serve God only

2)      Pursue Wisdom

3)      Plan Purposefully to Provide for & Protect my Family

4)      To Invest in Lasting Things: Relationships, Time with God, a Home (not just a house)

      We need to recognize first and foremost our utter need for and dependency on God. You cannot take a breath, enjoy a hot meal, cherish fellowship with a close friend or loved one, learn, or apprehend anything without God! He designed you and your body and your mind in your mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5, Psalm 139:13-14)! God is sovereign and controls all things, when hard times come, He is still with us. The things that you and I must endure during our lifetimes, we will endure in His strength if we abide in Christ. Like Job and Hezekiah, we can trust in the Lord in the midst of our sickness! As the late Adrian Rogers said, “‘Pastor, what should we tell the sick and suffering?’ Tell them that this isn’t God’s final plan; Jesus is coming back.” Daily acknowledge your utter need for God! You must understand your sinful poverty (Rom 3:23, 6:23)! When you understand that, and daily live in a mindset that you are nothing and God is your everything then “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). And what do the poor in spirit receive? “For theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3)!

 

Courtesty of:

 

 

 

Do you have a Dream?

Do you have a Dream?

 

     A lot of emphasis today is given to having a dream and dreaming about the future. The Bible actually has something to say about this issue (a surprise too many). So let's take a look at one of the lessons God gives us on this topic. Enter King David. David was a man after God's own heart, and he had a personal dream to build a Temple for the Lord. God told David though that because he had shed so much blood that he could not do it. However, David was allowed to prepare the materials and sacrificially give from his own fortune for his successor to build the temple though and David did command Solomon (1 Chronicles 28) to build a house for the Lord.

     We must place our dreams on the altar before the Lord. May our hearts cry be "Lord, if it be your will..." Many in America need to repent of pursuing their own dream rather than God's specific purposes and plan for their life (Eph 2:10). ...and if it be that God would say, your heart is right but it is for the next generation then may we faithfully prepare like David so that "Solomon" can accomplish the mighty task.

 

The Lord strikes the Nations with Terror

“Put them in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.”

Psalms 9:20 KJV

 

      The Lord strikes men with terror. Wicked nations have always been afraid of the Lord’s righteous ones. When Israel was following the Lord and living righteously, fear was in the hearts of her enemies. God will show His greatness through His power, and when He does, the nations will tremble in righteous fear that they are but men, clay in the hands of an Awesome Potter. May we trust in the Lord; our Master, strikes terror in the wicked men and demons which march around this earth; our God is yet stronger than they!       

How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!

How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!

Hebrews 11:33

   God’s ways are topsy-turvy to the world’s ways. A few examples: God exalts the humble, but the world exalts the proud. God ascribes greatness, not to masters, but to servants. God is impressed, not with noise or size or wealth, but with quiet things . . . done in secret—with inner motives, the true heart condition. God sends away the arrogant and the rich empty-handed, but He gathers to Himself the lowly, the broken, the prisoner, the prostitute, the repentant. The world honors the handsome and the gifted and the brilliant. God smiles on the crippled, the ones who can’t keep up. All this makes the world nervous.

      As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in The Cost of Discipleship: “And so the disciples are strangers in the world, unwelcome guests, disturbers of the peace. No wonder the world rejects them!”

#SimpleFaith  #CharlesSwindoll

Taken from Wisdom for the Way: Wise Words for Busy People by Charles Swindoll

Remembrances of my Childhood

Remembrances of my Childhood

By Ryan Marks

       As a child I played some of the things that I actually now do in “adult” life. I would pretend to lead armies, organize assaults against imaginary castles, fight evil creatures; and be the “Daniel Boone” of a group of frontiersmen or a Indian warring against the evil tribe(s). All of these play activities were preparation for my future leadership calling from the Lord. As a man, I would need the leadership skills I played about. And now, as a young man of seventeen, I am learning all the more how important leadership is in the things God has called me to do: I must discipline myself to follow Christ; I must make the choices to accomplish the goals that I have set and the Lord has called me to do; I must teach and disciple others, faithfully leading the best life example that I can.

        As a child, I enjoyed drawing a picture and now I do similar activities with my computer: graphic design, snipping pictures, and newsletter design. I enjoyed writing songs of praise to God; now I enjoy getting written material out to others which will help them to grow closer to the Lord. I started pretend companies and some small entrepreneurial endeavors back then, but now I am forming companies, as well as business ideas on a larger scale. I would sit and build with legos for hours on end, and in the process give names to many of them in addition to homes, families, careers, churches, pastors, and kings. I would form armies and experiment with different economic systems. By doing these things, I set the basis of my interest in basic economics and politics. As I refused to have heathen systems in my play cities (unless they were my idol-worshipping enemies), I learned how God’s Word really apply to life.

    I could say much more of my childhood and how I loved to read; battled with laziness and responsibility until something just clicked in my twelfth year; how I chased girls because of ungodly desire; how I did not have many video games, but played war, city, and economy building for hours on end; how I loved listening to my mother read me great books and how my imagination would soar as she did so; how I would spend much of my time running around the yard engaging in strenuous sword fights, archery attacks, Indian raids, and musket fights with my imaginary foes which would number in the hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands and millions: yet my faithful band of a few thousand, or more often 10 to 400, would manage to kill them all and win the day; and how the Lord was important and murdering forbidden in those imaginary raids. . . .  I could farther talk about my experiences as a young man coming out of childhood and my new convictions and relationship with the Holy Spirit. I also remember the sends: how I lusted, addicted myself to video games and television, how I gossiped frequently and struggled in friendships, how I pursued young women and how God prevented my quest, how I yelled at my siblings, and how I struggled with changing into who God wanted me to be; but again, how faithful and loving God was. And how God gave me purpose when something just clicked inside of me one day as He spoke to my heart and instilled a motivation to accomplish something: a GMA; and then to write a book, and then . . . there is too much to say.

   My childhood was a time of fun and preparation as I look back. No, I’m not married or leading my own family at this time or engaging in political battles, but I believe that those are to come. The Biblical signs of the Last Days are evident and our modern world continues to require great changes in how things are done. Will the changes to come be Biblical? Will godly men change the course of the impending doom as God stirs up revival? Or will society yield to Satan’s destruction and collapse, hopeless and confused? I don’t know, but this I do: God prepares us when we least expect it. . . .maybe even in your childhood.

 

Thought 347: Dedication from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

 

 

Thought 347

Dedication

    Why don’t we dedicate it to the Lord? Our homes, churches, lives, resources, possessions, children, education,  etc… really all belong to the Lord.

“Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.”   Proverbs 16:3 KJV

 

 

 

Thought 345: You can't decieve God from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

 

 

Thought 345

You can’t deceive God

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth,                  that shall he also reap.” Galatians 6:7 KJV

       You cannot deceive God. Whether you like it or not, nothing can be hidden from Him. He sees everything! He witnesses every time that a man is unfaithful to his wife because of a lust problem. He witnesses every “stolen cookie moment.” He witnesses every young adult that commits fornication. He sees each man in the act of viewing pornography. He watches each young woman that is leading His men astray. He watches our painful battles.

You cannot hide anything from God, but you can steal from Him.

“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.” Malachi 3:8 KJV

     Many people steal from God and each other all the time. Each time someone refuses to pay his tithe, he steals from God. Likewise, each time a man looks lustfully at a woman he steals something that belongs only to the husband, or future husband, of that woman; and he sins against God.

      Yet it the midst of all these problems, God has sent us His Son. And you know what? God accepts the blood of His only Son as full payment for our debts, our sins,  our transgressions. Christ Jesus’ veins never run dry!

Be still and know that HE is God.

(Psalm 46:10, Ecclesiastes 8:12, & Exodus 9:30)

 

Thought 304: I will take hold of your hand from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 304

I will take hold of your hand

“I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.”

Isaiah 42:6,7 KJV

 

   Isn’t it great to know that the Lord has called us in righteousness! And that He will take hold of your hand! He will make us into a covenant for the people and a light to the world. Isn’t it wonderful when the Lord uses us as an instrument to open eyes that were blind to Christ, to free captives from the prison of a stronghold that has held them and to share the victorious freedom of Christ to those who sit far back in prison of darkness? I thank the Lord for using me to be a light to others in the past and for the future when He will use me—do you? May we cling to this Scripture.

 

Thought 296: False Prophets from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 296

 False Prophets

“The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the Lord, and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us.” Micah 3:11 KJV

 

    Jesus (Matt. 7:16, 24:24) and Paul (Acts 20:13-38)  both warned us that false prophets, deceptive teachers, would come among us and deceive many. We are told that we can recognize them by their fruit (Matt 7:16). For example, the verse above clearly shows that the motivation of these judges and ministers was money, not God. They were fakes! Similarly, in churches around the world today, many false prophets are followed and revered. Why, you ask? How can so many follow a false prophet? Because they are wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7:15): they look like Christians on the outside—they say the right things and subtly weave their lies in so that many don’t “notice.” Scripture says that inwardly these people are ravenous wolves (Matt. 7:15). Just like Satan seeks to devour us, so these hungry wolves want to tear apart and draw away many from the flocks of sheep.

     You may know of some false prophets; but if you fully follow Christ, you will be able to hear the voice of the Master Shepherd, of Jesus Christ, and He will lead you. His sheep know His voice (John 10:27), but for those who aren’t His sheep or have fallen astray to some other gospel, let us pause now and spend some time in prayer for them: that the wolves may be exposed for who they are and that the sheep that have been captured will be redeemed.

 

Thought 272: Saved from the current from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 272

Saved from the current

       On one trip of my early outdoor ventures me and my Dad went with a friend and his dad on a canoe/camping trip. On this trip me and my friend tried seeing how far we could walk through the strong current of the water. Now the water was only about eighteen inches to two feet deep so how hard could it be? We started to wade out. Now our dads were with us too, but after wading a short distance the water was too much for me and I fell. I held onto the river bed with my hands trying not to be pulled away in the current and I couldn’t stand back up. My face was above the water but I had to keep a firm grip on the rocks on the river bed to keep from being pulled away.

         At just the right time, my Dad came to the rescue and pulled me back to the river’s edge were our campsite lay on the beach. Now my Dad probably doesn’t remember that time, but because I couldn’t swim at that time and the fear of that moment has stuck with me for a long time. God has helped me realize that my dad reflects my Heavenly Father. HE watches over me and pulls me up just when the temptation or the circumstance or the situation is too great for me to bear.

Here is a comforting note friend:

  God has promised us in the Scripture that we will never be tempted more than we can bear ( 1 Cor. 10:12&13); likewise I believe that God’s Word is true and He will never allow us to go through something that is too great for us. We cannot be defeated if we are humbly placing our trust in Him!

Thought 264: Commit it to the Lord from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 264

Commit it to the Lord

       Give God your regret, unrighteous motives, lies, gossip, and bitterness. Anything that is ungodly in your life should be turned over to Him—as the song says “surrender all!” Surrender it because you cannot pay the debt for your sin. You can only accept the gifts that God gives you, two of which are salvation and the power to walk in the light as He is in the light.

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.” Romans 6:12-13 KJV

Thought 233: God Orchastrates in the Affairs of Men from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 233

God Orchestrates in the Affairs of Men

      I don’t want to steal any phrases when I say this, because many have said similar things, but how does a man or woman know that their spouse is the “One”? Is it some subconscious evolutionary drive? Is it some animal like instinct and desire that is simply there for the furtherance of the human race? Is just because that person is ‘pleasing to our eye’? NO! God is the one who told them that who was the one. How do some men grow up always having a “crush” on their future bride and no one else? The answer is, God. God, brought Eve to Adam—God “set it up.”  Waiting on the Lord is the best option, and Isaiah 30:19-26 promises that HE will direct us.

Just because God is sovereign does not mean that we don’t have a free will. Our choices can be against God’s will.

        Now, people take different approaches to pre-marriage relationships. Some will foolishly flaunt themselves around and just date anyone that there heart desires. Others, which I believe choose the better way, decide to save even their first kiss and moments alone together till their wedding day. Only God can give a couple the power to do such things; on the other hand, anybody can ask someone out and follow-their-heart. I purpose that you choose the Biblical way. God has been teaching me what His Word says about romance and He has a lot to say! As God has been lining up conversations for me to share some of His Word on this topic, few appear to have a change of heart. Only two of the many young men I’ve shared with on this issue have appeared to change their view.

      Take heart! You were born at the exact moment that God had ordained and predestined you to enter into this world of wonder! God loves you; and if you haven’t ever received your letter of admittance into heaven because of Jesus Sacrifice (and no work of your own), I pray that you fall on your knees right now, tossing aside this wretched book and cry out to God to save your soul from the encompassing flames of Hell.

⁹That 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. ¹⁰For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ¹¹For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. ¹²For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. ¹³For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.    Romans 10:9-13 KJV

 

GOD IS SOVEREIGN AND ORCHASTRATES THE

LIVES OF MEN AND WOMEN.

…

FOR HIS GLORY

Thougth 232 The Year Uzziah died.....What happened the year of your birth? from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 232

The Year Uzziah died…..What happened the year of your birth?

     Well, if you’re anything like me I don’t have a clue. In 1994, all that I know is that I was born, and so were several of my friends. But does the year you were born determine your future? No and Yes. God had you born the year that you were for a very important reason. You must understand that you are here right now, the exact  # of years old you are for a reason. That reason(s) are orchestrated by a sovereign God. He knows every detail of everyone’s life from before time began to after it ends in eternity! God is truly sovereign! If He cares for the sparrows why do you worry? Why do you worry about who you will marry? Do not worry because God will direct you. Besides worrying doesn’t do any good, and each day has enough in it.

  On the subject of God directing you listen to this passage:

      “For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem: thou shalt weep no more: he will be very gracious unto thee at the voice of thy cry; when he shall hear it, he will answer thee. And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any more, but thine eyes shall see thy teachers: And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left. Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.

        Then shall he give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal; and bread of the increase of the earth, and it shall be fat and plenteous: in that day shall thy cattle feed in large pastures. The oxen likewise and the young asses that ear the ground shall eat clean provender, which hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the fan. And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.”   Isaiah 30:19-26 KJV