Eleven days, yet it took forty years!

There are eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir unto Kadeshbarnea.

Deut 1:2 (KJV)

   Eleven days, and yet it took them forty years! How was this? Alas! we need not travel far for the answer. It is only too like ourselves. How slowly we get over the ground! What windings and turnings! How often we have to go back and travel over the same ground, again and again. We are slow travelers because we are slow learners. Our God is a faithful and wise, as well as a gracious and patient Teacher. He will not permit us to pass cursorily over our lessons. Sometimes, perhaps, we think we have mastered a lesson and we attempt to move on to another, but our wise Teacher knows better, and He sees the need of deeper ploughing. He will not have us mere theorists or smatterers; He will keep us, if need be, year after year at our scales until we learn to sing. –C.H.M.

Be Faithful in the Land (season) of your Affliction—it is Temporary, You are a Citizen of Heaven!

Be Faithful in the Land (season) of your Affliction—it is Temporary, You are a Citizen of Heaven!

 

Gideon's Fountain,Near Jezreel. Courtesy of the Creative Commons

 And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly: 4 For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) 1 Kings 18:3-4 (KJV)

 

 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin. 23 He that hateth me hateth my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause. John 15:18-25 (KJV)

 

 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, 2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. 3 And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire. 4 And it came to pass, when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven Neh 1:1-4 (KJV)

But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. 9 Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs. 10 And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king. 11 Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. 13 Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. 14 So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. 15 And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat. 16 Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse. 17 As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 18 Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. 20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm. 21 And Daniel continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus. Dan 1:8-21 (KJV)

 

For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; 5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;

7 And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: 8 (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) 9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: 10 But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities. 11 Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. 12 But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; 13 And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; 14 Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children: 15 Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; 16 But was rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the madness of the prophet. 17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever. 18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. 2 Peter 2:4-22 (KJV)

 

And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. 2 And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. 3 And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. 4 And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. 5 And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field. 6 And he left all that he had in Joseph's hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.

He resists the temptation of his master’s wife

7 And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. 8 But he refused, and said unto his master's wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; 9 There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God? 10 And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her. 11 And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within. 12 And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.

He was falsely accused

13 And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth, 14 That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice: 15 And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out. 16 And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home. 17 And she spake unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto me to mock me: 18 And it came to pass, as I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled out.

Joseph in prison

19 And it came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled. 20 And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. 21 But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. 23 The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper. Gen 39:1-23 (KJV)

 

   False prophets abound in these last days before our Lord’s return (1 Timothy 4, Matthew 24, 2 Timothy 3) and many follow them. But each day the return of our Lord and Savior draws closer! Stay alert like the 5 wise virgins in Matthew 25 (for more on this, listen to A Tale of Two Believers by Vincent Newfield at                http://www.sermon.net/reallifeanswers/sermonid/1199876724 ).

 

     Keep your righteousness in the hard times. Righteousness means two things in Scripture either right living (holiness) or right relationship, right position with the Lord through Jesus Christ. Do not try to march on in your own strength, but depend on the Spirit and grace (Christ’s righteousness). Yet take personal responsibility for your conduct and choices (right living).

Thought 321: Only You from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 321

Only You

  Only you can fulfill your calling, because only you have the right equipment and experience given to you by God to overcome and accomplish all that He has for you.

  Do you know what your Spiritual gifting(s) as a Believer is? What talents do you have?—you have at least one  Most importantly, what is Holy Spirit prompting you to do right now, even if you feel totally unprepared: what is your passion? Pray about it, the Lord will direct you. God does want to use you as a light to others. Ask Him “how Lord?” Then see where He gives peace (even if you experience attacks of peace from the enemy, but now in your spirit that He has given you peace to do something).  When He answers, do what He says.

·        Act in Faith: that is, believe what God tells you.

·        Walk in Peace: that is, only go and do where God gives you peace in your Spirit. If you don’t have peace, don’t move.

·        Wait patiently and endure suffering as a good soldier of the Lord.

Lastly, GO and STAND (Matthew 28:19-20 and Ephesians 6:10-19)



 

Thought 312: As a little Child from Ryan's devotional book series Thougths

Thought 312

As a little Child

 

Faith, like a little child?

What can it mean?

      Children have great faith! They trust and believe that their earthly Daddy will take care of them. In the same way, we should come to the Lord with the heart and mind of a little child—gladly placing our faith in our Heavenly Father.

 

Thought 282: The Christian Family from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 282

The Christian Family

“One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?)” 1 Timothy 3:4-5 KJV

 

Discipline is important, but so are love and encouragement and mercy.

ABOVE ALL,

The Father & Mother should seek to instill Scripture into the hearts and lives of their children because the Word of God will not return unto Him void (Isaiah 55:11)—this knowledge of the Scriptures, like Timothy, has the ability to lead to the salvation of their soul in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:15).

The Father should LEAD & Teach his family in spiritual matters—he is the head of the home and must display Christ’s Truth through his own life example: every father is accountable to God to do this.

The Mother should care for her children in the home. She has been blessed by God to be the instrument through which God brings children into the world and He has designed her to also be a primary nurturer for a set season in a child’s life.

 

The home is an important place. The home—the family—is to do more than just provide food and drink, clothing, and shelter for a group of closely related individuals. The home is to be a place of spiritual preparation, life purpose discovery, and education. God, through the inspiration and person of the Holy Spirit, has said that one of the qualifications for ministry is that a man “ruleth well his own house (2 Tim. 3:4-5).” God considers the home to be a very important place in His redemptive plan for mankind! Today, let’s take some time to think about the Home—the Family. And may You, Heavenly Father, anoint us to hear your Truth—to have ears to hear and eyes to see your plan. Amen.

In the New Testament we see entire families coming to salvation in Jesus Christ (Acts 16:15&33,18:8)! I was once in a service where a minister gave the current statistics for his denomination on salvations. He said that they had many programs which were winning women and children to Christ, but for every 100 men they won to Christ, they won 98 or 99 families. Fathers, I believe you have an important role to play in the family. If you take your role as the leader of your home seriously, YOU WILL IMPACT YOUR CHILDREN. Two of the three Scriptures mentioned in this paragraph referred to men being saved and their entire household following them. Forget the statistics I mentioned, but look at the principle: men do have an eternal impact on their families.

Mothers, wives, Scripture describes you in a beautiful way. I won’t go into all the verses here, but here are some traits of a godly woman/wife: loving, respectful, wise, faithful to her husband, a role model of godliness, a model of purity, a model of inner beauty instead of outward vanity, a possessor of a gentle and quiet spirit, a manager of the home, one who speaks with wisdom, and a demonstrator of prudence. Wives, Mothers, your role is important too! You aren’t called to be the leaders of your homes, but you are called to be all the things mentioned above and more. Peter instructs Christian women married to unbelieving husbands to set an example for their husband that their husbands may be won over to the faith (1 Peter 3:1-6). We need you godly wives and mothers! Our world is crying out for you in these Last Days! Please take your character seriously, live the Word, model purity and godliness.

 The Family also is God’s agent for populating the earth through the union of a man and a woman in marriage. As children are born, parents naturally discover that their children will mature and grow and that they must instruct and prepare their children for life out in this world, and most importantly, for eternal life with Christ in this life and the next. Fathers and Mothers, your role of training of a child in the way he should go (Proverbs 22:6) is another important and necessary aspect of God’s plan. In the Fear of God may you labor, to the best of your ability, for the sake of your children.

  I’ve read numerous stories of great men and women of God and one of the most recurring themes is the fact that they had godly fathers and mothers who modeled God’s design, took their roles seriously, and prepared their children for the Way God had ordained for them to Go.

  Husband, rule your house well, sacrificially as Christ did. Protect, be Faithful, model Christ, be a Leader, Provide for your family’s needs (1 Tim 5:8), and Sacrificially Love as Christ loved us all, His Church, His Bride.

All authority flows from above, therefore Remember Christ’s example.

Five closing Thoughts on the function of the Home:

The Home is…

1. A depiction of Christ and His Church through the love, union, passion, and united labor of a husband and wife. As well as, a depiction of how Believers are to relate to the Family of God.

2. The means through which children are born & raised/trained in the Fear of God & prepared and released into their life callings.

3. A place to learn, grown, share close unity, resolve conflict, & help others.

4. A productivity center.

5. A place where Fathers are leaders, Mothers are teachers, and Children obey in the Lord.

Thought 266: A Time for Everything from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 266

A  Time for Everything

    Wise old king Solomon said in Ecclesiastes chapter 3 that there is a time for everything. Everything! There is a time (season) to marry, a time to be single, a time to go to school, a time to rest, and a time to work, etc…

     There is a time and place to talk about sports and life, but there is also a time to talk about the Lord, His Truth and His ways.

Thought 248: Our Expectations from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 248

Our Expectations

    Are your expectations in line with the Word of God? In our modern culture, rationalism and humanism abound. Rationalism trusts the mind of its user—logic is its all-consuming idol. Humanism vaunts itself up as a form of atheism which contributes success to your actions and yours alone by saying that God had no role in helping or equipping you to accomplish or excel. Amidst a world full of scientific rationalists and self-confident humanists it is very easy to fall prey to their philosophies. Today, take some time to ask the Holy Spirit to help you to examine your heart for any false expectations you have and delve into the Word to learn what God’s proper expectations are for you.

Thought 236: Trials, Tribulations, and Faith from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 236

Trials, Tribulations, and Faith

  Trials are simply testing periods during our walk with God. Just like with Job, Satan, has to receive God’s permission to torment or take something away from you. The Lord sometimes grants these requests to our Enemy and it is often difficult to understand why (and if we ever understand it is usually after the testing has occurred). For example, did Abraham not understand why God told him to sacrifice his son—Isaac was a gift!—yet God told Abraham to sacrifice the young man. . The command of the Lord did not make sense, but Abraham knew that God was speaking to him, not some Satanic messenger. So Abraham OBEYED in faith. Abraham had faith because he lacked the reason or evidence of why God was asking him to do such a thing, yet he believed it.

 Ultimately, Abraham’s obedience foreshadowed the coming of Christ our Savior. Christ was the final sacrificial Lamb upon an altar to the Lord. Only the ultimate sacrifice of God’s very being, who was in a human form, can rapture us to the Lord after our earthly death. Remember, this world is not our home, and our earthly death is merely the beginning of our eternal bliss with a Loving, gracious, and Merciful Lord, who is also Sovereign, Just, and Eternal! Hardship was necessary for Abraham and our Lord Jesus, we need not fear it, but endure it and place our faith in God’s wisdom and plan.

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you” 1 Peter 4:12 KJV

Thought 229: 'name it, claim it'- WRONG from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 229

‘name it, claim it’- WRONG

  How many times have you heard the “name it, claim it” philosophy? The real question is, is it Biblically sound or not and does this mindset have anything to do with a something called Faith?

God will provide for all our needs, however, God does not say that He will provide everything that we want. Here are some Scriptures that prove it:

“I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” Psalm 37:25 KJV

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 KJV

“From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” James 4:1-3 KJV

²⁵ Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

²⁶ Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

²⁷ Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

²⁸ And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

²⁹ And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

³⁰ Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

³¹ Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

³² (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

³³ But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

³⁴ Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. 

Matthew 6:25-34 KJV

     Naming what you want and claiming it as yours is not Scriptural and it is not based on faith because real faith rests in the power of God to do His will, not in a God who is an order machine.

Thought 202: I Want a "generic" God from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 202

I Want a “generic” God

   Have you ever said that statement in the tile inside your heart? Maybe God has chosen you to speak out, to teach, to do a little “public speaking” and none of your friends are being ‘moved’ to do the same. In those moments we sometimes say, “God, why can’t you be generic? I really want all my friends doing this with me, why don’t you move them (call) to do the same stuff so that I stay comfortable? What’s that? O! you want me to move out of my comfort zone…. Ya…ya, I know that you promised never to leave or forsake me (Hebrews 13:5). . . . Alright, I’ll do this your way, Lord—I’m just feel so alone.”

     Are you honestly sure that you have never had a conversation like that with God. I made this example up, but at times we really do have more than a little irritation towards God’s will because what He is asking us to do makes us uncomfortable. Consider the importance of God’s sovereignty, love, perfection, and His plan today.

      We don’t need a generic God, we need a God that is all-powerful (omnipotent) and all-knowing (omniscient). Our God is this way!

Thought 201: Follow HIS Leading from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 201

Follow HIS Leading

 Read Mark 6:1-6

     IF God leads you to do something great for Him, your close family and friends might reject you. But will you still obey God, even if your loved ones spurn and reject you?

Do you know why you should stand for God?

Jesus was rejected by His own home town. He was as the prophet without honor. What does this mean to you?

Thought 200: Try, Try Again from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 200

Try, Try Again

It only takes one time trying to succeed,

but how many times will you fail before victory?

     The fact that we are going to fall on our face and have to get up again, that we are going to fail and have to push forward again is one of the most discouraging facts of life. In the Christian walk, our entire life is to be one of getting back up and pressing on: at times, doing what we may not like to do because our flesh must be denied. The only way that you can make it is by getting back up after a failure and staying focused. If you’ve given it all you’ve got and have failed Try, Try again!

Thought 195: “Faith Like Potatoes” from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 195

“Faith Like Potatoes”

Wow! This is one of the great Christian films of recent times. It is a powerful movie, with real life struggles. Please make it your goal to access a copy of Faith Like Potatoes and watch it soon. Before you watch ask the Holy Spirit to speak you and listen for His voice.

Thought 192: We live by faith, not by sight from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 192

We live by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 NIV1984

       We don’t accept Christ because we understand everything God did through Jesus. There are many, many Scriptural prophecies that Jesus fulfilled, but we don’t have to know them all to accept Christ. We become Christians by faith in Christ. We are to live by faith, not by sight. You don’t need to be an “intellectual,” just a simple child—it’s by faith.

Thought 189: Fear from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 189

Fear

Will you let fear control you?

Can you stop it from controlling you without clinging to Christ the Redeemer? (No)

Just as day was dawning, Paul urged everyone to eat. "You have been so worried that you haven't touched food for two weeks," he said.  Acts 27:33 (NLT)

Have you noticed the word suspense anywhere recently? It is on bill boards, movie promos, etc… What is suspense? Well it is anxiousness, an “on-the-edge-of-your-seat” experience, it is a FEAR. Fear of a storm kept these men in Acts 27 from eating for two weeks! The suspense was on for quite a while! Based on what human survival experts say you can only live for 3 to 5 days without anything to eat and if you just consume fluids you can last around sixty days, but you become very, very weak; yet they hadn’t eaten in two weeks! Euroclydon had struck their lives.

But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind,                         called Euroclydon.  Acts 27:14 (KJV)

Did you catch that word? Euroclydon. I urge you to remember that word.

  I once was in a Frontiersman Camping Fellowship (FCF) service in which the man preaching taught on Euroclydon. Euroclydon is an intense storm, the most feared by the sailors of Paul’s day. The speaker said that he knew boys that where going through Euroclydon—the most intense storm of their lives. Remember that this great storm was feared by so many, yet Paul, a man of God, was there with the unbelievers at this time and he encouraged the people to settle down and eat somthing. He was also able to offer hope because the Holy Spirit spoke to him concerning the outcome of the their destinies. Be the man or woman of God you are called to be. In the hard times, just take life second by second, because that is all we can endure—we are not called to worry about the future, that is sin.

 Amen. May God bless you as you are fighting the good fight and running the race set before you.

Thought 184: Mark 10:17 from Ryan's devotional book series Thoughts

Thought 184

As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Mark 10:17 (NIV1984)

Have you ever asked this question? It is the most important question of your life.

Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”

“Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?”

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.”

Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!”

“I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”  Mark 10:18-31 (NIV1984)