Extra Devotions

Ryan M Marks

Copyright © 2014 Ryan M. Marks All Rights Reserved.

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The Holy Bible, King James Version (marked KJV), Public Domain

The Holy Bible, New King James Version (marked NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (marked ESV) Copyright

© 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers

Declaring the Sins of a People: the Prophet’s Plight

“Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.”

Isaiah 58:1 (KJV)

God used to raise up prophets to speak to His people, has spoken through Christ

(Heb. 1:1-2) His Son, and speaks to those who truly know and follow Him by His

Spirit. However, the gift of prophecy is still used today, but I have found that it often

comes through preachers (not “ministers” necessarily, but men who are in tune

with God and declare and stand for the truth in the midst of a day and age that lives

contrary to the Bible and hostile toward Truth).

Many pastors are called for at least a season to this prophet role. As they seek

God, He brings some hard (stern) messages and lays them on their spirit to

preach/declare. Personally, I’ve been there. I’ve sat down with hopes for a year of

encouraging people and hopefully having them be encouraged and happy with me,

to like and respect me as I share the Word, but then I get into the presence of God

and He gives me the “tough” messages that get me labeled as the spoilsport or

downer. The guy that people just want to shut up. Ever been there? A part of you

wants to shut up, but you know that God has called you to speak. People don’t like

you, but God is not only using you but teaching you that you have to fear and

respect Him, not man?

Let’s pray:

Lord, help us to speak and shout when you tell us too, but to be silent when you

want us to be. And above all, may we Fear You and not people: may we serve You

and not our fear of fitting in. In Jesus Name, Amen.

“….For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV)

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

1. To quit or leave entirely; to desert; to abandon; to depart from.

Jesus will never leave us or forsake us. He is always there, waiting for us to come

to Him and find rest and peace. Whenever a person backslides or completely falls

away from the faith it is not the Lord’s fault, God does not forsake us: it is the

person who forsakes the Lord. We have a free will, we have to surrender to the

Lord to be used by Him; therefore, we can choose to take our will and walk away

from Him in our own strength.

The choice is yours, dear friend, Christ will never leave you or forsake you, but

you can. Will you surrender to Him today? Will you consecrate yourself unto Him?

Lord, O how often I have walked in my own strength; forsaking You and asking why

You left me. Lord, You never left me….but I walked in my own strength. Lord, help

me today to walk and live following You. I don’t want me, but You. Empower me by

Your Spirit to live a life wholly consecrated to You. In Jesus Name, amen.

The Source of My Strength

“In You, O Lord, I put my trust; let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Your

righteousness. Bow down Your ear to me, deliver me speedily; be my rock of

refuge, a fortress of defense to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress;

therefore, for Your name’s sake, lead me and guide me. Pull me out of the net

which they have secretly laid for me, for You are my strength. Into Your hand I

commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.”

Psalm 31:1-5 (NKJV)

Pause and contemplate this verse—may The Holy Spirit speak to you.

Slack in Your Work

“He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.”

Proverbs 18:9 (KJV)

When we are slack in our work, when we work slowly and half-heartedly we

are brother to him who destroys/wastes (based on which translation you’re using).

It is sobering to realize that not doing your best as unto God in everything you do

means that you are choosing to serve who you want to serve (selfishness). God has

set a high standard, yea a perfect standard: one which demands our all, our focus,

our attention, and our effort.

When a machinist starts a new job and works feverishly to benefit his new boss

and company, he is doing his best. But after time when the job’s newness seems to

wear off and the blessings of having a job there seems to vanish from memory, it is

easy to “ease up” in your work. When we do this we are brother—we are closely

related—to him who destroys!

I’ve dealt with this issue as a young man trying to get my own company going.

At first, I worked hard and gave everything, but as the hard work kept coming and

my body felt like just going a bit slower, I had to battle with slowing up/not working

my hardest. In manual labor, I probably won’t consistently have the same speed,

but am I pushing myself to my best? Am I working as if I was working for God (I’d

definitely do my best then)? Am I treating my employer the way I want to be

treated by those I hire?

This proverb comes back to one of the central principles of the New Testament—

doing to others what you want them to do for or to you (author’s paraphrase).

When I have somebody working for me who is lazy or I can tell doesn’t have “his

heart in his work,” I don’t like having him work for me because I know that I’m not

getting the best value for my buck, and they don’t appreciate me hiring them

because they aren’t acting like it. As an “employer,” I feel like they are destroying

my potential earnings and causing a drag on our productivity. If I have too many of

this type of people working for me, my business will be destroyed!

We could go on looking at examples and applications of this Proverb and maybe

some of you need to, but my hope is that the seriousness of this Scripture will be

“latched onto.” I pray that we get this into our hearts and spirits and that we work

hard.

Lord, give us the strength to work for others as we would want them to work

for us. Help us to do our best as unto You, Father. In Jesus Name, amen.

Help Lord!

“Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the

sons of men. They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; with flattering lips and a

double heart they speak.”

Psalms 12:1-2 (NKJV)

Are you that one person that remains godly and faithful while everyone else

seems to slack off? You may ascertain your situation correctly, or you may not, but

I can say this: there will be a time, for many of us, where like David we cry “Lord,

for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men.

They speak idly….!” If that is where you find yourself today, pray this with me:

Dear Lord Jesus, I come to You as one feeling broken and abused: everyone seems

to be living out wickedness around me! Lord, please give me strength. May I have

the resolution to stand firm and remain (abide) in Your vine. Open my eyes to see

Your hand in this situation. And, Lord, I thank You for Your peace which passes all

understanding which the Scripture promises me I’ll have when I abide in You. Amen.

Choose this Day!

“choose you this day whom ye will serve….”

Joshua 24:15 (KJV)

You must choose. Whom will you serve? You have two options, embrace the Lord

or reject Him. Take an honest look at your life, the Holy Spirit will show you the true

condition of your heart; He will tell you whom you are living for.

Choose this day! Choose Eternal Life! Choose the Good News: the salvation of

your soul which comes through confessing with your mouth that Christ is Lord and

believing in your heart that Jesus Christ died and rose again! This isn’t an issue to

put off for later decision. You may never have another chance to accept Christ as

your Lord and Savior. Choose this day . . . .

O Lord, may many be added to Your Kingdom.

Do you love discipline?

“Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is

brutish.”

Proverbs 12:1 (KJV)

“Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.”

Proverbs 12:1 (ESV)

This is a hard verse to stomach, but it is truth and Scripture promises elsewhere

that the truth will set us free.

Do you love discipline? Do you love what it produces in your life? I do. I love

having a disciplined day and learning how to be productive. But that doesn’t mean

that I am perfectly disciplined. However, I have learned through the correction of

the Lord that it is truly stupid to hate correction in regards to discipline. Laying

around all day and just “letting life happen” or “fate decide” produces horrible fruit:

failure, discouragement, depression, loss of purpose and direction, and more. But

when I heed the corrections of the Lord and listen to the rebukes of the Lord; when

I follow the gentle, yet firm nudging of the Holy Spirit in my spirit, then comes

growth. O how I love learning more about God and the Kingdom! His corrections

are firm, but if I hate them, I miss out on so many blessings and the abundance that

is produced from the faithfulness to continue loving discipline.

Lord, may we all come to love Your discipline, for Your ways are perfect and all

things You turn into good for we are those called according to Your purpose.

A Hard Lesson

“When pride comes, then comes shame; but with the humble is wisdom.”

Proverbs 11:2 (NKJV)

Have you ever gotten prideful? I would be willing to bet that you have. When I

have fallen into pride, one characteristic is sure to come about. It is the disgrace,

the shame of having said something I regret—I was being prideful and what I said

damaged my reputation with somebody. That is where I do not want to stay, and

regret my actions.

But I have found something else as well. When I operate in humility, then

comes wisdom. I’m open to hear the Holy Spirit’s voice through others, able to

discern the spirits and see which is of God. But this only occurs when I’m in humility,

when I’ve gotten cocky or began to be secretly puffed with pride: having self-

confidence and self-exaltation, then comes my disgrace. I cannot walk in fellowship

with God and my own pride. I must be humble. I must Fear God and understand

my proper place—for that is where wisdom lies; not in focusing on myself, but on

Him.

Dear God, give me a humble spirit. Teach me Your ways, Your wonders, and Your

majesty. And, Lord, please show me just a glimpse of how small I really am

compared to Your plan. Let that revelation help me to remain in a humble state of

spirit. In Jesus name, amen.

Generosity

“There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds

more than is right, But it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich,

And he who waters will also be watered himself.”

Proverbs 11:24- 25 (NKJV)

Read those verses again slowly.

The man who gives freely, gains even more. The one that withholds unduly, well,

he comes to poverty. This proverb is not just talking about money; in reality it is

talking about how you live. If you are a generous man or woman and give freely

allowing your time, talents and resources (contacts, money, machinery, etc…) to

flow freely through you, you will gain a blessing. You will experience an abundant

life. One of joy, hope, expectation and excitement (passion): The joy of what the

Lord is doing will be your energy, your strength.

I think we’ve all been there at one point in our walk. I can recall times when

everything I freely gave to people, largely in the form of my time and ability, was

flooding back to me in excitement, energy, great deals, spiritual blessings,

contentment, passion, and personal growth. However, many think of this proverb

as being related to money, but I heard a great illustration about money one time.

A man said that “money is simply like a brick.” I can build something useful to the

Lord, by yielding the bricks to Him or I can take them and use them solely for myself.

God is interested in you and your lifestyle, way more than just the money you have;

He wants all of us: our time, our focus, our resources, and our very lives to be at

His disposal. But here’s the catch, He only wants us to do it willingly. God wants us

to choose to freely flow in Him by being generous.

Those who so do will reap a blessing.

“A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

Lord, may we understand generosity.

The power of teamwork

What if 12 men, each having two 2X4 boards and four nails, came together to

create something? They could frame a small building. It is the same way with the

Lord. Paul uses the illustration that we are God’s building (Read 1 Corinthians 3).

When we unite together for the sake of our Faith in Christ, we can do amazing

things for the Kingdom. One man with two 2X4’s and four nails probably won’t be

able to build very much, but when they come together—WOW!

Pause and think about the power of teamwork with other Christians. Unity

is important.

Habits

At my GMA ceremony in high school a man preached a devotion on character

and its relationship to habits. It is true that our character is formed by our habits.

For example, if I always lie when my Mother asks me why I didn’t take out the trash,

it will in turn create a bad character habit of lying when I want to “get out of” a

tough situation. Likewise, if I invest time each day in mental, physical, and spiritual

exercise I reap the rewards of clarity of mind, extra energy to get through my day,

and spiritual peace.

Your habits are important. Take a moment to consider what habits you need to

get rid of or maybe some that you need to form.

Lord, give us the desire to form habits that will build the life that You desire us to

have. Amen.

Counsel

Read Proverbs 22:17-21 and consider them thoughtfully.

Bow down thine ear, and hear the words of the wise, and apply thine heart unto my

knowledge. 18 For it is a pleasant thing if thou keep them within thee; they shall

withal be fitted in thy lips. 19 That thy trust may be in the LORD, I have made

known to thee this day, even to thee. 20 Have not I written to thee excellent things

in counsels and knowledge, 21 That I might make thee know the certainty of the

words of truth; that thou mightest answer the words of truth to them that send unto

thee?

Proverbs 22:17-21 (KJV)

Exploitation and the Danger Associated with Debt

Read Proverbs 22:22-27 and consider the Lord’s truth on these matters. He’s

right in all that He says, but you may be wrong or have been taught a doctrine of

men that is false. Take the time to really examine this passage and act on what you

learn.

Rob not the poor, because he is poor: neither oppress the afflicted in the gate:

23 For the LORD will plead their cause, and spoil the soul of those that spoiled

them. 24 Make no friendship with an angry man; and with a furious man thou

shalt not go: 25 Lest thou learn his ways, and get a snare to thy soul. 26 Be not

thou one of them that strike hands, or of them that are sureties for debts. 27 If thou

hast nothing to pay, why should he take away thy bed from under thee?

Proverbs 22:22-27 (KJV)

Who are You?

“Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he

that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me. He that worketh deceit shall not

dwell within my house: he that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. I will early

destroy all the wicked of the land; that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city

of the LORD.”

Psalms 101:6-8 (KJV)

What is the condition of your heart?

The Spirit of God knows which way to go. . . .will you trust him?

“Thus saith the LORD, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the LORD thy

God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou

shouldest go.”

Isaiah 48:17 (KJV)

It’s better to do the Hard Stuff

“It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for

that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. Sorrow is better

than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. The

heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house

of mirth.”

Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 (KJV)

This Scripture presents a mindset that is a polar opposite of what we often hear

in America. We hear the message of just live and enjoy life! Smile more and don’t

think too hard. The Word declares a different message right here, though. Read the

verses above again slowly.

“It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting.” That

Scripture has impacted me big time as a young Christian man. I have seen two

applications which I’d like to share with you. 1) Is it really better to just feast on life

or to consider and contemplate some of its hardships like death. If death comes so

quickly, how should I live my life? Should I really just not stress about the small

stuff, or is the small stuff what determines whether I’ll ever make it to the big stuff

(faithfulness principle, Luke 16:10)? While almost everyone young seems to cheer,

“just have fun and experience life!” think about your actions. Look at what

Ecclesiastes 11:9, 12:1(KJV) say:

“Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy

youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know

thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment. . . . Remember now

thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw

nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them”

2) Going to a funeral may actually be for your benefit. Preachers know that at a

funeral many more people are open to Christ that may be very stubborn at other

times; the reason is because the people are considering death and its reality right

then. Eternity seems much closer.

Another point on funerals: even as a Christian, I was impacted by going to a couple

of funerals. This verse was in my mind around those times and the tragedies that had

occurred also brought many to the side of the family and the sharing of the impact

that the deceased had made on other’s lives. I was speechless and struck to the

heart—life is so fleeting and next to accepting Christ, reaching and touching others

lives with Him is very important.

What we have looked at today is probably not the most encouraging, but it is the

Word. Let’s pray:

Lord Jesus, may You speak to us by Your Holy Spirit who You said will lead us

into all truth (John 16:13) and give us insight into what we should do with what we

have read. Lord, may every heart be receptive and moldable to Your small, still voice

speaking to them. In Jesus Christ’s Mighty Name, may these things be done. Amen.

The Wrong Type of Woman

“The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a

wise child shall have joy of him. Thy father and thy mother

shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice.

My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.

For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.

She also lieth in wait as for a prey,

and increaseth the transgressors among men.”

Proverbs 23:24-28 (KJV)

Take heed to these verses men. A strange woman (an adulterous, a flirt, etc…) is a

pit to you.

Prideful Promotions

“For promotion cometh neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the

south. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another. For in the

hand of the LORD there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and he

poureth out of the same: but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall

wring them out, and drink them. But I will declare for ever; I will sing praises to

the God of Jacob. All the horns of the wicked also will I cut off; but the horns of

the righteous shall be exalted.”

Psalm 75:6-10 KJV

Don’t spend your energies trying to exalt yourself. Proverbs 29:23 says, “man’s

pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit (KJV).”

God’s way to honor is humility, but the World’s way to success is promote yourself,

sell yourself, DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO GET FAME AND A NAME FOR YOURSELF!

God’s way to honor flies right in the face of that hollow philosophy: Be humble, the

Lord is the Judge; He Rules and He Reigns over all! Trust in Him, humble yourself,

do your best and faithfully follow the Lord in little and in abundance and let God

take care of promoting you.

God’s Word

“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.”

Proverbs 30:5-6 KJV

Let that Scripture sink in. . . . God’s Word is pure! He is a SHIELD unto them that

put their TRUST in Him! Add not unto His Words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be

found a liar!!

About the Author

Ryan M Marks is the author of a number of books including Hope

for When the Storm Hits, 1 Timothy, Multiple Streams of Income,

the 3 volume Thoughts devotional series, and A Collection of

Thoughts on God, Relationships and True Love. In addition, Ryan

serves as the Founder and Director of Focusing on the Mark

Ministries, a DBA of his company Marks Enterprises, LLC and

Chief Editor of Devo Blast.