BBD 08.09.18 Don't Waste Your Life (New)

#1 · August 9, 2018, 2:09 am

Quote from Forum Archives on August 9, 2018, 2:09 am
Posted by: burningbushdevo <burningbushdevo@...>

Since June 8^th 1998, this is the 1797^th

The Burning Bush Devotional

08 August 2018

Don’t Waste Your Life

When wisdom enters your heart,
And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
Discretion will preserve you;
Understanding will keep you,
To deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things,
From those who leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ways of darkness;
Who rejoice in doing evil,
And delight in the perversity of the wicked;
Whose ways are crooked,
And who are devious in their paths – Proverbs 2:10-15 NKJV

Patrick Ryan may hold the record for being the most prolific criminal ever. At least, in committing the most criminal offenses he has to hold the record, having committed 668 criminal offenses in his 62-years of life. Ryan began his extraordinarily wasted life at the age of 14. He has spent a total of 23 years in jail and prison; and, has recently been sentenced to another 18 months of prison. Judge Andrew Jefferies told Ryan during his most recent sentencing, “You will serve half of that sentence and will be released on license and supervision after that. During the period of license and supervision, this would be a good time to look at your mental health and drinking problem.” It is believed that Ryan has cost British taxpayers approximately $3.9 million!

We can likely agree that Patrick Ryan has wasted his life up to this point. It appears that he has a severe alcohol problem which has contributed to the waste of his life. The ways of Patrick Ryan have been crooked, but it did not have to be that way. Because “When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, to deliver you from the way of evil.” God could have given Ryan the wisdom to be delivered from evil.

How can anyone waste their life? By ignoring God. By immersing themselves into every evil thing and ignoring the consequences; legal and spiritual. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Even now Patrick Ryan could start down a different path with his life (Would you pray for him? Has anyone ever prayed for him?). What Patrick needs more than anything is Jesus. He needs to become that new born-again creation of 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

No matter what you may have done, if you have a desire to change from the path of evil, there is hope. Hope has a name (Titus 2:13), and His name is Jesus. As the apostle Peter would say to all those who are living wasted lives: “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13).” Receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior (John 3:16; John 1:12; Romans 10:13; Revelation 3:20) and allow His wisdom to enter your heart. “…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints (Ephesians 1:17-18).

Copyright © 2011 - 2018. Ed Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of those first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Visit the Burning Bush websites:

www.theburningbush.net

www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites are celebrating 20 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 11,000 subscribers across the world.

You can leave comments/feedback about the devotionals at www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on theburningbush.net website in the top right hand corner of all of the pages.

Check out the Scripture Index being constructed for the Devotionals at the Burning Bush website. The Links are in about the middle of the home page. Topics for each devotional are now being added to the Index.

Please continue to pray for healing for Michelle Abetz, Brandy, Beverly (Jeanie’s sister), Brent Baker, Gary Kirk, Caleb Freeman, Chris Ramber, E.L. Fowler, Hillary B., Buck & Barbara Wright, Wendy Lu, Joseph C., Vicki Dudgeon, Ruby H., J.E. McGuire, Richard & Sharon’s grandson and Jeanie.

Please pray for an end to the racial hatred in the USA and that it will be replaced with peace and love. Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer requests there (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me. 03.18.18 I accepted the call to be the pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Elk City, Oklahoma. Please pray for me and for this church.).

You can contact Ed Wrather at theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn profile with endorsements at www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.

Devotion vs Devotional: We do our devotions, we read devotionals.

You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo devotional group by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@associate.com and then respond to the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group (Because of time constraints the devotional is only being sent now in html format) by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-join@associate.com and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-leave@associate.com and then respond to the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

--
To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org

Posted by: burningbushdevo <burningbushdevo@...>

Since June 8^th 1998, this is the 1797^th

The Burning Bush Devotional

08 August 2018

Don’t Waste Your Life

When wisdom enters your heart,
And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
Discretion will preserve you;
Understanding will keep you,
To deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things,
From those who leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ways of darkness;
Who rejoice in doing evil,
And delight in the perversity of the wicked;
Whose ways are crooked,
And who are devious in their paths – Proverbs 2:10-15 NKJV

Patrick Ryan may hold the record for being the most prolific criminal ever. At least, in committing the most criminal offenses he has to hold the record, having committed 668 criminal offenses in his 62-years of life. Ryan began his extraordinarily wasted life at the age of 14. He has spent a total of 23 years in jail and prison; and, has recently been sentenced to another 18 months of prison. Judge Andrew Jefferies told Ryan during his most recent sentencing, “You will serve half of that sentence and will be released on license and supervision after that. During the period of license and supervision, this would be a good time to look at your mental health and drinking problem.” It is believed that Ryan has cost British taxpayers approximately $3.9 million!

We can likely agree that Patrick Ryan has wasted his life up to this point. It appears that he has a severe alcohol problem which has contributed to the waste of his life. The ways of Patrick Ryan have been crooked, but it did not have to be that way. Because “When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, to deliver you from the way of evil.” God could have given Ryan the wisdom to be delivered from evil.

How can anyone waste their life? By ignoring God. By immersing themselves into every evil thing and ignoring the consequences; legal and spiritual. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Even now Patrick Ryan could start down a different path with his life (Would you pray for him? Has anyone ever prayed for him?). What Patrick needs more than anything is Jesus. He needs to become that new born-again creation of 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

No matter what you may have done, if you have a desire to change from the path of evil, there is hope. Hope has a name (Titus 2:13), and His name is Jesus. As the apostle Peter would say to all those who are living wasted lives: “Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13).” Receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior (John 3:16; John 1:12; Romans 10:13; Revelation 3:20) and allow His wisdom to enter your heart. “…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints (Ephesians 1:17-18).

Copyright © 2011 - 2018. Ed Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent. Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of those first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent to prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Visit the Burning Bush websites:

http://www.theburningbush.net

http://www.theburningbush.org

The Burning Bush websites are celebrating 20 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to more than 11,000 subscribers across the world.

You can leave comments/feedback about the devotionals at http://www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on theburningbush.net website in the top right hand corner of all of the pages.

Check out the Scripture Index being constructed for the Devotionals at the Burning Bush website. The Links are in about the middle of the home page. Topics for each devotional are now being added to the Index.

Please continue to pray for healing for Michelle Abetz, Brandy, Beverly (Jeanie’s sister), Brent Baker, Gary Kirk, Caleb Freeman, Chris Ramber, E.L. Fowler, Hillary B., Buck & Barbara Wright, Wendy Lu, Joseph C., Vicki Dudgeon, Ruby H., J.E. McGuire, Richard & Sharon’s grandson and Jeanie.

Please pray for an end to the racial hatred in the USA and that it will be replaced with peace and love. Many prayer needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You can also post your prayer requests there (Of course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me. 03.18.18 I accepted the call to be the pastor of Fairview Baptist Church in Elk City, Oklahoma. Please pray for me and for this church.).

You can contact Ed Wrather at theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com View LinkedIn profile with endorsements at http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=92988105

If you enjoy the devotional please recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.

Devotion vs Devotional: We do our devotions, we read devotionals.

You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo devotional group by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@associate.com and then respond to the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group (Because of time constraints the devotional is only being sent now in html format) by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-join@associate.com and you may unsubscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-leave@associate.com and then respond to the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

--
To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org