Category Archives: Scripture Memory

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A Way Out

SYNOPSIS: Your battle with temptation is winnable! That’s good news. There’s always an escape route—always—when you are being enticed to break God’s law. And not only is there a way out when you are tempted, but it is God himself who will provide that way of escape; he will make a way. God has provided the door, but here’s the deal: You and I must look for it; we must walk through it!

Project 52—Memorize:
I Corinthians 10:13

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

Did you catch that? Your battle with temptation is winnable. The last part of the verse says so: “When you are tempted, he will also provide a way out.”

That’s good news. There’s always an escape route—always—when you are being enticed to break God’s law. And not only is there a way out when you are tempted, but it is God himself who will provide that way of escape; he will make a way. God has provided the door, but here’s the deal: You and I must look for it; we must walk through it!

Are those escape routes mysterious, accessible only to the spiritually elite, hard to grasp and even harder to enter?  Not at all—they are very clear, quite simple, and easy to access.

One way of escape is to immerse yourself in Scripture. Psalm 119:9 & 11 says, “How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word…I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

That’s how Jesus battled temptation in the wilderness. Every time the tempter came at him with something that would tear him away from his Father, Jesus came back at Satan with the truth of Scripture. There is no more potent weapon against temptation in your life than in reading systematically, meditating daily, and memorizing strategically God’s Word.

Another escape route from temptation is to become accountable to another believer, especially for your particular weakness. Socrates said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” We need to bring our temptation into the light of accountability to other people—as difficult as that may be.

Proverbs 27:5-6 says, “Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.” You would do yourself a huge favor by finding someone with whom you can be accountable for your weakness.

And yet another way out is to ask God to deliver you daily from the tempter. Jesus taught us to pray a daily prayer that acknowledges both our weakness and our need for divine power in this area: “Deliver us from the evil one.” (Matthew 6:13)

As simple as that sounds, the amazing thing is, God hears those prayers. And he always provides a way out.

“Temptations, of course, cannot be avoided, but because we cannot prevent the birds from flying over our heads, there is no need that we should let them nest in our hair.”  ~Martin Luther

Reflect & Apply: As you are meditating on 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, look more closely at the ways we have identified as God’s way out for you.  Can you connect them in specific ways to the common temptations you are facing? Can you identify other “ways out” the Bible teaches that God has given you in every temptation? Today, look for those divine exits—and take them.

 

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Act As If

Be Strong - Act Boldly!

SYNOPSIS: When the Bible commands you to be strong and courageous, what does that mean for your life today, practically speaking? Simply put, it means that you would just “act as if” God is in charge. Now that sounds great, but how do you bring that out of the vague clouds of theological agreement and into the real world of what is assigned to you today? Well, on this particular day, it will be fear, not problems, that will keep you in the wilderness of spiritual paralysis and out of the promised land of measurable progress! So don’t let that happen. Act as if God is with you—because he is. Now with that in mind, what action steps do you need to take with God at your side to move from good intentions into ruthless obedience? Write out those steps … then boldly take them!

Project 52—Memorize:
Joshua 1:9

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

As you read Joshua 1:1-9—the setting for this verse—you can’t help but notice the repetition of the phrase, “Be bold and courageous.”  My guess is that Joshua has a bit of a fear problem going on as a result of the overwhelming leadership challenge that had been thrust upon him.  That’s why four times God reminded him to just “act as if God were with him”—which he was, of course.

Isn’t that really what being bold and courageous is? To just “act as if” God is in charge.

Like Joshua, you may have a pretty big task in front of you, and what typically happens in those cases is that you begin to doubt. You begin to question: “Is it really God’s will that I do this? Will he be with me? What if I fail?” Doubt sets in. And when doubt sets in, fear is not far behind. And when doubt and fear team up, you’ve got a recipe for spiritual paralysis.

That’s like the Peanuts cartoon where Charlie Brown was standing there waiting to catch a baseball, and he says, “A pop fly!  I’ve got it!  It’s all mine.”  Then he says, “If I catch this ball, we’ll win our first game of the season.”  Then he starts praying, “Please! Please let me catch it. Please let me be the hero.  Please let me catch it. Please!” 

In the next frame, Charlie says, “On the other hand, do I think I deserve to be the hero? The kid who hit it doesn’t want to be the goat. Is baseball, a game, really that important? Lots of kids all over the world have never even heard of baseball. Lots of kids don’t even get a place to play at all or have a place to sleep or…”

And just about that time the ball drops right in front of him—bonk! Linus comes out and says, “Charlie Brown! How could you miss such an easy pop fly?”

Charlie says, “I prayed myself out of it.”

We do that sometimes, too. We start doubting the opportunities that God places before us, and pretty soon we talk—or pray—ourselves out of them. But like Joshua, God says to us, “Have confidence in the fact that I want to bless your life and give you success.” 

A. B. Simpson once said, “Our God has boundless resources. The only limit is in us. Our asking, our thinking, our praying are too small; our expectations too limited.” Four times God said to Joshua, “Don’t you get it? You can do it! Go for it! I’ve got you covered.”  In other words, “Be determined and confident. Act as if I will be with you and help you out—because I will!”

God said that to Joshua, and made sure that it was included in his Holy Book, because he foresaw that today, fear, not problems, will keep you in the wilderness of spiritual paralysis and out of the promised land of victory!

So don’t let that happen. Act as if God is with you—because he is. He promises!

“All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.”  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Reflect & Apply: What is the task that is before you today? Take a moment to envision tackling it as if God were right in front of you. Then, act as if!

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Humility

Forget About Yourself

SYNOPSIS: Forget about yourself! Try it. Practice being absent minded when it comes to you. Get you out of your thoughts, and replace them with prayers of blessings and plans for serving other people in your life. As Jesus did, give yourself away with absolutely no thought of getting anything in return. Surprise someone with compassion. Heap some unexpected and undeserved kindness on another.  Find the most unlikely object of God’s love, and love them like God would. Try it, and you’ll experience a little bit of heaven on earth.

Project 52 – Weekly Scripture Memory // Proverbs 22:4

Humility is the fear of the LORD; its wages are riches and honor and life.

Humility!  It is one of the preeminent qualities of Jesus’ character (Philippians 2:1-11) and one of the highest duties of the authentic Christ-follower (Colossians 3:12-14).  Yet while humility is a virtue we all laud, and hope to possess, we need to remember that in the days of the Biblical writers, the pagan world scoffed at the idea of humility. To them, pride and dominance were highly regarded, while meekness of character was to be avoided at all cost.  So a Biblical writer promoting personal humility was a radical concept in the ancient world.

But those Biblical writers redefined humility in a more noble light; they saw it as simply having a right estimation of oneself rather than what the world saw as a weakness and a character flaw. Having a proper estimation of oneself—that’s really what humility is.  I think biblical humility was defined quite nicely by the kids who built a clubhouse and then posted these rules on the door:  Nobody act too big, nobody act too small, everybody just act medium. 

That’s good:  Not too big, not too small…just see yourself as God sees you.  That’s exactly what the Apostle Paul had in mind when he taught about humility in Romans 12:3,

“Don’t think more highly of yourself than you ought to, but think soberly, according to the faith God has given you.”

It is this proper estimation of yourself that sets something quite powerful loose in your world and produces the kind of “riches and honor” that Solomon talked about.  You see, on the one hand, humility frees you from self-centeredness and arrogance, while on the other, it releases you from the vicious trap of low self-esteem. And in the process, true humility enables you to enter into a powerful lifestyle of ministering to the needs of others.  That’s what humility does—and there are not too many forces in this world that are as powerful as that.

So how can you cultivate this kind of humility?  There are many ways, but here is one:  Start thinking more of others and less of yourself.  Philippians 2:3-4 says, “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”

I came across a parable about man who was talking with the Lord one day and said, “Lord, I’d like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.”  The Lord led him to two doors.  He opened one of the doors and the man looked in.  In the middle of the room was a large round table.  In the middle of the table was a large pot of mouthwatering stew, but the people sitting at the table were thin and sickly; they appeared famished.  They were holding spoons with very long handles, and each found it possible to reach into the pot and take a spoonful…but impossible to get the spoons back to their mouths. The handle was longer than their arms.  As the man shuddered at the sight of their misery, the Lord said,  “You have just seen Hell.”

They went to the next room and found the same large round table with a large pot of mouthwatering stew in the middle.  These people had the same long-handled spoons, but unlike the first room, these were well-nourished and joyful people.  The man said, “Lord, I don’t understand.” The Lord replied, “It is simple—it takes one skill:  They’ve learned to feed each other, while the miserable think only of themselves. You have just seen heaven.”

Let me give you a challenge for this week: Forget about yourself! Try it. Practice being absent minded when it comes to you. Get you out of your thoughts, and replace them with prayers of blessings and plans for serving other people in your life. As Jesus did, give yourself away with absolutely no thought of getting anything in return.  Surprise someone with compassion. Heap some unexpected and undeserved kindness on another.  Find the most unlikely object of God’s love, and love them like God would.

Try it, and you’ll experience a little bit of heaven on earth.

“He rides pleasantly enough whom the grace of God carries.” ~Thomas A` Kempis

Reflect & Apply: Identify one person whom you can serve this week—and do it without being noticed!

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Soul Music

Forget Not His Benefits

SYNOPSIS: “Praise the Lord, O My soul, and forgot not his benefits.” Forgiveness, healing, redemption, love, compassion … just to name a few. Now what soul wouldn’t pour forth unfettered praise at the realization of all the undeserved and life sustaining blessings that God graciously gives! So what don’t you offer up some unfettered praise today!

Project 52 – Weekly Scripture Memory // Psalm 103:11-12

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

I love this psalm—it’s my favorite. It is probably right up there with the Twenty-Third Psalm for most people, and I suspect it has made your Top Ten, too!

David is on his game in this psalm; he’s in the sweet-spot of Divine favor, the blessing zone, if you will, as he calls up from his memory banks his Top Ten list of why it is so good to belong to God:

  1. Forgiveness—Psalm 103:3
  2. Healing—Psalm 103:3
  3. Redemption—Psalm 103:4
  4. Compassion—Psalm 103:4
  5. Satisfaction—Psalm 103:5
  6. Justice—Psalm 103:6
  7. Revelation—Psalm 103:7
  8. Patience—Psalm 103:8
  9. Mercy—Psalm 103:9-14
  10. Love—Psalm 103:17

No wonder David “bookends” this psalm with “praise the Lord, O my soul.” (Psalm 103:1, 22) What soul wouldn’t pour forth unfettered praise at the realization of all the undeserved and life sustaining blessings that God graciously gives!

Of course, these benefits aren’t given to just anybody—although they are available to everybody. There is a critical caveat found in Psalm 103:18:

To live under these Divine blessings requires covenant keeping.

God keeps his covenantal promises to bless only those who keep their covenantal promise to obey his laws. Still, though this is a conditional covenant, we get the far better deal, by miles. Even when we don’t always live up to our end of the bargain, God looks upon us through his eyes of compassion, sustains us by his mercy, forgives our repentance and patiently, lovingly, enduringly keeps us in his family.

All I can say to that is “praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits!” (Psalm 103:2)

So take some time to remember the benefits of belonging to God. My guess is, like David, you, too, will be singing a little soul music!

“He rides pleasantly enough whom the grace of God carries.” ~Thomas A` Kempis

Reflect & Apply: One of the greatest benefits of belonging to God is the removal of our sins when we confess them and repent of our sinful ways.  Psalm 103:11-12 says God pardons our sins and removes them as far as the east is from the west.  Last time I looked, that was a long way.  How great is the love of a God who would do that.  How about taking some time to express your thanks to God that he is in the sin removal business.

 

 

 

 

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The Victory Parade

Christ Is Leading Us In Triumphal Procession

SYNOPSIS: Do you feel bogged down in life’s journey? You are not! In reality, you are in marching in Christ’s victory parade. So don’t allow your faith to rise and fall on the empirical evidence of right now. Patiently trust on those days when you are slogging through life, because soon enough, the procession will take you by the final grandstand. Others have already finished the parade, they’ve stood in the winner’s circle, they’ve received the victor’s crown. Now they are waiting for you in the cheering section at the finish, urging you on to victory. So is the Victor!

Project 52 – Weekly Scripture Memory // 2 Corinthians 2:14

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

What a great promise: God always leads us in triumphal procession! In other words, we are marching in Christ’s victory parade. He has taken us captive and we are happily his trophies of grace in the Victor’s procession. Wherever the parade leads, we are giving off the smell of victory!

That sounds a bit ethereal, but in reality, what that means for you is that in every turn of the path, good or bad, smooth cruising or rough road, not only have you already won, even better, your winning is a witness to the triumph of Jesus Christ. Whatever comes your way—it doesn’t matter—in the end, you win. Since you are in Christ’s victory parade, you are a victor!

Now in reality, the road you are on may seem like anything but a parade. But if what the Apostle Paul wrote is true—which we confidently accept by faith—then in a practical sense, we never need to be discouraged in this journey by unknown outcomes. Perhaps you can’t see the twists and turns in the road ahead, but God knows them, and that’s all that matters. He is steering you to the finish. So travel with confidence! It is really a victory parade you are in, and Christ is leading it.

Moreover, don’t be intimidated by the either the impossibility or the length of the journey. It could be the road you are traveling is difficult, even treacherous, and with no end in sight. In truth, the path to victory always is, so get used it. You are only walking where the greats have trod! And since the path is really the parade route, take courage, Christ is leading you to victory.

Finally, don’t get disturbed by delays. Perhaps you feel like you have bogged down in the journey, but remember, you are in a victory parade. Don’t allow your faith to rise and fall on the empirical evidence of right now. Patiently trust in spite of delays, because soon enough, the procession will take you by the final grandstand. Others have already finished the parade, they’ve stood in the winner’s circle, they’ve received the victor’s crown. Now they are waiting for you in the cheering section at the finish, urging you on to victory.

And best of all, so is the One who has led you in this triumphal procession all this way. Once you see him, what seems like a difficult journey now will appear in reality then as nothing more than a victory parade.

So let me say it again: this journey you are on is really a victory procession, and Christ is leading you in triumph.  So act like it is a victory lap—soon enough it will be!

“To choose what is difficult all one’s days, as if it were easy, that is faith.” ~W. H. Auden

Reflect & Apply: Is there a fear or discouragement impeding your faith journey at the moment? Rethink it—Christ has already won your victory and is leading you in triumphal procession. Allow that truth to make a difference in how you walk.

 

 

 

 

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Fruitful Fear

It's the Only Way to Live

SYNOPSIS: The fear of the Lord doesn’t conjure up very a positive image. But to be God-fearing doesn’t mean to cower in terror because a capricious and vengeful Deity is fixing to squash you like a bug if you displease him in the least. Rather, while acknowledging that disobeying his law will bring painful consequences, it recognizes that obeying that very same law will bring life-giving benefits. In that sense, to live in the fear of the Lord is the only way to the blessed life. Too many people today are trying to live a God-blessed life without a God-fearing life. It can’t be done! But those who fear the Lord have nothing to fear! In fact, they have every good and perfect thing to gain.

Project 52 – Weekly Scripture Memory // Psalm 128:1-2

Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in his ways. You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.

Fear!  The word doesn’t conjure up very positive images does it? These days in our cultural context, parents don’t usually teach their kids to live in fear of anything and teachers don’t instruct their students to be afraid.  So why should preachers stand in pulpits and preach the “fear of the Lord” to their congregations? That seems a bit incongruent with our image of a loving and gracious God.

The problem is that we misunderstand what the Bible means when it talks about this kind of fear. A better way to think of it is the old term used a generation or two ago: God fearing. That simply meant to have a deep reverence for God and a healthy respect for his laws. It did not mean to cower in terror because a capricious and vengeful Deity was fixing to squash you like a bug if you displeased him in the least. Rather, while acknowledging that disobeying God’s law would bring painful consequences (just try ignoring his universal law of gravity and see how that works for you), it recognized that obeying that very same law would bring life-giving benefits.

To live with a healthy and holy fear of God provided the foundation for a prosperous journey through this life as well as preparation for entering into the joy of the eternal kingdom in the life to come. The fear of the Lord was what enabled people to navigate daily challenges with good judgment and grace. And the icing on the cake for a fear-of-the-Lord approach to living was the promise that God would add fruit, blessings and prosperity to our lives.  That’s not a bad exchange:  Fear of the Lord for fruitfulness in life.

Too many people today are trying to live a God-blessed life without a God-fearing life. It can’t be done! Living without deep reverence for God and healthy respect for his laws, including awareness of the consequences of breaking them—will only produce the other kind of fear: fear that our past will catch up to us, high anxiety because of what we’re going through today, and terror of what might happen tomorrow.

But those who fear the Lord have nothing to fear! In fact, they have every good and perfect thing to gain.  If you can wrap your life around what it means to be God-fearing, this gracious God himself will give you the life you’ve only dreamed of—and even beyond that.

The remarkable thing about God is that when you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear everything else. ~Oswald Chambers

Reflect & Apply: What kind of fear is your fear of the Lord? A healthy and holy fear, or one that is unhealthy and unholy? Spend some time today thinking about what it means to be a God-fearing person—and what changes you may need to make to be one.

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Recalibrate

Are You On God's Side?

SYNOPSIS: Whether it’s pursuing your personal goals (“building your house”), protecting your interests (“watching over the city”), earning a living (“rising early and stay up late toiling”), or raising your family (“a quiver full of children”), at the end of all your efforts, nothing of lasting value and eternal consequence will have been accomplished if the Lord has not helped; even more, if the Lord has not been the architect and builder of your pursuits!

Project 52 – Weekly Scripture Memory // Psalm 127:1-2

Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain. In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves.

During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln was once asked if God was on his side. The president’s response was classic—and deeply profound: “It is not is God on my side, but am I on God’s side?”

That’s a great question to ask yourself in any of life’s endeavors—several of which are listed in Psalm 127. So whether it is in pursuing your personal goals (“building your house”), protecting your interests (“watching over the city”), earning a living (“rising early and stay up late toiling”), or raising your family (“a quiver full of children”), at the end of all your efforts, nothing of lasting value and eternal consequence will have been accomplished if the Lord has not helped; even more, if the Lord has not been the architect and builder of your pursuits!

And what is the best way to ensure the Lord’s help?  Not just to get the Lord on your side—that can be tricky business, given the exceeding craftiness of our own motives (Jeremiah 17:9).  Rather, the only surefire guarantee of the Lord’s help is to get on God’s side—and stay there.

Perhaps Lincoln’s question is a good one to ask yourself today: “Am I on God’s side?”  Are my goals God-given?  Are my interests dedicated to his purpose?  Is my work his work?  Is my family set apart for his glory?

If you are nervous about being able to answer those questions in a God honoring way, then wouldn’t you say it is time to recalibrate your life so that from the center to the circumference, you are aligned with God’s purposes?

I hope you will join me today for a little recalibration. If we can pull that off, we’ll be in good standing to get the Lord’s help.  And like the Apostle Paul, the testimony of our life will be, “But I have had God’s help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike.” (Acts 26:22)

“We cannot help conforming ourselves to what we love.” ~Francis de Sales

Reflect & Apply: What are the most significant pursuits occupying your time, energy and resources these days? Can you truly say of them, they are God’s agenda for your life? If not, let the recalibration begin.