Memorization Monday - Hebrews 5:9

Hebrews 5:9 (Speaking of Jesus) And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,


In the previous verse the author had said that even though Jesus was a son, He learned obedience from suffering. In verse 9, the thought continues stating that having thus been perfected...  That doesn't mean Jesus wasn't perfect. It means that having suffered and learning what obedience was, He was able to fulfill the end or purpose of His coming, to become the author of eternal salvation.

We are all looking in one way or another for eternal salvation. The Bible claims that Jesus is the author of that salvation. It is through faith in Him that salvation is obtained. There is no other source.

If you would like to see the entire list of recommended verses from Hebrews to memorize in 2013, check here.

We've also produced a Bible study guide on the book of Hebrews you may be interested in. You can find it here.

Hymn of the Week - Jesus I am Resting, Resting

Jesus, I am resting, resting,
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,
And Thy beauty fills my soul,
For by Thy transforming power,
Thou hast made me whole.

Refrain

Jesus, I am resting, resting,
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.

O, how great Thy loving kindness,
Vaster, broader than the sea!
O, how marvelous Thy goodness,
Lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in Thee, Belovèd,
Know what wealth of grace is Thine,
Know Thy certainty of promise,
And have made it mine.

Refrain

Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,
I behold Thee as Thou art,
And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,
Satisfies my heart;
Satisfies its deepest longings,
Meets, supplies its every need,
Compasseth me round with blessings:
Thine is love indeed!

Refrain

Ever lift Thy face upon me
As I work and wait for Thee;
Resting ’neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,
Earth’s dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father’s glory,
Sunshine of my Father’s face,
Keep me ever trusting, resting,
Fill me with Thy grace.

Refrain

Life Lesson - Pick up your stuff!

Another life lesson that I had to learn in that small context of camping in a pop-up is that things need to be put away. You can't just take stuff out and leave it out because a small camper would soon be overwhelmed if everyone did that. I suppose there are some men who have the innate knowledge and habit to only take out one thing at a time and then put it away when they're finished. That is what we learned in kindergarten, but it never did get ingrained in my nature and so I tend to strew things until I frustrate myself enough with my mess that I pick it all up and make it neat again. That's the way it is with my desk and closet for example.

I have that same trouble with tools. I can't tell you how many hours I have spent looking for a certain wrench, trying to remember the last project where it was needed and then finally finding it with a screwdriver and tape measure right where that project had been completed three months ago! I'm still missing a sledge hammer and ax that were probably left leaning up against a tree somewhere years ago.

In the small confines of the camper, I learned that I need to put away what I take out. If I take off sneakers in order to put on sandals, the sneakers need to be put away otherwise someone will trip over them or a cabinet door won't be able to open. When we are finished with a meal, the dishes need to be done and put away immediately because there are other things waiting to use that space.

Now when I say I learned this lesson, it means that it is much more up front in my mind, but my nature is to leave things out. I've heard so many people say about different areas in their life, “That's just the way I am.” And this is the way I am, but it is not right. God is a God of order, structure and organization and I believe that He wants us to be the same way since we are made in His image. Therefore as I have gotten older, I have become better at putting things away as I finish using them. It's not easy for me, because it takes every ounce of energy I have to force myself to put that hammer back on the pegboard or that tape measure back in the tool box. It only takes a minute and I know that, but it goes against my nature. But I'm learning.

So, men, here's my message for you today. Pick up after yourself. Don't make your wife do it. It's not her job. I'm trying to make it so that I don't leave tracks. I try to wipe up spilled milk, sweep up sand I've tracked in, and put away books I've been reading.  When we leave things laying around we  make more work for our wife plus we make it more difficult to teach our children the importance of putting their things away. So begin today. Force yourself to think about each thing you are tempted to leave out. Did you take off your shoes so you could lie down on the couch? Then walk them to the closet and put them away. Or at the very least when you get ready to go to bed at the end of the day, pick up all of the things you've left laying around and put them where they go. Can your wife tell you got out some cookies for a snack? Are there crumbs on the counter or the open box still sitting out? Put everything away and clean up your mess.  It's pleasing to God, makes less work for you wife and provides a good example for your children.

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

In the Lord's Prayer we learn the phrase, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." How is God's will done in heaven? How should our own obedience be modeled on the angels' obedience in heaven?

Here is Ezekiel Hopkins' thoughts on this topic:

Bless the LORD, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his word,
obeying the voice of his word!   Psalm 103:20

How do the holy angels do the will of God in heaven?  First, their obedience is absolutely perfect; they do all that God asks and do not fail in the least obedience.  They are never remiss in their service or slack in their attendance.  They are continually blessing and praising God, and stand ready to receive and execute his commands and commissions.  Secondly, the angels’ obedience is cheerful and not constrained from fear or suffering.  It is their eternal delight.  We too, need to esteem the commands of God our glory and great reward, not being dragged to do it as a burdensome  task.  Thirdly, God’s will in heaven is done with zeal.  Do we obey coldly or indifferently?  Do we bring sacrifices with no fire?  Or do we offer them up with strange fire?  Fourthly, they do the will of God quickly.  But, alas, how dull and slow we are!  Instead of obeying the will of our God and Sovereign, we dispute it.  O how many delays and excuses and procrastinations we make!  Yet we are so willing to stay at leisure with every vile lust.  We think that there will be time enough to serve God when we have nothing else to do.  Certainly, this is not doing the will of God as the angels.  Upon the very first impression of God’s will we should take wings and execute it speedily.  Fifthly, they do the will of God with constancy and perseverance, serving day and night (Rev. 7:15).  They never weary of their work.  His service is their happiness and their obedience is their glory. Let us not content ourselves with comparative obedience by looking at others we think are worse off, but let us compare ourselves with the angels.  Do we obey God with the same joy, zeal, speed, and perseverance?  Do we delight ourselves in God’s will as these holy spirits do?

Read more: http://creationrevolution.com/2012/06/daily-devotional-bless-the-lord-o-you-his-angels/#ixzz2RCBSv7xd

Memorization Monday - Hebrews 5:8

Hebrews 5:8 Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.

Even though Jesus was the Son of God, it was important for Him to learn the obedience that comes from suffering. Jesus is our faithful high priest and in order to truly understand our suffering and even the difficulty of obedience, He had to be tested in all of the same ways we are. Now when we go to Him, we can be assured of the fact that He does understand us and can sympathize with us and help us through whatever is going on.

Hymn of the Week - Loved with Everlasting Love

1. Loved with everlasting love,
   Led by grace that love to know;
   Spirit, breathing from above,
   Thou hast taught me it is so.
   Oh, this full and perfect peace!
   Oh, this transport all divine!
   In a love which cannot cease,
   I am His, and He is mine.
2. Heaven above is softer blue,
   Earth around is sweeter green;
   Something lives in every hue
   Christless eyes have never seen:
   Birds with gladder songs o’erflow,
   Flow’rs with deeper beauties shine,
   Since I know, as now I know,
   I am His, and He is mine.
3. Things that once were wild alarms
   Cannot now disturb my rest;
   Closed in everlasting arms,
   Pillowed on the loving breast.
   Oh, to lie forever here,
   Doubt and care and self resign,
   While He whispers in my ear,
   I am His, and He is mine.
4. His forever, only His:
   Who the Lord and me shall part?
   Ah, with what a rest of bliss
   Christ can fill the loving heart.
   Heaven and earth may fade and flee,
   Firstborn light in gloom decline;
   But, while God and I shall be,
   I am His, and He is mine.

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/284#ixzz2Qdd4SsVc

God's Power to Save - Even Me

The book of Romans in the Bible is one of my favorite portions of Scripture because in it the gospel of Jesus Christ is so clearly and logically laid out.  This article today is based on a study I call Truths for Meditation and comes from Romans 1:16-17; 3:21-27. So what I'm hoping to accomplish here is not so much to go through this passage as a lesson to be learned, but as truth that will build us up and sustain us in our walk of faith. It would be helpful to have your Bible open to this passage since I won't be quoting it in its entirety.

Paul writes that the gospel is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. One has to almost stop at each word in order to grasp what this is saying. The basic hunger of the human heart is for salvation. Death is seen by most people as an enemy and even life has so many challenges that people want to be assured of a rescue, if not now then certainly after death. Where is that rescue to be found and who is eligible? What the Bible is saying is that the power to save us is found in the good news of Jesus Christ. This saving power is available to everyone, everyone who believes. There's no limit.

The reason that the gospel is the power of God for salvation is that the gospel reveals the righteousness of God. This phrase, "righteousness of God" is repeated several times in this passage. God is perfect and perfectly righteous. That means that He never does anything wrong. All of His motives are perfectly right. All of His decisions and actions are perfectly right. In comparison to God we fall way short of His perfections. The Bible calls that sin.

How does the gospel reveal the righteousness of God? Let me explain it this way. If I can say it respectfully, God has a "problem". He loves us. God does not want any of us to perish. But on the other hand He is so perfect and righteous that He cannot just overlook sin. He can't be like a kind, gentle grandfather who simply overlooks his grandson's misbehavior. He must punish sin. So what the gospel shows is that God is so loving and yet so intent on punishing sin that he entered the world Himself in the person of Jesus Christ and took the punishment that His righteousness demanded so that He would be "free" to justly release sinners from their death sentence. That is what verse 3:26 is saying.

The gospel is the good news that God is righteous, but He applied that righteous judgment on Himself rather than on His creatures. But the gospel is also the message that God gives His righteousness to all who believe. In other words, it's not enough just to have our punishment taken by someone else. We also need to be positively righteous. God is basically saying, "I've taken the punishment you deserve. The condemnation has been removed if you will believe me and trust me.  In addition, I will give you my righteousness, my perfection as a gift if you will accept it." Here's the way Paul puts it in the passage we are looking at:  "But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe." Romans 3:21, 22






In 2 Corinthians 5:21 he says it this way, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."



It almost sounds too good to be true doesn't it?  To think that on judgment day, God would look up your record and on it He would find no sins, and then as He looks more closely to see what good things you have done He would find that you have been perfectly loving, perfectly others-focused, perfectly thankful, and so on. Why?  Because your sinful record has been replaced by God's perfect righteousness.  Believing this is what saves, not just believing in general. We are asked to believe the record that God has given of His Son, and trust His method of salvation. In doing so, all of the benefits of the power of the gospel will be ours.

An App to Help in Scripture Memorization

As Christian men, one of the most important spiritual disciplines we can develop in our lives is that of Scripture memorization. Each one of us, if asked, should be able to tell someone else what verses we are working on as we "hide God's Word in our hearts." 

I don't know what method you have used, but over the years I have used several different methods. The most successful method for me has been using cards with the reference on one side and the verse on the other.

Since I'm a tech guy, I wondered if there was a way to duplicate the card idea on a smart phone. I was pleased to find an app called Flash Cards Deluxe. It's available for the iPhone or Android. I think it costs about $3.99.  I have found it to be exactly what I need for this purpose. You basically create a spreadsheet of the information you want on the "cards" and then upload the information through the website. What I like is that the cards can have more than two sides.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I put the first few words of a verse on one side, the reference on another side and the full verse on the third side.

When I go to the app on my iPod, I see the first few words first. From that I try to remember what the reference is and then I try to quote the entire verse.  The app will allow you to swipe one way to say that you got it correct and a different way to say that you got it wrong. You can set up the app to show you the verses you got wrong more frequently for more thorough review.  It really works for me.

The website is http://orangeorapple.com and the app is called Flash Cards Deluxe

Life Lessons - Deference

Some life lessons are best learned in a miniature situation. For me, a couple of these lessons came through camping. I was not raised to be camping person, so I started camping as an adult with my wife and family. In our early years of camping we used a tent, but soon graduated to a pop-up camper. If you've never camped, you may not have a sense of how small an area you have to work with, but suffice it to say, not everyone in a family can be up milling around at the same time. Patience is needed because you may have to wait for another person to finish getting her jacket out and putting on her shoes before you can take your place at the “kitchen” table to read. If you are already there reading, it may be that the frisbee that the kids want to play with is located in the bin under your seat. So you need to get up and move completely out of the way so that they can get the frisbee. This means the seat and back cushion need to be moved out of the way. This in turn may result in another person having to move a little to make room for this maneuver. It tests the willingness of each one to make allowances for the needs and desires of others.

So one key life lesson I've learned is that patience and deference are necessary and important. Deference means to give way to what others want to do, to allow them to do their thing before I do mine. That is, after all, what love is all about and God wants us to learn the lessons about love because that's the way He treats us.

Philippians 2:3, 4 says, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” This pretty much sums up God's desire for us as Christian men. We are to esteem others as more important than ourselves. This means in the home we are to value the interests of our wife and kids more than our own interests. That means that when I want to do something and my wife or kids want to do something else, I need to weigh their desires with greater value than my own. This is not easy, especially for men.

All kinds of excuses come to mind. For example, if I always defer to my wife, I might never get to pursue my own interests. When we start to think like this, we begin to read into Scripture limits on what God expects of us. Surely he doesn't expect us to be deferential to the extreme, does He? Think through what you know about the Bible and about God and tell me where the end comes. God sacrificed in the extreme to demonstrate His love toward us and He wants us to go to the extreme to sacrifice for others. This is not easy.

The life lesson, magnified to me through the camping experience is that I need to be willing to defer to others and their needs and desires. If it means continual interruptions of what I'm trying to do, so be it. Others have interests in what they are trying to accomplish as well, so why would I think my things are more important than theirs? May God give each of us men the grace to live lives that demonstrate the deferential character of love.

Some Thoughts from Thomas Mallery

”Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel”   Matthew 1:23

The clearest manifestation of God to us is revealed in Jesus Christ (John 1:18).  His eternal Godhead is also manifest in the works of creation (Rom. 1:20).  The knowledge of God in creation, however, is not able to restrain the vain imaginations and idolatrous conceptions of God that lie in men’s hearts.  Also, much of the eternal Godhead is manifested in his works of providence (Job 9:10-11).  Sometimes God was working forward or before Job; sometimes backwards, or behind him; sometimes on his right hand, sometimes at his left hand.  Job followed him up and down that he might understand God, and the reason and design of all his works.  But he could not perceive it.  We also see the eternal Godhead in his righteous and holy law; but this manifestation of God frightened those who saw it at first (Heb. 12:21).  The clearest, sweetest, and most comfortable manifestation of God to us is made only in Jesus Christ, who is ‘the image of the invisible God’ (Col. 1:15).  In Christ, God has revealed himself as no other means can.  Christ is the exact copy or character of the Father’s person and perfections (Heb. 1:3).  When Philip desired for Christ to show him the Father, Jesus said: ‘Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.  Believe me, I am in the Father and the Father is in me’ (John 14:9, 11).  In the works of creation, God is above us; in his works of providence, he is outside us; in the law, he is against us; in himself, he is invisible to us.  Only in Christ is he Immanuel, God manifested in our flesh.  He is God in us, God with us, and God for us.  Therefore, no man ever did or ever can understand anything of God truly, that is, upon a saving account, except in and by Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 6:16).

Quoted from "Voices from the Past", Puritan Devotional Readings, edited by Richard Rushing, Page 171

Memorization Monday - Hebrews 4:16

Heb 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

God invites us to come boldly  to His throne in prayer. It is a throne of grace which means that we find there a God who is willing to forgive and extend grace because of what Jesus Christ has done on our behalf. Hebrews 7:25 tells us that He is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto God through Him.  It is always through Christ that we approach God. In today's verse we are welcomed to the throne of God for mercy and grace because our High Priest, Jesus Christ, has been tempted in all ways like we have been and therefore is able to empathize and sympathize with us. He is not a God who is distant and unconcerned and without understanding of our situation.

So what should our response be?  We should have boldness to come to Him in prayer regularly and faithfully.

Hymn of the Week - Jesus What a Friend for Sinners

Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!
Jesus! Lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Refrain

Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

Jesus! what a Strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in Him.
Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,
He, my Strength, my victory wins.

Refrain

Jesus! what a Help in sorrow!
While the billows over me roll,
Even when my heart is breaking,
He, my Comfort, helps my soul.

Refrain

Jesus! what a Guide and Keeper!
While the tempest still is high,
Storms about me, night overtakes me,
He, my Pilot, hears my cry.

Refrain

Jesus! I do now adore Him,
More than all in Him I find.
He hath granted me forgiveness,
I am His, and He is mine.

Refrain

Lessons Learned in Life - Budgeting

Previous article is here.

Before the days of computers, my dad had an envelope budget system. I'm going to describe it to you so that you will understand the gist of how good budgeting works. Each person can adapt the illustration to his own situation.

My dad knew what his take-home pay would be for a year. He figured out how much it cost for groceries for a year, about how much the family paid for clothes, what the electric bill would be, etc. He got paid by the week and so he took each of those expenses and figured out how much would be represented each week. Perhaps groceries would be $30 each week. (This isn't now, it's way back!) Maybe rent would be $20 per week. Insurance might be $15. You get the idea. He would cash his check and then physically put the appropriate amount of money in each envelope. The envelope marked “groceries” would receive $30. The “rent” envelope would receive $20. We believe in tithing and so $15 would go in the tithe envelop to be given to God's work.

If every conceivable expense category was taken care of and if there was money left over, he could put some in a “fun” envelope and for sure some went into an “emergency” envelope.

If you actually do this physically, some interesting things happen. For example, one of the children needs shoes that are going to cost $40. There's only $30 in the clothing envelope. If you must have $40 shoes, what has to happen? You have to physically take $10 out of some other place. You could take it out of the insurance envelope. But your insurance costs are fixed at a certain amount. By taking money out of there, you are just going to have to take it from somewhere else when the insurance bill comes due because the insurance envelope will be short. So you are forced to think about where that money will come from. You have to think about that even though there may be $452 in the envelopes all together. If you had that money in a checking account, you would buy the shoes and not think about where it's coming from. But with the envelope system, you have to make decisions.

When I first got married, I used this same approach but instead of actual envelopes, I kept track in a notebook how much money was in each “envelope” even though most of the money was in the bank in a checking account. Even though I might have $800 in the bank, I might only have $40 in my “fun” “envelope”, and so I couldn't just spend $80 on some special outing for the family. Later on I moved on to computerized accounting. But the point is you need to know where the money has been allocated. Not knowing is what causes so many problems for families when it comes to spending.

Let's go back now to the desired stop at McDonalds. What if dad, before leaving home looked in the “fun” envelope and saw that there was a $20 bill in there and that is the one he used at McD's. In that case there wouldn't be a problem. Another scenario might be that there was only $4 in the “fun” envelope. That means that they cannot make the stop that might be so enjoyable. But everyone, including dad, wants that enjoyable treat so much! They can't afford it. But everyone is going to be so disappointed! They can't afford it!! Even though dad has $20 in his wallet, it is actually allocated for something else. They can't afford it!

If you don't budget, you don't know you can't afford it. If you do keep track of your spending, then you can make intelligent decisions. For example, mom may plan ahead and give dad some money out of the grocery envelope so he has money for a family treat. She can do that. Budgets don't control, they inform. But if she does that, she will have less to spend on groceries. She might be OK with that, but the good thing is that she knows the decision she is making. Or... maybe they could just stop at the grocery store and buy some ice cream, and make sundaes at home. That might work.

What drives people nuts is that they want everything. We don't like this budgeting scenario because we want to be able to have our treats, the best shoes, the cable company with the most channels, etc. It can't be done! It's best to acknowledge this fact early on, make your purchases accordingly and I can tell you from experience that your savings account will grow and you will be amazed at how far the dollar stretches. If you keep spending money you don't have on things you can't afford, it will all eventually collapse on you. However, if you make wise decisions, stifle your desire to have everything, and save some money out of each pay check, you will find that your savings grows and you become less vulnerable to the economic conditions that happen to be blowing through at the time.

Lessons Learned in Life - Part 1

One of the things that has been on my mind recently is the need to share with my children and grandchildren some of the most important things I have learned in life. I don't know if you've experienced this, but there are things in many different areas of life that stand out as important lessons that have a profound affect on how we live our lives. Usually if we learn such lessons, life is better and more rewarding in many ways.

Another thing that I think is important is for the older generation to share those lessons with younger people so that perhaps they can learn from them and avoid some of the pitfalls that occur in life. So little by little as I think through these learning experiences and as I prepare them in written form to share with my family, I thought it might be helpful to share them with a wider audience as well so that whatever is beneficial in my experience may help others.

So, we'll get started today with something I learned about budgeting. What I'll try to do is if the topic is too long for one post, which it is today, I'll continue in succeeding days. New topics will appear sporadically as I finish them. They'll all be tagged under Life Lessons so that you can find them easily.

I was blessed to have a dad who taught me budgeting and a wife who understands thrift and careful shopping. Because of what I learned from them, God helped me to know what works best when it comes to using money wisely and saving for the future. I spent my career working as a teacher and administrator in a rural public school district. We decided early in our marriage that my wife would stay home and focus on our children as they came along. Through the years we were able to pay off our mortgage, pay cash for our cars, and send our kids to a Christian college debt-free. The principles that I'm sharing with you are based on biblical principles and actually work. We are a testimony to God's faithfulness in keeping His Word.

Whole books have been written on budgeting, but what I would like to do today is lay down a few principles that you may find helpful in making ends meet and the dollar stretch. What most people don't realize is that even if they don't budget, every dollar is spoken for and by not having a budget, you don't know who or what has claims on the money in your pocket.

Consider this scenario. You're out with the family and decide everyone might enjoy stopping at McDonalds for a frappe. For a family of five, that will cost you over $15. You know that you have a twenty dollar bill and a five in your wallet and so that's enough to cover it. You want to be a nice dad and you want your kids to be happy and so you stop for the treat. The problem is that there are bills and expenses coming down the road. Some you know about and some you don't. Most people I know don't have a lot of extra income compared to their expenses and so most dollars are spoken for. The fact is that even though the money is loose in your wallet, it is probably spoken for. There's a car insurance payment of $400 due next month. Maybe the $15 is part of that. Has your wife told you yet that Johnny needs new shoes? That's coming tomorrow. Maybe the $15 is part of that.

Before the days of computers, my dad had an envelope budget system. I'm going to describe it to you so that you will understand the gist of how good budgeting works. Each person can adapt the illustration to his own situation. 

 Read the rest tomorrow.

Satisfaction is Found in God Alone - A Puritan Devotional

Jesus said to her, ”Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,   John 4:13

God is the happiness of man because of his suitableness to the soul.   Hungry man finds his stomach craving.  Give him music or honour and he is hungry still.  These are not suitable to his appetite.  Give him food and his craving is over.  So it is with a man’s soul.  Give it honour, profits, and the pleasures of the world, and these cannot abate its desire; it craves still.  These do not answer the soul’s nature, and therefore cannot answer its needs.  Set God before it just once, and let it feed on him; it is satisfied, and its inordinate, dogged appetite after the world is cured.  Tasting this manna tramples on the onions of Egypt.  God is the true happiness of the soul because he is an eternal good.  As the sun never sets, so the soul that rests in God has an eternal Sabbath.  Outward mercies, in which most place their happiness, are like floods that swell high and make a great noise, but are quickly over.  The blessed God is like the spring that bubbles forth and runs over forever.  This all-sufficient, suitable, and eternal God is the saint’s peculiar portion, and therefore causes infinite satisfaction.  God is my portion forever.  When God says to the soul, ‘I am yours, and all that I have’, who can tell how the heart leaps with joy and desires after him upon such new!  The pronoun ‘my’ is worth so much to the soul.  Luther said much religion lies in the pronouns.  All our consolation indeed consists in this pronoun.  He is my God.  All the joys of the believer are hung upon this one string.  Break this and all is lost.  I have sometimes thought how David rolls this word as a lump of sugar under his tongue:  ‘I love you, O Lord, my strength.  The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.’ (Psa. 18:1-2).

Read more: http://creationrevolution.com/2012/06/daily-devotional-everyone-who-drinks-of-this-water-will-be-thirsty-again/#ixzz2PyTHqHfi

Memorization Monday - Hebrews 4:15

Heb 4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

Jesus Christ is our High Priest. That means He is the one who is a go-between for us with God. The important thing that the writer is trying to convey is that Jesus is able to sympathize with our weaknesses because He was tempted in every way like we are. We might think that God can't understand us, but by becoming man, God has gone through suffering and temptation as well. Jesus Christ does understand; He does sympathize; and He is able to pray to the Father on our behalf.

If you would like to see the entire list of recommended verses from Hebrews to memorize in 2013, check here.

We've also produced a Bible study guide on the book of Hebrews you may be interested in. You can find it here.

Difficulty Strengthens Faith -- A Puritan Thought for the Day

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.   Philippians 4:7

The life of faith is the only safe life.  Its fortifications are impregnable.  Trust in the Lord forever, for in him is everlasting strength.  Ages pass away but the Lord our Rock abides forever.  He that rained manna in the wilderness will give us bread; and he that brought water from the rock will be a never-failing fountain.  Faith’s work is to pray for what it needs and to give thanks for what it has.  Faith uses means, but trusts in God.  When there are no means to use we say, ‘Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines… yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation’ (Hab. 3:17-18).  Faith can live upon God when there is famine in all  creation.  The peace of God guards the heart from all surprises of fear and trouble.  As faith enjoys God in all things in the greatest abundance, so she can enjoy all things in God in the deepest need.  Paul describes his trouble in Asia:  ‘We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself’ (2 Cor. 1:8).  ‘But’, he said, ‘that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.’  If God can raise the dead, he can conquer the greatest difficulty.  He can put life into dead men, life into dead hopes, and raise up our expectations fro the grave of despair.   He can put life into dead bones and life into dead faith.  We are proud creatures and full of self-confidence, but God, by strange and unexpected providences, hedges up our way with thorns.  He brings us to despair even of life and brings us under the sentence of death that we might not trust in ourselves, but in him who raises the dead.  He overturns us by despair, shows us what babes and fools we are in ourselves, that we might know nothing but God.  Go in the strength of the Lord!

Read more: http://creationrevolution.com/2012/06/daily-devotional-the-peace-of-god-which-surpasses-all-understanding/#ixzz2PUvUBhsB