Live Life to the Hilt: Scripture memorization

Live Life to the Hilt: Scripture memorization

Live Life to the Hilt



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From Oswald Chambers, again

"Thinking is the habit of expressing what moves our spirit. In order to think we must concentrate. Thinking is a purely physical process. No one can tell us how to begin to think, all they can do is to tell us what happens when we do think. 
The inattentive, slovenly way we drift into the presence of God is an indication that we are not bothering to think about Him. 

Interest is natural, attention must be by effort. One of the great needs of the Christian life is to have a place where we deliberately attend to realities. That is the real meaning of prayer. "

Oh that we may truly think, focus, and concentrate on what He wants, so that we may become one with Him. Conform me Lord, into Your image!

Reflection Questions: Do my prayers consist only of what I am personally interested in? When I pray, do I think about God or about myself? 

Quotations taken from The Moral Foundations of Life and Run Today’s Race, © Discovery House Publishers

From Oswald Chambers

"We talk about the difficulty of living a holy life; yet we have the absolute simple ease provided by the Almighty God for living a holy life because He paid so much to make it possible. Beware of placing the emphasis on what prayer costs us; it cost God everything to make it possible for us to pray. 

If anyone has difficulty in getting through to God, it is never God who is to blame. We can get through to Him as soon as we want to, there is nothing simpler. The trouble is when we begin to sympathize with the thing that is proud and strong in independence of God. "

O Lord, forgive us for making excuses for not praying. How simpering and foolish and lazy we are!

Scripture memorization

How many of you have said "I can't memorize, my mind is too distracted, or stupid, or too forgetful," etc? Well I have, and my daughter Elisabeth has challenged me by memorizing Ephesians. She was on the first chapter when she was visiting in May and June, and practiced every morning. I thought if she can do it with 4 little ones, I can do it with none at home except my husband!

I'm sending out a challenge to any of my blog followers to do the 2 letter of Peter in 63 days. See The Youversion of Dr. Andrew Davis's challenge- Extended Scripture Memory, or download the little pamphlet which is free on the internet.

I've started today, August 29th, which just happens to be my granddaughter Valerie's 9th B'day. And the younger sister is Jennifer, 2.

Are we Christians hospitable?

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Hospitality vs Entertainment

God commands us to be hospitable. I began to learn this way back in 1977 when I was feeling sorry for myself because we had not been invited to anyone's home after the first welcoming Sunday in Franklin, La. In May, 1976.  Every Sunday we went home sad because we'd not been invited again! Suddenly one day my good husband said "I have an idea- let's start inviting people home after church, and quit feeling sorry for ourselves." Thus began many years of having simple ( red beans and rice!) and some not so simple ( beef roasts, which I have not yet perfected in the oven!) menus for Sunday guests from our churches. What a Godsend- literally. When we focus on what we want, we are feeding the "I" monster, and when we focus on making others happy, God makes us happy. As I read in my father's biography a couple of weeks ago, "We serve a happy God!" Our most Hospitable God.

Become like a little child- Matthew 18:1-4

"By what right do we become a “royal priesthood”? By the right of the Atonement. Are we prepared to leave ourselves resolutely alone and to launch out into the priestly work of prayer? The continual grubbing on the inside to see whether we are what we ought to be generates a self-centered, morbid type of Christianity, not the robust, simple life of the child of God. 

In regard to prayer, we are apt to be apologetic and apathetic, complex and confused; yet what a splendid audacity a child has, and that is what our Lord taught us to have. "

Reflection Question: With whom, or in what situation, do I need to become less self-centered and more God-centered? 

Quotations taken from My Utmost for His Highest and Christian Discipline, vol. 2, © Discovery House Publishers

The above came from my Youversion devotional by Oswald Chambers. I often "feel like" a little child in my wanting fun, or not wanting to have responsibility, or wanting others to be sympathetic with my problems, but Christ spoke of the simplicity and trust and dependence of a little child coming to his father to ask. I pray that I will learn what we all used to be like- trusting, dependent, hopeful, and completely confident that my Father in Heaven is ready for me at any time to ask audaciously...We need not be afraid to ask!

"Must we always comment on life?"

In 1951, at the age of 24, my Dad had just read For Whom the Bell Tolls by E. Hemingway and was impressed with the amusement of the people in just experiencing life- that they drew no conclusions, pointed out no morals, but simply stated things as they are. He said in his journal-"must we always comment on life? Can it not simply be lived in the reality of Christ's terms of contact with the Father, with Joy and peace, fear and love, full to the fingertips in their turn, without incessant drawing of lessons and making of rules? I do not know. Only I know that my own life is full. It is time to die, for I have had all that a young man can have, at least all this young man can have. If there were no further issue from my training, it would be well. The training has been good, and to the glory of God. I am ready to meet Jesus. Failure means nothing now, only that it taught me life. Success is meaningless, only that it gave me farther experience in using the great gift of God, LIFE. And Life, I love Thee. Not because thou art long, or because Thou hast done great things for me, but, simply because I have thee from God."

1000 Gifts

I've been convicted that it IS important to write down everything you're thankful for. I have not read the book by Ann Voskamp but it has been highly recommended by several, so I'm beginning my list....will you start one too?

In every moment His presence is real, if we would just look up and say "ThankYou."

Billy Graham's devotional for today

This is SO TRUE!  

"Christians are to enjoy life and enjoy one another. When children see no joy in their home, no joy in your Christianity, they will not be attracted by it. When they see you excited about going to a ball game, or watching television, and then dragging around to do spiritual things, they will soon get the idea that Christianity does not mean much to you. Your attitude will rub off. My wife says that the best way to get a child to eat his food is to see his parents enjoying theirs. Our children will not be attracted to Christ if we make Him seem dull.

Daily Prayer

May I live so close to You, Jesus, that those around me will see Your joy."

Suffering, Failing, and Success

“Suffering and success go together. If you are succeeding without suffering, it is because others before you have suffered; if you are suffering without succeeding, it is that others after you may succeed.” -- from Edward Judson, Adoniram's father 

We've often felt like failures, suffering our own mistakes , and seeing our children suffer for our own sins....but "Thanks be to God who always leads  us in triumph through our Lord Jesus Christ!" And His power is perfected in our weakness, as we fall upon Him for help and mercy.

If we had no suffering, we wouldn't need God, and we wouldn't see how He can do abundantly above all that we ask or think. He delights in showing His mercy by doing the impossible for His children. I read this morning, Oswald Chambers' idea on prayer- 

"If our Father knows what we need before we ask, why ask? The point of prayer is not in order to get answers from God; prayer is perfect and complete oneness with God. If we pray because we want answers, we will get huffed with God. The answers come every time, but not always in the way we expect, and our spiritual huff shows a refusal to identify ourselves with our Lord in prayer. 
Children of God never pray to be conscious that God answers prayer, because they are so restfully certain that God always does answer prayer."

So, if we're suffering, can we become one with Him, who cried out to His Father, "not my will but Thine be done, Father?" If He doesn't answer our prayer the way we want, will we get disappointed or "huffed" with Him? He knows what is best for us and understands all our circumstances. He knows the end from the beginning and He will bring glory to Himself if we can say with all our hearts, 'Your way is BEST, Father.' He will make our way successful by our acceptance of the suffering He has allowed, and if that perfect will is to conform us to the image of Christ, must we not gladly be perfected in Him?

Am I willing to be sanctified by many little deaths, many "chances to die," so that His life may be seen in me? I recommend my mother's book A Chance to Die, a biography of Amy Carmichael.