“Until I Memorized…”
by David Jeremiah
For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
Mark 10:45
In her book Unseen, Sara Hagerty wrote of how she volunteered to work at a Christian camp when she was seventeen. Her job was in the dining hall. Amid the hard work, crew leaders assigned Bible verses for the teens to memorize, beginning with Mark 10:45. “This verse was new to me,” Sara said. “I hadn’t known that service was part of the whole Jesus deal I’d signed up for…until I memorized this verse”—one that has never left her.1
Recommended Reading:
Mark 10:41-45
Is that a verse you’ve memorized? Ask yourself: What is the most recent Bible verse I’ve learned by heart? If it’s been awhile, consider jumpstarting the process with Mark 10:45.
Studying the Word of God is important, but so is Scripture memorization. If we know verses by heart, God will bring them to mind at times of service, fatigue, anxiety, fear, temptation, or testing. The Lord gives us all we need through His Word, and we must hide it in our hearts.
If we could be induced to keep up the habit of committing to memory portions of Scripture, what a blessing it would be!
Unknown
1. Sara Hagerty, Unseen (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2017), 38.
Traveling Well
by Pastor Chuck Swindoll
Acts 16:11-15
Whether you are traveling as a missionary or in the midst of your personal profession, God would have you travel as Paul traveled. I observe four enduring principles that will help you maximize your effectiveness for Christ, wherever you may go.
1. When you travel, don't go alone. Stay close to at least one other person, ideally your mate. If not your mate, a family member. If not a family member, a close companion. But stay close. Think back. Call to mind those with whom Paul traveled. If at all possible, avoid traveling alone. If you're lonely, a companion is there to lift your spirits. If you get into trouble, a companion is there to help get you through. Two are better than one. Three are better than two.
2. When you travel, don't lose touch with home. Stay accountable. Paul's heart stayed close to home. While away, he stayed in touch. When he returned he gave his reports. When he was with his men, he willingly gave an account of his ministry. When he wrote the letters, he was often vulnerable.
3. When you travel, don't believe everything you hear. Someone has said, "An authority is anyone who's one hundred miles away from home." Because I'm fairly well known, when I travel, people show up thinking they're going to be impressed. If they were around me more, they'd know better. When you travel, occasionally you'll meet folks who will almost worship you. (It happened to Paul.) Don't let them. On the opposite extreme, others will reject and mistreat you. Don't be derailed by naysayers. A few may even conspire against you. Keep your eyes on the goal. Focus on the Lord, and none of that will get you down.
4. When you travel, don't become aloof. It's easy in the busyness of travel to become a wax figure. Untouchable. Picking up the "circuit lingo," the clichés of the road, and losing touch with reality. Resist that sort of superficiality. Stay available. Stay real. People need a real, authentic you. Not perfect, authentic.
By observing these four principles, you will maximize your impact for Christ and travel well.
Lord, Increase Our Love for You
from Coral Ridge Ministries
“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.”
Revelation 2:4
Do you love the Lord more than you did ten years ago? I can think of a little girl of about six who was kneeling beside her bed saying her prayers. Her mother was sitting on the bed, helping her by suggesting things for her to pray about. Finally, her mother said, “Darling, why don’t you pray that God might enable you to love Jesus more.”
The little girl looked up in astonishment and said, “But mommy, I am just crazy about Him now.” I wonder how many could really say that today. Paul said, “If anyone does not love the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be cursed!”
(I Corinthians 16:22).
In one of the great art museums, a poor man, not well dressed, was standing in front of a picture of Christ on the cross. He was standing there with his hat in his hand, looking at the picture for a long time. Finally, totally oblivious of those who were in the museum about him, he said, “Bless Him. Bless Him. I love Him. I love Him.” The quiet mumbling stopped and all turned their eyes upon him.
Another man walked up to him, took him by the arm, and said, “I love Him, too.”
A third said, “And so do I.”
A fourth, “And I, also.” A little group of people, totally unknown to one another, was drawn together by the love they had for Christ.
It is God’s grace in our hearts that causes us to love the Savior.
Oh, Lord Jesus, forgive me for ever taking Your cross for granted. Please, increase my love for You. As the hymnist said, “let me never, never outlive my love for Thee”…
IN GOD’S STRENGTH, OUR LOVE FOR JESUS GROWS DAILY.