When it comes to stocks and bonds, the market continually makes the trader/investor an offer.
If you say no, it just comes right back with another offer.
If you say no again, it just comes right back with yet another one, and so on, and so on, ad infinitum.
And that’s EXACTLY how it is with temptation/trials for a Christian.
Our flesh (James 1:14) “offers” us a temptation, an opportunity to sin (i.e., to choose SIN and the Devil OVER Christ and the cross in that moment).
If we say no, it just comes back with another offer.
If we say no again, it just comes back with yet another one, and so on, and so on, ad infinitum – UNTIL we leave this world and are in heaven with Christ, “where neither moth nor rust destroys” (Matthew 6:19-20).
The key is to KEEP RESISTING (1 Peter 5:9), knowing – and being motivated by the fact – that “the one who ENDURES TO THE END, he shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:13)
To end where we began with an analogy to the stock market… that’s why an overall “chart” of DECREASING sin, INCREASING righteousness is indeed one of the biblical PROOFS of genuine salvation, that someone is truly saved and not only “knows” the Lord but (infinitely more importantly) IS KNOWN BY the Lord.
- “But now that you have come to know God, or rather to BE KNOWN BY God…” (Galatians 4:9)
- “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice [the key word here; note that He DOESN’T use the word “commit”] lawlessness.” (Matthew 7:22-23)
- “And by THIS we KNOW that we have come to know Him [i.e., be known by Him], if we KEEP [i.e., practice!] HIS COMMANDMENTS. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does NOT keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is NOT in him; BUT WHOEVER keeps [i.e., practices!] His word, in him the love of God has TRULY been perfected. By this we KNOW that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him out himself to walk [practice!] in the same manner as He walked.” (1 John 2:3-6)
- “EVERYONE who PRACTICES [there’s that word/concept again!] sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins [i.e., PRACTICES sin]; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices [there’s that word yet again!] righteousness IS righteous, JUST AS He is righteous [more on this in a minute]; the one who practices [there’s that word yet again!] sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God [i.e., Jesus] appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil. NO ONE who is born of God PRACTICES sin [there’s that word yet again! He couldn’t have been and the Bible couldn’t be ANY CLEARER in the matter!], BECAUSE His seed abides in him; and he CANNOT [practice] sin, BECAUSE he is born of God. By this the children of God [i.e., saved] and the children of the devil [i.e., unsaved] are OBVIOUS: anyone who does not practice [told ya that’s the key word =] righteousness is not of God…” (1 John 3:4-10)
Yes, the KEY word is “practice”, but in “second place” would be “because” and praise the Lord He included that word, too. You see, it totally takes away any “pressure” to perform in the Christian life because THAT is and can ONLY be accomplished BY CHRIST, as clearly explained in one of my “life verse” couplets which I’ll leave you with for now: “Therefore, if ANY man [i.e., person] IS in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things [i.e., practices, habits, affections, perspectives] have come. He [God the Father] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, THAT we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:17,21) And THAT, my friends, perfectly explains 1 John 3:5-10.
What a blessing and help and comfort and confidence that God graciously gave us in the Bible, which serves as a MIRROR for us to look into and see our TRUE spiritual state (James 1:22-27) so that we needn’t go through life with ANY DOUBT about whether or not we are truly saved. We DON’T have to wait until the next life (eternity) to find out (good thing, because then it’s TOO LATE) – no, we can KNOW with TOTAL AND COMPLETE CONFIDENCE in THIS life exactly where we’ll be spending the next, where we’ll be spending all eternity. This is THE MOST IMPORTANT MATTER IN ALL OF LIFE, nothing else EVEN COMES CLOSE. Which is why the Bible urges us to REGULARLY LOOK into that mirror, to MAKE SURE.
- “TEST YOURSELVES to SEE if you are in the faith; EXAMINE YOURSELVES!” (2 Corinthians 13:5)
- “Therefore, brethren, be ALL THE MORE DILIGENT to MAKE CERTAIN about His calling and choosing you [i.e., your salvation]; for as long as you practice [there’s that word YET AGAIN, amazing!] these things, you will never stumble” (2 Peter 1:10)
God, via the Bible – and by extension, I – DON’T say that to cause anyone to doubt but JUST THE OPPOSITE, to REMOVE any and all doubt about it.
Eternity demands nothing less.
I have ZERO power or ability to save anyone (including myself). None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Because that’s ENTIRELY the work of the Holy Spirit through the Bible, the Gospel, the “message concerning Christ” as Romans 10:17 puts it. But you know what I CAN do? I can make as many people as possible AWARE of this pressing, most-crucial-of-them-all-by-far matter. While I’d personally LOVE for as many people as possible to join me and Christians throughout the ages in Heaven some day, to spend all eternity there with our precious and victorious Lord, the aforementioned Matthew 7:13-23 makes it crystal clear that the majority of people won’t, but I at least don’t want them to leave this life and slip into eternity without opening their eyes widely about this matter, and if they reject the truth then sobeit, that’s between them and God, that’s not just “above my pay grade” it’s out of my realm altogether, but making them AWARE of this truth is not, and indeed I’ve committed the rest of my earthly life to that very thing, under the umbrella and rubric of the work and ministry of the Bible in general and Bible memory in specific.
In other words, I’d prefer that every person accepted the truth and thus received all of the related and indescribable benefits and reward, but I at least want – and have the ability – to make them AWARE of that option. Because the saddest and scariest thought of them all is how many millions and indeed billions of people have indeed NOT REALIZED these things until it was too late, until they had already entered a fiery and tortuous eternity which will know no end or respite or reversal.
No, THIS LIFE is the time to resolve one’s eternal destiny. Or as 2 Corinthians 6:2 puts is, “NOW is ‘the acceptable time,’ behold, NOW is ‘the day of salvation.'”
May it be so.
It’s very true that I can’t save anyone, but I CAN and would be thrilled to provide whatever information you might seek in this matter, simply use the form below but instead of entering “not spam” in the filter box, please enter “salvation” and any questions or comments you might have then click that red button and it’ll be my honor to respond just as quickly as possible.
Because NOTHING in this life is so important as resolving one’s destiny vis-a-vis the life to come. And my goal is to help as many people as possible remove all doubt. For the rest of their lives.
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If you sense that the Lord might be leading YOU to support the historic event unfolding in real-time here at BibleMemory.ORG and thus become my fellow worker and thus share in all of the fruit and blessings (3 John 8) and literally MAKE HISTORY together, here are the best ways to do so:
1. Become a one-time or monthly partner by making a donation via PayPal’s fully-secure Bible Memory page!
2. Encourage as many people as you can to support this historic event by having them go to BibleMemory.ORG/support (please make sure they understand that it’s .org, not .com) – doing so by word-of-mouth is great, and to do so with a single click on your social media simply click here then scroll down a few inches to the green box and select your platforms, it’s that quick and easy!
3. Add your name to my Prayer List!
4. Encourage as many of our fellow Christians as you can to pray for this historic event by having them go to BibleMemory.ORG/pray (please make sure they understand that it’s .org, not .com) – doing so by word-of-mouth is great, and to do so with a single click on your social media simply click here then scroll down a few inches and select your platforms, it’s that quick and easy!
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Quick Thought: All-Sufficient
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryI walked by the branch of a small local bank the other day and a large sign in the front window said this:
Large enough to know how,
Small enough to know you.
That’s one of the better corporate slogans I’ve seen in a while and it immediately occurred to me, that’s exactly how it is with God, and specifically His omniscience: “macro” enough to know all, “micro” enough to know us!
I can’t decide which of the two is more impressive: it’s downright amazing that He knows literally everything… and it’s downright amazing that He cares so much that He desires, that He yearns to know each and every one of us, personally, on an individual basis.
In Him we have it all, the best of both worlds: His attributes extend to the “macro” such that He is infinitely able to protect and provide, yet they also extend to the “micro” such that He is infinitely able and willing and ready to protect and provide for us.
How great Thou art, O God! How great Thou art – from the “macro” to the “micro” and everything in between… You are indeed all I need.
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If you sense that the Lord might be leading YOU to support the historic event unfolding in real-time here at BibleMemory.ORG and thus become my fellow worker and thus share in all of the fruit and blessings (3 John 8) and literally MAKE HISTORY together, here are the best ways to do so:
1. Become a one-time or monthly partner by making a donation via PayPal’s fully-secure Bible Memory page!
2. Encourage as many people as you can to support this historic event by having them go to BibleMemory.ORG/support (please make sure they understand that it’s .org, not .com) – doing so by word-of-mouth is great, and to do so with a single click on your social media simply click here then scroll down a few inches to the green box and select your platforms, it’s that quick and easy!
3. Add your name to my Prayer List!
4. Encourage as many of our fellow Christians as you can to pray for this historic event by having them go to BibleMemory.ORG/pray (please make sure they understand that it’s .org, not .com) – doing so by word-of-mouth is great, and to do so with a single click on your social media simply click here then scroll down a few inches and select your platforms, it’s that quick and easy!
5. Share this post on your social media by clicking on one or more of these platforms:
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About Burdens
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryAs discussed in a past post, a year or two ago I sold my only vehicle so I could finish building this website entirely out of my own pocket when the original programmer bailed unexpectedly and without notice, so out with the car and in with walking and biking literally everywhere I go.
It was one of the best decisions and self-sacrifices of my life. Z-E-R-O regrets. (Though don’t ask my legs and feet, because at times they would probably give a different answer.)
All kidding aside, the extra exercise is good for my temporary temple of the Holy Spirit, my body, my soul’s house as it were, so I almost always love and embrace the anticipation of especially the extended exercising, those three-to-five-days-a-week long walks or bike rides, often to the grocery store or post office or other errand destinations (Ephesians 5:16!).
I said “almost always” because there are two exceptions: one which I just discussed a few posts ago, and the second (as promised) is when I have to return an item purchased a day or week before.
Thankfully that’s a very rare, very infrequent need. But when such occurs I almost (almost) dread even the notion, even the concept, even the idea of having to carry a (usually) heavy or bulky item at the onset of that journey, versus just one-way, just on the way back from the store. (Just like that funny traffic sign I first saw when I was a kid: instead of the standard “No Parking” it read “Don’t even THINK about parking here.”)
Yes, my beloved brothers and sisters, just that one factor singlehandedly flips the equation of the pending trek from elation to near-dread. Leaving my home with my hands free of any items so I can just walk and jog unabated? A-W-E-S-O-M-E! I LOVE that thought and anticipation and activity. Leaving my home with my hands full of, with having to be burdened by carrying some items? Not so much.
And that’s exactly how it is in the Christian life! The “walk” is so much more enjoyable without a load, sans burdens. Which is why it’s so very crucial to divest ourselves of any and all burdens each and every day. And hour… and minute for that matter. To reaffirm anew that we live not for ourselves but for the Lord, not for our own interests but for His. And secondly, under that overarching umbrella, the interests of others. To realize – actively realize, to be actively aware – that we are no longer our own. And that includes not just one’s body but also one’s burdens. Not just one’s potential anxieties but also the prospective and perspective root cause of any anxiety. What a great way to go through life! No worries. No anxiety. No negativity needed.
And that, my friends, is (one aspect and application of) the power of the Bible ingested. Via Bible memory and recitation/meditation on a regular, systematic basis!
Just like those long walks I take to do my errands after having sold my car a year or two ago, so also in the Christian walk: much more merry and fun and yes easy (Jesus’s word) and anticipation-abounding and exceedingly enjoyable when carrying no burdens.
God has made clear that He’s not just willing but eager to take them, so it’s a no-brainer for us to indeed “cast” (literally, throw) onto Him not only our every anxiety but even the roots of potential anxieties which sprout in our lives from time to time. (Job 5:7 proclaims the reality… 1 Peter 5:7 provides the remedy!)
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New Shoe, Part Two
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryBy experience, not design, this post is a follow-up to the previous one.
I made my maiden voyage in the aforementioned new sneakers today (a five-mile walk/jog combo) and OUCH, my feet and legs are KILLING me!
Blisters on left and right, feeling a new muscle in my calves I never knew was there… I’m sure you know what I’m talking about.
Well it turns out that the new pair of shoes I had just worn for the first time were defective. Defectively made. Factory error. Two, in fact: they had an exaggerated flat-footed effect since the cushion inside was far too thin, and secondly it wasn’t secured such that is slipped around like a well-oiled eel while I was walking, thus causing the blisters while the former caused the new and very unwelcome sensation in my feet and calves.
And that’s when it hit me, this glorious thought, this tremendous truth: thankfully God never makes a mistake when creating each of us!
No. Factory. Errors. With. God. He makes each and every one of us exactly as intended. Which sometimes seems “defective” from a human perspective but is actually and absolutely perfect and precious in God’s view, in reality. On which even Republicans and Democrats alike can agree, and indeed have. Like Sarah Palin who famously had her fifth and final child despite knowing in advance that he had Down Syndrome. And like the Kennedy family who even far more famously have fought fiercely for five decades (via Special Olympics) on behalf of those that some people might (wrongly) view as “defective” in mind or body but whom they (very rightly) have viewed as preciously, perfectly-made people whose minds or bodies are just different than most but they’re no worse, no less weighty, no less valuable.
And it’s this fact that each and every person has been created exactly as God intended and in His very image which makes it so self-destructive to view others – to view anyone – as “less than” or “inferior” or “defective” or anything but worthy of respect and love and care and kindness. Not because of them so much as Who made them. Not because of a person’s beautiful outward physical image but rather that they were created in the image of God Himself.
The logical, intellectually-honest result of maintaining this perspective is enormous love and respect for others… as well as for oneself – i.e., genuine, sturdy, steady self-esteem.
Yes, my friend, as I found out the uncomfortable way this week, shoe manufacturers make mistakes and errors and defects. Thankfully – and infinitely more importantly – God never does. So let us love and look out for others as much or even more than we do for ourselves…
and let us accept and love ourselves since God does…
in view of the fact that we are indeed “wonderfully made”… if the righteous, holy, perfect God can accept and love a sinner like me, then a sinner like me can and must accept and love others. And that’s a very easy task when one is aware of Whose wonderful image in which they were created. I.e., when looking at our fellow man, may we see the handiwork and indeed very image of God, and treat them accordingly.
Not out of political correctness but rather spiritual correctness.
Not because society says to but because God does.
Not because people are inherently worthy but because God is.
Not because people don’t make (a lot of) mistakes (I put myself at the top of that list) but rather because God doesn’t.
No. Factory. Errors. With. God.
Unlike a certain shoe manufacturer.
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Quick Thought: There’s a price. But it’s worth it!
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryNo sooner had I written the previous post that, yep, you guessed it, on the very next walk one of my shoes sprang a leak, developed “a hole in the sole” as that previously-published post put it. So I just bought a new pair. And it hit me that I always have the exact same conundrum when replacing my shoes: even though I usually wear the old ones down to the nitty-gritty, thus making it absolutely necessary to replace them, I still hate the notion of putting on the new pair that very first time – because I know that they’ll no longer be sparkling clean. (Nor smell brand new. 🙁 ). I know that just the act of wearing them is going to get them dirty, to kick off that unavoidable process.
But just as quickly as that initial thought hits me each time I replace my sneakers, this one immediately follows and even more strongly: because walking or biking is my only means/mode of transportation since selling my only vehicle a year or two ago so I could finish building this website so anyone anywhere can track my progress each step of the way in memorizing the entire Bible, the follow-on thought each time is that I won’t be able to accomplish the things I need to – the things the Lord wants me to – unless I replace the tattered old pair of shoes with new ones.
And that’s exactly the principle perfectly and precisely and picturesquely painted in Proverbs 14:4!
New and shiny is fine. Used and productive is far better.
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Holes in Soles
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryI love to exercise. My mind (as you can probably tell right away when viewing the Videos page) and also my body – the temple He has handed out to house His Holy Spirit within me for now.
I look forward to those benefit-packed sweat sessions – especially the every-two-or-three-days extended, multi-hour ones – with great anticipation and enthusiasm. With two exceptions.
I’ll elaborate on the second soon in a separate post but the first such exception is when my shoes have developed holes in their soles.
Having sold my only vehicle a year or two ago mainly to finish building this website, that happens a lot. Since I walk so much now. Literally everywhere I go, it’s either by foot or bike, and I usually opt for the former so my shoes develop holes much more quickly than most people’s pair of a pedestrian’s best friend.
And that happens so quickly, those holes appear seemingly out of nowhere and without notice – i.e., the bottom of the shoes look just fine and then, wham, next thing I know, I feel a spike of pain when my foot lands squarely on a rock in the road or path and I look at the bottom of my shoes and surely enough, there’s suddenly a hole newly staring back at me.
Due to how much walking and jogging I do, this happens every few months, and when it does, I can honestly say that I definitely don’t look forward to the next walk to the store since I know it’ll likely involve some pain.
And that’s exactly how it is in the Christian life! In one’s walk with the Lord as it were: it’s much better when one doesn’t have holes in their souls.
One automatic, guaranteed result of Bible memory on a regular, systematic basis is that it opens one’s eyes to a lot of things (“enlightening the eyes”, Psalm 19:7-8) but perhaps none more so than just how righteous and holy God is… and humanity isn’t. Perhaps none more so than just how “prone to wander” into sin we are as the hymnist famously put it in that wonderful and much-beloved song, just how easily and naturally our flesh still sins – our fallen flesh which (unfortunately) still envelops our “new man” within, our new spirit, our new nature (2 Corinthians 5:17) such that even the most spiritually-mature person in non-deitic human history (i.e., not including Jesus), the Apostle Paul himself, concluded and confirmed that “nothing good dwells in” any of us humans, “that is, in [our fallen] flesh” and that “the good that [we] wish, [we far too often] do not do; but [we] practice the very evil that [we] do not wish” because of the “sin which [still] dwells in [us]”, because “of the law of sin which is [still] in [our] members”, in our bodies, “waging war” against our minds (Romans 7:14-25), all of which is why Hebrews 12:1 specifically and explicitly mentions “sin which so easily entangles us.”
“Prone to wander”, indeed.
But I have good news! God has graciously given us a (spiritual) “pill” as it were, a most-effective, miraculous “medicine” which is so powerful (but without any negative side effects!) that it can and does rid one even of something so dastardly and indeed default-status as sin! And that “pill”, that mighty “medicine” is, yep, the Bible. The Bible in general and Bible memory in specific.
What a wonderful weapon in our spiritual arsenal! And all we have to do is pick up that “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” – the Bible! (Ephesians 6:17)
One does so by ingesting it, by putting the Bible into one’s mind, “[from which] flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
Yes, my friend, it’s foolish for a frequent walker or jogger to have holes in their soles.
It’s infinitely worse for people to have holes in their souls.
Memorizing and reciting Scripture is like buying a new pair of shoes.
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Quick Thought: May It Never Be!
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryWe take air for granted. Or at least before the current pandemic occurred, a bit less so now but still in large part, e.g., when you’re in your home you don’t even think about air, about breathing, you just do it automatically so even now we continue to take air for granted. Why? Because it’s so common, so abundant, so aplenty.
We take water for granted. Why? Because it’s so common, so abundant, so aplenty.
And nothing pains my heart more than the fact that we take the Bible for granted. Because it’s so common, so abundant, so aplenty, so ubiquitous, so accessible like no book in the history of humanity.
Taking the Bible for granted… may it never be!
Rather, may we go forward from this day on with the active realization that the Bible is literally God’s Word, the very words of God Almighty Himself to us, the objects of His eternal, undying love and compassion and mercy and grace.
But let us purpose to not just maintain that day-to-day realization but to go a step further, to the next level.
It is horrific and egregious to take God’s Word, the Bible, for granted as far too many of us have done for far too long.
It is far better to maintain an active appreciation and indeed affection for God’s Word, the Bible.
It is best of all to respect it so utterly that our regular response to it is to tremble.
My heart’s prayer when it comes to the Bible: that we would increasingly and unrelentingly love it, learn it, live it.
Along with giving back to the Lord perhaps the most unique love/thank-You gift in human history for who He is and all He does – not only from me but from and on behalf of everyone who supports this effort in whatever ways they’re comfortably able – that’s the whole point and reason for BibleMemory.ORG and indeed my own life: to “Educate, Encourage, Empower” people all around the globe to realize and come to more and more fully understand the immeasurable treasure that is the Bible.
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If you sense that the Lord might be leading YOU to support the historic event unfolding in real-time here at BibleMemory.ORG and thus become my fellow worker and thus share in all of the fruit and blessings (3 John 8) and literally MAKE HISTORY together, here are the best ways to do so:
1. Become a one-time or monthly partner by making a donation via PayPal’s fully-secure Bible Memory page!
2. Encourage as many people as you can to support this historic event by having them go to BibleMemory.ORG/support (please make sure they understand that it’s .org, not .com) – doing so by word-of-mouth is great, and to do so with a single click on your social media simply click here then scroll down a few inches to the green box and select your platforms, it’s that quick and easy!
3. Add your name to my Prayer List!
4. Encourage as many of our fellow Christians as you can to pray for this historic event by having them go to BibleMemory.ORG/pray (please make sure they understand that it’s .org, not .com) – doing so by word-of-mouth is great, and to do so with a single click on your social media simply click here then scroll down a few inches and select your platforms, it’s that quick and easy!
5. Share this post on your social media by clicking on one or more of these platforms:
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“Continue”
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryIt’s not how one starts, it’s how one finishes that counts.
Just ask ancient Israel, of whom Hebrews 8:9 testifies, “for they did not CONTINUE in My covenant, and I did not care for them, says the Lord.”
GREAT start. Leaving behind the bitter, brutal bonds of slavery in Egypt. Being rescued by literally watching the Red Sea part before them and passing through it as though on dry land (Hebrews 11:29; the entire account is found in Exodus 14-15). Literally being “fed and led” DIRECTLY BY GOD HIMSELF via manna from heaven, a water-providing rock to help wash it down, and a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night.
Great finish? NOT SO MUCH. As in tens of thousands being struck dead by God at one time (1 Corinthians 10:8). As in FORTY YEARS of wayward wandering in the wilderness.
Just ask Demas, who was among one of the Apostle Paul’s closest “fellow workers” and friends and confidants, in his inner circle (Philemon 1:24 and Colossians 4:14) but ended up desiring the world and deserting Paul (2 Timothy 4:10) (or as I often call that too-common phenomenon, “flirting then deserting”). From “hero” to “zero”… great start, bad finish (with an end result to match).
That’s why Colossians 1:22-23 says in such simple, straightforward, can’t-miss-it fashion, “yet He has now reconciled you in His [i.e., Jesus’s] fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach – if indeed you CONTINUE in the faith firmly established and steadfast…”
And the Lord Jesus Himself was every bit as blunt about the matter in Matthew 24:13 – “But he who endures [i.e., CONTINUES] to the end shall be saved.”
So don’t worry about or get emotionally “bogged down” by your past, by things you may have done at a previous point in time; rather, focus on the present and future.
Because… it’s not how you START your walk with Christ, it’s how you FINISH!
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Quick Thought: 100%
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryGod is 100% deserving for 100% of the population to be 100% focused on Him 100% of the time.
He literally deserves no less.
Yet He doesn’t demand that. In His grace and omniscience He is fully aware that such is impossible in the finite, fallen-flesh “suits” we wear throughout our entire life.
The sad part is that undoubtedly not even 10% of the population is even 10% focused on Him even 10% of the time.
Maybe not even 1%.
Let’s commit to actively focus on Him far more than we do. Not just every day but every hour. We won’t ever reach 100% on this side of eternity but we can certainly do much better than we currently are, we have so much room for improvement in this area.
I know I do.
He is worthy. 100%.
I find that just being reminded, just being aware of this is 90% of the battle.
Until the next time I forget, until the next time it slips my mind again.
Then when I come to realize it anew, I can only contritely cower in confession and cry out, “Wretched man that I am!” (Romans 7:24)
And yet He persists in His grace and understanding and patience and kindness and love, and gladly receives even the crumbs of focus and worship and gratitude we give Him. To Him who gives us not just grace but “grace upon grace.” (John 1:16)
“Thanks be to God” indeed. (Romans 7:25)
I don’t know why He puts up with the mere morsels meagerly meted out to Him by man, but am so glad He does, am so glad He’s truly pleased with anything we give back to Him.
Yes, we can certainly do so much better in that regard. May it be so.
Starting with me.
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Quick Thought: My Perpetual Three-Pronged Prayer Request
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryLord Jesus, give me the dependence and trustfulness and humility of a child, the wisdom of a serpent, and the innocence of a dove.
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How to KNOW You’re Truly Saved and going to Heaven: It’s all about “PRACTICE”
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryWhen it comes to stocks and bonds, the market continually makes the trader/investor an offer.
If you say no, it just comes right back with another offer.
If you say no again, it just comes right back with yet another one, and so on, and so on, ad infinitum.
And that’s EXACTLY how it is with temptation/trials for a Christian.
Our flesh (James 1:14) “offers” us a temptation, an opportunity to sin (i.e., to choose SIN and the Devil OVER Christ and the cross in that moment).
If we say no, it just comes back with another offer.
If we say no again, it just comes back with yet another one, and so on, and so on, ad infinitum – UNTIL we leave this world and are in heaven with Christ, “where neither moth nor rust destroys” (Matthew 6:19-20).
The key is to KEEP RESISTING (1 Peter 5:9), knowing – and being motivated by the fact – that “the one who ENDURES TO THE END, he shall be saved.” (Matthew 24:13)
To end where we began with an analogy to the stock market… that’s why an overall “chart” of DECREASING sin, INCREASING righteousness is indeed one of the biblical PROOFS of genuine salvation, that someone is truly saved and not only “knows” the Lord but (infinitely more importantly) IS KNOWN BY the Lord.
Yes, the KEY word is “practice”, but in “second place” would be “because” and praise the Lord He included that word, too. You see, it totally takes away any “pressure” to perform in the Christian life because THAT is and can ONLY be accomplished BY CHRIST, as clearly explained in one of my “life verse” couplets which I’ll leave you with for now: “Therefore, if ANY man [i.e., person] IS in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things [i.e., practices, habits, affections, perspectives] have come. He [God the Father] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, THAT we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:17,21) And THAT, my friends, perfectly explains 1 John 3:5-10.
What a blessing and help and comfort and confidence that God graciously gave us in the Bible, which serves as a MIRROR for us to look into and see our TRUE spiritual state (James 1:22-27) so that we needn’t go through life with ANY DOUBT about whether or not we are truly saved. We DON’T have to wait until the next life (eternity) to find out (good thing, because then it’s TOO LATE) – no, we can KNOW with TOTAL AND COMPLETE CONFIDENCE in THIS life exactly where we’ll be spending the next, where we’ll be spending all eternity. This is THE MOST IMPORTANT MATTER IN ALL OF LIFE, nothing else EVEN COMES CLOSE. Which is why the Bible urges us to REGULARLY LOOK into that mirror, to MAKE SURE.
God, via the Bible – and by extension, I – DON’T say that to cause anyone to doubt but JUST THE OPPOSITE, to REMOVE any and all doubt about it.
Eternity demands nothing less.
I have ZERO power or ability to save anyone (including myself). None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Because that’s ENTIRELY the work of the Holy Spirit through the Bible, the Gospel, the “message concerning Christ” as Romans 10:17 puts it. But you know what I CAN do? I can make as many people as possible AWARE of this pressing, most-crucial-of-them-all-by-far matter. While I’d personally LOVE for as many people as possible to join me and Christians throughout the ages in Heaven some day, to spend all eternity there with our precious and victorious Lord, the aforementioned Matthew 7:13-23 makes it crystal clear that the majority of people won’t, but I at least don’t want them to leave this life and slip into eternity without opening their eyes widely about this matter, and if they reject the truth then sobeit, that’s between them and God, that’s not just “above my pay grade” it’s out of my realm altogether, but making them AWARE of this truth is not, and indeed I’ve committed the rest of my earthly life to that very thing, under the umbrella and rubric of the work and ministry of the Bible in general and Bible memory in specific.
In other words, I’d prefer that every person accepted the truth and thus received all of the related and indescribable benefits and reward, but I at least want – and have the ability – to make them AWARE of that option. Because the saddest and scariest thought of them all is how many millions and indeed billions of people have indeed NOT REALIZED these things until it was too late, until they had already entered a fiery and tortuous eternity which will know no end or respite or reversal.
No, THIS LIFE is the time to resolve one’s eternal destiny. Or as 2 Corinthians 6:2 puts is, “NOW is ‘the acceptable time,’ behold, NOW is ‘the day of salvation.'”
May it be so.
It’s very true that I can’t save anyone, but I CAN and would be thrilled to provide whatever information you might seek in this matter, simply use the form below but instead of entering “not spam” in the filter box, please enter “salvation” and any questions or comments you might have then click that red button and it’ll be my honor to respond just as quickly as possible.
Because NOTHING in this life is so important as resolving one’s destiny vis-a-vis the life to come. And my goal is to help as many people as possible remove all doubt. For the rest of their lives.
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If you sense that the Lord might be leading YOU to support the historic event unfolding in real-time here at BibleMemory.ORG and thus become my fellow worker and thus share in all of the fruit and blessings (3 John 8) and literally MAKE HISTORY together, here are the best ways to do so:
1. Become a one-time or monthly partner by making a donation via PayPal’s fully-secure Bible Memory page!
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