No, the title of this post isn’t referring to the smooth-sounding, silk-voiced Seventies singing group…
… nor to the wintry weather here in the nation’s capital yesterday (though we did see some snow, so it came uncomfortably close to that on the thermometer).
Permit me to briefly elaborate. You see, per what was penned in a previously published post, I “practiced what I preached” and late last night let a kitchen pan soak in the sink but when I went to clean the cooked-on crud away, some greasy grime got unpleasantly plastered to the sink so I grabbed a nearby napkin and wiped it off.
Or at least tried to. It didn’t work. It just spread the greasy grime around even more so I retrieved an about-to-be-tossed old rag which had long served its purpose and went to wipe the expanded grease field from the floor of the sink but the latter proved to be too powerful for the former so I grabbed a steel wool scouring pad and, wah-lah, the greasy grime was gone!
Bible reading is like a napkin.
Bible study is like a rag.
Bible memory is like a steel wool scouring pad.
These are the “three degrees” of Bible interactivity. All are excellent in essence but exhibit different degrees of depth, of effectiveness in terms of “sinking in” to the human mind and wondrously wiping away the “cooked-on, caked-on crud” of sin in our life.
The Bible in general and Bible memory in specific: what a treasure, what a pleasure!
God’s good gift, granted without measure.
And while an ode to the Bible and Bible memory is fully, infinitely fitting for any day, I can’t think of a better one for it than today… Happy Valentine’s Day! May our love for each other and especially the Word of the Lord and the Lord of the Word abound more and more each day, each week, each month, each year.
I might or might not know a great deal… but I know a great deal when I see one.
I think I inherited that ability from my paternal grandmother; as noted on this website’s Why page, she once was one of the biggest independent antique dealers certainly east of the Mississippi and probably the entire country at the time, and I can remember as though it were yesterday the time that, for my major-milestone 13th birthday, she, my parents, and I visited the Williamsburg (Va.) Pottery Factory (it’s big now but was way more massive then). It’s the first time I fully, fervently comprehended the meaning of the phrases “a fish in water” and “kid (or in this case, grandmother) in a candy store”. She was something to behold, wheeling and dealing to an extent even the best writers in Hollywood couldn’t come close to conveying. I don’t think the rows of steel shelves were literally a mile long but they certainly seemed like it, and when she saw some silver bells selling for cents on the dollar, she politely but promptly prodded the salesperson to pack up the entire row and proceeded to the checkout cash register and celebrated ceaselessly her financial feat for the entire four-hour trip back home.
Like her – no doubt because of her – I know a great deal when I see one. Like when I bought my very first property for a fantastic price, so much so that in less than a single decade it quadrupled in value. Or the time that my mind made a massive “buy signal” when, post-IPO, the stocks of Facebook dropped down into the teens and Tesla to around $30. Bargain bonanza!
But the greatest deal by far that I’ve ever come across is when I read in the Bible that the only person in human history to have ever known no sin willingly offered to become sin so that sinful, sinning sinners like me might manifest and indeed become the very righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21) and that if we only humbly believe Him, He will raise us up out of our present pit of pride and sin and set and keep us on the path of righteousness (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6; Psalm 40:2; 1 John 5:18). I could barely believe it… but I’m so glad I did! I took Him at His word and haven’t looked back. Biggest bargain ever. We simply give the Lord our pride and selfishness and He gives us eternal life to be enjoyed in Heaven with Him forever and ever. We simply give Him our sin and He gives us His righteousness. We give up a future in Hell and He gives us a future in Heaven. We “die daily” to self and sin and repugnant pride, and He raises us up to walk in newness of life.
Like I said… Best. Bargain. Best. Offer. Best. Deal. EVER!
Lord, in Psalm 41:10, Your servant David says, “You… raise me up.” I frequently fall far from the superb, supreme, supernatural example and demonstration of true humility You modeled so perfectly when You were walking in our shoes, on this very same sod. Yes, I frequently fail and flail and fall down on the ground… and yet You raise me up, Lord. All the way. Every day. You raise me up.
I think that one of the most amazing, stunning, jaw-dropping, brain-blowing, mind-crinkling command in the entire Bible is the one found in 1 Peter 1:15 …
“but LIKE the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in ALL your behavior” (emphasis added)
(… and its “other side of the same coin” similar-sounding sister verse Titus 1:15 … yep, and they’re BOTH “Chapter 1, Verse 15” with only the book of the Bible itself being different… we’ll call them “the two 1:15’s” on holiness…)
“To the pure, ALL things are pure…” (emphasis added)
We are called, no, commanded not just to be holy, as massive as that would be all by itself, but to be holy LIKE God Himself is.
Wow! Wow! I am speechless!
But wait, there’s more! We are commanded not only to be holy and not only to be holy like He is but to do so, to be so, in ALL our behavior, in ALL our conduct, in ALL of our words and actions (including reactions) … wow wow wow, what a command!
But praise the Lord that the Bible is crystal clear that this is indeed possible but only by His doing, only through the inner working of His Spirit and Word.
Which is why it’s so crucial to spend as much time and meditation as possible in the latter, since it is what fully and maximally unleashes the former in us.
Hence holiness in humans, like wisdom, cannot be bought or brought about by self-effort, only through Spirit-working and Word-saturation.
May we redouble our focus on the crucial importance of personal, God-produced holiness in our daily living. Pour it out upon and within us, Father, for we are willing and want to be obedient to the Bible and thus possess and practice personal holiness, to “be holy [our]selves also in all [our] behavior” even as You Yourself are holy, holy, holy.
I’m sure every chef on the planet, every kitchen cook can concur that it would be nice if a dish or dessert, entree or cake would take no time to bake, that they could simply put something in the oven and, poof, it’d be ready instantly.
But as we all know, that’s not the world in which we live. No, cooking (and virtually everything else) takes time.
Furthermore, the leftover “caked-on crud” in the prepping pan can be practically impossible to remove instantly, whereas – yep, you got it – a little time submerged in sink-water makes it fall off on its own.
Similarly, the Bible TAKES TIME to fully “perform its work” in us…
“…the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13c)
… and the fruit of the Spirit isn’t fully grown overnight or in a week or year or even decade, it’s literally a lifelong process and pursuit and prize. (And promise!)
So when you become cognizant of “caked-on crud” of some sin in your life and confess it (quickly = best), please understand in advance that the effects of said sin and ensuing spiritual scars certainly will take time to be removed.
Just like the post-meal pots and pans in your sink.
Just like the field in front of my home (still) buried by snow and ice. (Nice progress since yesterday but still needs another day or two… see what I mean?!)
If it takes time to turn batter into a cake, how much more for sorry, sinful, sinning sinners like us to realize the very righteousness of God?
Which is one reason that PATIENCE is such a crucial quality in life and, indeed, is the fruit of the Spirit.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience…” (Galatians 5:22a)
Yes, it’s best to confess our sins right away, as soon as we see one lurking in our life, but give God time to transact the healing and restore full-force fellowship and faith… not because He needs either but because we need both.
http://biblememory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/IMAGE-LOGO-BMO-PNG-3701x4004-IMPROVED-with-extended-y-underlines-Human-Head-with-Bible-on-multi-colored-Brain-Lobes-all-atop-Domain-Name-277x300.png00Bible Memoryhttp://biblememory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/IMAGE-LOGO-BMO-PNG-3701x4004-IMPROVED-with-extended-y-underlines-Human-Head-with-Bible-on-multi-colored-Brain-Lobes-all-atop-Domain-Name-277x300.pngBible Memory2024-01-24 15:15:292024-03-24 12:47:14One Who Bakes Cakes Takes Time
As pointed out in the previous post, just a week ago there were worsening signs of (downright dire) drought in the area but since then we’ve seen snow-spewing storms surpassing several inches, in six days, sorry to say. (I love watching it fall from the sky but the messy aftermath? Not so much.)
That’s right: storms, plural… after not receiving a single snowfall of even one inch for over two years, we get two such storms of several inches each in one week, the latter of which just ended and as I awoke this morning, my eyes were greeted by a field not of green grass as usual but wet, white snow and ice instead.
And an abundance of sunshine, which is already starting to melt said snow and ice from that field in front of my home… the Sun is doing its thing! And to an extent which a plethora of plows and shovels never could. That field has simply let the sunshine in.
And that immediately reminded me of how, after facing and patiently persevering several seasons of the “snow” of sin or testing from time to time, we simply need to let the Son shine anew in our life and He will be faithful to miraculously “melt away” said sin or scars.
If we’ll simply supplant self with supplication and submission to the Savior, and let the Son do His thing.
Around 25% of the country is certain that the planet is currently in a convulsing climate crisis. Around that same amount is just as certain that it’s not, with the remaining roughly 50% rigidly focused on just being able to survive not in terms of years from now but literally being able to keep putting food on their table and a roof over their head today and thus don’t pay much attention to what may or may not be happening on a big-picture, planetary basis. I’ll gladly leave it up to people preeminently more studied in such matters as to whether they’ve seen sufficient scientific support to surmise much less state that the climate crisis is real but I can confidently confirm that recent reports of drought in DC are definitely true.
Just today I had occasion to be in Georgetown and found out firsthand that its famous canal which was always sufficiently full of water to bolster big boats of sightseeing businesses bearing bazillions of tourists is now down to a trickle, a tiny stream which currently looks like it could barely bolster a bathtub boat at best.
And seeing that sight sent my mind to the fact that we as Christians – old or young, new or devout – definitely do the drought thing spiritually at one time or another it seems, in which the water of worship and warm-heartedness with God can evaporate for a season.
But thankfully, unlike humanity’s inability to tame much less control the world’s weather, God has graciously given us super-sized say-so and self-determination in the nature (no pun intended) of our walk with Him, how we “weather” (sorry =) the things that come our way each week and day.
All we have to do is deny self and submit to Him and His Word, i.e., to obey the Bible! But not by our own motivation or strength or doing but rather by His.
Not by our own might or power (as if we had any) but by His Spirit and Word and prayer.
It took a ton of time but perhaps the most powerful, practical truth I tell others after having found and verified it firsthand is this: Believe, trust, rely on, know with certainty the absolute, untattered fact (not some fellow’s fanciful fiction) of God’s sovereignty.
While all of His attributes are equal in importance, along with love, grace, and mercy I can’t think of one which so regularly impacts my life and of which I’m so actively aware – not just on a daily but virtually hourly basis – as His sovereignty.
Pretty much nonstop.
I’d like to share with you a time-tested, tried-and-true trio of adjectives to succinctly set forth His sovereignty: it is loving, infinite, and exclusive…
“And we know that God causes ALL things to work together for [our/Christians’] GOOD“! (Romans 8:28)
“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, indeed EVERYTHING that is in the heavens and the earth; Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and You exalt Yourself as head over ALL. Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over ALL, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.” (1 Chronicles 29:11-12) & “who works ALL things after the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11c) & “The lot is cast into the lap, but its EVERY decision is from the Lord.” (Proverbs 16:33) & “The king’s heart is like channels of water in the hand of the Lord; He turns it wherever He wishes.” (Proverbs 21:1) & “the world is Mine, and ALL it contains.” (Psalm 50:12b)
“He who is the blessed and ONLY Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords; who ALONE possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.” (1 Timothy 6:15b-16)
… and that’s no L.I.E.!
God’s sovereignty allows (indeed, compels and really requires) us to be super-secure and confident in life, big benefits to be sure, but the flip-side of the same coin is that to ever complain or grumble about anything is not just an implicit but explicit denial and rejection of and unbelief in said sovereignty, since if one truly believes that He lovingly “causes ALL things to work together for GOOD” for every single Christian, there’s ZERO reason to EVER complain or grumble, which is why He commands us to “do ALL things WITHOUT grumbling or disputing” (Philippians 2:14) and indeed to go even further than the absence of the negative and proceed to ponder, possess, and display the presence of the positive by GIVING THANKS not just “in” but “for” EVERYTHING.
“in EVERYTHING give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
“ALWAYS giving thanks for ALL things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father” (Ephesians 5:20)
Another consequence of God’s sovereignty is that someone who truly believes and accepts it – to the (exact) extent he or she truly believes it – will NEVER be anxious or fearful, NEVER experience anxiety or fear [side note: none of us can maintain 100% faith or 100% of the time since our still-standing-even-subsequent-to-salvation sin nature sticks itself into our lives and our finite, fallen, flawed human minds can’t completely comprehend the concept of infinite sovereignty much less its character and application… but 100% is nonetheless God’s goalpost as it were] which is why He commands us to “be anxious for NOTHING” and – yep, you got it – to go even further: ”but in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)
If I had to hazard a guess I’d say somewhere around 90-95% of all professing Christians would strongly and sincerely assert belief in God’s sovereignty. But the fact that so many regularly “complain” and “grumble” and “dispute” and “worry” and “feel anxious” about one thing or another (or everything) belies their belief, so may each of us regularly take inventory of our life to CONFIRM whether these things are prevalent in our daily living or, conversely, whether we’re characterized by constant confidence and security and gratitude, as this will tell the true tale of how and who we are – certainly spiritually but also emotionally and relationally.
Anytime is a tremendous time to focus, fully and anew, on God’s sovereignty… but I can’t think of a better day to do so than January 1…
http://biblememory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/IMAGE-LOGO-BMO-PNG-3701x4004-IMPROVED-with-extended-y-underlines-Human-Head-with-Bible-on-multi-colored-Brain-Lobes-all-atop-Domain-Name-277x300.png00Bible Memoryhttp://biblememory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/IMAGE-LOGO-BMO-PNG-3701x4004-IMPROVED-with-extended-y-underlines-Human-Head-with-Bible-on-multi-colored-Brain-Lobes-all-atop-Domain-Name-277x300.pngBible Memory2024-01-01 12:10:262024-03-24 12:49:47God is Sovereign (and that's no L.I.E.)
If I were to tell you that, on its current course, this Christian-founded country – the mighty United States of America – is headed for disaster, destruction, death as a major player in the world after a century-plus run as such, would you believe that? Could you believe that? It’s admittedly very difficult to do so, given just how much power we have, how we wield our will in world affairs from wee to weighty and every degree in between.
But I need only remind you of two things to quell any (very rational) skepticism.
Firstly, I’m sure people would’ve been exponentially more skeptical had they been asked that question about the Roman Empire in its heyday. And they wielded worldwide weight and welly for a thousand years, a millennium! Yes, even the notion of a fall would’ve been dismissed out-of-hand… and yet it happened.
And secondly, and infinitely sufficiently all by itself, we have the wise, wiggle-proof words of warning from the wonderful and ever-authoritative Lord Jesus Himself, who said…
“Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand.” (Matthew 12:25b, emphasis added)
“And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” (Mark 3:25, emphasis added)
Without unity, it’s not difficult, it’s downright impossible for any group to not just thrive but even survive; it’s literally just a matter of time until it fails and falls.
Given this time-tested truth, the youth should vamoose along with adults to UNITE, if that’s even still doable, if this country hasn’t already passed the proverbial “point of no return”. Per Proverbs 27:1, I can’t say for sure whether we’ve gone that far, but it’s got to be very, very close in any case. I can’t say if we still have a chance to unite but I can say this with sevenfold certainty: if we can, we ONLY can by the grace of God, the inner working of the Word in general and mass Bible memory on a regular, systematic basis in particular.
Because it’s the Bible which blesses and cleanses and grows and transforms.
A person.
A church.
A political party.
A nation.
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” (Romans 12:2)
And what’s the only thing in the world which truly transforms?
Yep, you got it: the Bible! The living and active, living and abiding Word of God.
“Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation[i.e., the epitome of true, total transformation… wow!]; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, emphasis added)
“The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring[i.e., transforming!] the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. [i.e., transformation!]” (Psalm 19:7emphasis added)
“that He might sanctify [us], having cleansed [us] by the washing of water with the word” (Ephesians 5:26)
“like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Peter 2:2)
“the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13c)
Which is why it’s wise to wear the Word within oneself, by way of our eyes (reading it, studying it) and mind (memorizing it).
“Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you…” (Colossians 3:16a)
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” (Psalm 119:11, KJV)
Lastly, let’s look at what immediately follows two of these verses about being transformed.
“…with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” (Colossians 3:16b-17)
“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and curse not. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,’ says the Lord. ’BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS UPON HIS HEAD.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12:10-21)
Hear this crystal clear conclusion: unity is achieved when individual members of a group are transformed by getting the Bible INSIDE OF THEM, via their eyes and mind… and then affecting and impacting and sharing and spreading that with others in the group.
This is why it could rightly be said of the early-Church Philippians that they were “standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27c) and that was because they did “nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind [they regarded] one another as more important than himself” and did “not merely look out for [their] own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4)
My friend, I assure you that it’s no accident that the very next breath, the very next several verses penned by the Apostle Paul comprise what is probably the premier passage on humility in the entire Bible.
Because selflessness and humility go hand-in-hand.
Because humility is not thinking poorly of oneself; it’s not thinking of oneself at all vis-a-vis other people.
This message from God’s Word, the Bible, is relevant and much-needed at any time, on any day, but it seems superbly fitting for the Christmas season, when worldwide we commemorate in mass fashion when Jesus gave us the greatest demonstration and example of humility, just like the proceeding Philippians 2:5-11 passage so lovingly lays out for our daily living and lifelong benefit.
And now coming full circle by ending this one with where the previous post (Part 1) started…
As we all know, what matters most isn’t how one starts a job but rather how one finishes. Not a team’s results in the first half but ultimately how they perform in the second… so let’s see if Democrats keep being kings and queens of cohesion and unity and effectiveness in pushing and passing their political convictions and views and agenda as beloved by their base voters as they did when they were in charge in the previous (Pelosi-run) Congress, or whether House Republicans can finally muster a molecule of harmony and manage the House in an effective, functional, wise – which is to say, united – manner, in stark contrast to the data-confirmed massive dysfunction demonstrated in their first year back in power, in their “first half” as it were. (Humanly speaking, unlike a mere football game, the very fate of the nation may well depend on it.)
And as we covered above, there’s just one way to become – and stay – united and thus not just survive but thrive as a family or church or company or country, and I can sum it up in just two words: Humility.TOGETHER.
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It used to be Republicans vs. Democrats (though not nearly to the extent, with the toxic venom, as today).
Then it was “establishment/moderate” Republicans vs. “MAGA”/”America first”/conservative Republicans. (As demonstrated most obviously and recently in the GOP House’s drawn-out, beat-down battle to select a Speaker this session… TWICE!) (And counting?)
Now it’s the “trying to topple Trump” trio Ron DeSantis vs. Nikki Haley vs. Chris Christie.
The ONLY way they can achieve their goal of getting the Republican nomination for President in next year’s election is to make sure the far-and-away polling leader for many months now, Donald Trump, doesn’t. Yet they WON’T UNITE.
Not even after the latest timely tidbit: ”A new Saint Anselm College poll of New Hampshire likely voters finds Trump at 44%, Haley at 30%, Christie at 12%, DeSantis at 6%” – I’m not saying or even suggesting what any or all of them should or shouldn’t do; what I am saying is that the three of them constantly claim and proclaim that “if Trump wins, democracy itself will come to a screeching halt” (or something similar along those lines, true or untrue as that may be) … yet they WON’T UNITE.
Mind you, we’re not talking about over two hundred political people here as was the case with last month’s (second) Speaker of the House hunt; no, there are just the final few of them yet, even then, they WON’T UNITE.
And barring the imprisonment or unexpected death of “despised, despicable Donald”, that’ll be one reason their fate is self-sealed for failure and loss in their deep, dire endeavor.
Democrats, too.
First, for a dozen decades or more, it was Democrats vs. Republicans.
Then it was “Hillary Clinton” Democrats vs. “Barack Obama” Democrats.
Now it’s “establishment/moderate/Israel-supporting” Democrats vs. “progressive/liberal/Palestine (and sometimes Hamas)-supporting” Democrats.
And black vs. white.
And rich vs. poor.
And male vs. female. (Literally! In seemingly every sport anymore.)
Did you know that the Bible predicted this accelerating mass/ubiquitous breakdown of unity thousands of years ago, and that such would not stop at the national or political or societal level but extend even all the way to the “flesh-and-blood” family level and even all the way to the point of death?
“And brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death.” (Matthew 10:21)
But, as usual, the Bible goes even further… it doesn’t just tell us what is going to happen, it also tells us why.
It’s because there are two types of people on the planet at any given time: believers and unbelievers.
Good (entirely due to the Holy Spirit within and in spite of us ourselves, i.e., our selves) and evil.
And the Bible proceeds to say that these two groups have nothing (major, functionally, perspectivally) in common…
“… what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial [a.k.a. Satan, Lucifer, the Devil], or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:14b-15)
… and therefore will not “mesh” – certainly in the long run and often in the short run, either. Why? Two verses tell the tale entirely:
“But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” (Proverbs 4:18)
“But evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2 Timothy 3:13)
Which is why the Bible proceeds even further to a crystal clear conclusion/command/application for each and every group of people – from families to sports teams to companies to countries to, yep, political parties:
“… stand firm in ONE spirit, with ONE mind striving TOGETHER … being of the SAME mind, maintaining the SAME love, UNITED in spirit, intent on ONE purpose.” (Philippians 1:27 & 2:2, emphasis added)
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers [or teammates, or co-workers, or congregation members, or countrymen] to dwell together in UNITY!” (Psalm 133:1, emphasis added)
Because as someone infinitely greater than even Abraham Lincoln famously and truly stated, a house or city or kingdom (or country or company or congregation or family or friendship or political party) disunited, “divided against itself”, “WILL NOT” stand because such “CANNOT” stand! It’s literally impossible for any group of people to survive (much less succeed and thrive) if they DON’T UNITE!
“Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself shall not stand.” (Matthew 12:25b)
“And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand.” (Mark 3:25)
Wonderful words of wisdom and warning and reward from the blessing-bubbling Bible to each and every person on the planet. (Wonderful, and timely!) May we not just read them but heed them. (As I often say… when it comes to the Bible’s words, we can “read ’em and weep” OR “heed ’em and LEAP!” For joy. Unlimited, immeasurable, indescribable joy.)
“Heed how?“ you might be wondering… I’ll cover that in the next post but for now, here are two on-point songs I think you’ll enjoy.
America, families, and especially the Church: Let’s get right. Let’s UNITE!
This first video is worth ten thousand words, so I’ll simply say that the younger sister’s expressions come as close to Christlike love our Lord so deeply displayed on that very first Christmas when He willingly left the comforts of Heaven for our salvation’s sake and came to Earth as a baby boy birthed by Mary but born (and borne) of the Spirit and which we should show toward one another, as anything I can recall. The massive level of love and respect she possesses for her sister is obvious, tangible, palpable…
… that’s the spirit!
The Christmas spirit.
Which we will hopefully continue to carry forth for the first eleven months each year, too.
And what is the Christmas spirit if not a palpable, persevering, pervasive sense of love? The kind that came down to us (on a certain silent and holy night two thousand years ago) as this second song sums up so supremely:
Thank You, Lord, for giving Christmas not just its name but its meaning. For showing us how to live life – largely by Your blessed birth, powerfully by Your perpetual perfection, definitely (and definitively) by and in Your self-sacrificial death, bereaved burial, and salvation-sealing resurrection. May anyone reading this who hasn’t yet rightly given (back) their life to you and received said salvation, do so on this most special “birthday” of them all.
Three Degrees
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryNo, the title of this post isn’t referring to the smooth-sounding, silk-voiced Seventies singing group…
… nor to the wintry weather here in the nation’s capital yesterday (though we did see some snow, so it came uncomfortably close to that on the thermometer).
Permit me to briefly elaborate. You see, per what was penned in a previously published post, I “practiced what I preached” and late last night let a kitchen pan soak in the sink but when I went to clean the cooked-on crud away, some greasy grime got unpleasantly plastered to the sink so I grabbed a nearby napkin and wiped it off.
Or at least tried to. It didn’t work. It just spread the greasy grime around even more so I retrieved an about-to-be-tossed old rag which had long served its purpose and went to wipe the expanded grease field from the floor of the sink but the latter proved to be too powerful for the former so I grabbed a steel wool scouring pad and, wah-lah, the greasy grime was gone!
Bible reading is like a napkin.
Bible study is like a rag.
Bible memory is like a steel wool scouring pad.
These are the “three degrees” of Bible interactivity. All are excellent in essence but exhibit different degrees of depth, of effectiveness in terms of “sinking in” to the human mind and wondrously wiping away the “cooked-on, caked-on crud” of sin in our life.
The Bible in general and Bible memory in specific: what a treasure, what a pleasure!
God’s good gift, granted without measure.
And while an ode to the Bible and Bible memory is fully, infinitely fitting for any day, I can’t think of a better one for it than today… Happy Valentine’s Day! May our love for each other and especially the Word of the Lord and the Lord of the Word abound more and more each day, each week, each month, each year.
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“You Raise Me Up”
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryI might or might not know a great deal… but I know a great deal when I see one.
I think I inherited that ability from my paternal grandmother; as noted on this website’s Why page, she once was one of the biggest independent antique dealers certainly east of the Mississippi and probably the entire country at the time, and I can remember as though it were yesterday the time that, for my major-milestone 13th birthday, she, my parents, and I visited the Williamsburg (Va.) Pottery Factory (it’s big now but was way more massive then). It’s the first time I fully, fervently comprehended the meaning of the phrases “a fish in water” and “kid (or in this case, grandmother) in a candy store”. She was something to behold, wheeling and dealing to an extent even the best writers in Hollywood couldn’t come close to conveying. I don’t think the rows of steel shelves were literally a mile long but they certainly seemed like it, and when she saw some silver bells selling for cents on the dollar, she politely but promptly prodded the salesperson to pack up the entire row and proceeded to the checkout cash register and celebrated ceaselessly her financial feat for the entire four-hour trip back home.
Like her – no doubt because of her – I know a great deal when I see one. Like when I bought my very first property for a fantastic price, so much so that in less than a single decade it quadrupled in value. Or the time that my mind made a massive “buy signal” when, post-IPO, the stocks of Facebook dropped down into the teens and Tesla to around $30. Bargain bonanza!
But the greatest deal by far that I’ve ever come across is when I read in the Bible that the only person in human history to have ever known no sin willingly offered to become sin so that sinful, sinning sinners like me might manifest and indeed become the very righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21) and that if we only humbly believe Him, He will raise us up out of our present pit of pride and sin and set and keep us on the path of righteousness (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6; Psalm 40:2; 1 John 5:18). I could barely believe it… but I’m so glad I did! I took Him at His word and haven’t looked back. Biggest bargain ever. We simply give the Lord our pride and selfishness and He gives us eternal life to be enjoyed in Heaven with Him forever and ever. We simply give Him our sin and He gives us His righteousness. We give up a future in Hell and He gives us a future in Heaven. We “die daily” to self and sin and repugnant pride, and He raises us up to walk in newness of life.
Like I said… Best. Bargain. Best. Offer. Best. Deal. EVER!
Lord, in Psalm 41:10, Your servant David says, “You… raise me up.” I frequently fall far from the superb, supreme, supernatural example and demonstration of true humility You modeled so perfectly when You were walking in our shoes, on this very same sod. Yes, I frequently fail and flail and fall down on the ground… and yet You raise me up, Lord. All the way. Every day. You raise me up.
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Holy
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryI think that one of the most amazing, stunning, jaw-dropping, brain-blowing, mind-crinkling command in the entire Bible is the one found in 1 Peter 1:15 …
(… and its “other side of the same coin” similar-sounding sister verse Titus 1:15 … yep, and they’re BOTH “Chapter 1, Verse 15” with only the book of the Bible itself being different… we’ll call them “the two 1:15’s” on holiness…)
We are called, no, commanded not just to be holy, as massive as that would be all by itself, but to be holy LIKE God Himself is.
Wow! Wow! I am speechless!
But wait, there’s more! We are commanded not only to be holy and not only to be holy like He is but to do so, to be so, in ALL our behavior, in ALL our conduct, in ALL of our words and actions (including reactions) … wow wow wow, what a command!
But praise the Lord that the Bible is crystal clear that this is indeed possible but only by His doing, only through the inner working of His Spirit and Word.
Which is why it’s so crucial to spend as much time and meditation as possible in the latter, since it is what fully and maximally unleashes the former in us.
Hence holiness in humans, like wisdom, cannot be bought or brought about by self-effort, only through Spirit-working and Word-saturation.
May we redouble our focus on the crucial importance of personal, God-produced holiness in our daily living. Pour it out upon and within us, Father, for we are willing and want to be obedient to the Bible and thus possess and practice personal holiness, to “be holy [our]selves also in all [our] behavior” even as You Yourself are holy, holy, holy.
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One Who Bakes Cakes Takes Time
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryI’m sure every chef on the planet, every kitchen cook can concur that it would be nice if a dish or dessert, entree or cake would take no time to bake, that they could simply put something in the oven and, poof, it’d be ready instantly.
But as we all know, that’s not the world in which we live. No, cooking (and virtually everything else) takes time.
Furthermore, the leftover “caked-on crud” in the prepping pan can be practically impossible to remove instantly, whereas – yep, you got it – a little time submerged in sink-water makes it fall off on its own.
Similarly, the Bible TAKES TIME to fully “perform its work” in us…
… and the fruit of the Spirit isn’t fully grown overnight or in a week or year or even decade, it’s literally a lifelong process and pursuit and prize. (And promise!)
So when you become cognizant of “caked-on crud” of some sin in your life and confess it (quickly = best), please understand in advance that the effects of said sin and ensuing spiritual scars certainly will take time to be removed.
Just like the post-meal pots and pans in your sink.
Just like the field in front of my home (still) buried by snow and ice. (Nice progress since yesterday but still needs another day or two… see what I mean?!)
If it takes time to turn batter into a cake, how much more for sorry, sinful, sinning sinners like us to realize the very righteousness of God?
Which is one reason that PATIENCE is such a crucial quality in life and, indeed, is the fruit of the Spirit.
Yes, it’s best to confess our sins right away, as soon as we see one lurking in our life, but give God time to transact the healing and restore full-force fellowship and faith… not because He needs either but because we need both.
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Sonshine
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryAs pointed out in the previous post, just a week ago there were worsening signs of (downright dire) drought in the area but since then we’ve seen snow-spewing storms surpassing several inches, in six days, sorry to say. (I love watching it fall from the sky but the messy aftermath? Not so much.)
That’s right: storms, plural… after not receiving a single snowfall of even one inch for over two years, we get two such storms of several inches each in one week, the latter of which just ended and as I awoke this morning, my eyes were greeted by a field not of green grass as usual but wet, white snow and ice instead.
And an abundance of sunshine, which is already starting to melt said snow and ice from that field in front of my home… the Sun is doing its thing! And to an extent which a plethora of plows and shovels never could. That field has simply let the sunshine in.
And that immediately reminded me of how, after facing and patiently persevering several seasons of the “snow” of sin or testing from time to time, we simply need to let the Son shine anew in our life and He will be faithful to miraculously “melt away” said sin or scars.
If we’ll simply supplant self with supplication and submission to the Savior, and let the Son do His thing.
If we’ll simply let the Sonshine in!
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Drought
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryAround 25% of the country is certain that the planet is currently in a convulsing climate crisis. Around that same amount is just as certain that it’s not, with the remaining roughly 50% rigidly focused on just being able to survive not in terms of years from now but literally being able to keep putting food on their table and a roof over their head today and thus don’t pay much attention to what may or may not be happening on a big-picture, planetary basis. I’ll gladly leave it up to people preeminently more studied in such matters as to whether they’ve seen sufficient scientific support to surmise much less state that the climate crisis is real but I can confidently confirm that recent reports of drought in DC are definitely true.
Just today I had occasion to be in Georgetown and found out firsthand that its famous canal which was always sufficiently full of water to bolster big boats of sightseeing businesses bearing bazillions of tourists is now down to a trickle, a tiny stream which currently looks like it could barely bolster a bathtub boat at best.
And seeing that sight sent my mind to the fact that we as Christians – old or young, new or devout – definitely do the drought thing spiritually at one time or another it seems, in which the water of worship and warm-heartedness with God can evaporate for a season.
But thankfully, unlike humanity’s inability to tame much less control the world’s weather, God has graciously given us super-sized say-so and self-determination in the nature (no pun intended) of our walk with Him, how we “weather” (sorry =) the things that come our way each week and day.
All we have to do is deny self and submit to Him and His Word, i.e., to obey the Bible! But not by our own motivation or strength or doing but rather by His.
Not by our own might or power (as if we had any) but by His Spirit and Word and prayer.
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God is Sovereign (and that’s no L.I.E.)
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryIt took a ton of time but perhaps the most powerful, practical truth I tell others after having found and verified it firsthand is this: Believe, trust, rely on, know with certainty the absolute, untattered fact (not some fellow’s fanciful fiction) of God’s sovereignty.
While all of His attributes are equal in importance, along with love, grace, and mercy I can’t think of one which so regularly impacts my life and of which I’m so actively aware – not just on a daily but virtually hourly basis – as His sovereignty.
Pretty much nonstop.
I’d like to share with you a time-tested, tried-and-true trio of adjectives to succinctly set forth His sovereignty: it is loving, infinite, and exclusive…
… and that’s no L.I.E.!
God’s sovereignty allows (indeed, compels and really requires) us to be super-secure and confident in life, big benefits to be sure, but the flip-side of the same coin is that to ever complain or grumble about anything is not just an implicit but explicit denial and rejection of and unbelief in said sovereignty, since if one truly believes that He lovingly “causes ALL things to work together for GOOD” for every single Christian, there’s ZERO reason to EVER complain or grumble, which is why He commands us to “do ALL things WITHOUT grumbling or disputing” (Philippians 2:14) and indeed to go even further than the absence of the negative and proceed to ponder, possess, and display the presence of the positive by GIVING THANKS not just “in” but “for” EVERYTHING.
Another consequence of God’s sovereignty is that someone who truly believes and accepts it – to the (exact) extent he or she truly believes it – will NEVER be anxious or fearful, NEVER experience anxiety or fear [side note: none of us can maintain 100% faith or 100% of the time since our still-standing-even-subsequent-to-salvation sin nature sticks itself into our lives and our finite, fallen, flawed human minds can’t completely comprehend the concept of infinite sovereignty much less its character and application… but 100% is nonetheless God’s goalpost as it were] which is why He commands us to “be anxious for NOTHING” and – yep, you got it – to go even further: ”but in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6)
If I had to hazard a guess I’d say somewhere around 90-95% of all professing Christians would strongly and sincerely assert belief in God’s sovereignty. But the fact that so many regularly “complain” and “grumble” and “dispute” and “worry” and “feel anxious” about one thing or another (or everything) belies their belief, so may each of us regularly take inventory of our life to CONFIRM whether these things are prevalent in our daily living or, conversely, whether we’re characterized by constant confidence and security and gratitude, as this will tell the true tale of how and who we are – certainly spiritually but also emotionally and relationally.
Anytime is a tremendous time to focus, fully and anew, on God’s sovereignty… but I can’t think of a better day to do so than January 1…
Happy New Year!
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… and now the “HOW”
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryPart 2 of the previous post, as promised…
If I were to tell you that, on its current course, this Christian-founded country – the mighty United States of America – is headed for disaster, destruction, death as a major player in the world after a century-plus run as such, would you believe that? Could you believe that? It’s admittedly very difficult to do so, given just how much power we have, how we wield our will in world affairs from wee to weighty and every degree in between.
But I need only remind you of two things to quell any (very rational) skepticism.
Firstly, I’m sure people would’ve been exponentially more skeptical had they been asked that question about the Roman Empire in its heyday. And they wielded worldwide weight and welly for a thousand years, a millennium! Yes, even the notion of a fall would’ve been dismissed out-of-hand… and yet it happened.
And secondly, and infinitely sufficiently all by itself, we have the wise, wiggle-proof words of warning from the wonderful and ever-authoritative Lord Jesus Himself, who said…
Without unity, it’s not difficult, it’s downright impossible for any group to not just thrive but even survive; it’s literally just a matter of time until it fails and falls.
Given this time-tested truth, the youth should vamoose along with adults to UNITE, if that’s even still doable, if this country hasn’t already passed the proverbial “point of no return”. Per Proverbs 27:1, I can’t say for sure whether we’ve gone that far, but it’s got to be very, very close in any case. I can’t say if we still have a chance to unite but I can say this with sevenfold certainty: if we can, we ONLY can by the grace of God, the inner working of the Word in general and mass Bible memory on a regular, systematic basis in particular.
Because it’s the Bible which blesses and cleanses and grows and transforms.
A person.
A church.
A political party.
A nation.
And what’s the only thing in the world which truly transforms?
Yep, you got it: the Bible! The living and active, living and abiding Word of God.
Which is why it’s wise to wear the Word within oneself, by way of our eyes (reading it, studying it) and mind (memorizing it).
Lastly, let’s look at what immediately follows two of these verses about being transformed.
Hear this crystal clear conclusion: unity is achieved when individual members of a group are transformed by getting the Bible INSIDE OF THEM, via their eyes and mind… and then affecting and impacting and sharing and spreading that with others in the group.
This is why it could rightly be said of the early-Church Philippians that they were “standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27c) and that was because they did “nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind [they regarded] one another as more important than himself” and did “not merely look out for [their] own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:3-4)
My friend, I assure you that it’s no accident that the very next breath, the very next several verses penned by the Apostle Paul comprise what is probably the premier passage on humility in the entire Bible.
Because selflessness and humility go hand-in-hand.
Because humility is not thinking poorly of oneself; it’s not thinking of oneself at all vis-a-vis other people.
This message from God’s Word, the Bible, is relevant and much-needed at any time, on any day, but it seems superbly fitting for the Christmas season, when worldwide we commemorate in mass fashion when Jesus gave us the greatest demonstration and example of humility, just like the proceeding Philippians 2:5-11 passage so lovingly lays out for our daily living and lifelong benefit.
And now coming full circle by ending this one with where the previous post (Part 1) started…
As we all know, what matters most isn’t how one starts a job but rather how one finishes. Not a team’s results in the first half but ultimately how they perform in the second… so let’s see if Democrats keep being kings and queens of cohesion and unity and effectiveness in pushing and passing their political convictions and views and agenda as beloved by their base voters as they did when they were in charge in the previous (Pelosi-run) Congress, or whether House Republicans can finally muster a molecule of harmony and manage the House in an effective, functional, wise – which is to say, united – manner, in stark contrast to the data-confirmed massive dysfunction demonstrated in their first year back in power, in their “first half” as it were. (Humanly speaking, unlike a mere football game, the very fate of the nation may well depend on it.)
And as we covered above, there’s just one way to become – and stay – united and thus not just survive but thrive as a family or church or company or country, and I can sum it up in just two words: Humility. TOGETHER.
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Division (GALORE!)
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryIt used to be Republicans vs. Democrats (though not nearly to the extent, with the toxic venom, as today).
Then it was “establishment/moderate” Republicans vs. “MAGA”/”America first”/conservative Republicans. (As demonstrated most obviously and recently in the GOP House’s drawn-out, beat-down battle to select a Speaker this session… TWICE!) (And counting?)
Now it’s the “trying to topple Trump” trio Ron DeSantis vs. Nikki Haley vs. Chris Christie.
The ONLY way they can achieve their goal of getting the Republican nomination for President in next year’s election is to make sure the far-and-away polling leader for many months now, Donald Trump, doesn’t. Yet they WON’T UNITE.
Not even after the latest timely tidbit: ”A new Saint Anselm College poll of New Hampshire likely voters finds Trump at 44%, Haley at 30%, Christie at 12%, DeSantis at 6%” – I’m not saying or even suggesting what any or all of them should or shouldn’t do; what I am saying is that the three of them constantly claim and proclaim that “if Trump wins, democracy itself will come to a screeching halt” (or something similar along those lines, true or untrue as that may be) … yet they WON’T UNITE.
Mind you, we’re not talking about over two hundred political people here as was the case with last month’s (second) Speaker of the House hunt; no, there are just the final few of them yet, even then, they WON’T UNITE.
And barring the imprisonment or unexpected death of “despised, despicable Donald”, that’ll be one reason their fate is self-sealed for failure and loss in their deep, dire endeavor.
Democrats, too.
First, for a dozen decades or more, it was Democrats vs. Republicans.
Then it was “Hillary Clinton” Democrats vs. “Barack Obama” Democrats.
Now it’s “establishment/moderate/Israel-supporting” Democrats vs. “progressive/liberal/Palestine (and sometimes Hamas)-supporting” Democrats.
And black vs. white.
And rich vs. poor.
And male vs. female. (Literally! In seemingly every sport anymore.)
Did you know that the Bible predicted this accelerating mass/ubiquitous breakdown of unity thousands of years ago, and that such would not stop at the national or political or societal level but extend even all the way to the “flesh-and-blood” family level and even all the way to the point of death?
But, as usual, the Bible goes even further… it doesn’t just tell us what is going to happen, it also tells us why.
It’s because there are two types of people on the planet at any given time: believers and unbelievers.
Redeemed and unredeemed.
Spiritually “alive” (Colossians 2:12-14; Romans 6:4-5; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:4-10) and spiritually “dead” (Ephesians 2:1-3).
Good (entirely due to the Holy Spirit within and in spite of us ourselves, i.e., our selves) and evil.
And the Bible proceeds to say that these two groups have nothing (major, functionally, perspectivally) in common…
… and therefore will not “mesh” – certainly in the long run and often in the short run, either. Why? Two verses tell the tale entirely:
Which is why the Bible proceeds even further to a crystal clear conclusion/command/application for each and every group of people – from families to sports teams to companies to countries to, yep, political parties:
Because as someone infinitely greater than even Abraham Lincoln famously and truly stated, a house or city or kingdom (or country or company or congregation or family or friendship or political party) disunited, “divided against itself”, “WILL NOT” stand because such “CANNOT” stand! It’s literally impossible for any group of people to survive (much less succeed and thrive) if they DON’T UNITE!
Wonderful words of wisdom and warning and reward from the blessing-bubbling Bible to each and every person on the planet. (Wonderful, and timely!) May we not just read them but heed them. (As I often say… when it comes to the Bible’s words, we can “read ’em and weep” OR “heed ’em and LEAP!” For joy. Unlimited, immeasurable, indescribable joy.)
“Heed how?“ you might be wondering… I’ll cover that in the next post but for now, here are two on-point songs I think you’ll enjoy.
America, families, and especially the Church: Let’s get right. Let’s UNITE!
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Merry Christmas!
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryThis first video is worth ten thousand words, so I’ll simply say that the younger sister’s expressions come as close to Christlike love our Lord so deeply displayed on that very first Christmas when He willingly left the comforts of Heaven for our salvation’s sake and came to Earth as a baby boy birthed by Mary but born (and borne) of the Spirit and which we should show toward one another, as anything I can recall. The massive level of love and respect she possesses for her sister is obvious, tangible, palpable…
… that’s the spirit!
The Christmas spirit.
Which we will hopefully continue to carry forth for the first eleven months each year, too.
And what is the Christmas spirit if not a palpable, persevering, pervasive sense of love? The kind that came down to us (on a certain silent and holy night two thousand years ago) as this second song sums up so supremely:
Thank You, Lord, for giving Christmas not just its name but its meaning. For showing us how to live life – largely by Your blessed birth, powerfully by Your perpetual perfection, definitely (and definitively) by and in Your self-sacrificial death, bereaved burial, and salvation-sealing resurrection. May anyone reading this who hasn’t yet rightly given (back) their life to you and received said salvation, do so on this most special “birthday” of them all.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
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