Isaiah 26:3-4

"You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock."

I don't think my friend knew how badly I needed to hear this verse when she shared it with me years ago. I was in a new place, feeling very much alone, battling anxiety, and very discouraged. There were times during that season of my life that I would find myself almost chanting this verse. And I learned then that He is absolutely an Everlasting Rock!!

I love this passage because it doesn't matter where we are in life, it applies. If it doesn't today it probably will tomorrow. I want my mind, no matter what I'm doing, to be fixed on Him, because it's only then that I experience His true peace...."peace that passes understanding". And trust me, in my crazy life, I can always use peace.:0)

Love you ladies!!!

Keri

MEMORIZING AND FORGETTING.... MEMORIZING AND FORGETTING.......

I want to share a portion from a blog I read, Desiring God, which is John Piper's blog. Are you forgetting the scriptures you've memorized weeks before? Don't be discouraged.... read on....

How Do You Remember the Scripture You've Memorized?

(Author: Tyler Kenney)

John Piper answers this question in today's Ask Pastor John. Scroll down to read a transcript.

The following is an edited transcript of the audio.

How do you keep from forgetting Scripture after you've memorized it?

I don't. But practically, what can you do to keep it as long as you can? There is only one word. Review.

Review, review, review. There is no way to memorize Scripture that keeps you from losing it. Some people don't lose anything. Some people have traps in their head that just hang on to it. But only 1 in 10,000 people can do that. Average folks like me have to work real hard to memorize the first time, and then recurrently review to keep it. So I memorize verses every day, and I forget them every day.

This morning I re-memorized a verse. I finished Deuteronomy and ran across a verse that I memorized years ago. Maybe I memorize it once a year, because I read the whole Bible once every year.

The verse is Deuteronomy 33:26. "There is none like God, O Jeshurun, who rides through the heavens to your help, and through the skies in his majesty." So, I've got it memorized. I probably will forget it in a week. That verse is hard for me to remember.

I've memorized that verse probably five times in five years. I forget it because I don't use it as often as some verses. So, I jot it down on a little piece of paper and carry it in my pocket, pulling it out during the day once or twice. If I try to nail it so that it is useful for me over the long haul, I keep it and review it.

A practical thing I would suggest for people to do, is decide what cluster of text they want to always be at their disposal. For me I could name Psalm 46, Psalm 23, Psalm 1, Romans 8, 2 Corinthians 5:21, a cluster of texts surrounding justification, 1 Peter 4:11—"let him who serves serve in the strength that God supplies, that in everything God may get the glory through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the dominion forever." This is the most quoted verse as we move into worship at Bethlehem.

So for my soul, for the warfare of my life, and for ministry in hospitals and counseling sessions, I want a cluster of texts at my disposal. Decide what those are, put them on a piece of paper, and review them until you have them down. I'll give you a little story.

My first or second year of pastoring I was called to the hospital—quickly. I went without my Bible. Rollin Erickson's wife just had a heart attack. I walk into a room of probably 20 family members that didn't know if she was alive or dead—as she is in surgery. Rollin gave me a big hug and said, "John, give us a Word from the Lord." Now, if I had my Bible I would have opened it to a Psalm or something. I didn't have my Bible, and for whatever reason at age 35 my mind went blank.

I felt so humiliated. It was horrible. Here are 20 people, and the husband of a dying woman says, "Give us a Word from the Lord." I can't even remember what I said. I probably said, "Let's pray," and tried to paraphrase some Scripture. I went home and got on my knees that afternoon. I said, "Lord Jesus, that will never happen again." I opened to Psalm 46—"God is our refuge and strength." I have been able to quote Psalm 46 verbatim for the last 28 years. I decided that Psalm 46 is going to be in my head because it is so useful all the time.

The answer is, review. But don't try to do that with every verse you learn. You should be learning hundreds of Bible verses by heart, and forgetting 90% of them. But then you get to them again and relearn them, and they are still with you because you learned them once. Somehow they will function to get out into your life.

But really nail down a cluster of soul strengthening words.

John Piper's blog can be found at www.desiringgod.org/Blog/

In Christ Alone,

Jane

Verse 5/Plus a Little Story

John 2:19 Jesus answered them saying, "Tear down this temple and in three days, I will raise it up again!" Take that!!!! This verse isn't one of the famous ones, many people overlook it, but as I was studying through John with friends and family, this was one we chose to memorize. It stuck. Whenever I doubt the power of God, whenever I think that things are impossible, whenever I doubt that God even knows what exactly is going on, He brings this verse to the front of my mind. It's not a poetic ringer but I just love it, it's like Jesus is saying, "You can run, but you can't hide," from my power, "I will ultimately come out on top," "Do your best but VICTORY IS MINE!" I had such a peace when He told me this was the verse I was to share with you. Not coincidently, it is the eve of my daughter's 16th birthday, He is victorious through her and has used my weakness to remain strong. I love the vision of my Lord as a manly man, I can just hear Him telling those Sanhedrin what for. He loved those parables, and I love Him. Enjoy the verse, I pray it becomes to you what it is to me.
Karen

Be Still

I don't know about you... But I like things done on my schedule and I worry when it doesn't seem to be possible to get it complete! So... What does God tell me? He gave me words of wisdom this week during my devotions. I journaled this week and here is some of the promises! Most of this is from my devotions- Tapestry... "Every once in a while God puts a desire in you that's really specific... God may seem to be slow in fulfilling some of your desires, so be prepared to wait if you need to. He may allow obstacles and hardships in order to weed out the weak desires, to strengthen your resolve, to produce endurance, and to TEST YOUR FAITH!!" "As we walk with Him, giving Him permission to shape our dreams, trusting Him with them, HE CAN BLOW THE TOP OFF OUR EXPECTATIONS!!!"
Ephesians 3:20- Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us. (v21)To HIM BE GLORY! So... lesson- Walk Faithfully. "Obey God's commands, be in constant conversation with Him, rest in His good heart and in his absolute power and control over everything. Spend less time worrying about the details. Be more in awe of the awesome God who wants to do incredible things with you and through you..." And a special Bible verse to remind me to wait patiently and listen for His plans is from Psalms- "Like a weaned child, like a weaned child to his mother, I have stilled and quieted my soul." Now... If I just listen to what I know... Believe... and Have Faith in!!!

Living Life God's Way

Be very careful,then, how you live- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. Ephesians 5:15-17



Sometimes I am really confused on how to actually live my life. I have been a Christian for a long time and have had the "moutain top experiences" and the "valley" experiences. However, I do not believe that this is what God intended for the Christian life. I think this may be the hardest time in history to actually distinguish between good and godly. Our society allows us to do many "good" things and to be involved in others lives. It also tells us that it is okay to always focus on ourselves and to strive for all the best opportunities. As a Christian, this can be very confusing because "good is good" , right? This is something God has been convicting me of for a couple of years now. Obviously, I have not spent enough time with God to get a clear answer because I keep falling into the trap of "societal good". My extremely practical mind, most of the time, is what keeps me from praying about God's will. On the other hand, it can be the thing that draws me closer to God and allows me to really feel His presence. As I was doing my devotional (I have been reading Ephesians) the above verse just really jumped out at me, especially the words--- Be very careful and understand what the Lord's will is. So many days I live my life the way I want to, with not much concern, because I do not really do anything "bad". My life fits into what society says is "good", so surely that should mean I am doing things the "right way". This , however, is the main weapon the devil uses in my life. After reading Eph. 5:15-17, I realized how foolish and just plain stupid it is. God does not say to live my life "good". He says to be wise and to follow His will for my life. I cannot do that living "my way". God is challenging me to view life through His RIGHT truth and to seize His GOOD will for my life. Then my life will be full of the GODLY opportunities that will bring Him, not society, glory.

In Your FACE

On a recent car trip with a friend, I said these words, "I hate the way people today are so flakey, I never cancel my committments. People are getting so slack." Should have known a lesson was in my near future... funny how He knows when we are getting too haughty. Hello, my name is Karen and I tend to be a little judgemental. I was becoming tired of the way people are constantly canceling plans, rescheduling, late for things, etc. Then He showed me exactly what it was like to be in a position of relying on someone else's grace. He showed me what it was to make the phone call saying, "I'm not going to make it, something has come up." Part of my control-freakness usually doesn't let that happen. What I was shown was the grace of others, the well wishes and kind words. In striving to grow, it hurts sometimes to learn the lessons, to show grace and compassion for others. I am harsh and expect so much of others and am so blessed that neither He nor anyone else holds me to that standard. Grace rocks.

Shining!

Week 4 Memory Verse: In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Yesterday I attended the funeral of one of my dear friend's father. I didn't know the man, but I'd heard my friend talk about her father on many occasions. I knew that he was a Christian, so I had no doubt as to where his eternal home would be. Nonetheless, as you can imagine, that family was still very mournful of their loss of husband, daddy, and granddaddy. During the service, the congregation was invited to stand and share any remarks of the memories they had of this man. I was so moved in listening to the comments people made about him. From men who had served with him in the Korean War all the way to people who shared breakfast with him at Hardees, they stood and shared about the impact this gentleman had made in their lives. And one common thing was said over and over, "Floyd loved the Lord, and that love was shown in his life toward others." I couldn't help but think of what Jesus said about the two greatest commandments: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. And the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself." Over and over through the testimonies I heard people saying this was the life this man lived.
As I reflect on that funeral service, I have to stop and wonder, what would people say about me at my funeral? Now I'm not trying to be morbid here, and I'm certainly not looking for the praise of man, but - I do have to ask myself the question, "where is my light shining"? God has given me a time-span of life to live - am I fully living that life for Him? Am I truly loving Him fully, and my neighbor as myself. This would be a great opportunity for the enemy to jump in and beat me up in my failures, but you know, instead I think I'll just give my God the praise, honor and glory for first allowing me to be at the funeral service, and then second, this time of reflection in my own life.

O God, You are so good to me. Forgive me when I become so busy in this life that I don't let others see Your love in and through me. Lord Jesus, shine Your light through me that others may praise the Father in heaven.