Memory verses - February
28/02/2014 - Matthew 11:28-30
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Jesus knew what it was like to be physically weary (John 4:6) and he also knew the weight of emotional and spiritual pressures. He faced enormous challenges and sometimes deep anguish of heart. He knew that we don't need religion - more work, more struggle. We need to rest in his love and be refreshed by hearing his voice.
21/02/2014 - Psalm 27:1
"The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?"
"The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?"
I love this Psalm. If you can, read it all. David is under great pressure. The odds are stacked against him - but he knows the truth: 'if God is for us who can be against us?' (Romans 8:31).
Are you having to take a course of action that people don't understand? Does someone you really care about not understand? It isn't what people think, it isn't how bad things look - it isn't even how bad things are, because "though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me" (27:10).
How did David manage to keep on track when under that kind of pressure? He had a single vision - he wanted to live in God's presence and be taken up with the wonder of who God is (27:4-6). That is how we keep things in perspective. We see things as they really are - from God's perspective - and that is all that matters. And that is how we walk in the light. If we cave in and take the easy route we stumble. Fear only him because that kind of fear is the 'beginning of wisdom' (Proverbs 9:10).
Are you having to take a course of action that people don't understand? Does someone you really care about not understand? It isn't what people think, it isn't how bad things look - it isn't even how bad things are, because "though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me" (27:10).
How did David manage to keep on track when under that kind of pressure? He had a single vision - he wanted to live in God's presence and be taken up with the wonder of who God is (27:4-6). That is how we keep things in perspective. We see things as they really are - from God's perspective - and that is all that matters. And that is how we walk in the light. If we cave in and take the easy route we stumble. Fear only him because that kind of fear is the 'beginning of wisdom' (Proverbs 9:10).
14/02/2014 - Isaiah 40:29-31
"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
Trusting God is energising. It is the difference between being weighed down by the pressures and struggles of life or soaring effortlessly on the currents of God's Spirit. It is a choice to make - to trust or to worry.
7/02/2014 - Galatians 2:20
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."
This verse goes to the heart of how to live the Christian life. It takes away all the striving and struggling - all the effort and attempts at self-improvement. This verse says we are dead. Dead to our own efforts. We cannot lift a finger to make ourselves any more presentable to God. If we really let that register we will find great relief. Paul says, 'count yourselves dead to sin' (Romans 6:11). In other words, live in the good of the fact that Jesus was crucified on your behalf and that crucifixion actually puts your old self to death. Barclay gives us a helpful illustration. The smell of alcohol provides enormous temptation to any alcoholic. However, you could pour a bottle of spirits over a dead alcoholic and he won't stir! That is how we are to view ourselves - dead to sin - and then we are free to live the life of Christ.
When Jesus died and rose again, he did so on our behalf. Because we are 'in Christ' all that he did counts for us. May God help us to believe, and live in, that truth.
When Jesus died and rose again, he did so on our behalf. Because we are 'in Christ' all that he did counts for us. May God help us to believe, and live in, that truth.
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