Monday, May 12, 2008

Daily Dose

James 1 has been our daily dose of encouragement in addition to all the other encouragements we've received in the past month.

This is what God commends in James 1:3-8:
"3 Knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."
6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.
7 For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord.
8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways."




Back in August 2007 we began a new "program" of Bible Memory. It is really very simple ... and very powerful - we encourage anyone to give it a try and see for yourself.

The Bible memory program uses only the Bible as a resource - so you needn't spend any extra money. All you do is choose a larger portion of Scripture - we started with Romans 6 - just follow the Lord's leading on choosing a portion.

Then read it out-loud once daily - we read it out-loud together as a family.

Sometime around the third month (for us older folks anyway) perhaps you may begin to recite portions from memory. In approximately 4 months you will have the entire portion committed to memory. Keep with the same portion until it is in your mind and in your heart, until you can recite it "in your sleep".

It only takes about three minutes of your day. We do this first thing when we join together for Family Worship. As we get to know it more,we take turns reciting for memory ... (this Mom & Dad usually need to read it over twice a day - at least some of the days, smile).

This benefits the family as a whole. It is how our three year old twins were able to recite most of Romans 6 and then just before they turned four they were also able to recite Psalm 23. The Psalm is their favorite - they often use it as the Scripture reading when they are playing church.

More than the ability to recite for memory is the life-long impact we know this will have in our hearts and minds - Isaiah 55:11 "So shall My Word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: It shall not return unto Me void, but It shall accomplish that which I please, and It shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent It."

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