Victory is Certain if We Don't Surrender!

I was reading an article by Douglas Wilson in Credenda/Agenda magazine today, and this passage really stood out to me:

The war [between good and evil] can only be won or lost, and the only possible activities are fighting or surrendering. Given that there is only victory or defeat, we take comfort in the fact that a promise (given at the same time the antithesis was declared) said that seed of the serpent would have its head crushed, and the seed of the woman would triumph.

"The only possible activities are fighting or surrendering." This is a very encouraging idea! The idea expressed here, and borne out in Scripture, is that we can only be defeated by Satan if we surrender to him. We can and will lose battles, but as long as we confess, repent, and keeping fighting, we will NEVER lose the war! Praise God, for His mercies are new every morning!

Joy in Obedience

I'm reading through the book of Nehemiah for my personal quiet time, and a few days ago I read chapter 8 - the chapter where Ezra reads the Law to the people. It's a very well-known and helpful passage, but the passage in chapter 8 that comes right after it has some insights to impart as well. It chronicles the Israelites' celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths) as prescribed in the Law. One verse in particular stood out to me as I read it:

17 So the whole assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and sat under the booths; for since the days of Joshua the son of Nun until that day the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very great gladness.

"And there was great gladness." Isn't that interesting? God's people have been rejoicing because the Law has been made clear to them, and their joy and understanding of the law caused them to obey the commands of the Law. When they obeyed, their obedience produced more gladness. This is the way God has created us! When we do His will, when we obey His commands for us, we are glad and joyful. Obedience should not be a burden to us; it should be fulfilling!

~Mac

Hiding It In Your Heart

So much for blogging once a week. Nothing really stood out as something I should blog on, and I guess I fail at finding blogworthy things on a daily basis. Oh well!

Yesterday evening I was at a book study and the discussion turned briefly to Scripture memorization. I think I got a bit of a wakeup call! I do memorize Bible verses - our whole family memorizes a verse every one to two weeks. I just realized that I could and should be doing a lot more memorization on my own. Even though we have easy access to the Bible (right now), there is no substitute for having the Word in your heart, where it can be easily recalled in a discussion, to fight off a temptation, to meditate on, or to aid in making a decision. I believe the more Scripture we truly have in our hearts, the more our lives will reflect that. Plus, there's no telling when the Bible will not be as readily available in printed form, and when that happens, we will wish we had memorized more!

All that to say, I am trying to figure out a plan for memorizing more Scripture. I think I'll start with some of my favorite passages, but I don't want to approach this in a haphazard unstructured way. If any of you have suggestions, categories or lists of verses, or strategies that you use, please comment :-)

~Mac