Find rest, O my soul, in God alone...

Scripture memory for April...

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from him.

He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.
Selah
Psalm 62:5-8

I love it when the writer of the Psalms talks to himself:
“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone…”
That’s kind of the idea behind memorizing Scripture:
– to speak truth to ourselves;
– to speak encouragement to our own souls;
– to remind ourselves of God’s love and faithfulness.

I love the way The Message translation phrases part of this:

“He's solid rock under my feet,
breathing room for my soul.”

Anyone need a little breathing room for your soul?
I know I do.

And I know my salvation depends on God, but my pathetic, prideful heart needs the reminder that my honor depends on him, too.

Find rest…O my soul, in God alone.

Inhabiting our praise...

Someone said something in prayer Sunday night that I've heard before, but you know how sometimes it's as though you're hearing something for the first time?

Let me back up:

Sunday night was the annual "Spring Sing" at Temple Baptist Church in Winnsboro, a gathering of choirs from throughout the parish who each sing a couple of songs then we all get together for a song at the end. Our choir has jokingly referred to it as "Battle of the Choirs," but, of course, it is NOT a competition! Our choir also usually complains about anything that requires any kind of extra practice or preparation. Choirs are large and small, young and old, with songs in just about every kind of style - some styles, honestly, I prefer to others.

So Sunday night, one of the pastors (I'm so sorry, I can't remember who it was - update: my friend Jimmy says it was Prentis Gandy - thanks, Jimmy!) prayed the opening prayer, mentioning that God "inhabits the praises of His people."

Wow.

God Himself inhabits the praises of His people.

I've heard it before, but found myself wondering if it was scripture, or just a saying - yep, it's in the Bible - the King James Version:

But thou art holy,

O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

Psalm 22:3

How amazing is that? I found myself moved by each selection, offered sincerely in praise, which God Himself favored with His presence.

Want God to draw near?

Praise Him!

Overwhelmed...

I encourage anyone reading this to click on Beth Moore's blog (there's a link just down and to the right of this post--->) and take a few minutes to watch the short videos on the life of a minister's wife. I sat on my little worn corner of the couch and bawled after reading these raw, honest statements from some amazing, called, Godly women. I immediately turned off my computer, found Loretta, my minister's wife, and just about scared her to death by collapsing into tears while trying to express how much I love and appreciate her! I am crazy about that girl and I don't tell her enough! Seriously, she is amazing, beautiful, funny, super-talented, devoted...and she has really great hair!

When's the last time you let your minister's wife know what she means to you? Or lifted a prayer on her behalf? I encourage you to do it today and I'm pledging anew to pray for and love on my preacher's wife (who also, happily, happens to be my back-door neighbor and dear friend)!

I LOVE YOU, LORETTA!

Devoted...

Sticking with a "love" theme, here's my new memory verse for the last two weeks in March:

"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.
Honor one another above yourselves."

Romans 12:10

The combination of a call to love with the concept of honoring others above myself drew me to this verse. In our study of Esther, we've been looking at the villain's insatiable craving for honor and, honestly, that's made me pretty uncomfortable. I've spent a lot of my life seeking the approval of others - desiring to be honored, admired, held in high esteem. I'm sick of it. I want to seek the approval of God - and be free to honor others -- above, always above, myself.
I love how this verse appears in a couple of other translations:

The Message (v. 9-10):

Love from the center of who you are; don't fake it.
Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good.
Be good friends who love deeply;
practice playing second fiddle.

New Living Translation:

Love each other with genuine affection,
and take delight in honoring each other.

English Standard Version:

Love one another with brotherly affection.
Outdo one another in showing honor.

I love the way the message says "practice playing second fiddle" and the New Living says to "take delight in honoring each other." But my favorite might be the ESV - "outdo one another in showing honor" hits all my over-achiever buttons!

Are you memorizing/meditating on a particular scripture? Hit the comment button and share!

The divine nature...

Something from our homework in last week's Bible study has been rolling around in my head all week and I thought I'd share it. (We're just over halfway through with "Esther - It's Tough Being a Woman by Beth Moore)

"Discontent with selfishness and weary of ego, we finally become willing to lose ourselves in something greater. In doing so, we find Christ as we've never known Him and, there, pooled in the reflection of His eyes, startle to discover that a part of ourselves resembles Him. That, Beloved One, is what happens when human flesh and blood - with all its frailty - participates in the divine nature."

All...

I just noticed something. I've been choosing Scripture to memorize on varying themes -- gentleness, anxiety, coping, and love, to name a few. But there's a common thread through most of them...the repetition of the word "all." Hmmm.

All.

Completely. Fully. Entirely.
Wholly. Absolutely. Utterly.
In every respect. Without reservation.
Without exception.

All grace, all things, all times, to all, transcends all,
all your heart, all your understanding,
all your strength...all.

I think I'm being called out to something here...
and I'm not special or unique.
We're ALL called...
to give ALL,
to accept and give ALL grace,
to love ALL with ALL...

I'm just sayin' is all.

To love...

"To love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding
and with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself
is more important than all burnt offerings
and sacrifices."

Mark 12:33

I've chosen this verse to memorize for the first two weeks of March. I was drawn to Scripture about love for this month, and looked at a lot of them before settling on this one (I love www.biblegateway.com for some key word look-ups!) This particular verse struck me because of the reference to burnt offerings and sacrifices. It reminded me of another verse I've been pondering these days, Galatians 5:6 (from The Message):

"For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion
nor disregard of religion amounts to anything.
What matters is something far more interior:
faith expressed in love."

Many times in my spiritual journey, I think I've substituted activity, religion, "burnt offerings and sacrifices" for love - heartfelt, deep, all-in love. That's how I want to express my faith - in love!

Soften this old, distracted, anxious heart, Lord.
Fill me with Your love!

If you're interested in joining in Scripture memory, click on the comment button and let me know what you're learning! (And if you haven't checked out Beth Moore's blog lately, click on the link at right - LPM Blog - there are around 2000 women memorizing all kinds of Scripture in 2009!)