Month: December 2021

Written on Our Hearts

By Janelle Pollard

Most of my life, I’ve heard that I should be memorizing Scripture. From Bible class teachers, parents, college professors, and more. Some Scriptures you hear and read so much, you don’t have to work to memorize it. You already know it. It’s already written on your heart. And if you’ve used the same Bible for years, you can probably even find exactly which verse you’re looking for not by the book name or chapter, but by the location on the page. There are many places in Scripture that we can find the author encouraging the reader to memorize Scripture. But why? 

“Why is it so important to memorize Scripture if I have access to the Bible at all times?” 

Well, there’s actually more than one answer to that question…

  1. Because God said so. This is one of those answers we probably heard as children. And the principle remains, God is our Father and we must do what He says. Thankfully, the things He says are out of love and give us many blessings. His commands are a blessing! 

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16)

  1. Because of others’ examples:

-Jesus memorized Scripture 

Matthew 21:42- Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

-David memorized Scripture

Psalm 119:11- “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

    3. We don’t know that we will always have easy access to the Bible. 

What if in our lifetime, having a Bible wasn’t legal anymore? Sounds dramatic and probably a little conspiracy theory-ish, but when I was a kid, had you told me that one day, God would be taken out of schools and our country would be run by people who wanted this, I wouldn’t have believed you. But we are living in a world where that is unfortunately becoming the norm. If there is a chance that we could have our Bibles taken and wouldn’t be able to remember what they say without them right in front of us, shouldn’t we be memorizing everything they say and writing them on our hearts so we can always have them as guidance, even if not as physical guides?

  1. That we may not sin against God.

Psalm 37:31 says, “The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.” And in chapter 119:11, the psalmist writes, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” We should meditate on and memorize Scripture so that we won’t sin against God. If His Word is what we think about more often that what we see on TV or on our phones, we will be a lot more aware of our behaviors and our speech, and our character will be more like God’s. 

But how??

Most people say that are not good at memorization. But I bet you would be surprised at how good you could be if you just stuck with it! Here are a few ways you can try for yourself:

  1. Just the first letters

Something that has worked for me is just writing the first letter of each word. 

For example: Using the verse listed above, Ps. 119:11, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you,” we will just take out the first letter of each word:

IHSUYWIMH,TIMNSAY

P119:11

That way, you can have a little help without seeing the whole word! You can write these letters on post-it notes throughout your house and every time you see them, you must recite the verse out loud. I have even written the letters on my hand before so I can practice throughout the day when not at home.

  1. Bible Memory Apps (just search for this and you will find several options!)
  2. Spiral Index Card Notebook– writing is a great way to learn a verse- and you can quiz yourself with this format!
  3. Dry Erase Board– write the verse out and erase one word at a time, seeing how many times you can recite it, as you take away more and more words.

Scripture Memorization doesn’t have to be dull! There are many ways to commit the Bible to memory and you will be blessed for writing it on your heart! 

Share with us what methods you have used to memorize Scripture!

When the Rubber Meets the Road

By Emily Pollard

We’ve all heard the phrase, “When it rains, it pours.” While there are rare occasions that we might get to focus on a single responsibility or situation, most of our time is spent juggling several simultaneously. When one challenge arises, we expect a few more to come knocking. While this can be overwhelming (a feeling Satan just loves for us to have), these are the times in our life when we find out what we’re really made of. When it seems hardest to make a godly decision, when it seems impossible to know the right answer, when you don’t WANT to do the right thing, when the rubber meets the road, your response reveals the contents of your heart. Over the past few weeks, I have seen fellow Christians, young children, and total strangers whose lives have been turned upside down by tragedy, uncertainty, and harm. In moments like these, we must ask ourselves: When the rubber meets the road, who am I? In His word, God tells us how we can know who we truly are. The following questions paired with scripture help us answer this question for ourselves. 

>>When life gets hard what do I cling to for comfort? 

1. Read Numbers 13:25-14:4… After spying out the land of Canaan, fear turned the Israelites’ hearts back towards Egypt. They had finally set their eyes upon the promised land…but it wasn’t that simple. Canaan was filled with bigger, stronger men than the Israelites. Instead of marching forth in faith to overtake the land, the Israelites’ response was to retreat to their past lives in slavery to Egypt. When life gets hard, do I miss my past life without God?

2. Read Psalm 18:29-31…When David was surrounded by adversity, his gut reaction was to cry out to God. David relied solely on the power, perfection, and precepts of God to pull him through. When life gets hard, is turning to Him my gut reaction?

>>How much can my faith take? 

1.     Read Job 2:9…Job’s wife endured suffering and loss alongside Job, but her faith in God had its limits. Faithfulness to God wasn’t worth the pain. When our faith crumbles, our hope is lost along with it. Job’s wife allowed present sorrows to overshadow her trust in God. At what point does life shake my faith? How much can life dish out before my faith in God’s way and word weakens?

2.     Read Job 2:10…Job kept his faith, knowing that hardships are inevitable. God blesses, but He also disciplines those He loves (Heb. 12:6-7).

>>Do I let my own life take away from the good I can do for others? 

1.     Read Phil. 2:3-11… Christ knew the pain, temptation, and ridicule that awaited, yet His heart was not consumed with His own grief. Pain was part of the process. The sole purpose of Jesus’ life was to offer healing, hope, and salvation to others. Our Savior’s earthly hardships never swayed Him from His Heavenly purpose. Do I allow my own stress and difficulties to distract me from lightening the burdens of others?

“Trials teach us what we are; they dig up the soil and let us see what we are made of.”

– Charles Spurgeon

Worry

By Chelsea Pollard

Arthur Somers Roche said, “Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.”

We define worry as: “a state of anxiety and uncertainty over actual or potential problems.”

Anxious, uncertain, concerned. Does that sound familiar? I find it funny that the definition includes not only actual problems, but potential ones! Anxiety can easily get the best of you, and it’s overwhelming. I’d like to take a look at Matthew 6:25-34 and see what Jesus has to say.

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to Him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life? And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”

Jesus uses two examples to show how creation is cared for: birds and flowers. Both are fragile and short lived, but they are still taken care of. The birds are fed and the wildflowers grow beautifully, only to be here for a short time. Why are we worried, when we are more valuable to Him?

Verse 27 stands out to me, “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” We know that worrying doesn’t help a thing, but it seems to difficult to manage. But, why? He’s got us.

In verse 32, Jesus says: “These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.” We shouldn’t let our anxieties control us, because we have Him on our side. We should know, that He knows!

He continues to say in verse 33 that if we focus our energy on His church, His family and align our moral standard with His, He will take care of us.

It’s interesting how we can relax on a plane, but not know the pilot. We step onto a plane with the confidence that the pilot knows what he is doing. The pilot will fly you safely to your destination. Why can’t we relax in life knowing that God is in control? He’s here for you, He loves you and wants you to know that you’re taken care of. It really is a comforting thought, as He is the source of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3). Go to Him with your concerns and once you do, let them go.

We often sing “Bring Christ Your Broken Life” and it serves as a great reminder:

“Bring Him your every care, if great or small. Whatever troubles you – oh, bring it all. Bring Him the haunting fears, the nameless dread. Your heart He will relieve, and lift up your head.”