Last year I participated in a prayer challenge online. The lady leading it shared this quote with us:
"People do not drift toward holiness. Apart from grace-driven effort, people do not gravitate toward godliness, prayer, obedience to Scripture, faith and delight in the Lord. We drift toward compromise and call it tolerance; we drift toward disobedience and call it freedom; we drift toward superstition and call it faith. We cherish the indiscipline of lost self-control and call it relaxation; we slouch toward prayerlessness and delude ourselves into thinking we have escaped legalism; we slide toward godlessness and convince ourselves we have been liberated." D.A. Carson
I thought it was so powerful and such an encouragement to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling." (Philippians 2:12) I hope that this will encourage you as you work to memorize your verses this year.
Thankfully, as we "work out our salvation," it's still all grace and that's the basis of our assurance. In that vein, here's my verse:
Megan L. from San Marcos "Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." Hebrews 10:22 NIVCan't wait to read yours...
20 comments:
Wow, Megan! What a great quote! My son Dean and I went to a seminar on self-discipline tonight, so the D.A. Carson quote is very timely.
[I am tempted to do my Amy's verse from a couple times ago, Phil. 3:13 on "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead." Because I really need to do just that.]
BUT, I am going to stick to my plan of starting on getting to know the Proverbs 31 woman better: "an excellent wife/The Woman Who Fears the Lord," the "Virtuous Wife," the "Wife of Noble Character," a "virtuous woman," or a "Worthy Woman" -- depending on the Bible version.
Now she is a woman who knows about self-discipline!
"A wife of noble character who can find?
She is worth far more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her
and lacks nothing of value.
She brings him good, not harm,
all the days of her life."
Proverbs 31:10-12 (ESV)
Katy W., Carlsbad, CA
Ginny D from Carlsbad
John 1:3-5 NIV
Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.
In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Lynette Cooper from Fallbrook, CA
Who can find a virtuous woman? For her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
Proverbs 31:10-12 KJV
I am going with the same verses as Katy W. :)
I am in some serious need of being a better wife! Thanks KATY for doing these verses also! I pray that God gives me the grace, strength, and will to eventually become the woman in these verses:)
Megan I LOVE the quote you posted! Very encouraging:) thank you!
Cari (South Carolina)
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
(Micah 6:8 ESV)
Jenny A ~ Fallbrook, CA
"We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you."
Ps 33:20-22
I came across this passage this week and was struck by the way it spoke to several of our current situations. Work, housing, and family planning are all things on my mind these days. I love that it says he is our HELP and our SHIELD. Helping us if it's the right thing, shielding us if it's wrong :)
Belinda Escondido, CA
"But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life" Titus 3:4-7
Natalie (Pittsburgh): He said: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." Matthew 5:3-6
I'm continuing to memorize a portion of the Sermon on the Mount. Thanks Megan for your encouragement!
Gabrielle (Yorktown, Virginia):
I trust you to save me, LORD God, and I won't be afraid. My power and my strength come from you, and you have saved me." Isaiah 12:2
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. Col 3:23
Haley in San Antonio, back after a brief fall off the wagon during the Leap Day Flu. :)
Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself. (NIV)
I know we are going to be on a trip on April 1, and I want to memorize a group of several verses that follow this one, so I am going to go ahead and commit that I'll be hanging out in Philippians 2: 4-8 for a while, one or two verses at a time. I think it might help me to have a next verse already picked out.
Janaye Hanaoka
TOrrance CA
I slacked last post so I decided tp stick with a shorter, yet meaningful verse this time. I liked Joy's:
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. Col 3:23
Deb from Ohio
first John 1:9
Esv
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Sarah V from Escondido
Finishing up 1 Timothy.
1 Timothy 1:17:
Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God be honor and glory forever and ever, Amen.
Edie G from Albuquerque:
I keep posting later and later! At least I remember at some point!!
"He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty." Psalm 91:1 (NIV)
Mindy M, Escondido
Sorry I'm a little late, so busy packing and moving I completely forgot to add my verse!
Psalm 103:1-2 (ESV)
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
Jill Leonard from Beaumont:
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Colossians 3:13, NIV
Danae L., Escondido:
"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.
O, Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.
He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins." Psalm 130:5-8, NIV
We are memorizing this as a church. These last four verses of this Psalm are on the plan for the next two weeks so I decided to finish out the Psalm as my memory work for the next couple weeks to make sure that I am memorizing it as I should be.
Karen K. from Carlsbad:
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (NKJV)
I love the words of this famous beginning of the book of John. It is so profound! I am trying to memorize the 'classics'.
I also love the quote that you used Megan. It is just as good as the lines in Peace Like A River!
Better late than never? I'm following along, I just forgot to post. :)
Psalm 130:3-4 "If you, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared."
Amy W., Carlsbad, CA
Amy DID tell her mother her what Amy's Verse 6 was at the beginning of the time period, but Amy's ditzy mother forgot to post it and now forgets what Amy told her. So, just in case Megan closes the comments postings to this verse before I can find out again what Amy's verse is, I thought I get that out there. ;-)
(How's that for confusing?)
New comments are not allowed.