Let the thought of God allure thee

Lately I have been reading The Pursuit of God. I’m not familiar with the author, though I do recognize his name. I don’t yet have any comments on the devotionals themselves, but I have discovered that I rather like 18th century Christian poetry.

Tis not enough to save our souls,
To shun the eternal fires;
The thought of God will rouse the heart
To more sublime desires.

How little of that road, my soul!
How little has thou gone!
Take heart, and let the thought of God
Allure thee further on.

-Frederick W. Faber
Beautiful!

Do you have a favorite poet? Now I want to browse my library to see if I can find some poetry compilations.

This week’s memory text

I’m excited to memorize this text. I think it’s extremely applicable to any stage of life.

Thus says the Lord,
‘Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths,
Where the good way is, and walk in it;
And you will find rest for your souls.’

Jeremiah 6:16, NASB

I want to know where the good way is, to walk in it, and find rest. God is good!

Memory Work

I really enjoyed learning Psalm 16. It was such a blessing to concentrate on a psalm of praise and prayer to God. I wasn’t sure which chapter I wanted to start on next until I came across this verse in the last novel I finished.

I sought the Lord, and he heard me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
They looked unto him, and were lightened:
and their faces were not ashamed.”

This verse is part of Psalm 34 and the entire Psalm is beautiful. This week I’ll start memorizing verses 1 and 2.

I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul shall make its boast in the Lord;
The humble shall hear of it and be glad.

I will bless the Lord at all times. He has guided me so much these past few weeks and I am continually reminded to lean on Him.

Have you been blessed by a particular verse lately?

“Go forward,” says the Lord!

It seems God keeps putting reassurances in front of me that we are meant to step forward in faith and pursue adoption. Yesterday, the pastor mistyped a slide in his Powerpoint, accidentally listing Titus 2:4 as his Scripture text. He didn’t realize the mistake until someone stood up and read the text during the service.

that they admonish the young women to love their husbands,
to love their children

The congregation laughed but I smiled. The pastor could have typed Titus 1:4 or 3:4 or 4:4 or any other combination of numbers. But, he mistyped and had a text read aloud that reinforces God’s calling for my life right now.

Then I open up Bible Gateway to copy the verse from Titus and find today’s Scripture reading:

As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

Psalm 18:30

Thank you, Lord! We’re stepping out in faith that this adoption is Your will for us!

Psalm 16

This week I finish up Psalm 16! This is the first Psalm I will have memorized in its entirety. It’s such a beautiful Psalm.

Preserve me, O God, for in You I put my trust.

O my soul, you have said to the Lord,
“You are my Lord,
My goodness is nothing apart from You.”
As for the saints who are on the earth,
“They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”

Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god;
Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer,
Nor take up their names on my lips.

O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You maintain my lot.
The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Yes, I have a good inheritance.

I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;
My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
I have set the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will rest in hope.
For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 16 – almost complete!

This week I’m going to add Psalm 16 verses 7 and 8 to my memory work. Only three more verses after this!

I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;
My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
I have set the Lord always before me;
Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

I think it’s awesome that these verses come during a time where we are desperately seeking the Lord’s counsel. I keep begging God for guidance and am not yet certain what His will is for us.

“My heart also instructs me in the night seasons.” What do you think this means? That we can find guidance in our dreams? I don’t usually trust my dreams as they don’t always seem grounded in reality. Maybe I should be praying that God will also instruct me in the night seasons.

He delights in me. Really!

I really like memorizing a passage instead of a single verse. So far I’ve memorized Psalm 16:1-4. This week I’m adding verses five and six.

O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;
You maintain my lot.

The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Yes, I have a good inheritance.

I can be mighty grumpy sometimes. I shouldn’t be. The Lord truly has given me a good inheritance. I have a roof over my head, food on my table, money enough to pay the bills, a beloved husband, and most important of all, a Heavenly Father who delights in me. HE delights in ME. Such a profound thought and I forget way too often.

This week’s memory text

Last week I memorized Psalm 16:1-2. This week I want to add verses 3 and 4.

As for the saints who are on the earth,
“They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.”

Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god;
Their drink offerings of blood I will not offer,
Nor take up their names on my lips.

Verse four is really sad… “their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god.” May I never hasten after another god. I want it to be said of me, “[she is] the excellent one, in whom is all my delight.”

This week’s memory text

I want to return to memorizing Scripture. I do well at it for awhile and then kind of fade out. I’ve been reviewing what I’ve already memorized but haven’t learned anything new in awhile.

This week I want to start memorizing Psalm 16. My goal is to have verses one and two memorized by the end of the week.

Preserve me, O God,
for in You I put my trust.
O my soul, you have said to the Lord,
“You are my Lord,
My goodness is nothing apart from You.”

I’ve been meditating on the Psalms lately and have found some fantastic promises. David experienced so many different things during his lifetime but God was there for all of it! Such blessed assurance.

As patient as Christ…

I love comparing more modern translations with the KJV.

“And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ” (KJV).

I always took this text to mean that we are seeking to understand the love of God and patiently waiting for Christ to return.

The more modern translations have altered my understanding of the text.

“I pray that the Lord will guide you to be as loving as God and as patient as Christ” (CEV).

The NASB translates this verse similarly to the CEV.

“May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ” (NASB).

Dealing with those stubborn, hotheaded, slow-learning disciples day in and day out for three years shows that Jesus has an awful lot of patience! May I become as patient as He is!