Thought I'd already given up, did you? That one week of memory work was enough?
No way. While life never seems to slow down around here, Ann and I are still working on memorizing Philippians. This week's section is Philippians 1:7-11 (ESV).
It's going alright, but the verses are getting a little blurry. I am trying to remember verse numbers with the passages, but I think I'm memorizing it as a section: I can tell you that something is in 7-11, but not if it's 8,9, or 10.
What am I seeing? A couple of things:
1. As frequently emphasized: love with knowledge and discernment. Biblical love, God's love, is not blind. God loves us while we are yet sinners, He loves with full knowledge. Our love should be similar: we know what the objects of our love are not perfect. Discernment comes into helping us know what not to do, what not to allow in our love.
2. Partakers of grace, both in imprisonment and defense and confirmation of the Gospel. That's right: in 3 things that most of us would avoid: prisons, religious debates, and public confrontations. This was where the Philippians had stood with Paul. Yet many of us would avoid all of this. We evade being confrontational in our beliefs, yet that is where Paul and the Philippians cemented their relationship. Not meaning to suggest rudeness, but rather that just because someone objects, we shouldn't cower in fear of discussion.
3. Yearning for friends: There are times when you can take on life without close companionship, but there are times you need people you can count on. It's not weakness, it's normal humanity.
4. As God is my witness---while this phrase gets plenty of mockery, thanks to Scarlett O'Hara, it's still valid: the best witness for your integrity is God Almighty. He sees it anyway. And God is often the only one who can do anything about our situations, so present them to Him.
5. Approving what is excellent means there are things that shouldn't be approved. Am I approving what is excellent?
So, how are you doing with your memorization? If you're not on Philippians, are you trying to memorize any Scripture? If so, how's it going?
If not, join us on Philippians. It's fun. And challenging.
Doug
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