The Daily Memo

However strong a castle may be, if a treacherous party resides inside (ready to betray at the first opportunity possible), the castle cannot be kept safe from the enemy. Traitors occupy our own hearts, ready to side with every temptation and to surrender to them all. (John Owen, Sin and Temptation) Ever since that fateful day when Adam gave away the essence of his strength, men have struggled with a part of themselves that is ready at the drop of a hat to do the same. We don&rsquo…

Rest sounds easy, but sometimes it may require supernatural strength. Our natural tendency is to scramble, fret, and push our agenda, and those habits turn our mind away from delight and trust in the Lord. The stronger our desire is, the shorter our fuse. Sometimes we may even try to give God a timetable, but true rest occurs on His schedule. Only He understands every circumstance and knows the precise moment when answering our prayer is best.  So, the basic tenets of…

The human soul is a place of profound mysteries. God is a person of infinite creativity. He can do this any way he wants. Sometimes he goes straight for the wound or the brokenness. Having had that healed, we find it far easier to resist the enemy and renounce our sins. Sometimes it requires binding the enemy first, simply so we can think clearly enough to do the repenting and find the healing we need. This is an outline to the process whereby we become holy in his name.…

“The ball is, as it were, in our court. God has invaded human history and reality. Jesus Christ has died on our behalf, is risen, and is now supervising events on earth toward an end that he will certainly bring to pass, to the glory of God. The issue now concerns what we will do.” - Dallas Willard, from Renovation of the Heart. Everyone gets a spiritual formation. Whether good or bad, from our parents or simply our experiences in the world, we all get one.…

I was reading an article written by an acquaintance of mine. He makes a great point. God-given creativity doesn’t rely on past formulas or man-made rules. Yet there’s something in us that wants consistent, guaranteed results. And if there’s a proven shortcut that promises to get us there even faster, all the better. Except that’s not how God designed the process to work. I find myself looking for shortcuts to results that can only come over time.…

“The tent is tired!” Those were the words of my friend Paul, who pastors a church in Nairobi, Kenya. Since 2015, the congregation has worshiped in a tentlike structure. Now, Paul writes, “Our tent is worn out and it is leaking when it rains.” My friend’s words about their tent’s structural weaknesses remind us of the apostle Paul’s words regarding the frailty of our human existence. “Outwardly we are wasting away . . . . While…

It is a stark reality, isn’t it? Whether intentionally or unintentionally—and “even if we deny it”— our spirits have been formed by a lifetime of experiences, choices, and interactions. We have become a certain type of person. In many cases, the influences of this world have shaped our personality and character without our direct forethought or intention, in ways that leave us broken, wilting, and in desperate need of transformation into Christ&rsquo…

Did you ever think about who you’d like to meet in Heaven, other than Jesus? Some of the characters in the Bible will be fascinating to hang out with and grab a cup of coffee, even though I don’t drink coffee. Imagine sitting down with Noah to ask how he wrangled all the animals and got them on the ark before it started raining. Or Moses to share what it was like walking through the Red Sea on dry land. Then there’s Joseph, and David, and Peter, and Paul,…

There are nine gifts, but one fruit of the Spirit. It’s interesting because Paul doesn’t call it nine fruits of the Spirit, but he names nine characteristics and calls them the fruit. Compare that with the works of the flesh (plural) and the fruit of the Spirit (singular). These nine character qualities of the Holy Spirit develop at the same time. This fruit is what He produces. In our own strength, we can work on one trait of the fruit of the Spirit at the…