The Daily Memo

Most Americans (80 percent) say they don’t have any dreams, and we can imagine why. Life can suck the dreaming right out of you. The living God wants to pour those dreams back in. Sixteen percent of Americans say they do have dreams, but they don’t write them down. Four percent have dreams and desires, and write them down, but less than 1 percent review and update them on a regular basis.It is the people who allow themselves to dream, who own their dreams, who…

The crucifixion of Jesus is the moment that Jesus’ ministry and the entire biblical story have been building toward. Through His death on the cross, the path is paved for human beings to be rescued from sin and reconciled to God. This is the moment when all of history pivots away from death and destruction and toward resurrection and new creation. Because it was on the cross that Jesus would come into His glory and win the decisive victory over the powers of sin,,…

This is, after all, a love story.
 Why else would love be the deepest yearning of our hearts? Isn’t love the greatest joy of human existence? And the loss of love our greatest sorrow? Do not the two great commands confirm this? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart ... and your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27). Love, for this is your destiny. Love God, and love each other. The banners that fly over God’s kingdom are the banners of love. It&rsquo…

In 1979, archaeologist Gabriel Barkay unearthed two small silver scrolls. It took years to delicately unroll the metal scrolls, and each was found to contain a Hebrew etching of the blessing from Numbers 6:24–26, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” Scholars date the scrolls to the seventh century bc. They’re the oldest known bits of…

Hope is usually defined as a desire for something, accompanied by the anticipation of receiving it. If our expectation isn’t fulfilled, it’s easy to become discouraged. We have an enemy who wants to steal our hope. As the father of lies, Satan tries to keep us focused on our circumstances so we will doubt God’s love and care for us. So at times we may feel desperate and abandoned, but emotions are not reliable. As children of the heavenly Father, we&rsquo…

The Bible is filled with love. It begins with God’s mighty acts of creation—separating light from darkness, filling the firmament, and creating every living thing, including us (Gen. 1:1-31; Gen. 2:1-25). Even after Adam and Eve sinned, divine love never faltered. Instead of eternally condemning His children, God promised salvation (Gen. 3:15; Rom. 16:20). As the story continues, we see love at work as God dwelt with His people in the wilderness, the Promised,…

Are you facing what seems like an insurmountable obstacle? It might be a problem too complex to solve, a task beyond your ability, a sin too tempting to overcome, or a situation over which you have no control. Facing such things can make us feel weak, helpless, and vulnerable. But always remember that we have an almighty God, and nothing is too difficult for Him. Zerubbabel was a Jewish leader who, together with 50,000 of his countrymen, returned to Jerusalem from…

Every day we make decisions – what to wear, what to eat and what to do. There are little decisions and big decisions. Perhaps, for most people, the biggest decisions in life are about relationships, marriage (whether to marry and whom to marry) and work. But these decisions pale into insignificance beside the great decision. The great decision is how you respond to God. Bernard Levin, perhaps the most influential *Times* columnist of the twentieth century, described…

I was driving last summer with some gals, all of whom are really pretty and slender and smart and have a lot of friends. (So, yeah, intimidating gals.) I risked asking them the question, “Do you feel like you fit in?” Looking at their lives from the outside, I expected their answers to be, “Yes. Sure!” None of them said that. All five, after a lengthy pause and with lowered voices, confessed, “No. I don’t.” Okay, then. The cat&rsquo…