The Daily Memo

If then you are wise, you will show yourself rather as a reservoir than as a canal. A canal spreads abroad water as it receives it, but a reservoir waits until it is filled before overflowing, and thus without loss to itself [it shares] its superabundant water. (Bernard of Clairvaux) A beautiful picture. The canal runs dry so quickly, shortly after the rains subside. Like a dry streambed in the desert. But a reservoir is a vast and deep reserve of life. We are called to…

A one-year-old boy shattered his back falling down a flight of stairs. He spent his childhood and youth in and out of hospital. Gavin Read, the former Bishop of Maidstone, interviewed him in church. The boy remarked, ‘God is fair.’ Gavin asked, ‘How old are you?’ ‘Seventeen,’ the boy replied. ‘How many years have you spent in hospital?’ The boy answered, ‘Thirteen years.’ Gavin asked, ‘Do you think that is fair?;…

Why did Nicodemus visit Jesus at night? Fear of what his peers would do if they found out. He wasn’t alone in this; John says that “many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue” (John 12:42). They chose job security over Jesus. This fear is a mighty powerful force. The fear of man. Peer pressure. What will others think? This can get deadly. This…

In 1947, a young New Yorker named Glen Chambers had a lifelong dream to work for God in Ecuador. At the airport on the day of departure, he wanted to send a note to his mother but he didn’t have time to buy a card. He noticed a piece of paper on the terminal floor and picked it up. It turned out to be an advertisement with ‘*Why*?’ spread across it. He scribbled his note around the word ‘Why?’ and put it in the post box. That night his airplane…

Do we expect God to come to us with His blessings and save us? He says, “Look to Me, and be saved….” The greatest difficulty spiritually is to concentrate on God, and His blessings are what make it so difficult. Troubles almost always make us look to God, but His blessings tend to divert our attention elsewhere. The basic lesson of the Sermon on the Mount is to narrow all your interests until your mind, heart, and body are focused on Jesus Christ. &ldquo…

In 1952, in an effort to prevent clumsy or careless people from breaking items in a shop, a Miami Beach storeowner posted a sign that read: “You break it, you buy it.” The catchy phrase served as a warning to shoppers. This type of sign can now be seen in many boutiques. Ironically, a different sign might be placed in a real potter’s shop. It would say: “If you break it, we’ll make it into something better.” And that’s exactly what&rsquo…

What is my purpose in life? Many people today are asking that question, but only those who have trusted Christ as Savior and Lord can ever discover the true answer. Our salvation is an act of God, and now we’re His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to accomplish what He has prepared for us to do. That is our purpose in life, and it has three components. Sanctification is simply ongoing growth in holiness. As we cooperate with the Holy Spirit’s work in our,…

True transformation cannot be forced from the outside. It’s an inside-out process. Who of us has not received or created a list of ways to live, eat, exercise, respond, seek God, grow, and change—and how long did it last, if it worked at all? Those lists don’t work very long for anyone, and so we fall back into self-contempt. The problem does not lie with our lack of discipline. The problem is in the approach. The problem lies with the lists… A list…

Spiritual discernment develops progressively over time. The Lord doesn’t simply pour knowledge into our head after we’re saved. It’s important to regularly seek His will and study the Word in order to know Him better. We should also ask the Holy Spirit to help us understand Scripture and obey what it says. The church is another avenue of instruction. As the Bible is taught and explained, we gain a foundation of truth on which to build our life. But let&rsquo…