The Daily Memo

Billy Graham, the renowned American evangelist, once described his struggle to accept the Bible as completely true. One night as he walked alone in the moonlight at a retreat center in the San Bernardino Mountains, he dropped to his knees and placed his Bible on a tree stump, able only to “stutter” a prayer: “Oh, God! There are many things in this book I do not understand.” By confessing his confusion, Graham said the Holy Spirit finally “freed…

Love God in your suffering. Stay with me now. Your heart is the greatest treasure you have. Without a heart it’s impossible to love, or receive love. Without a heart you can’t possibly dream, hope, laugh, find courage. Without a heart you will never be happy. Your enemy knows this, knows he can use your suffering to both shut your heart down and turn you against God, if only subtly, in doubtful hurt. Listen to me carefully: You must not let him. You must guard…

Many plants and trees go dormant during the cold winter months, but did you know indoor plants also take a rest? This happens because, like all living things, they have a biological clock. They stop growing outwardly in order to return stronger in the spring. Like them, we go through different seasons—plenty and want, joy and sorrow, gain and loss. Ecclesiastes 3:1 tells us, “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven.;…

“Come at once. We have struck a berg.” Those were the first words Harold Cottam, the wireless operator on the RMS Carpathia, received from the sinking RMS Titanic at 12:25 a.m. on April 15, 1912. The Carpathia would be the first ship to the disaster scene, saving 706 lives. In the US Senate hearings days later, the Carpathia’s captain Arthur Rostron testified, “The whole thing was absolutely providential. . . . The wireless operator was in his cabin…

Tomorrow I will be attending the funeral of the most significant individual to ever have come into my life. Better said she brought me into this life. Mom recently celebrated her 100th birthday. It was a great day. Not a day she would have ever predicted seeing. We called her the “energizer bunny”. She kept going and going. Always the one in her personal care home with a smile and a word of encouragement for someone that needed it. She made certain that all…

We need God to help us understand his Word. We can’t separate a walk with God from our reading of Scripture. The two go hand in hand. Like having a tour guide as you wander the halls of the Louvre. “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives…

The Holy Spirit’s presence is essential for the Christian life. Despite our best efforts, we have no ability to produce Christlike character on our own. Although we’ve been declared righteous through faith in Jesus, we still succumb to sin, pressures of the world, and the deceptions and temptations of the devil. Thankfully, we have a resource that is greater than any hindrance—God’s omnipotent, indwelling Spirit. He continually works to transform us…

How do we pray for guidance? First off, do whatever you can to reduce the pressure. Pressure is a killer; it nearly always gets in the way of hearing from God. As best you can, lay down the pressure as you seek guidance. Drama never helps; stress never helps. Give the search some breathing room. Take a deep breath yourself. Second, be open to whatever it may be that God has to say to you. If you are, in truth, only open to hearing one answer from God—yes, you should…

We all have a way that we do life. We might call it our personality, or our natural bent—the way we handle pressure, the way we listen, the way we look for happiness, the way we control our world. We didn’t sit down one day and willfully choose to adopt it but it remains a choice nonetheless. Call it your style of relating. It is a carefully crafted approach to life—and especially to relationship—that colors the way we work and the way we love and…