*I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s comments and have been encouraged by those who have come up to me and said this was really helping. If you are using this tool to dive in to the Word how ’bout letting me know even if you aren’t posting anything – that way I can ask you from time to time how things are going and quiz you on your memory verse.Feel free to do the same with me – the whole mutual encouragement thing.

**I’ve also been led to believe that you can’t always access this blog from the Facebook link. If you are having problems with this then you might want to bookmark the blog and then check back every Thursday (www.sreyner.wordpress.com)

Memory Verse for the week: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)

Matthew 5:1-12

¹ Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them.

He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴ Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Things I notice:

The word ‘blessed’ is used 9 times in this passage. The world’s definition of blessed goes something like this: If I am wealthy, if I am successful, if I am beautiful then I am blessed. Jesus turns this upside down. He gives a radically different definition of what it means to be blessed.

What does it mean to be blessed? The Greek word is makarios. It describes the kind of joy that can’t thwarted by the circumstances of life. The kind of joy that is not dependent on financial wealth or good health or a problem free life. It is a joy that is rooted in God and that triumphs in the face of adversity.

What does it mean to be poor in spirit? To realize that we are spiritually bankrupt. To understand that I have absolutely nothing that can help me win God’s favor – that I am totally and completely dependent upon God to find life and joy and strength.

How is it that those who mourn will be comforted? What is it that they are mourning for? Mourning for their sin. There is a genuine sorrow in those who mourn that goes beyond just saying the words “I’m sorry.” There is heart break when one realizes what their sin has done to God and a desperate need to repent and make things right. What father would not wrap his arms around his child and comfort him when he sees this kind of mourning over sin.

How can I develop a “hunger and thirst for righteousness“? I notice about myself that I hunger and thirst for a lot of things. Food! Sleep! Comfort! Sex! Fun! New disc golf discs! Approval! Techie play toys! But  righteousness – not so much. So how can I begin to hunger and thirst for something that really matters? Here are a few thoughts as I’ve pondered this:

• I need to become CONVINCED that righteousness is good for me! It’s kind of like eating more fruits and vegetables. I try to do this because I know that they are good for me. When I become convinced that righteousness is better for me than my unrighteous acts then I will crave them more.
• I need to understand that righteousness is a heart issue and not a “do more good stuff” issue. If I do not desire righteousness then maybe I should examine my heart and deal with its corruption. Example: If I have a clogged artery in my heart the key is NOT to do more exercise – that could kill me. The key is to get the clog cleaned out – and that requires radical and painful surgery. Don’t like the sound of that but the alternative could be devastating as well as deadly.
• I need to learn how to say “NO!” Titus 2:11 tells me that the grace of God teaches me to say NO to ungodliness and worldly passions. But it is up to me to say no when my desires are screaming YES. I think this is where godly friendships can be huge. I absolutely need you guys who are reading this to encourage me to pursue righteousness – because I promise you, even though I am a pastor, I have a very corrupt heart.

I note also that Jesus uses the hope of heaven and FUTURE reward to encourage and motivate His listeners to live faithfully in the present – even in the midst of persecution and mourning and trouble. Like we saw with Paul last week in Ephesians 1 I get the feeling that Heaven and it’s reward is never far from the mind of Jesus. It’s as if He is moving inexorably toward a goal and NOTHING is going to keep Him from getting there. If you are interested in learning more about Heaven and what we can expect, a really good resource I can recommend is the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn as well as his blog.

Next Passage to Ponder: 1 John 1:1-4

Next Memory Verse: 1 John 1:1 “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched – this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.”

For those of you joining me on this adventure in pondering Scripture – glad to have you aboard. I’ve already been energized by you as you have let me know about your desire to participate. Let’s get started.

Ephesians 1:3-14

Memory Verse for the week: Ephesians 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ⁴ For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ⁸ that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹ he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰ to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

¹¹ In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, ¹² in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. ¹³ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴ who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

This is one of the richest passages in Scripture and a great place to start our pondering. It would be very easy for us to spend more than one week on this great passage.

As I pondered this passage here are a few of the things that went through my mind…

v.3 – Paul often seems unable to contain a sense of gratefulness to God and frequently gushes forth verses like this: “Praise be to God…” Question for me: Am I similarly overwhelmed by what God has done for me such that praise is regularly heard coming from my lips? The next few verses outline some of the things that he has done for me:
chose me
loved me
adopted me
redeemed me
forgave me
lavished grace on me
made His will known to me
marked me with His Spirit

Quite a list to praise God for. I note that none of these things have anything to do with “stuff” – material things. They are spiritual blessings – not material blessings.

As I read the passage I note two reasons why God has chosen me: 1) to be holy and blameless in His sight… v.4 and 2) that I might be for the praise of His glory…v.11.
Q: Am I seeking to live a holy and blameless life? What are my unholy sinkholes?
Q: Specifically, what can I point to in my life and say “I know that this brings praise to God?”

This phrase “to the praise of His glory” is used 3x in these verses (6, 12, 14). Me thinks therefore that it might really be important to God that I live “to the praise of His glory.” How am I intentionally doing so?

Paul uses the word “predestined” twice in this passage (5, 11). Predestination is a biblical doctrine but  a lot of people get hung up on the word. Here are a few thoughts about what it means as far as we are concerned:

IF you have put your faith in Christ and believed the gospel, if you know that He is your Savior and that His blood covers your sins, and if your life daily reflects the fact that you are one of His “holy ones”, then you are predestined. You do not have to get hung up on whether you are one of the few that He has  “elected” for His kingdom.

Understanding predestination is like looking at something from 2 completely different angles. From God’s perspective we have been chosen before the beginning of time. From our perspective we made a choice by our own free will to repent and be saved. Predestination and free will are working together not against each other. The Bible affirms both.

Predestination should be a comforting doctrine for the believer not a confusing doctrine. God is in control. Even when it looks like everything is spinning wildly out of control we can be assured that our God is in control and that He “works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will.” (v.11)

For Paul, the future is a powerful motivation for the present. Twice in this passage he talks about the future. V10 – “when the times will have reached their fulfillment,” and v14 – “…our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession.” I’m not sure that we think about Heaven enough and what it is going to be like and how we are going to react when we find ourselves in God’s presence. Perhaps if we did we would live differently.

(Post your comments by clicking on the bubble at the top right. Don’t worry if they overlap with mine. I suspect that often God will be teaching us similar things. I would suggest that you write out your comments BEFORE you read mine and then post them as they are after reading mine. That way mine won’t influence what you write. We are all learning together as we go along.)

Next passage to ponder: Matthew 5:1-12

Next memory verse: Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.”

I’m excited about growing together in the Word with those of you who accepted my challenge from last week.

A few years ago I put some thoughts together from Proverbs 2:1-11  about how to ponder a passage. Here are those thoughts then a few others that will pertain specifically to our challenge. The Scripture says:

¹ My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,
² turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding,
³ and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,
⁴ and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,
⁵ then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.

“Accept” Read the passage slowly 2-3 times. Write down any thoughts that stand out to you. Accept the words from God as a personal message to you.

“Store up” Choose a verse or phrase in the passage to memorize. The key to effective Scripture memory is repetition. Repeat the verse a dozen or more times throughout the day.

“Turn your ear” Listen to what God has to say to you through the passage. Ask God to speak to your heart and to give you ears to hear what He has to say to you. Write down what He tells you.

“Apply your heart” How can you apply the passage to your life? How can you put it into practice? What will you DO as a result of reading God’s Word.

“Call out” Ponder the passage out loud with someone else. Talk about it with a friend or spouse. Ask what their thoughts are on the passage – what God is teaching them through this passage?

“Cry aloud” Pray the Scripture out loud. Turn the passage into a prayer to God.

“Look for it” Meditate on the passage. Think about it in different ways. Chew on the Word as a cow chews it’s cud.

“Search for it” If there are aspects of the passage that you don’t understand, use reference tools to help you… Such as a Bible dictionary, concordance, or commentary.

Now, how to apply this to the challenge I’ve given. A few ideas that may be helpful. This plan assumes that you have 10 or so minutes that you can give each day to be in the Word.

1) On day 1 read the passage through 2-3 times to just familiarize yourself with it. Repeat the memory verse 4-5 times. Write it out and look at it several times during the day.

2) On day 2 read the passage again – write down any things that stand out to you or catch your attention. Write down any questions that pop out at you. Ask God to teach you as you think about His Word. Continue reviewing the memory verse.

3) On day 3 read the passage again – look for things you might have missed. Meditate (think deeply) about what God is saying and how it applies to you. Write out your thoughts. Continue reviewing the memory verse.

4) On day 4 read the passage again. As you read it, turn it into a prayer for God. (Example from Proverbs 2:1 – “Lord, give me the courage to accept your Word as truth and not just read it and do nothing about it.”) Write out your prayer. Continue reviewing the memory verse.

5) Talk to others about what you are learning – ask them what they are learning. Write out what God has shown you. Continue reviewing the memory verse.

6) Post your thoughts on the blog as a comment to my thoughts (which will be posted on Thursday) so that we can learn from each other. Continue reviewing the memory verse.

*** Obviously, if you miss some days then you can combine some of these. Don’t worry about not doing it this way – this is just a few ideas. I promise that most weeks I won’t do it this way. The key is to stay in the Word and keep seeking God. Do that and you WILL grow.

The first passage that we will ponder together is…. Ephesians 1:3-14.

The first memory verse to work on is… Ephesians 1:3

(I will be using the NIV translation in my posts but you use whatever you are comfortable with)

(Look for my thoughts on this passage next Thursday – then add your own)

Ready. Set . Go. Get ready to grow.

I have a strong conviction that the best way to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ – the best way to mature as a believer – is to get to know God better through the reading, studying, and meditating on His Word. I call this “pondering Scripture.”

I would like to invite you to ponder Scripture with me throughout 2011. Here’s the deal…

• Over the course of the year we will look at 40 of the great passages in the New Testament.
• Each week we will ponder a different passage together.
• Each week we will have a memory verse to work on together. Scripture memory is one of the best tools we have to combat sin and to grow in holiness. We need to get in the habit again of hiding God’s Word in our hearts so that we don’t sin against Him.
• Every 4 weeks we will take a break to review  what we have been learning and rehearse our memory verses.
• Each week you will be encouraged to write down what you are learning as you ponder the passage on your own.
• Each Thursday I will post the thoughts that I have as I have pondered the passage.
• You will then be encouraged to add your thoughts to mine so that we can mutually learn from each other.

If you stick with me on this, at the end of one year you will have thoroughly immersed yourself in 40 of the greatest passages of Scripture in the Bible. You will have committed 40 verses to memory. And I dare say that you will have grown much closer to God and to those of us who pursue this challenge together.

In a few days I will post some hints on “How to Ponder a Passage” and reveal the first passage we will look at together. I hope you’ll join me for this great adventure.