MARANATHA MESSENGER. How To Memorize The Word Of God Meaningfully

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1 MARANATHA MESSENGER Weekly Newsletter of Private Circulation Only MARANATHA BIBLE-PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 2 October 2011 Present every man perfect in Christ Jesus (Colossians 1:28) Address: 63 Cranwell Road, Singapore Tel: (65) Fax: (65) maranatha.bpc@pacific.net.sg Website: Sunday School: 9.45 am Sunday English Worship Service: am Sunday Chinese Worship Service: 6.30 pm Wednesday Prayer Meeting: 8.00 pm Pastor: Rev. Dr. Jack Sin (HP: ) How To Memorize The Word Of God Meaningfully Introduction Psalm 119:11 says, Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. We have a memory verse system in our church every Sunday morning. It is a great joy to study, read, hear, know and meditate and memorise the word of God as we do in remembering formulas and phone numbers and others in our daily lives. Firstly, select the verse of Scripture (or in a series to a theme) you wish to memorize and consider the following steps : 1. Read the verse over and over again in the King James Version. Read it over a few times each day while you are learning it and for some time afterwards. Read it carefully and slowly, and consider each word, and understand it and write it down in a booklet or a card. 2. You memorise better when you understand. Do a Bible study on the verse you are memorizing. Use a good resource book or a commentary or a concordance and look up on certain words that you have and read up on the meaning of the verse to. Make sure that you have a reasonable understanding of what the verse means the context. 3. From your research and study, write out a brief outline of the meaning of the verse. 4. Break up the verse into several logical segments an do it one part at a time. 5. Write the verse on a piece of paper or card / notebook and consider the key words that will help you in remembering the whole verse. 6. Start memorizing the entire verse, starting with the part and so on and the reference as well. 7. Recite the entire verse aloud in an enthusiastic voice. Recite it aloud to another person too and check if you get it perfect. 8. Take time to meditate on each portion and consider what your response to it should be and do this regularly. Repeat this procedure until you know the whole verse. 9. Rehearse these steps above all over again for the next verse. Repetition is the key to knowing it well. 2 Timothy 2:15 says, Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. This discipline requires determination hard work but it is worth it all. There are many benefits of memorising God s words. One of them is the ability to use it at the right time especially in witnessing, counseling and teaching and be able to exhort one another. It gives you a broad knowledge of the truths of scripture in your mind and it is needful for victorious spiritual warfare. Remember our Lord quoted from the Old Testament from His memory and defeated Satan (Mt 4:1-11). It is also a comfort to our souls when we remember God s word in times of distress. It is important for all Christians to try to memorize scripture for his own spiritual well being, service and effectual use one day. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly 1

2 furnished unto all good works. It is vital to have a well-rounded understanding of the word of God as it is foundational to future spiritual growth and to be able to help others as well in doing the same. Conclusion Let us make a conscious effort to memorise God s word as a church family. The secret is the recite, review and repeat and then it will be lodged in our hearts. Finally, Jeremiah 15:16 says, Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. Jack Sin Introduction The Money Mentor Getting to grips with your Finances This book The Money Mentor, takes a look at how the Christians, who are to be light of the world, and who being in the world, can be tempted, drawn and sucked into an economic system of material wealth creation and worldly and fleshly enjoyment. But being truly regenerate Christians, we are to take up the cross and follow Christ and this means understanding that money can be a big barrier in our relationship with God. We desperately need God s guidance and the power of his spirit in leading us in the use of money. Whether we are in financial trouble or not, it hopes to help us to live to please God in the way that we handle money. We might want to start off with some of these questions : Who has the right to decide what I do with my money? If I am sinful as the bible says I am, can I trust my own heart not to deceive me? What would God want me to live for? What does it mean practically to follow Jesus wholeheartedly and waiting for His return? These questions will help us to discern a set of biblical principles and priorities God has for us. We are also to note that it is one thing to ask what does the bible say and another thing to do what we are told. This book is about taking a step-by-step look at how to control our finances, including planning and taking practical measures to make that plan work. God wants us to honour Him in our day-to-day decisions that cumulatively make up a life that is loving and pleasing Him. This book aims to help the readers to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength (Mark 12:30) in the area of money. The Present World We live in an era where industries sprung up to serve the wealthier generation : industries in recreation, holidays, clothing and technologies. Many provide for our needs but even more were created to serving our wants. Consider these : - Advertising thrives on instilling discontentment leading to us wanting more than what we need 2

3 - Credit cards make us spend more than what we can afford, spend faster than we earn and spend more readily as we do not really feel it compared to paying by cash. The whole world economy is about getting us to be obsessed about making money. Whatever our financial situation is, we want to get there because we are tempted by the world to be there. Jeremiah 17:9, The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? The heart longs for and desires all these created things and in so doing is rebellious against God. As Christians, we need to start off on a journey that is in the right direction and we need to be persuaded that God is absolutely right if we are really going to change. If we do not believe that God has spoken definitively in the Bible, then our hearts will always lead us to find a different path from that which he commands. We need to ask God to act to change our desires and beliefs, so that when our hearts try to deceive us, God will come back and lead us Money cannot buy happiness Let us consider the following : Ecclesiastes 5:10, He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. Most of us would agree that money cannot buy happiness. The fact is we cannot find enduring happiness in money. To ask money to satisfy the soul is to ask it to do something that it was never created for. As the Lord in Mark 8:36-38 say, For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. So how can we be content and happy? Seeing that the things on earth and happiness do not last, it is painfully obvious that the only thing worth pursuing is living with Jesus with eternity in view this leads us to the first biblical principle : Bible Principle 1 : We Are To Live for God Living for God means having a certain direction and purpose that governs every choice we make. What we do with our money will be controlled to some extent by whether we have our eyes fixed on the future. So what really matters? Philippians 3:12-14 stress on pressing onwards in Christ. Paul is single-minded about going to be with Jesus. He makes use of his status and privileges to preach Christ and to save some. In Philippians 3:17, he calls on all Christians to do the same as he did. The bible tells us that we can build a treasure trove of good things for ourselves in heaven, or we can choose to build one here which will rust away. Matthew 6:20-21, But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The bible does not allow us to do both, so this means that we have to be godly with our money now. 3

4 What is Money? Money is really what we get back in exchange for our time and skills for employment. It is a measure of the value of our time. In a sense, when we spend money, we are really spending ourselves, the part of our lives that we spend acquiring that money. Think about it it is an end in itself. We are to glorify God and to serve Him first. So what principle ought to govern our use of time, money and energy if we are going to live for God? The next principle is helpful. Bible Principle 2 : God Owns Everything Genesis 1:1, In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Since God made everything, it belongs to him. We Christians are therefore not free to make up our own ways of thinking and living. He own everything and we ought to submit to his rule. Indeed, discipleship starts when we give up our rights to control those things that belong to God. We are stewards, not owners of what we have. Luke 14:33, So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. The things that dominate our use of time and money reflect the things that dominate our hearts and show us where we will spend eternity. When Jesus returns to judge the world, he will bring with him the kingdom in which all his people will enjoy him forever. As we wait for that day, we are to live with him our king, making all decisions based on his priorities for our lives. Mark 12:30-31 gives us these two broad priorities governing our lives : - To love the Lord with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength and to love thy neighbour as thyself. Following these two broad priorities, we can further breakdown the order of priorities which are; God first, then self, family, local church, global church, and the world. It only makes sense that the first thing to sort out is our own relationship with God. We are to deal with sin in our lives, i.e. the sin of covetousness and desire for wealth, worldly success and fame. We are to honour God (Jos 1:8 and Jer 45:5 and 1Jn2:15-17). Joshua 1:8 stresses the importance of meditation of God s word first and not self. Jeremiah 45:5, And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the LORD: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest. 1 John 2:15-17 remind us to live for the Lord and not the world. We are to be reminded not to be led into the temptations of the world and be conformed to the world for it is temporal and it will pass away. It is through the renewing of the mind that we may obey the will of God. Philippians 4:8 gives us a edifying think first. 2 Corinthians 10:5 reminds us to discipline our thoughts and live to honour Christ. It is only when our relationship with God is right that we are able to serve others in a sacrificial way. 4

5 We are to care for our family in areas such as family worship, prayers and how we spend the Sabbath day. Isaiah 58:13 says, If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Family here also includes the extended household i.e. maids, in-laws and parents. The local church we should want to do everything we can to encourage our minister to keep preaching Christ (Col 1:28). Giving to the Lord our time, substance and talents with love and gratitude is itself an act of worship. It makes sense then to strengthen the ministry in our local church with proper stewardship of our time, energy and money to God s glory. The Global Church which are missionaries and support mission church. Acts 11:29-30, Then the disciples, every man according to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judaea: 30 Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul. We also want to care for the souls of world in need and this is not restricted to believers but also non-believers around us (remembering their greatest need is knowing Jesus as their Saviour). The more we appreciate the goodness and generosity of God to us, the more willing we will be to give freely to Him from all that we already have. This brings us to the next principle : Bible Principle 3 : Be like Your Father in Heaven - Generous 2 Corinthians 9:8, And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: Paul uses the word all to highlight that our God is so generous that there is never a time his generosity is not poured out to us. Having this great sufficiency, we too can abound in our good works poured out to others. We are to be generous to give to God as our Father in heaven is generous to us. Let us now look at the current situation on where we are now and see how we can apply some godly wisdom to guide our expenses. We can start by dividing expenditures into five categories : Fixed necessary expenditure Flexible necessary expenditure Long term financial planning Giving / Tithing to God regularly Variable discretionary This makes the list shorter and is easier to grasp the expenditure. Each category also relates to specific priorities. Fixed necessary expenditure - Is what is needed to survive, e.g. roof over our head, food, clothes, utilities, taxes 5

6 - Support our parents - Is fairly predictable - Necessary to lead a normal life - Need to remember that these are what is needed, not what is wanted - We need to manage the cost by searching for the most competitive price Flexible necessary expenditure that may be changing from month to month Long-term financial planning - Retirement planning - Children s education - What are the likely big costs over the next 5-10 years and the longer term? Giving / Tithing 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. - Christian giving should be joyful and sacrificial. It flows from a regenerate heart out of the love for fellow Christians. It is the spirit of Christ that empower us to be generous and joyful - The writer suggested giving in two forms that we commit to in advance in our regular tithing and that we make out of our remaining income and as the need arises - Giving to support local church ministries, missionaries and mission organization with special needs Variable discretionary expenditure - Do not need to spend it in order to survive - Anniversaries, celebration, recreation - We need to exercise more control in this area. - Not necessary to live a purposeful life The next thing we can do is to understand what our lives as Christian should be? Using the category expenditure, we might want to list down what we think we spend on each category in a month. We might really get a big surprise that we really do not know where we spend and what we spend on. This state of expenditure brings us to the next principle. Bible Principle 4 : The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things, so Do not Trust It By doing the exercise of what we think we spend and comparing with what we actually spend, we will start to notice the difference and it is here that the heart is deceiving us. This will allow us to see what our lives look like are we living a God-centred or self-centred life? The chances are that we in the latter. Are our big decisions being governed by God and his purposes, or by our own selfish decisions? Do we pray and seek God s will? In Galatians 5, Paul s view is that if we are Christian, we have a conflict going within us: our sinful nature and desires to live apart from God s will. At the same time, we have a set of desires that come from God himself by his Spirit Galatians 5:17, For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But we have the power of the Holy Spirit to see the change in us. It is in our new nature as Christians to be loving, joyful, patient and so on. 6

7 Christians have the resources to change, to live generously, because we believe in a generous God who has already secured for us the place of perfect blessing. There is nothing in this life that can come close to what God has secured for us by the death and resurrection of Jesus. But the change in the heart will only happen if we are converted and continue to believe the gospel and be a true disciple of Christ. This leads us to the fifth principle. Bible Principle 5 : Real Change flows from a firm Grasp of the Gospel by the Spirit Having this as our motivation, we need to think through how we are going to change. The first thing that we need to do is to plan for God - to fail to plan is to plan to fail. Before we can really do that, we need to have a clear idea of what our current habits are. If you have been keeping records of your spending, this is a good start, if not start now. The author recommends planning for a whole year and to consider : - One-off item e.g. holidays - Particular events e.g. birthdays, Christmas - Unpredictable event, e.g. changing spectacles Just like is any company accounts, we also need to understand that having cash is key. For some, it is spend first before the salary comes in, so we need to build up cash instead of being in debt. The next thing is to have savings by changing our spending habits e.g. cut back on food, socializing or purchase of clothes. Must we buy the best all the times? The next step is to consider whether does my spending in each area reflect on having God s priorities? Am I willing to spend on going to church camps, supporting missionaries, missions trips and buying good Christian books for my children? Fixed Necessary expenses - Have you included one-off such as insurance - Savings on renting if you are moving house Flexible necessary expenses - Are they really necessary or are they indulgences? Longer term financial planning - Seek advice from Christian financial advisor on what are the best ways to provide for the future Giving / Tithing - What you are giving presently as a guide of 10% given in the Old Testaments and decide how much you want to increase - Principle of tithing 10% to the Lord. Leviticus 27:32, And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD. - Encourage to push the amount higher to honour God for it to have an impact on your life - With pay rise, it is our standard of giving, not just the standard of living that ought to rise as well 7

8 Contingencies - Plan a certain amount for the unforeseen - Set aside pocket money for each partner The author next touched on the benefits of financial planning in the family (the smallest church) and the ministry to the church. Recognise that every parent is a pastor in the home. First and most importantly, the Christian life grounds what we teach in what we do. Second, it fosters a sense of responsibility to God. Knowing the value of money and financial situation helps children to have realistic expectations. Teaching children how to save for something important, how to give to God first, and when it is alright to spend on things they want, are valuable lessons. The question here is what sort of disciples of Jesus do we want to bring up when it comes to money. That should affect how we raise our children in the right way. Jesus taught on the use of money as He knew what a barrier money could be to faith. Matthew 6:24, No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon (money). Here were two possible Gods, which do you choose? Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:10, For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. The bible warns us of money, not because it can be an idol in its own right, but also because the love of it can be the path to other idols. Pleasure, entertainment, power, fame, sex, selfgratification can be bought with money but they do not last. Money is only a means to an end and not the end itself. Conclusion Whether at home with children or in the church, we do well not to hold back, but to teach others to love God first and the wisdom of good stewardship of our services and our accountability to God one day and the nearness of His coming. Ng Thiam Koon from Bangalore Following is the update of the various activities at Covenant : 1. Sunday Service : Since we have started the Christian Education Class on Sunday morning 9.00, the new timing for the morning service is 10am. Over the last few months, the Lord brought few more new friends to our church. One brother, Vincent, has been in search for a Reformed church for many months, and finally, through our website he came to our church. A couple, Pradeep and Angelene, has been in search for a church where expository preaching is there, and they found our church. We thank the Lord for bringing God's people who love God and His Word. For the last few months, we have been studying the Book of Hebrews for the Sunday pulpit and the Lord has richly blessed us as we expound the text week after week. 8

9 2. The newly launched Christian Education Class for the adults and children has been welcomed by the people with much enthusiasm. A good number of them comes in the morning at 9 and study the Word systematically as we go through the Westminster Confession of Faith for the adults, and its lighter version for the children. Both adults and children are asked to memorise the relevant Shorter Catechism Q&A. During the worship service, the little children will have their nursery where they do their work sheet related to the class they learned earlier. 3. Covenant Bible Academy lectures : The last portion of the Systematic Theology, namely the Eschatology, is being studied for this season. Our regular students have been attending and some new ones are also added. 4. Elim Preschool and Daycare centre : Preparations to set up the place for the preschool are progressing. Study materials have been ordered and the first set will arrive early next month and second set will arrive by the middle of next month. We have also finalized the list for the play items and plan to place the order shortly. The carpentary work is progressing, making shelves to place the study materials, children's working tables, cots for the daycare children, etc. 5. Forthcoming missions team's trip and Covenant family and youth retreat : Plans are progressing for the retreat. Many have expressed their desire to come for the retreat. The committee will be meeting this Sunday to finalize the program for the retreat. Thanking you all for your continuous prayers and support for the work of the Lord here. Rev. Dr. George Skariah Covenant BP Church, Bangalore, India (NB. Pray for the mission team of 11 who will meet on 8 October 2011 to plan for the December 2011 mission trip.)

10 Theme for the Quarter : Biblical Directions for Worship, Warfare, Work and Wealth for A Christian Rev. Dr. Bob Phee The Purpose and Principles of Biblical Worship (John 4:22-24) [End of MM] 10