Keep doing this and blessings will overtake you...

There was a story back in the 1800s about a group of explorers who got lost in the middle of a desert.

After using up their water supply, then began to dig under the sand in hopes of finding water.

But unfortunately none of them were able to find any, and none survived the ordeal.

Several years later, it was found out that there was indeed water just a few feet below the spot where they were digging. If they hadn't given up, they would've been able to drink fresh water to their heart's content.

The same can be said about doing good, particularly in relation to today's Scripture.

Whenever you are struggling with life, or having a bad break at your career, or having a difficult time with a relationship, you are simply experiencing a dry spell.

Don't quit. Dig. Rake in the soil and dig like there's no tomorrow because you never know when the Lord shall shower you with His favor and blessings, whose arrival into your life is only a matter of time.

Keep digging until you tap in to the well of the Lord's goodness!

Are you guilty of this...

A pastor friend recently told the true story of one of his church members, an attorney, who after meditating on several scriptures, decided to cancel the debts of all his clients that had owed him money for more than 6 months.

He drafted a letter explaining his decision and its Biblical basis and sent 17 debt canceling letters via certified mail.

One by one, the letters began to return, unsigned and undelivered.

Perhaps a couple people had moved away though not likely.

16 of the 17 letters came back to him because the clients refused to sign for and open the envelopes fearing that this attorney was suing them for their debts.

How profound! We owe a debt for our sin and God is willing to cancel it but too many people will not even open the letter that explains that.

Are you guilty of not opening your Bible and reading enough of God's Word?

You know that memorizing and meditating scriptures is important, yet, you're still not doing it?

Listen, I know what you feel because I've been there for many years before I made a serious commitment to start memorizing His Words for me to grow spiritually.

This led me to start Memory Delight and start inspiring and teaching believers to start memorizing.

Thousands of lives were changed since then simply by memorizing one Bible verse at a time.

Let me help you and teach you how.

Click here to begin your journey in scripture memorization.

In Him,
Don and Dawn
P.S. One last thing; Thousands of people will receive this email but I know only a fraction of them will take action on their faith and start memorizing Bible verses.

So I'm challenging you to become one of those few who will take action and become a spirit-filled Christian.

What God wanted for you and me...

One time a friend of mine told me a story about how he was walking in the woods situated behind his house.

You see, he lived in the country. He said everywhere he looked he could see trees and dead, dried-up leaves that had covered the forest floor.

He went farther in than he's ever been into these woods before.

He kept walking until he came into a clearing. In the clearing, he saw something that attracted his eyes - a single beautiful, wild flower in the middle of the field.

That's when I realized what God wanted for us, God wants us to be a young blooming flower wherever He had chosen to plant us.

It doesn't mean you will be in one place forever, nor does it mean to always be the same and to never aspire change.

It simply means that God wants you to be the best that you can be in preparation for whatever is in store for you in the near future.

He wishes for you, as a Christian, to be always in full bloom. So do just that, bloom and thrive in whatever situation you find yourself in, and God will find a way to work His blessings into your life.

Inspiring father and son story...

Here's one inspiring story:

A father told the story of his son's first serious conflict at school.
His boy was being picked on by three bullies. They would punch him, push his bike over, and generally made his life miserable.

They told him that they'd meet him the next morning before school and beat him up.

That evening the dad really worked hard to show his son some moves on how to defend himself, passed on a few helpful techniques, and even gave him some tips on how he might win them over as friends.

The next morning, the boy choked back the tears knowing that the inevitable was going to happen. With a reassuring hug, the father smiled confidently and said, "you can do it, son. I know you'll make out all right."

The boy got on his bike and began the lonely, long ride to school.

What the boy didn't know was that every block he rode was under the watchful eye of his dad...who drove his car a safe distance behind, out of sight but ever ready to speed up and assist if the scene became too threatening.

The boy thought he was alone, but he wasn't alone at all. The father was there all the time.

End of story.

It's so reassuring to know that our heavenly Father is always watching us and He knows what's going through in our lives.

But the busyness in this world is trying to take our attention away from God.

That's why we CONSTANTLY need to read, memorize, and meditate His Words.

So take some time now to stop and memorize His Words.

How to Remain Faithful in God While Facing Life Challenges

A certain king needed a faithful servant and had to choose between two candidates for the office.

He hired both at fixed wages and told them to fill a basket with water from a nearby well, saying that he would come in the evening to inspect their work.

After dumping one or two buckets of water into the basket, one of the men said, "What is the good of doing this useless work? As soon as we pour the water in, it runs out the sides."

The other answered, "But we have our wages, haven't we? The purpose is the master's business, not ours. He is a wise King, and must have his own purpose that we do not understand."

"I'm not going to do such fool's work," replied the complainer. Throwing down his bucket, he went away.

The other man continued until he had drained the well. Looking down into it, he saw something shining at the bottom - it was a diamond ring.

"Now I see the use of pouring water into the basket!" he exclaimed. "If the bucket had brought up the ring before the well was dry, it would have been filtered out in the basket. The King was looking for his diamond. Our work was not useless."

The King found his most faithful servant!

The point is, in our lives there undesirable events that happened or will happen and only God knows why.

Regardless, we just need to do what we need to do and remain faithful.

Continue to read your Bible, memorize scriptures, and meditate it.

With scripture memorization, you're disciplining your eyes to focus on God no matter what's happening around you.

So take the time now to memorize at least one Bible verse and develop your faith better.

How to invite miracles to happen

A traveling man came into a hotel to secure a room for the night.

Upon being informed that every room in the building had been taken, he was naturally quite perturbed, until a portly gentleman standing nearby kindly offered to share his room with him.

The offer was thankfully accepted.

Upon retiring, the portly man knelt and prayed, tenderly mentioning his guest for the night in his petition.

In the morning his host informed him that it was his custom to read a portion of the Word of God and pray before taking up the responsibilities of the day.

The effect upon the man was moving; a strange feeling came over him; something had been working in his heart all the night.

When gently pressed by this stranger to accept the Lord Jesus as his personal Savior, his resistance went down in a heap. A soul had been won for Christ!

But who is this humble ambassador of Christ, who so strikingly resembles a member of President Wilson's cabinet?

When business cards were exchanged before parting, to the guest's amazement he read, "William Jennings Bryan, Secretary of State."

You see, by starting your day with God's Word through memorization and meditation, you're inviting amazing and miraculous things to happen around you.

With scripture memorization and meditation, you're basically saying to God..."Oh Lord, please take control of my day today!"

Most Critical Rescue Mission

I once heard a story by Gene Appel.

A family was out vacationing at the lake one summer. Dad had been puttering out by the boat house.

Two of his sons, a 12-year old and a 3-year old were down playing along the dock. The 12 year old was supposed to be watching his little brother, but he got distracted.

The 3 year old, little Billy, thought that would be a good time to check out the shiny aluminum fishing boat tied up at the end of the dock.

So he went to the dock and put one foot on the boat, and one foot on the dock. He lost his balance and fell into the water, which was about 5 or 6 ft deep.

The splash alerted the 12-yr old who let out a piercing scream. Dad came running from the boat house, jumped into the water, swam down, but unable to see anything, came up for air.

Sick with panic, he went right back down into this murky water, and began to feel everywhere around the bottom. He couldn't feel anything.

Finally, on his way up, he felt little Billy's arms locked in a death grip on one of the posts of the dock, about 4 ft under water.

Prying the boy's fingers loose, they burst up together thru the surface to fill their lungs with life giving air.

Finally when the adrenaline had stopped surging, and nerves had calmed down a little bit, the Father asked his son, "What on earth were you doing down there hanging onto the post so far under the water?"

And little Billy's answer was a classic, laced with the wisdom only a toddler could give. He said, "I was just waiting for you dad. Just waiting for you."

My friend, 2000 yrs ago, the God of the universe left the glory and the splendor of heaven, a place where there was no pain and no sickness, no accidents, no hurt, and no death.

And he plunged into this dark, murky world on a rescue mission, a rescue mission for...

...All of us who are drowning.
...All of us who are barely hanging on.
...All of us who are lost in the darkness.

Don't let the busyness of this world overwhelm you that you've forgotten how much God loves you.

Take scripture memorization and meditation seriously.
This is one way to remind yourself daily that He gave His Son to rescue you.

So get in a habit of memorizing and meditating scriptures and never again forget God's most critical rescue mission.

How to brake spiritual poverty?

Dr. Bill Bright of Campus Crusade for Christ tells this story of a famous oil field called Yates Pool:

During the depression this field was a sheep ranch owned by a man named Yates. Mr. Yates wasn't able to make enough on his ranching operation to pay the principal and interest on the mortgage, so he was in danger of losing his ranch.

With little money for clothes or food, his family (like many others) had to live on government subsidy.

Day after day, as he grazed his sheep over those rolling West Texas hills, he was no doubt greatly troubled about how he would pay his bills.

Then a seismographic crew from an oil company came into the area and told him there might be oil on his land. They asked permission to drill a wildcat well, and he signed a lease contract.

At 1,115 feet they struck a huge oil reserve. The first well came in at 80,000 barrels a day. Many subsequent wells were more than twice as large.

In fact, 30 years after the discovery, a government test of one of the wells showed it still had the potential flow of 125,000 barrels of oil a day.

And Mr. Yates owned it all.

The day he purchased the land he had received the oil and mineral rights. Yet, he'd been living on relief.

A multimillionaire living in poverty.

The problem? He didn't know the oil was there even though he owned it.

Many Christians live in spiritual poverty.

Simply because they don't take the time to read, memorize, and meditate scriptures.

They are entitled to the gifts of the Holy Spirit and his energizing power, but they are not aware of their birthright.

Today is the day that you break spiritual poverty though scripture memorization.

With just one verse at a time begin to memorize and meditate scriptures throughout the day.

If you've tried to memorize before and failed, there's no harm in trying it again.

The secret of your future

A lot of people in our society spend a lot of time blaming others for their own lack of initiative, insight, ambition, and effort. 


The Southern Baptists one year had a slogan for church growth that would fit us individually: "If it is to be, it is up to me." 

Zig Ziglar said, "If you're looking for helping hand, there's one at the end of your sleeve."
 

Dr. Kenneth McFarland, the dean of American speakers, said, "The person you need to see about self-improvement is always available."

Mike Murdock is an Assemblies of God preacher and a motivational speaker. Some of my favorites of his statements are these: The Secret Of Your Future Is Hidden In Your Daily Routine.

That's true in health, wealth, relationships, and most importantly in your spiritual life.

Let me ask you this... 


What's your future of your spirituality look like with your daily routine today?

Are you moving towards to your ideal spirit-filled Christian or moving away from it?


What are you doing routinely to develop a deeper relationship with God?

You see, you should be more proactive to develop your faith in God. 


Surely, sitting in a couch and watching 3 hours of television won't help you.

Instead, consistently read, memorize, and meditate scriptures. Make it part of your daily routine. This seemingly small activity will make you a stronger Christian overtime.

How can I get the air out of this glass?

Speaking to a large audience, D.L. Moody held up a glass and asked, "How  can I get the air out of this glass?"

One man shouted, "Suck it out with a pump!" Moody replied, "That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass."

After numerous other suggestions Moody smiled, picked up a pitcher of water, and filled the glass. "There," he said, "all the air is now removed."

He then went on to explain that victory in the Christian life is not accomplished by "sucking out a sin here and there," but by being filled with the Holy Spirit.

The point is, unless you're filled with the Holy Spirit, you'll continue to struggle with sins.

Florida State Building Code

A TV camera crew was on assignment in Southern Florida filming the widespread destruction of Hurricane Andrew.

In one scene, amid the devastation and debris stood one house on its foundation. The owner was cleaning up the yard when the reporter approached.

"Sir, why is your house the only one standing?" asked the reporter. "How did you manage to escape the severe damage of the hurricane?"

"I built the house myself," the man replied. "I also built it according to Florida State building code. When the code called for 2x6 trusses, I used 2x6 trusses. I was told that a house built according to code could withstand a hurricane. I did, and it did."

How about you?

Are you living according to God's code or God's word?

Or are you playing the worlds' standard and make it your our own standard way of living?

We're now seeing the signs of the times. Today...

...Pornography is everywhere.
...Premarital sex is a normal for a relationship.
...Lying is just part of day to day conversation.
...Homosexuality is becoming a new gender.
...Any sinful act has become a norm in our society.

That's why you need to be vigilant in memorizing and meditating God's word.

God would like you to live base on a solid commitment to His words and His ways.

But here's the thing...if you don't know and don't meditate His words, how can you be sure if you're still in God's perfect will?

So today, make a commitment to live fully according to God's code by memorizing and meditating scriptures.

And teach your kids and grand kids to do the same.

It's the greatest inheritance you can give your love ones.

You Gonna Talk, or You Gonna Fish?

There was a man in a community that had the reputation for always being able to catch fish.

Regardless of the time of the year it was, or whether anybody else was catching fish, this man was always managed to come back with a boat load of fish.

His brother-in-law, who happened to be a Game Warden had always been amazed at the man's success.

So, one morning the man agreed to take his brother in law fishing with him. They went to a lake that was known for its poor fishing.

The Game Warden watched his brother-in-law take the boat out to the middle of the lake and cut the motor off.

The Game Warden was confused as he noticed that his brother-in-law didn't worry about finding a ledge or brush-pile, or anything like that.

Then instead of getting his rod and reel out, the Game Warden's brother-in-law pulled a stick of dynamite out of a sack, lit it, and threw it overboard.

A few seconds later, there was a big BOOM, and almost immediately the surface of the lake was covered with stunned fish.

The Game Warden couldn't believe what he had just witnessed.

He immediately began reciting the fishing laws and regulations to his brother-in-law.

But this didn't seem to bother his brother in law in the least. He simply reached into the bag for another stick of dynamite, lit it, and tossed it to the game warden and said...

..."You gonna talk, or you gonna fish?" The game warden noticed the fuse was almost to the end and He quickly decided to fish.

Now that story probably isn't true, but it's still a good story.

Unfortunately, I think God would like to throw some of us a stick of dynamite this morning and say, "Are you gonna talk, or are you going to fish?"

Don't let this day pass without talking to God. You can't afford to.

In addition, take at least one scripture and start memorizing it.

Land of the dying and the land of living

Professional golfer Paul Azinger was diagnosed with cancer at age 33.

He had just won a PGA championship and had ten tournament victories to his credit.

He wrote, "A genuine feeling of fear came over me. I could die from cancer. Then another reality hit me even harder. I'm going to die eventually anyway, whether from cancer or something else. It's just a question of when.

Everything I had accomplished in golf became meaningless to me. All I wanted to do was live."

Then he remembered something that Larry Moody, who teaches a Bible study on the tour, had said to him...

"Zinger, we're not in the land of the living going to the land of the dying. We're in the land of the dying trying to get to the land of the living."

Golfer Paul Azinger recovered from chemotherapy and returned to the PGA tour.

He's done pretty well.

But that bout with cancer deepened his perspective. He wrote, "I've made a lot of money since I've been on the tour, and I've won a lot of tournaments, but that happiness is always temporary.

The only way you will ever have true contentment is in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

I'm not saying that nothing ever bothers me and I don't have problems, but I feel like I've found the answer to the six-foot hole."

Paul's message was a great reminder for us that our life here on earth is just a dress rehearsal for eternity.

We should always aim to please God and let Him be the center of our lives.

Today, if you feel overwhelmed, stressed, and tired take a short break. Breathe, utter a prayer, and meditate your memory verse.

Life can be much easier if we marinate our minds with scriptures throughout the day.

Patient Teacher

A teacher friend of mine once worked with a student who  couldn't understand Algebra no matter how hard she tried. She'd gone to her professors and they were no help . She'd gone to the study lab at her community college and they couldn't help either. And finally she asked my friend for help.

First he tried doing what all her other teachers did. He showed her how to do Algebra using some simple examples. And she was able to do them immediately  after his instruction. But when she tried a little while later, she could not remember what to do.

He knew this student was doing well in her other  classes. He knew she was intelligent. So what was keeping her from learning Algebra?

Eventually he realized she didn't know know one basic  concept about math. The root of her problem was that  she didn't know that the equal sign meant that the value on both sides of an equation is the same.

Once he showed her how the equal sign worked it was like a light went on in her head. "Oh. I get it."

He then showed her how to apply this principle to Algebra: Whatever you do to one side of an equation must be done to the other to keep it equal.

She was then able to solve the problems he presented to her and eventually she was able to solve more and more complex problems.

At that point she really understood Algebra for the first time. Most importantly she was able to remember how to do the problems later.

A few years later my friend got a call from this woman. She was excited to tell him that she had the highest grade in her math class at the University of Alabama  and that she was studying to be an accountant.

What an incredible turnaround for her. And it's all  because she had a patient teacher who assumed she had the ability to succeed even when she had her doubts.

Love Letters

When the now-famous poet Elizabeth Barrett became the wife of Robert Browning, her parents disowned her because they disapproved of the marriage.

Their daughter Elizabeth, however, wrote almost every week, telling them that she loved them and longed for a reconciliation.

After 10 years, she received a huge box in the mail that contained all the notes she had sent. Not one had been opened!

Although these "love letters" have now become a precious part of classical English literature, it's really sad to think that they were never read by Elizabeth Barrett's own parents.

Had they looked at just one, the broken relationship with their daughter might have been healed.

All of us are alienated from God because of sin, but God has provided a way of reconciliation. In the Bible, He tells about it, and also expresses His earnest desire for fellowship with us.

The question is, are you reading God's letter to you regularly?

Are you meditating His Words daily?

If not, let this message today be of an encouragement to you.

Memory of an Incredible Father

I love sports so this event is something I really look forward to.

 

And every Olympics there's always BIG moments that will inspire you as human being and will make you believe in yourself and the God who created you.

The Barcelona Olympics of 1992 provided one of track and field's most incredible moments.

 

Britain's Derek Redmond had dreamed all his life of winning a gold medal in the 400-meter race, and his dream was in sight as the gun sounded in the semi-finals at Barcelona.

 

He was running the race of his life and could see the finish line as he rounded the turn into the backstretch.

Suddenly he felt a sharp pain go up the back of his leg. He fell face first onto the track with a torn right hamstring.

 

Sports Illustrated recorded the dramatic events: As the medical attendants were approaching, Redmond fought to his feet. "It was animal instinct," he would say later. He set out hopping, in a crazed attempt to finish the race.

 

When he reached the stretch, a large man in a T-shirt came out of the stands, hurled aside a security guard and ran to Redmond, embracing him.

It was Jim Redmond, Derek's father. "You don't have to do this," he told his weeping son. "Yes, I do," said Derek. "Well, then," said Jim, "we're going to finish this together."

And they did. Fighting off security men, the son's head sometimes buried in his father's shoulder, they stayed in Derek's lane all the way to the end, as the crowd gaped, then rose and howled and wept.

Derek didn't walk away with the gold medal, but he walked away with an incredible memory of a father who, when he saw his son in pain, left his seat in the stands to help him finish the race.

Astonishing, isn't it?

That's what God does for us when we place our trust in Him.

When we are experiencing pain and we're struggling to finish the race, we can be confident that we have a loving Father who won't let us do it alone.

You see, He left His place in heaven to come alongside us in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. "I am with you always," says Jesus to His followers, "to the very end of the age."

We just have to keep our eyes, heart, and mind in God's Word.

Frog Story

A boy told his father, "Dad, if three frogs were sitting on a limb that hung over a pool, and one frog decided to jump off into the pool, how many frogs would be left on the limb?"

The dad replied, "Two."

"No," the son replied. "There's three frogs and one decides to jump, how many are left?"

The dad said, "Oh, I get it, if one decides to jump, the others would too. So there are none left."

The boy said, "No dad, the answer is three. The frog only DECIDED to jump."

Does that sound like last year's resolution?

Great inspiration and great resolutions, but often times we only decide, and months later...

...we are still on the same limb of do-nothing.

The Natural Order

A very wealthy man asked a Zen master for a text which would always remind him how happy he was with his family.

The Zen master took some parchment and, in beautiful calligraphy, wrote:

– The father dies. The son dies. The grandson dies.

– What? – said the furious rich man. – I asked you for something to inspire me, some teaching which might be respectfully contemplated by future generations, and you give me something as depressing and gloomy as these words?

– You asked me for something which would remind you of the happiness of living together with your family. If your son dies first, everyone will be devastated by the pain. If your grandson dies, it would be an unbearable experience.

“However, if your family disappears in the order which I placed on the paper, this is the natural course of life. Thus, although we all endure moments of pain, the generations will continue, and your legacy will be long-lasting.”

The Cry of the Desert

As soon as he arrived in Marrakesh, Morocco, a missionary decided he would stroll through the desert at the city’s boundary every morning. On his first stroll he noticed a man lying on the sand, caressing the ground with his hands and leaning his ears towards the earth.

“He is mad,” the missionary said to himself. But he saw the man every morning during his walks and after a month, intrigued by that strange behavior, he decided to approach the stranger.

He knelt beside him and asked, in broken Arabic, “What are you doing?”

“I keep the desert company and offer solace for its loneliness and its tears.”

“I didn’t know the desert was capable of crying.”

“It cries every day, because it dreams of being useful to mankind and turning into a huge garden where people could cultivate, flowers and sheep.”

“Well, then, tell the desert it accomplishes its mission very well,” said the missionary. “Every time I walk here, I am able to understand the true dimension of the human being, as its open space allows me to see how small we are before God. When I look at its sands, I imagine the millions of people in the world who were raised alike although the world isn’t always fair towards everyone. Its mountains help me meditate. As I see the sun rising on the horizon, my soul fills with joy and I get closer to the Creator.”

The missionary left the man and went back to his daily chores. To his surprise, he found him the next morning at the same place, in the same position.

“Did you tell the desert everything I told you?” he asked.

The man nodded.
“And even so it keeps crying?”

“I can hear each of its sobs,” answered the man, his head tilted towards the ground.

“Now it is crying because it spent thousands of years thinking it was completely useless and wasted all this time blaspheming God and its own destiny.”

“Well, then tell the desert that despite having a short lifespan, we human beings spend much of our days thinking we are useless. We rarely find the reason for our destiny and think God has been unfair to us. When a moment finally arrives in which we are shown the reason why we were born, we think it is too late to change and keep on suffering. And as the desert, we blame ourselves for the time we have wasted.”

“I am not sure the desert will bother to hear it,” said the man. “It is used to suffering and it can’t see things differently.”

“So then let us do what I always do when I feel people have lost faith. Let us pray.”

Both of them went down on their knees and prayed; one turned to Mecca as he was a Muslim and the other joined his hands in prayer, as he was Catholic. They prayed, each one to his own God.

The next day when the missionary resumed his daily walk, the man was no longer there. The ground where he used to embrace the sand seemed to be wet as if a small spring had formed. During the following months that spring grew and the city’s residents built a well around it.

The place is now called “The Well of the Desert’s Tears”. It is said that those who drink its water will be able to transform the reason of their suffering into the reason of their joy and will end up finding their true destiny.

Biggest lie of the enemy

He could be locked in any jail cell in the country, he claimed, and set himself free quickly and easily.

Always he kept his promise, but one time something went wrong.
Houdini entered the jail in his street clothes; the heavy, metal doors clanged shut behind him.

He took from his belt a concealed piece of metal, strong and flexible.

He set to work immediately, but something seemed to be unusual about this lock.

For 30 minutes he worked and got nowhere.

An hour passed, and still he had not opened the door.

By now he was bathed in sweat and panting in exasperation, but he still could not pick the lock.

Finally, after laboring for 2 hours, Harry Houdini collapsed in frustration and failure against the door he could not unlock.

But when he fell against the door, it swung open! It had never been locked at all!

But in his mind it was locked and that was all it took to keep him from opening the door and walking out of the jail cell.

That's how powerful your God-given mind is.

So if you think you're too old to memorize Bible verses...then you're right.

If you think you have a bad memory and can't memorize scriptures...then again you're right.

And if you think you're too busy to memorize God's Word...you're right too.

Simply stated, you'll believe what you want to believe is true.

I'm sorry but all these are just lies that the enemy are whispering to your ears.

Because the enemy would rather have you meditate on fears, doubts, and impurity than the true and living power of the Word of God.

But I trust you that you'll make a right decision and start your journey to a healthier relationship with God through scripture memorization.