I had an interesting conversation with a brother in Christ today. One of the things we discussed was: Is it possible to memorize too much of God’s Word? And if it is, what determines this oddity?

It’s not the first time I’ve heard this before. It’s not the first time I’ve had this exact conversation with others in my Family in Christ. This topic of “too much of God” has come up more often than I’d like. And every time, it disconcerts me.

If you’re wondering what I mean by “too much of God” here it is: Asking someone to read, memorize, meditate on, and/or study too much Scripture. But how much is too much? Is it even possible for any of us to spend too much time with God? Too much time thinking about Him, considering Him, praying and waiting for Him to answer: yes, no, wait, etc.? Is asking someone to read the entire Bible in three months, six months, one year, or two years too much for any Christian? Did you know that even for a slow reader and comprehender like me, it only takes about 45 minutes to one hour to read ten chapters of the Bible? And sometimes it would only take 30 minutes because some of the chapters in the Bible are just one paragraph or one page?

How is it that we now live in a time where we are burdening one another with God and the things of God? How is it that asking another Family member to read, study, meditate on, or memorize God’s Word is a burden because of littles, or teenagers, or older children who need help with their children, or older parents who need our care, or neighbors or friends…it goes on and on doesn’t it? When did the temporal and common things in this life become so consuming that to even spending one hour in prayer (Mt 26:40-41) or reading or studying or memorizing God’s Word is now a burden? And worse, this has become an acceptable practice?!

“I have so much to do today, that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” ~Martin Luther

What has happened to us as God’s holy and dearly beloved children that in our new lives in Christ, transformed by His power and kept by His Holy Spirit, freed and empowered to do all that our Father has commanded us in Christ, we have become so feeble of mind and frail of body that we are burdened by God our Father and all that He commands?

Did He not tell us through the Apostle John that His commands are NOT BURDENSOME (1 Jn 5:3-4)? Then how is it that so many who profess Christ as Lord, do not listen and do what He says (Lk 6:46-49)? Why do we call burdensome what God calls a gracious and merciful blessing (Is 5:20-21)?

If we have in fact been freed from the captivity of sin and have had our minds renewed and hearts transformed by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Rom 6:5-11, 12:2; Jn 15:10-11) how is it that we so easily excuse ourselves and one another because of a “season” of life we are in, or any other common thing that happens to all people—believers and unbelievers alike? How are we any different from the world when we use the things of this world as an excuse for why we cannot presently strive after the LORD with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strengths? How are we different than the world when the time we read, study, meditate on, memorize the Word of our LORD is mostly (or only) when it is most convenient or costs us nothing (e.g., our sleep, our family time, our entertainment, our idleness, our play dates and other social activities, etc.)?

It continues to astound me that setting an appointment on our calendars to meet with our God and Father first thing every day, before giving our hearts, minds, time, and strength to anyone or anything else is a foreign practice and for many, a non-essential. Most professing Christians I’ve known and still know meet with the LORD when it seems most convenient for them, rather than making God Almighty, the God who gave us our first life physically and new life in Christ. I have no problem with meeting with the LORD in the middle of the day or even last thing at night, just as long as He’s also given our first—our best. This is not a discipline practiced by only the mature in Christ. It is actually the first discipline that is expected of every believer new and old believer. How do I know? Because God said so (Gen 4:3-4; Ex 16:21; Ps 92:2, 143:8; Mk 1:35).

God Almighty is the first and the best. Therefore, it only makes sense that we ought to give Him our first and best. The Lord Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is no pauper that He should settle for and delight in our leftovers or what we think we can spare.

Our brothers and sisters living in persecution in second, third, and fourth world countries know nothing of the what we call “Christianity” here in America and other first world countries where life is easy and persecution just means someone doesn’t agree with you, or doesn’t like you.

May we repent of our idolatry of self, and what is acceptable to other professing Christians, so that we may remember that the LORD ordained His precepts that we may ALL keep them diligently—in every season, in every circumstance, with every heartbeat (Ps 119:4).

There has been much conversation about the Asbury Revival in Kentucky.

And as it is often with social media-proliferated 'news', especially with spiritual matters (for all are looking for hope somewhere, but only a few looking for it in Christ)—there are three camps: the Easily Excited, the Rarely Ignited, and the Wisely Incited.

The Easily Excited are all heart with no head; ready to believe, praise, and support Kanye West, Benny Hinn, and other well-known people and groups who profess repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Emotion is prime and easy believism is promoted, though it may be unintentional.

The Rarely Ignited are all head with no heart; ready to disparage and discredit claims that any well-known person or groups can truly be converted. Detached opinions are prime while a gate narrower than Christ ordained is promoted, though it may be unintentional.

The Wisely Incited are head and heart; ready to test all matters with the Word of God (1 Jn 4:1, 2 Pt 2:1-3), being quick to heed the Holy Spirit's counsel, slow to speak (approve or disapprove), and slow to insist on his/her own opinion(s), with compassionate intentionality (Js 3:17-18).

By God's mercy and grace, such is my darling husband, Jim. Please read and heed and give thanks to God for granting such wisdom to a mere man.🙌💝🙌

"𝘐 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘈𝘴𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 (𝘦.𝘨., 𝘭𝘰𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵).

"𝘐'𝘮 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘦, 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵. 𝘐 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯'𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘯𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥'𝘴 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘪𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥...𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦."

As with all things, honor Christ as Lord in your hearts. Before you believe or disbelieve, approve or disapprove of anything, obey the LORD: Pray, Wait, Pray, Watch, Pray, Exult Christ!

"Behold, the Lord, the GOD of hosts, will lop off the boughs with a terrible crash;
Those also who are tall in stature will be cut down
And those who are lofty will be abased.

Part of my reading and study today was 1 Corinthians 11 and Hebrews 6.

It still awes me to consider how carefully and lovingly the LORD, my God and Father, supplies all I need ever before I know I need it. And by His loving-kindness and faithfulness, He teaches me more about Him as He exalts (by lifting up to Himself) everyone who humbles themselves to seek His face. For a broken spirit and a broken and contrite heart, He will never despise (cf. Ps 51:16-17).

As I type this, my heart is broken and deeply grief-stricken for my loved ones who are far from God. Some who know it, and others who are (more than likely), self-deceived in their religiosity rather than truly saved by the cleansing of their conscience with the blood of Christ Jesus.

Be imitators of me, as I also am of Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1, NASB95)

The Apostle Paul repeats this commandment from 1 Corinthians 11:1 elsewhere in Scripture—1 Corinthians 4:16, Philippians 3:17-19. We know this commandment is weighty because it is not only a commandment and instruction to all God's children on how to discern who we ought and ought not to imitate, but it is repeated a third time by the writer of Hebrews in Chapter 13 verse 7.

We are commanded, not asked by God Almighty, to avail ourselves to all He has provided us; that we may mature in the Lord Jesus and bear much good fruit (obeying God as Christ)—in His name—for His glory. We are commanded, not asked by the LORD of hosts to imitate and listen to those who speak and act by the power of the Holy Spirit and for the glory of God. We are commanded, not asked by our merciful God and Father to flee from those who speak and act by their opinions and for themselves.

As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. whoever speaks, is to do so as one who is speaking the utterances of God; whoever serves is to do so as on who is serving by the strength which God supplies; so that in all things God may be gloried through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

~1 Peter 4:10-11

I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.

~1 Corinthians 2:3-5

If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved minds and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain…But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.

~1 Timothy 6:3-5, 11

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these…evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

~2 Timothy 3:1-5, 13

To keep us humble, no matter what spiritual gifts Christ gives or what natural talents and qualities God has created in us, no human being is able to live the holy life God commands, alone or by his/her own opinions of good and evil, wisdom and foolishness.

The only righteous standard is easily found and readily available in the Word of God.

Imitate the speech, deeds, and life-giving ways of those who imitate Christ Jesus. Resolve to accept and earnestly seek the counsel and teaching and rebuke only from those who speak the Word and holy precepts of God Almighty. But in order to discern rightly, read and study the Scriptures others use, to speak, counsel, teach, and rebuke you with, so that like the Bereans (Acts 17:11-12) you may be accepted and commended by God rather than men.

For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.

~Galatians 1:10

I’m sitting here thinking, “How may I wisely and prudently share all the good the LORD, my God and Father, my Savior, my Rock and my Redeemer—my greatest and preeminent love and life, has done for me?”

It’s not possible to share it all because there’s just not enough time or room in this world to be able to encapsulate the goodness of God in just one little life, for the past 53 years (Ps 40:5). So what shall I share, and how shall I share it? What is most edifying and what is the least useful for you to consume? I want to feed, comfort, and strengthen you with the former rather than starve, discourage, and burden you with the latter.

Thanks be to God for His Holy Spirit who always testifies to Christ!

“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” (Eph 4:29) and, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.” (Ps 19:14) and, “A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaim folly.” (Prov 12:23) and, “May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb. For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!” (Dt 32:2-3).

After 13 years of brutal beatings and severe persecution because I would not forsake Christ my Lord, by God's magnificent mercy and grace, He's endured me through these past 15 years of constant and often debilitating pain with 20 surgeries (due to damage in most of my organs from the beatings) I want to encourage you with this truth: Suffering is not the worst and dying is not the end.

This testimony of God's grace in the life of our brother Joel Tiegreen (who was called Home to our God and Father and our Lord Jesus Christ a few months after this video was made) has been, and continues to be a great source of comfort and encouragement to me. And I want to share God's kindness to me through this, with all of you.