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It’s not surprising that the book we’re reading for 40 Days of Love – The Relationship Principles of Jesus – emphasizes the importance of memorizing Scripture. How do you love God “with all of your mind“? Here’s what Tom Holladay says:

“To love God with all your mind, you must put God’s words into your mind…Left to itself, your mind will drift toward anxious or selfish thoughts. The truth of God’s Word has the power to change the channel of your thinking.” (58)

Holladay goes on to say that one of the most powerful verses for turning our thoughts toward God is Philippians 4:8. It says: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

Memorize Philippians 4:8 and begin to “think about such things” as described. You will grow in your capacity to love God with ALL your mind.

I hope you’re keeping up with the readings every day. If not, catch up. Be challenged and blessed!

The next 40 days would be a great time to memorize passages and/or verses on love. What if you memorized 1 Corinthians 13 – the entire chapter? I can’t help but think that loving God and others better would be the overflow. Anyone willing to try?

Below are verses from the message on Sunday that you can memorize and meditate on. Click on a reference, print it off, and put it around your house, office, car, etc. Don’t be weird, but be bold about hiding God’s Word in your heart.

Matthew 22:36-39

1 John 4:8

1 John 4:20

1 Corinthians 13:13

1 John 3:18

Galatians 5:6

Ephesians 5:2

Galatians 6:10

Proverbs 3:27-28

Attention OCC and the greater Orrville community!

“Love Haiti” is the name for the Orrville community collection project to be held from February 21-24 at OCC. We are donating much-needed items to the Haitian Christian Outreach to help the Haiti people that were affected by the tragic earthquake. The following items are needed:

- Peanut Butter

- Adult & Children’s Tylenol (generic brands accepted)

- Adult & Children’s Vitamins

Items may be dropped off in the OCC south lobby on: Sunday, February 21 from 8 a.m. – 12 noon and Monday – Wednesday, February 22-24 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 4 – 8 p.m.

Someone will be in the lobby to assist you at these times. Click below on “Love Haiti Flyer” for more information and/or if you’d like to make copies and give to others. Please email your friends and family about this. Let’s get the word out and “Love Haiti” with our donations.

Love Haiti Flyer

We had a great kickoff to 40 Days of Love on Sunday. I hope you came forward and got a “heart” to symbolize your commitment to learning how to love.

I’m enjoying The Relationship Principles of Jesus book by Tom Holladay. Below are a few things I’ve highlighted over the past three days. (If you need a book, please call OCC at (330) 682-3686. It’s FREE to OCC members and regular attendees.)

- “Priorities become most important when we must make choices.” (24)

- “A life without relationships may well be a simpler life, but it is also an empty life.” (27)

- “The only way to change your priorities is to begin to make different choices in your relationships.” (30)

- “Jesus chose meeting a person’s need above following his schedule of tasks for that day.” (36)

- “It is your faith in God’s principles that changes your life!” (42)

If you’re already behind on the reading, set aside time to catch-up today before you get too far behind. You can do it with God’s help!

“Eagerly pursue and seek to acquire love…” (1 Corinthians 14:1, Amplified Bible)

“Do not let the Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (Joshua 1:8)

How can we “meditate” on the Word of God “day and night” if we don’t have it memorized and in our hearts? Below is another quote from Dallas Willard’s book The Great Omission.

“The primary freedom we have is always the choice of where we will place our minds. That freedom is enhanced by the practice of solitude, silence, and fasting. We can then effectively fill our minds with the Word of God, preserved in the scriptures. To that end, memorization is vital. It is astonishing how little of the Bible is known by heart by people who profess to honor it. If we do not know it, how can it help us? It cannot.” (p. 155)

What is filling your mind today? Scripture? If not, you have the choice to change.

What verse and/or passage will you choose to fill your mind with today?

“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11)

I’m going to do a few posts on the importance of memorizing Scripture. Check out the new poll to the right.

I took a class called “Spiritual Formation” at Cincinnati Bible Seminary a couple years ago. One of the books we read for that class was The Great Omission by Dallas Willard. Below is a quote from the book:

“Our concentration on Jesus will be strengthened by memorization of great passages (not just verses) from scripture. Passages such as Matthew 5-7, John 14-17, 1 Corinthians 13, and Colossians 3 are terrific soul-growing selections. This practice of memorizing scripture is more important than a daily quiet time, for as we fill our minds with these great passages and have them available for our meditation, quiet time takes over the entirety of our lives.” (p. 126)

Wow! How are you doing? What verse or passage can you begin to memorize today? The four mentioned above would be a great place to start!

More later…

Last Sunday we talked about another spiritual training exercise in our quest for godliness (1 Timothy 4:7). We didn’t just talk about service. We talked about humble service. The best picture of this is Jesus. Read John 13:1-17. What the disciples should have done for Jesus, He does for them. He even washes the feet of the one who would betray Him! And He says, not just to them, but to us: “I have set an example that you should do as I have done for you.”

If you want to “know Christ” (see Philippians 3:10), then humbly serve others like Jesus. Deny self (Mark 8:34-35). Fully appreciate the sacrifice of Christ (Philippians 2:3-8). Trust that God will take care of your interests and needs as you serve (1 Peter 5:5-7).

Who will you serve today?

Here are a few thoughts from Sunday and the weekend.

- The OCC elders, deacons, and full-time ministerial staff (Tom and me) went on a retreat this weekend. Gary Dolan, Executive Pastor at RiverTree Christian Church, facilitated the retreat. We began work on a vision statement and also reviewed our mission, values, and key initiatives. Thanks to Gary and RiverTree for hosting us! We had fun and great discussion. I’ll be sharing more about the retreat on Sunday, February 7th. That’s our annual Vision Sunday.

- We started another “Discover Maturity” class yesterday. 8 people were in attendance. We’re talking about 4 habits or disciplines for ongoing spiritual growth. It connects with the current message series nicely. We got started on the first habit – time in God’s Word. We’ll be meeting the next two Sunday’s. If you want to attend, just show up! We’re meeting in the conference room.

- Many people attended the visitation and funeral for  Bob Tschiegg. It was a great time of celebration and remembrance. We do not “grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope” (1 Thess. 4:13). Please keep Mary and the family in your prayers this week.

- It was good to see the Colts and Saints make it to the Super Bowl. Please respond to the new poll question to the right of this page. There was a part of me that wanted to see Brett Favre make it to the big game again. Hopefully he’ll be back next year to give it another try.

- How did you like my piano playing yesterday? The sad part was that I even had to practice that! I hope you’re spiritual life is more advanced and deeper than my version of “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Be sure to “Take time and trouble to keep yourself spiritually fit” this week (1 Tim. 4:7, Phillips).

More later…

I have some exciting news to share…

OCC has hired Kevin Leimeister as part-time (15 hours per week) Interim Youth Director. Kevin will provide overall leadership for OCC’s youth ministry until we hire a full-time person. He will work with our existing adult volunteers to plan, organize, and supervise ALL youth activities. We’ve hired Kevin, at least initially, for 90 days. If we haven’t hired a full-time Youth Minister (birth through 12th grade) at the end of 90 days, we hope to keep Kevin in this role until someone is hired. Kevin’s long-term goal is to get a teaching job at a local school. He graduated from the University of Akron in December with a teaching degree.

We really appreciate Kevin’s willingness to “stand in the gap” for us during this transition period. Please welcome Kevin to our staff.

Feel free to email me with questions or leave a comment.

Greg Swartzentruber and I traveled to Los Angeles over the weekend to visit a worship minister candidate. We hardly did any sightseeing, but we had to see one important landmark. I guess it’s better late than never. Go BUCKS!