John Newton:
I trust I have a remembrance in your prayers. I need them much: my service is great. It is, indeed, no small thing to stand between God and the people, to divide the word of truth aright, to give every one portion, to withstand the counter tides of opposition and popularity, and to press those truths upon others, the power of which, I, at times, feel so little of in my own soul. A cold, corrupt heart is uncomfortable company in the pulpit. Yet, in the midst of all my fears and unworthiness, I am enabled to cleave to the promise, and to rely on the power of the great Redeemer.

The new year brings about a new bible reading plan for me. I had been toying with the idea of reading Dr. Paul House’s Old Testament Theology along with my daily reading. So, I decided to give it a trial run today and see how it would go. As I was reading, there came to mind a current problem I’ve been dealing with: memory loss. I was tempted to just stop and put the book back on the shelf…I mean what’s the use I’m going to forget it. Well I decided not to do that. I am going to keep reading and get what I can. I then decided to write a tweet about it. Of course, the limited space persuaded me to write this blog post instead. And then, while I’m writing this post, I remember the sermon from yesterday morning. Our pastor made the point that God’s word has creating power. So, He has the power to create in me memory . Therefore, brothers and sisters in Christ, fight the fight of faith. Read God’s word. Study God’s word. It has power to create in you those things which do not exist and things you hope will exist.