Just yesterday I published the previous post and discussed brushing one’s teeth (and brain) and just now, the very next morning, after doing just that I ate a handful of blueberries and have two further thoughts/verses to share with you which I think you’ll find not only very interesting but also extremely helpful and useful and applicable in your everyday life.

The first thought is that blueberries are soooo good.  Downright delicious in the opinion of my own taste buds but not just good  but, as a matter of scientific fact, good for you.  They are one of if not THE best, most healthy food one can eat.  Ever since leaving my job to follow God’s calling to full-time spiritual, Bible-based ministry, I haven’t been able to afford this nutritious and delicious but usually-expensive  food very often, but with summer’s arriving that changed and I’ve been eating them all week… and loving every minute of that (well, almost every minute – more on that in a minute).  The first thought/verse which came to mind was how the Bible, when directly addressing the topic of food, says that they’re all good (due to Who created them) but my lifelong experience with blueberries makes clear that some are even better than others.

• “For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with gratitude” (1 Timothy 4:4)

The second thought is one of THE MOST IMPORTANT and useful and beneficial and powerful principles in life, and that’s this:  timing is everything!

And that truth was reaffirmed for the zillionth time in my life this morning when I ate the aforementioned handful of blueberries this morning shortly after brushing my teeth.  And it brought to mind one of my all-time most applied Bible verses:

• “He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be reckoned a curse to him.” (Proverbs 27:14)

TIMING is EVERYTHING!  And can single-handedly turn what would otherwise be a great  thing into a horrific  thing.

Everyone will agree that it’s a terrific thing to bless someone.  And all the more if that someone is a friend.  And all the more still if it’s done loudly and noticeably than, say, in a whisper which maybe or maybe not the friend but certainly nobody else would be able to hear.  What a blessing, right?  NOT IF THE TIMING IS BAD.  Bad timing turns a terrific thing into a terrible thing, a blessing into a curse.

As I often say, “It’s not just what you do, it’s when  you do it!”

I strongly encourage you to consider this anytime you decide to do anything which involves others.  Don’t just ask yourself if the action is right/wise but also if the timing is.  I know for sure you’ll be very, very glad that you started applying this principle in your daily life.

Bringing that full circle for the purposes of this post, eating blueberries is terrific… unless it’s right after brushing one’s teeth as I found out the hard/distasteful way this morning.

Those were the two thoughts/verses I wanted to share with you in follow-up to the previous post published yesterday, but I’ll add and leave you for now with a third, overarching, non-blueberry-related thought:  one of the (incalculable, immeasurable) results/benefits of Bible memory on a regular, systematic basis – which is both the purpose and goal of BibleMemory.ORG – one of the countless results is that one who memorizes, who ingests  the Bible will begin to see God and the Bible in everything.  All day every day.  I’ve seen this firsthand after I started memorizing entire books of the Bible, and it’s a wonderful way to wind through the highways and byways of life.  Just like the Bible self-testifies:

• “The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart” (Psalm 19:8)

Amen to that.  So true!
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If you sense that the Lord might be leading YOU to support the historic event unfolding in real-time here at BibleMemory.ORG and thus become my fellow worker and thus share in all of the fruit and blessings (3 John 8) and literally MAKE HISTORY together, here are the best ways to do so:

1. Become a one-time or monthly partner by making a donation via PayPal’s fully-secure Bible Memory page!

2. Encourage as many people as you can to support this historic event by having them go to BibleMemory.ORG/support (please make sure they understand that it’s .org, not .com) – doing so by word-of-mouth is great, and to do so with a single click on your social media simply click here then scroll down a few inches to the green box and select your platforms, it’s that quick and easy!

3. Add your name to my Prayer List!

4. Encourage as many of our fellow Christians as you can to pray for this historic event by having them go to BibleMemory.ORG/pray (please make sure they understand that it’s .org, not .com) – doing so by word-of-mouth is great, and to do so with a single click on your social media simply click here then scroll down a few inches and select your platforms, it’s that quick and easy!

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My number one wish in life, my foremost desire by far is simply to be like Christ.  I.e., to exhibit…

Compassion  (for all – 1 Thessalonians 3:12; Colossians 3:12)
Heart  (for the lost, for His children, for our heavenly Father and for His Word – the entire Bible 🙂 )
Righteousness  (via the working of the Word within and Holy Spirit – John 17:17, Psalm 19:7; Titus 3:5, Galatians 5:22-23)
Integrity  (in everything, big and small – Hebrews 13:18)
Selflessness/Self-sacrifice (best described in Philippians 2:3-11)
Truth  (John 14:6)
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I remember my very first day in high school computer class.  The teacher started with an overview, by stating the overarching principle which regulates computers and programming…

“Garbage in, garbage out.”

He was of course referring to the fact that a computer’s (hardware) or program’s (software) output is only as good as the input.  What flows out is only as good as what was put in.

We understand this fully and immediately when it comes to computers but that’s also EXACTLY how it is with the human mind!

Like the famous public health ad campaign from yesteryear said, “You are what you eat!”  That’s not an untrue statement in terms of physical health but truer still is this:  “You are what you think!”  (We aren’t always what we think we are… but what we think, we are.)

• “As a man thinks within himself, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7)

Which is why it’s so important, so utterly crucial that we properly manage what we think.

Every day.

Every hour.

Indeed, every minute.

For centuries, good parents have kept repeating the phrase to their children, “Mind your manners.”  That’s excellent advice… but this is even better:  Mind your mind!

Doing just that one thing throughout one’s life will guarantee a successful one.  Because literally everything in life flows from that, flows from one’s mind.

• “Watch over [lit., guard] your mind with all  diligence, [why?] for from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23 – NASB)
• “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23 – NKJV)

And in this case the New International Version probably puts it most plainly:

• “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” (Proverbs 4:23 – NIV)

The fact that all we do and indeed all we are flows out of our mind single-handedly makes this continual command crucial to heed.  But wait, there’s more!

You see, that would be enough on its own, but the Bible makes another aspect of this matter crystal clear:  not only does our mind determine and indeed dictate our results and outcome in life, but it’s elevated to an even higher level since our mind is inherently, by default (another computer term… not surprising, since the human mind is the greatest of any computer ever created) evil and wicked and unhealthy…

• “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 – NKJV)
• “The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9 – NASB)

… and thus deserves to be at the very top of one’s “to do” list in life.

All of this is just one more benefit and reason that Bible memory, accordingly, should reside at the very top of that same list… because that’s HOW one properly and effectively “guards” one’s heart, one’s mind, one’s soul.  That’s how  mere mortals like you and me can overcome, overpower, conquer, vanquish the sin which initially controls our mind from birth, and to go even further and turn our mind into an unstoppable weapon  for good!  To transform something so “evil” and “wicked” and “sick” into something that’s wise and insightful and spiritual and happy (which collectively, as I often put it, is everybody’s W.I.S.H. in life) – just like the Bible guarantees will be the case for anyone and everyone who simply ingests  (memorizes) Scripture, who simply puts it into  oneself via Bible memory.

• “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.  The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.” (Psalm 19:7-8)

After having done that firsthand to the tune of six entire books of the Bible en route to all 66, I can confirm that this is true.  And with each book memorized, the Bible has continued to reveal more and more to my mind’s eye a very specific memory method, indeed an entirely different way of thinking, of learning, of processing information… it’s as though memorizing the Bible is “cracking the code of the human mind” so as to unleash its full power and potential [if you have any doubt about this, just take a look at my Videos page (BibleMemory.org/videos) or YouTube Channel (YouTube.com/BibleMemory) and you’ll see what I mean!] – and I can hardly wait for it to complete  that ongoing work (by book #10? #15? #20?  #66?) so I can share it with all of you, with the entire human race.  I already know that it will be an absolute and glorious game-changer.  Like few things in human history heretofore.

Stay tuned.
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As discussed in a past post, a year or two ago I sold my only vehicle so I could finish building this website entirely out of my own pocket when the original programmer bailed unexpectedly and without notice, so out with the car and in with walking and biking literally everywhere I go.

It was one of the best decisions and self-sacrifices of my life.  Z-E-R-O regrets.  (Though don’t ask my legs and feet, because at times they would probably give a different answer.)

All kidding aside, the extra exercise is good for my temporary temple of the Holy Spirit, my body, my soul’s house as it were, so I almost always love and embrace the anticipation of especially the extended  exercising, those three-to-five-days-a-week long walks or bike rides, often to the grocery store or post office or other errand destinations (Ephesians 5:16!).

I said “almost  always” because there are two exceptions:  one which I just discussed a few posts ago, and the second (as promised) is when I have to return  an item purchased a day or week before.

Thankfully that’s a very rare, very infrequent need.  But when such occurs I almost (almost) dread even the notion, even the concept, even the idea of having to carry a (usually) heavy or bulky item at the onset of that journey, versus just one-way, just on the way back  from the store.  (Just like that funny traffic sign I first saw when I was a kid:  instead of the standard “No Parking” it read “Don’t even THINK about parking here.”)

Yes, my beloved brothers and sisters, just that one factor singlehandedly flips the equation of the pending trek from elation to near-dread.  Leaving my home with my hands free of any items so I can just walk and jog unabated?  A-W-E-S-O-M-E!  I LOVE that thought and anticipation and activity.  Leaving my home with my hands full of, with having to be burdened by carrying some items?  Not so much.

And that’s exactly how it is in the Christian life!  The “walk” is so much more enjoyable without  a load, sans  burdens.  Which is why it’s so very crucial to divest ourselves of any and all burdens each and every day.  And hour… and minute  for that matter.  To reaffirm anew that we live not for ourselves but for the Lord, not for our own interests but for His.  And secondly, under  that overarching umbrella, the interests of others.  To realize – actively realize, to be actively aware – that we are no longer our own.  And that includes not just one’s body but also one’s burdens.  Not just one’s potential anxieties but also the prospective and perspective root cause of any anxiety.  What a great way to go through life!  No worries.  No anxiety.  No negativity needed.

And that, my friends, is (one aspect and application of) the power of the Bible ingested.  Via Bible memory  and recitation/meditation on a regular, systematic basis!

• “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.  For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.” (Matthew 11:28,30)
• “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)  (… by…)
• “casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)  (… because…)
• “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)  (… and anyway/besides…)
• “… which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life’s span?” (Matthew 6:27)

Just like those long walks I take to do my errands after having sold my car a year or two ago, so also in the Christian walk:  much more merry and fun and yes easy (Jesus’s word) and anticipation-abounding and exceedingly enjoyable when carrying no burdens.

God has made clear that He’s not just willing but eager to take them, so it’s a no-brainer for us to indeed “cast” (literally, throw) onto Him not only our every anxiety but even the roots  of potential  anxieties which sprout in our lives from time to time.  (Job 5:7 proclaims the reality… 1 Peter 5:7 provides the remedy!)
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