Every once in a while someone comes along who demonstrates such stark uniqueness among men and women that they’re known by one name, who has secured such celebrity status and stature so as to be immediately recognized with a single sobriquet or syllable.

In the world of sports, such examples include Gretzky, Lemieux, Ovechkin, Orr; Brady, Bradshaw, Barry, Jerry, Staubach, Starr, Montana, Marino, Manning, Mahomes; DiMaggio, Musial, Mantle, Maris; McEnroe, Ashe, Agassi, Federer; fierce fighters Foreman, Ali, Marciano, Holyfield, Hagler, Hearns; golfing greats Tiger, Nicklaus, Mickelson, Snead, Scheffler, Schauffele; and basketball big boys Bird, Magic, Kareem, Jordan, Shaq, Flagg (too soon? … yes, but let’s call it a lingering hunch:  Larry 2.0?).

In the world of music there’s Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Britney, Cher, Madonna, Taylor OR Swift, Elvis OR Presley, Prince, Pavarotti.

In La La Land there’s Marlon, Marilyn, Meryl, Mirren, Pacino, Pitt, Hanks, Hepburn, Hemsworth, Wahlberg, Baldwin (for those last few, who says talent doesn’t run in the family, isn’t in one’s DNA?!) (just ask Archie, Peyton, Eli and Arch, or the NBA’s Holiday or Plumlee brothers) and my True Lies  movie co-star Schwarzenegger.  (Well, he  was a star, I was just an extra but what an experience… talk about an amazing memory!)

And in the world of religion, Christianity, Calvinism, evangelism, preaching and teaching…

… there’s MacArthur.

John MacArthur stood with pastors and missionaries the world over, with students at the inimitable Master’s Seminary and University, and with our black brothers and sisters in the Civil Rights era when few whites would.

Yet John MacArthur stood alone  in terms of not only preaching and teaching but also Bible study and scholasticism and, yes, sense of humor!  (I’ll relate several examples of this in the future, when I post my own “MacArthur memory” using the form below.)

For now I’ll tell you two of my top favorites – one firsthand, one secondhand, in reverse order.

A secondhand memory is the fact that John MacArthur regularly appeared on my former condomate Larry King’s eponymous TV show on CNN, pretty much whenever the latter would assemble a panel of pastors and theologians or other religious leaders.  It was so surreal seeing my favorite preacher and Bible teacher frequently fellowship with my friend and fellow building-resident live on national television (back in the days when the whole world  would watch).

A firsthand memory is the fact that when John learned that the Lord had recently led me to memorize  the ENTIRE Bible, he wrote me a very kind and encouraging letter which started with one word:  “Wow!”

(My memory mission made Mr. MacArthur say “wow”, how cool is that?!)

The probably busiest  person on the planet took time to write a letter urging me on in that historic and precious pursuit and to thank me for sharing with him how much, how deeply, how ongoingly the Lord has used him in my life – spiritually and humanly, regarding not only the life to come but also this one – and to congratulate him on a whopping, world-famous, scandal-free, faithful fifty years  at Grace To You and his beloved church.

Was I already 1,000% dedicated and committed and excited to heed that leading of the Lord to not just read, not just study, but actually memorize the entire Bible?  Yes.  (Very!)  But did his letter do so all the more?  Ab-so-LUTE-ly!  It’s too soon to tell how little or largely the Lord will use BibleMemory.ORG between now and when I join John at our Savior’s side and feet in Heaven someday, but I can honestly say that whatever fruit the Lord reaps thereby, all of the credit will go Him but under that umbrella a big chunk will go to John MacArthur.

In fact, even exponentially more than his loving letter, because of how greatly and frequently the Lord and Holy Spirit have taught me the Bible through the (uniquely gifted) mind and mouth and ministry of John MacArthur, I have chosen to co-name my memory method in his honor:  the MacArthur memory method.  (He would definitely love the alliteration!)

When I first heard about his heavenly homegoing of July 14, I immediately wanted to not just pay tribute to him as so many men and women far more famous and no doubt greater than I have over these past few weeks, but to set up a website where people the world over could post, could share their favorite memory (or two or ten) of John MacArthur – either firsthand ones like this letter or, more likely, one or more involving lessons learned from the Lord through the ministry or person of John MacArthur… what a wonderful way to multiply his ministry and legacy even long after his Heaven-destined departure!

I think this will be very exciting all the way around and can hardly wait to see the many ways the Lord intends to use this!  In your life.  In my life.  In the lives of countless others across the country and around the world, as we share and thank and praise the Lord for how He has used (and thanks to Grace To You and YouTube and now MacArthurMemory.com, will continue  to use) John MacArthur in our lives and walks with Him.  If YOU would like to share a “MacArthur memory” in this special way, simply use this quick and easy form!  (And definitely feel free to keep  sharing, to post new memories in the future  as the Lord continues to teach you through the many recordings and writings of John MacArthur!)
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Your Name (optional... anonymous memories about John MacArthur are equally welcome!)

Your Email Address (optional, will remain confidential)

Your Phone Number (optional, will remain confidential)

Use this bottom box to share one or more memories of a biblical lesson the Lord has taught you through John MacArthur or memories about the man himself, be that first or secondhand in nature, so future generations will benefit from this ongoing tribute to such a singular servant and spiritual leader!

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(Here’s what I meant about his having had a huge sense of humor… Exhibit A!)

 

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I might or might not know a great deal… but I know a great deal when I see one.

I think I inherited that ability from my paternal grandmother; as noted on this website’s Why page, she once was one of the biggest independent antique dealers certainly east of the Mississippi and probably the entire country at the time, and I can remember as though it were yesterday the time that, for my major-milestone 13th birthday, she, my parents, and I visited the Williamsburg (Va.) Pottery Factory (it’s big now but was way more massive then).  It’s the first time I fully, fervently comprehended the meaning of the phrases “a fish in water” and “kid (or in this case, grandmother) in a candy store”.  She was something to behold, wheeling and dealing to an extent even the best writers in Hollywood couldn’t come close to conveying.  I don’t think the rows of steel shelves were literally a mile long but they certainly seemed like it, and when she saw some silver bells selling for cents on the dollar, she politely but promptly prodded the salesperson to pack up the entire row and proceeded to the checkout cash register and celebrated ceaselessly her financial feat for the entire four-hour trip back home.

Like her – no doubt because of  her – I know a great deal when I see one.  Like when I bought my very first property for a fantastic price, so much so that in less than a single decade it quadrupled  in value.  Or the time that my mind made a massive “buy signal” when, post-IPO, the stocks of Facebook dropped down into the teens and Tesla to around $30.  Bargain bonanza!

But the greatest deal by far that I’ve ever come across is when I read in the Bible that the only person in human history to have ever known no sin willingly offered to become  sin so that sinful, sinning sinners like me might manifest and indeed become  the very righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21) and that if we only humbly believe Him, He will raise us up out of our present pit of pride and sin and set and keep  us on the path of righteousness (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6; Psalm 40:2; 1 John 5:18).  I could barely believe it… but I’m so glad I did!   I took Him at His word and haven’t looked back.  Biggest bargain ever.  We simply give the Lord our pride and selfishness and He gives us eternal life to be enjoyed in Heaven with Him forever and ever.  We simply give Him our sin and He gives us His righteousness.  We give up a future in Hell and He gives us a future in Heaven.  We “die daily” to self and sin and repugnant pride, and He raises us up to walk in newness of life.

Like I said… Best. Bargain. Best. Offer. Best. Deal. EVER!

Lord, in Psalm 41:10, Your servant David says, “You… raise me up.”  I frequently fall far from the superb, supreme, supernatural example and demonstration of true humility You modeled so perfectly when You were walking in our shoes, on this very same sod.  Yes, I frequently fail and flail and fall down on the ground… and yet You raise me up, Lord.  All the way.  Every day.  You raise me up.

 

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It has been almost an entire year since the 13th day of a month fell on a Friday – a chronological chasm that’s so rare since it can only occur with the help of a Leap Year.

The leery, weary, wary, worried world writ large views this day as scary or ominous or given to superstitions of all types; but when one walks with the Lord, this day is downright “lucky” like any and every other.

• “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7, NKJV)
• “so that we confidently say, ‘THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID.  WHAT SHALL MAN DO TO ME?'” (Hebrews 13:6)

For folks of faith, there truly is no fear.

 

 

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Another football season is rapidly approaching, and (not wrongly) most of the attention will go to the Quarterbacks and Running Backs and Receivers but I’ve always had a special place of respect and appreciation in my heart for a very different position, which is perennially at the other end of the fan-attention spectrum and that’s the Offensive Line.

While this certainly makes perfect sense intellectually – how could passers and receivers succeed but for the OL’s (brilliant) blocking which gives both of them the time needed to drop back or run their routes, or what runner could make it down the field but for the OL’s blocking to open up the “holes” and “lanes” amid all of the defenders?  (Okay, okay, Barry Sanders succeeded with little to no help but the exceptions are few and very far between) – the other reason is that I’ve had very close connections with a certain NFL team who had THE GREATEST offensive line in the history of the league, pretty much indisputably even for fans of other teams [including personally knowing very well and at times working with many of their players and front office big-wigs, attending the same (super-small) school as the son of the team’s now-Hall-of-Fame Head Coach, etc.] … monumental memories, but the main point for the purposes of this particular post is that the concept of phenomenal blocking has been embedded in my brain since I was a child.

It was enforced in a very different way just two days ago.

Friday was as hot and humid and oppressive outside as I can recall in my entire life.  Indeed, this area has set new all-time high temperatures these past two weeks with Friday taking the proverbial cake – more about that dramatic day in a future post, for now let’s talk about Saturday.  The weather was still super-hot and I had occasion to be in downtown DC, the country’s crystal-clean capital (NOT!) (aesthetically or ethically, unfortunately) and I felt those smoldering sunbeams every step I took, every inch of the way as I made my way walking from the U.S. Capitol to the Golden Triangle to Foggy Bottom (i.e., GWU) but once I reached 10th or 11th Street NW it became much cooler and more comfortable ergo enjoyable… why?  Because that’s where the downtown practically begins, with its huge office buildings providing much-needed and appreciated shade.

But like those big buildings blocked my body from being burned by the SUN, the Bible blocks us from being burned by the SIN which is so prevalent and pervasive and perpetually present around us in modern-day society.

• “Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” (Psalm 119:11, KJV)
• “This book of the law [i.e., the Bible] shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.” (Joshua 1:8)
• “like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Peter 2:2)

Similarly, during this time of the year in particular, many people apply to their body suntan lotion with a high Sun Protection Factor (SPF) when they go to the beach or take a long walk in the summer; I wonder how many of them (even think to) apply to their heart, to their mind, to their brain  the balm of the Bible, bubbling with blessing and benevolence every time a person puts it on their inside, on their interior via several ways I’ll note below.

As we go through life, may we not (foolishly) try to “complete passes” or “run routes” or “rush down the field” WITHOUT the biggest, best BLOCKER in the universe, the Bible, the literal and living Word of God!  (If we simply ingest it, it’ll block better than a billion-SPF lotion, and even better than “the Hogs” did for Doug Williams and Mark Rypien and John Riggins and Art Monk and “the Smurfs” when I was a kid.)

Desire it.

Read it.

Study it.

And I’m going to help you (and/or your family, friends, fellow congregation members, etc.) even memorize it.  In massive amounts.  And, despite what you might think or feel right now, you/they will actually find it to be a lot of FUN so stay tuned!

 

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[Picking up from the previous post as promised…]

The second sort of player that has impressed me these playoffs in particular has been some phenomenal role players.

For those not familiar with basketball, most teams’ “starting five” is comprised of at least three and often four role players, not “stars”.  In other words, most starting squads only have one or at most two true “stars”, phenoms, basketball beasts.  The only exception I can recall of three or more superstars on the same team would be the Boston Celtics and L.A. Lakers of yesteryear, especially the 1980’s:  Robert Parrish and Dennis Johnson (combined)?  Check.  Kevin McHale?  Check.  Larry Bird?  Ten  check-marks.  James Worthy?  Yep.  Kareem?  Definitely.  Magic Johnson?  Ten check-marks, like Larry.  But teams usually have just one or, if they’re blessed beyond belief, two.  Like Jordan and Pippen (then just throw ANY other three players for the starting squad and any half-dozen for the bench like the Chicago Bulls of the 1990’s did  and you’re sure to bag not one but two “threepeats” – and it no doubt would’ve been “eight straight” had MJ not retired for the two seasons in between).  Or Shaq and Penny (Orlando) or Shaq and Kobe (Los Angeles).  Or, most recently of course, Tatum and Brown for the storied Celtics.

Yes, it’s nice to have TWO superstars… but even then  a team won’t be able to pull off a string of superlative seasons if they don’t surround them (or him,  in the case of Nikola Jokic when the Denver Nuggets won it all last year [since Jamal Murray was out with an injury that season] or Dirk Nowitzki when the Dallas Mavericks won it all in 2011) with great ROLE players!

These are the players who aren’t nearly so celebrated and famous (and well-paid) as the superstars, but are absolutely imperative  to team triumph.

Unsung heroes.

Helpers who show up game after game after game and fulfill one or more purposes for the team.  Perhaps passing for a point guard, or defense and rebounding and blocking for a big man, or a wing who can shoot the lights out from three-point range.  (Or ALL OF THE ABOVE in the case of the Celtic’s Derrick White… or, except for the 3’s, Jrue Holiday, a born-again brother in Christ I’m pretty sure.)

And this year’s Playoffs in particular pressed upon my mind how crucial, how vital it is for us as the Church, the Christian community, to have great ROLE PLAYERS!  Yes, the “superstars” named MacArthur or Graham or Jeffress or Swindoll or Solomon or several others in the past half-century, or Spurgeon or Calvin or Luther, Edwards, Wesley or Whitfield before that, it’s definitely fantastic to have them on the team, great “floor generals” on the spiritual “playing field” for sure.  But where would they be and far more importantly, where would the Church be without the countless – and mostly nameless – “role players” of the past two thousand years, since God used Paul and Peter and James and John to start then expand the body of Christ on earth, the Church?

When you go to church each week or as you’re representing Christ to unsaved co-workers or neighbors each day, please never forget or DISCOUNT the utter importance of role players, plentiful in pews across the country and globe, perhaps deprived of “glory” but it’s even exponentially better to get that in the life to come, in eternity, in heaven, rather than here on earth.

• “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them [i.e., motive]; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. [I.e., God] … And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men.  Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.  But when you pray, go into your inner room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will repay you. … And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men.  Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” (Just a few of the verses from Matthew 6:1-21, a potently powerful passage)

And ending by bringing us back to the previous (“Part One”) post, while memorizing the entire Bible for the first time in human history might thrust me into the ranks of a “superstar” in the minds of many, I have and will continue to view myself as a ROLE player… and one who comes off the BENCH at that!  But that truth of the matter is this:

I’m overjoyed and thrilled and honored and humbled just to be on the team.  The team who’s currently being led by MacArthur and company just quoted, and whose Coach is Christ.

The ultimate Substitute per the prior post, and the ultimate Superstar of all time and every aspect of life, even when He was setting aside the voluntary use of His inherent Diety and living as a human like you and me, minus the sin.

What a Substitute.

What a Superstar.

What a Savior.

 

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