Directions, Part 2

At the very moment the Lord laid on my heart this calling to memorize the ENTIRE BIBLE and then recite it, recite His Word and words back to Him as a love/thank-You gift for all He does and who He is – not just from me but from and on behalf of every person who supports this historic effort and outflowing ministries however they’re able – I simultaneously committed my entire life savings to building this website so people all over the world could follow along and track my progress from the first book to the sixty-sixth.  So along with eating in all the time now, I also sold my car to pay for the cost to finish building this website and have thus been using a bicycle and my own two feet to get myself around town to run errands, buy groceries, etc.

It takes a lot longer than driving, that’s for sure, but the two main benefits have made up for it and exponentially more.  Second, I’ve lost around twenty pounds and am back to what I weighed in high school, as a teenager.  But first and foremostly, I’ve found that it’s during these multi-mile walks or bike rides that I have the sweetest, most intimate communion and communication with the Lord and (not unrelated thereto) also get the majority of ideas for these blog posts.  My feet don’t always agree right afterward but GREAT TRADE-OFF.  I literally can’t imagine what my life would be like if I were still driving everywhere.  I know, I know, one can think and pray and listen to the Lord (recite Scripture) in a car, too, but with all the signs and other cars and, you know, pedestrians, such is indeed possible but not nearly so practical nor (in my experience at least) productive/fruitful.

Anyway, with the weather now turning cold as autumn swoops in, I find myself opting more for walking than biking – like just today when I had to get some groceries.  A store I rarely go to is having a great sale on items I needed so I headed there.

Like I said, I haven’t gone there but once or twice before, so I went online and mapped out the trek.  Then a funny thing happened on the way to the store.

I came upon a shortcut!  Yessirree, this was going to save me a good 10-15 minutes… so I veered off-course and wouldn’t you know it, that “shortcut” turned out to be the longest street I’ve ever seen in my life with seeming dozens of twists and turns – right before dead-ending into a cul-de-sac.  Are you kidding me???  ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! was the thought that immediately came to mind.  Unfortunately for me, there was no kidding to be seen, it was no joke, I had to turn around and walk back that entire, long, winding street and then continue on my little, er, just-got-twice-as-long trek.

And it hit me that this is also true in the Christian life!

How many times have I looked for a “shortcut” and veered off-course?  Too many to list here, that’s for sure.  It doesn’t matter HOW SURE I was, the fact of the matter is that there ARE NO shortcuts in the Christian life.  And thankfully, just like Google Maps for grocery stores, so also the Bible provides very easy-to-follow directions for life which (unlike Google Maps, I’ve found a time or two =) NEVER lead me astray but always go exactly as it says.

And that’s just one of the (literally) infinite benefits of Bible memory:  it’s like having all of Google in your head, at your fingertips at all times, but so much more powerful and even more helpful in navigating life and making decisions and getting to know God so much better.  Nope, no more shortcuts for me!  So the next time you think of maybe taking one, just remember this verse which has been such a blessing and help in my life:  “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 14:12 & 16:25 – this truth is so crucial that He gave it to us TWICE just in case we missed it the first time!)  That’s the problem, but thankfully the Bible also gives us the solution:  “How can a young man [or any person for that matter] keep his way pure?  By keeping it according to Your word [the Bible].” (Psalm 119:9)

Just like it would be foolish to drive cross-country (or in my case, walk to a new grocery store) without first mapping out a course, so it is with life itself.  But thankfully, God gave us the perfect atlas in the Bible, the ultimate road map – we need only to follow the directions.  It reminds me of that song many of us sang in Sunday school as kids:  “My Lord knows the way through the wilderness, all we have to do is follow…”  Indeed!  Back then it was a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by night.  These days it’s the Bible… all we have to do is follow!
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