Many people will (mistakenly) think that anyone who memorizes a huge amount of Scripture must be some sort of “super saint”. I have this to say about that, and that’s this: Super saint? NO I AIN’T! Not even close. (To echo the Apostle Paul in Romans 7:18, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh”.) In fact, just the opposite of their notion is true, because the more of the Bible I memorize, the more I realize how utterly and entirely sinful I am in and of myself, in my flesh. You see, as Psalm 19:7-8 clearly states, the Bible – and especially memorizing the Bible – “enlightens the eyes”. It breaks through the blindness which besets us from birth and opens one’s eyes. To the truth and existence and nature and will of God. To the nature and detrimental, destructive, and indeed deadly consequences of sin (Romans 6:23). And to the nature of man. Our flesh. Our fallacy. Our tendencies. Why we do what we do. Why we do what we should not and not do what we should! (Romans 7:19) So you can see why I say that the more Scripture one memorizes, the more one will see the righteousness of God and the sinfulness of oneself, of the flesh, to the extent that I can honestly say that I’m the BIGGEST SINNER I know, I’m the biggest sinner I’ve EVER known, and I’m probably the biggest sinner YOU’VE ever known, at least that’s how I see it, that’s my (believe it or not blissful) Bible-borne perspective.
But thankfully Psalm 19:7-8 doesn’t stop there! Because it’s just as clear that the Bible also “restores the soul” and “makes wise the simple” and “rejoices the heart”! It’s not just a win, not just a home run, memorizing and reciting Scripture is a GRAND SLAM! And not just spiritually, but humanly… not just in the spiritual realm, but in the human realm, not just in the life to come but also this present life (1 Timothy 4:8). And I can testify from firsthand experience that all of this is absolutely true: so long as I’m doing so on a regular basis, my spirit remains utterly joyful, rarely ever leaving the proverbial “cloud nine”. I find that I see things that many others don’t (heightened insight produced by the Word within). And I find that my heart remains filled with and focused on the things above, not on the things that are on earth (Colossians 3:2), not on the things which are seen, but unseen, not the things which are temporal but eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18) – what a wonderful way to go through life! And what’s amazing is that I’m just at the START this journey of memorizing the entire Bible, after which the Lord is leading me to turn this into a full-fledged, full-speed-ahead, full-time ministry – here’s the plan…
PHASE 1: Memorize the ENTIRE Bible as a “love/thank You” gift back to Him and also to prove, to demonstrate to the world the utter and tangible power and benefits of the ingested (memorized) Word of God! And for the first few months to highlight the need and leave room for the Lord to lead like-minded Bible-loving believers to support this in whatever ways they’re able and willing and excited to do so when learning about this historic endeavor and opportunity.
PHASE 2: After memorizing all or at least the vast majority of the New Testament, the next step will commence and entail totally changing the emphasis of this website from seeking one-time and especially Monthly Partners so as to get and keep this going to just giving back by meeting the needs of others, to “fulfill the law of Christ” by “bearing the burdens of others” (Galatians 6:2) and “serving one another” (Galatians 5:13; 1 Peter 4:10).
Specifically, I will make myself available all throughout the day virtually every day so anyone will be able to:
- Ask and receive Bible-based answers to their questions about the Bible itself, God, sin, human nature, and whatever else might be on their hearts at any given time. Literally for the rest of my or their lives, they will have a ready and waiting friend and/or listening ear and/or shoulder to cry on according to their need at the time. Without reservation, and without judgment.
- Submit prayer requests to be prayed for by someone who is brimming with the living Word within him, which I firmly believe is the biggest key to effective prayer: the Word sanctifies (John 17:17) and cleanses (Ephesians 5:26) and keeps pure (Psalm 119:9) and away from sin (Psalm 119:11); now combine all of this with the fact that “the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer” (1 Peter 3:12) and “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (James 5:16b) and perhaps speaking most poignantly to the amazing link between memorizing Scripture and an effective prayer life, “If you abide in Me, and MY WORDS ABIDE IN YOU, ask WHATEVER you WISH, and it SHALL BE DONE for you.” (John 15:7). How will people’s lives literally change and be transformed by the supplication and intercession by one in whom such a massive amount of Scripture will be dwelling? GAME-CHANGER. Life-changer. WORLD-changer! (Literally. Just ask the people who were living in the time of Elijah.)
- Find a BIBLICAL – Bible-loving, Bible-believing, Bible-practicing – church near them, right in their local area! I am already in the process of putting together this network of churches; denomination will be irrelevant, the only criterion will be the extent to which they demonstrably adhere to the principles set forth in the Bible about “how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:15) With a primary focus on how supportive they are of Bible memory. I expect even just the human-interest/intellectual aspect of this project to attract countless people who aren’t even religious or are very early on in their spiritual growth who’ll need and want to find a church that will foster and maximize said growth.
- Find the businesses in YOUR area that are owned and/or managed by fellow Christians who love the Lord and His Word and realize the importance of and support Bible memory. Galatians 6:10 and 1 Timothy 6:2 make clear that it is our responsibility as Christians that our everyday choices inure to the benefit of fellow believers whenever possible, so I’m going to make that super easy and convenient by posting a nationwide (but searchable by state/county/city) LIST of Christian businesses so we can all choose THEM whenever we need a product or service; once assembled, it will appear on the “Find A Christian Biz” / Yellow Pages section here at BibleMemory.ORG so please check back for that in the coming weeks.
PHASE 3: Turn this burgeoning history-in-the-making effort into a full-speed-ahead, full-fledged, full-time ministry to Educate, Encourage, and Empower others to memorize and recite Scripture on a regular, systematic, verse-by-verse, book-by-book basis! Tall goal, but totally doable, because something very interesting happened as I memorized my very first book of the Bible, the New Testament book of James. That goal seemed not just tall but downright monumental. Undoable. Right? Wrong! Because, amazingly, the more of it I memorize, the EASIER it gets! The more of it I memorize, the more I am able to memorize. By the time I came to Chapter 5, I knew this large task was indeed going to be accomplished. BIG difference than when I was facing Chapter 1 Verse 1.
This is a fantastic real-life demonstration of Matthew 19:26 which says, “With men, this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Including memorizing the ENTIRE Bible! You see, in the physical realm, the more water you pour into a glass, the less capacity it will have for more water to be added. But in the spiritual realm, when it comes to God and His Word, the Bible, the exact OPPOSITE is true! The MORE you pour into your mind, the MORE capacity you’ll have for additional verses and chapters and books to be added! Not less. And this amazing power is exponential in nature: I saw a large increase in capacity from James 1 to James 5, but double or triple the capacity by the time I finished memorizing Hebrews 1-5, and then quadruple or quintuple the capacity by the time I finished memorizing Hebrews 6-10, and so on. This finding is literally historic, and indeed the closest thing to a bona fide miracle in recent history of which I’m aware: it’s verifiable, it’s tangible, and – due to the “living and active” nature of the Bible (Hebrews 4:12) – it’s even repeatable. While the specific extent of this phenomenon might vary from person to person, the essence of the Word does not. Ever. This is how I’ll be able not just to Educate and Encourage the masses to memorize and recite Scripture on a regular, systematic basis but also to EMPOWER them to do so (the Word through me). (Believe me, once a person gets a taste of this, his or her life will never be the same. Human metaphors don’t really do it justice but in terms of the Christian life, it’s like trying filet mignon for the first time after a lifetime of eating hamburger.)
This will primarily be accomplished by producing a course, a syllabus, an entire series of videos, CD’s, and even audio cassettes, which will take all of this and make it SUPER EASY and CONVENIENT for people the world over to learn and apply this at their own pace and as their individual schedules permit. I am utterly convinced that another worldwide spiritual revival will occur, but I’m even more certain that it will only occur as people start ingesting the living Word of God by memorizing and reciting it regularly – “all the day” (Psalm 119:97) and even “day AND night” (Psalm 1:2-3).
By the way, this would be a great time to let you know that as I’ve been memorizing Scripture, a very specific METHOD of doing so is coming into focus, which, as noted above, I can testify firsthand is making it MUCH EASIER for me to memorize and retain – not just the Bible but EVERYTHING: to-do lists, schedule and meetings, various events that occur, etc., a true “sponge” effect! – and I’m 99.9% sure that it will do so for virtually anyone and everyone who applies it. It’s still coming together but seems to be getting close to the point that it can be rolled out. This one aspect alone of this one phase alone could easily and literally change the world and people’s everyday lives.
PHASE 4: Set up new and/or work with established addiction centers to specifically address the huge need for healing, curing, and then preventing from recurring (relapse) the massive crisis of addiction to pain killers, opioids, and other drugs, as well as the dreadful disease of depression. I am absolutely certain that the best and probably only way to truly beat, to truly eradicate, overcome, and conquer an addiction is to turn to something even more addictive – and I am equally certain that the most addictive thing in the universe is the BIBLE, the living and active Word of God, the Word ingested. No doubt about it. The main challenge is that so relatively few ever really give regular and systematic Bible memory a try, but I – with your and the Lord’s help – intend to change that!
It won’t happen overnight but I have no doubt that change is indeed coming. And just in case you don’t think the Bible extends or has relevance to the physical realm of human existence, I humbly give you Proverbs 4:22 which, referring to the Bible, the “my words” of verse 20, clearly states that His words “are LIFE to those who find them, and HEALTH to ALL their WHOLE BODY.” Is that an amazing verse or what?! We have a super-duper health “pill” readily available to us (the Bible is the most-published and available book of all time) yet SO FEW EVER ACTUALLY SWALLOW IT! To their utter “missing out” yet few if any are even aware of this because nobody has trumpeted it from the proverbial mountaintops but with your help I intend to change this, too, and do just that!
I didn’t start memorizing entire books of the Bible as a child but did memorize a lot of single Bible verses and – totally not surprisingly in light of that verse/truth/fact – I haven’t had to see a doctor or go to the hospital my entire adult life. Not even a single time. No emergencies. No health surprises. Not one. I don’t think the two are unrelated or that this remarkable health history is mere coincidence or the result of “good genes”; no, I’m certain it’s that verse at work.
No, it won’t happen overnight but down the road I look forward to organizing some clinical/medical trials to demonstrate that this is universal and not just specific to me. I dare say that other than imparting the Gospel or giving one’s own life to save another’s, there is no greater act of love and kindness and therefore Christlikeness (since He epitomized and epitomizes both) than to free a person from the cruel slavery and bondage of addiction or depression, to provide them with the answer, the antidote, something that actually and permanently WORKS! So even just this phase of the action plan will likely be enough to revolutionize the nation and world.
CONCLUSION: If you like what you’ve heard here and found yourself nodding in agreement several times, please read on…
Merry Christmas!
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryThis first video is worth ten thousand words, so I’ll simply say that the younger sister’s expressions come as close to Christlike love our Lord so deeply displayed on that very first Christmas when He willingly left the comforts of Heaven for our salvation’s sake and came to Earth as a baby boy birthed by Mary but born (and borne) of the Spirit and which we should show toward one another, as anything I can recall. The massive level of love and respect she possesses for her sister is obvious, tangible, palpable…
… that’s the spirit!
The Christmas spirit.
Which we will hopefully continue to carry forth for the first eleven months each year, too.
And what is the Christmas spirit if not a palpable, persevering, pervasive sense of love? The kind that came down to us (on a certain silent and holy night two thousand years ago) as this second song sums up so supremely:
Thank You, Lord, for giving Christmas not just its name but its meaning. For showing us how to live life – largely by Your blessed birth, powerfully by Your perpetual perfection, definitely (and definitively) by and in Your self-sacrificial death, bereaved burial, and salvation-sealing resurrection. May anyone reading this who hasn’t yet rightly given (back) their life to you and received said salvation, do so on this most special “birthday” of them all.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
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First Place
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryPart 2 of the previous post, as promised… and now, the how…
Everyone loves to win. But exactly how does one do so, especially spiritually, since that so outweighs sports and even life itself?
In this particular post I’ll provide three truths, three answers, three solutions, three steps.
The first step is so simple and obvious that it’s surprising, no, shocking that so many don’t seem to really realize it: Before you can win, you have to understand and remain aware of the fact that (ding, ding ding) you’re in a race, a competition, a battle.
Or put another way… before you can come in first place, you have to realize that you’re in a race in the first place.
I enjoy watching football games (actually, except for “full game”-worthy major matchups, just the first two drives and final/fourth quarter) but almost never on Sundays, mainly on Mondays – not because of any “religious” reason at all but because I can catch the condensed versions which have all of the ads and between-the-plays downtime edited out, which allows me to obey the Bible by properly managing/maximizing my time…
… and frankly just makes it much more enjoyable.
Last Sunday saw some superb games, marquee matchups; the first one went down to the wire and was full of twists and turns and tension (Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs); the second one, the night game (Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys) was even better on paper since they sported 10-2 and 9-3 records, respectively, but this one wasn’t nearly so close, not nearly so contended, but it’s actually the one which provided a fantastic illustration for this post.
Not once but twice in the third quarter, then yet again in the fourth, a defensive player “punched” the football right out of an opposing player’s hands, producing a much-coveted fumble.
That’s exactly how it is with us and the devil! He’s always running around the “field” of life, just looking for an opposing player (especially Christians, since unbelievers are already on his team as it were, per 2 Timothy 2:26) to tackle (attackle?) and better yet in his view, to strip the ball away from them (i.e., to make them stumble and fumble) and best of all, to injure and put them out of the game.
[Side note: These two passages are extremely similar, nearly identical in nature and message – even though they were written by two different people! The first by Peter, the second by Paul… but both by the Holy Spirit! (2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 3:16) Just one of the many miracles and blessings about the Bible.]
Therefore, “step 1” has two parts: not just being actively aware that we’re in a race, a competition, a battle, but also who the opponent is and isn’t (i.e., the devil, not other people, per the verse just cited).
The second step is similarly simple and obvious: you can’t come in first place unless you finish the race! Which is why, along with awareness, winning requires endurance.
And whereby cometh endurance, how exactly does one obtain it?
Which is why a Spirit-superintended Apostle Paul could pen this potently powerful, proper perspective:
As is the case for so many biblical truths, a beautiful illustration of this can be found in nature: one can plant THE BEST seed in THE MOST FERTILE soil… but if it doesn’t receive rain, that plant won’t grow, indeed, it’ll definitely die. So too, it is the “rain” of trials in our life that allows and produces growth and lets us “ripen” and mature and “bear fruit” and endure, for without it we would surely die (remain dead) spiritually. Which is why I wish it would “rain” regularly in my life. Just like the plants. [I almost never use secular songs (one-second snippet in this case) on this website but because it proclaims a biblical principle and is perfectly on-point with this post, here’s one from four decades ago; if secular music offends you, simply skip/scroll past this snippet to continue reading.]
I dare say that, other than the Lord Jesus Himself of course, nobody in human history has experienced trials quite like the Apostle Paul
… which is why he (a) is undoubtedly the greatest Christian ever to live (no offense whatsoever to Abraham, Joseph and Daniel, who would no doubt be next on that list, humanly speaking) and (b) could truly and lovingly declare near the end of his life, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day…” (2 Timothy 4:7-8a) [Side note: How stunningly amazing that you and I, though nowhere near Paul’s level of spiritual growth/maturity, can still receive that very same crown! “…and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (verse 8b)]
The third step will fill the remainder of this post.
“Everyone loves a winner.”
“Go for the gold, or GO HOME.”
“Nobody will remember who came in second.”
These adages are demonstrated nowhere more obviously or fully (and often painfully) than sports and politics.
To wit…
… now ask them who came in second. Few will be able to name even a few prior to more recent years.
Want to hear a surefire way to WIN, not lose, in life? I have (humbly he said) found the answer.
And it all starts with your mind! Much more about that to come but in the time provided for this post, let me simply ask you a question:
How many times did you think about the Lord today?
Sadly, in many cases anymore, the correct question is often just “Did you think about the Lord today?”
I get it. Life is hurtling by at the speed of light or so it seems most of the time. Everybody’s busy, by the “billion” things they need to get done and places they need to be, seemingly at once.
What I’m not saying is that we shouldn’t meet deadlines, run errands, and TCB…
… what I am absolutely saying is that all of those things will be enhanced, improved, amplified, and accelerated when one puts priorities in proper order: the Lord via the Bible (reading, studying, memorizing, meditating, praying, obeying) FIRST, and THEN everything else.
We (rightly) teach children to “mind their manners” … but it’s even exponentially more important to teach them (and remind ourselves) to “mind their MIND“! Because literally everything else flows forth from that, from our mind, heart, thoughts, perspective.
If you aren’t already doing so, I humbly and lovingly encourage you to give this a try, it will REVOLUTIONIZE YOUR LIFE: Mind your mind. Think about what you think about! Each week. Each day. Even each hour if possible but at least at the end of each day, take inventory of exactly what you thought about that day, of exactly what was filling and occupying your mind, then strive to do better the next day in increasing the time allotted for the Person and things of the Lord (especially His attributes and His Word, work, will, way, wisdom, and wonderful design for life – my “6 W’s for notching W’s”) and decreasing the mindspace granted to the things of this world.
Yes, my friend, “notching wins” in life is as EASY as 1-2-3:
This really will revolutionize your life. It’s so true: keep running the race, keep God and the Bible FIRST in your mind, your heart, your thoughts, and EVERYTHING ELSE will absolutely and beautifully be added to you!
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Winner
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryWhen the word “winner” winds its way to my ears, the first image that comes to mind is the Lord Jesus and the second image is the Apostle Paul and several other people from Bible times and the third image is a particularly prominent, pure-preaching, power-pulsating pastor of the prototypical properly-run church in my humble belief (I’m a bit biased) but the very first secular image that comes to mind when I hear the word “winner” is Michael Jordan.
And Larry and Kareem; Wilt “the stilt” and “Pistol” Pete and the whole cast of the Riley-run Heat; little-talker but big blocker Bill Russell; “Rain Man” Kemp; dunkin’ Duncan and his long-time, trusted, talented teammate “the (admirable) Admiral” David Robinson (a bit biased about him, too, because there’s a personal connection from childhood, as with TobyMac); Ewing, Mourning, McHale, “Magic”.
Mantle, Musial, Mays, McCovey, Maddux, Mariano, Maris (the man who broke Babe Ruth’s home run record which had held for 34 years, until Roger hit “61 in ’61”) … and these are just the ones that start with “M”!
Brady, Bradshaw, Stallworth, Swann, Sanders, Smith (Emmitt, Bruce, Bubba, and Steve Sr., with Alex and Leonard having put forth a promising push in the past), Montana, Mahomes, and must-mention miracle-maker Manning (particularly Peyton, but both brothers were the bomb, no pun intended =).
Mario Lemieux and Gretzky, too.
Nicklaus, Palmer, Watson and Woods; Lopez-Melton and Sorenstam.
Agassi, Steffi, Sampras and Evert; Connors, McEnroe, Borg, and (also admirable) Arthur Ashe; Federer and Nadal, winners all.
Why? Because (but for a few deflated footballs perhaps =) they played/competed by and within and according to the rules.
Winning is good, indeed, excellent, indeed, important… but not nearly so much in sports as spiritually, since Scripture spurs us on to do just that.
Many might mutter, “Sounds great, DJ Bible, but how?!”
I’ll answer that excellent question in the next post, stay tuned…
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