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…
The Stages of Spiritual Growth, Part Two
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryIn a previously-published post, I proffered a new “trio” of the stages of spiritual growth set forth in the Bible.
Here’s another trio: those who practice… “active” > ”aggressive” (or “adamant”) > ”automatic” humility.
There’s a thing called “active listening” which has become a big deal in recent years in consulting circles. It refers to not just “hearing” people when they speak but truly (actively) listening to them. Maintaining eye contact and a spirit of empathy, verbal acknowledgments, etc.
When we first come to the Lord, God graciously gives a new, much more definitive, deep, and durable sense of humility (also referred to as meekness or gentleness; Galatians 5:22-23) than we had ever experienced pre-salvation. In terms of how we view ourselves (utter sinner; Luke 18:13), others (whom we regard as “more important” than ourselves, in a sense our “superiors” singularly worthy of honor and respect; Philippians 2:3; Romans 12:10), and God (the Creator and all-powerful, perfect purveyor of every good thing, the gracious granter of all good gifts, the one and only Sovereign and Judge; Genesis 1; James 1:17, 4:12; 1 Timothy 6:15). Humility becomes active, not just passive (and the exact opposite of low self-esteem, for which it is often mistaken/misidentified by some… as I always say, in a primary and even secondary sense, humility isn’t thinking poorly of oneself, it’s not thinking of oneself at all).
Then, as we grow/mature spiritually, the diligent duo of the Holy Spirit and the Word within (working hand-in-hand as always) develops in us a sense of humility which isn’t just “active” but “aggressive” (or “adamant”) … not qualitatively but quantitatively, i.e., humility becomes something that we come to LOVE, to thoroughly ENJOY demonstrating in our interactions with God and, under that umbrella, with other people. All people. Literally everyone. Since we realize and appropriate the fact that the latter are made in the image of the Former.
And finally, after continued/sustained spiritual growth/maturity, humility becomes virtually “automatic”. In us but definitely not because of us… not because of us but in spite of us, not because of us but because of Him and His ever-working Word! (1 Thessalonians 2:13, one of my “life verses”)
Ironically, this prevents us from even thinking that we’re humble, because, as with wisdom, an integral, true, tangible aspect of humility is that it opens one’s eyes to how little of it one possesses at any given time and how much room for improvement and growth remains; yet it’s an undeniable truth that humility is indeed one of the many, many, many changes and transformations which occur within when the Bible finds fertile soil in one’s heart.
Anyone’s heart. Because if He can do that in a sinner like me, He can do it in anyone.
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Useless. Unless.
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryI went grocery shopping with someone who’s determined to disappear pandemic-produced pounds so it wasn’t surprising that they bought a bevy of bags filled with fruit and other fortifying foods.
When they told me today that they had hot dogs and potato salad for dinner and popcorn and soda pop for a late-night snack, I first and foremost empathized (having put on pounds myself during the pandemic) then lovingly said, “Ya know, it doesn’t do any good to have healthy foods on hand if you don’t eat them!”
We both laughed but it’s a great reminder of how many Christians do this very thing in their spiritual life. It’s great to have a Bible but doesn’t do any good if one doesn’t open it, if one doesn’t read and especially study and most especially memorize and meditate on it – i.e., if one doesn’t ingest it.
What does it truly accomplish spiritually to “taste the good word of God” (Hebrews 6:5) but not drink its “pure milk” and eat its “solid food”?
If someone were to discover a plant or develop a pill which cures every disease or illness, what good would it do to simply place it on the nightstand or even hold it in your hand?
The Bible is absolutely and exactly just such a “pill” certainly spiritually and even extending to the emotional and relational and, yes, even the physical realm of human life (more on this wonderful and explosive and jaw-dropping truth – including “receipts”/proof – in a future post, it will definitely blow your mind and change your life) … yet so many simply relegate it to their nightstand or dresser or (perish the thought) even a closet shelf. Or maybe they pick up that “pill” every once in a while (Sundays?) and hold it in the palm of their hand and even admire and adore it. But, beloved brothers and sisters in Christ and those of you who haven’t met Him (yet), believe me when I say this: that won’t do any good, won’t truly transform your life and “cure anything and everything that ails you” if you don’t ingest it, “washing it down” with the regenerating and renewing “water” of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5; 1 John 2:27 … much more on this in a future post, too).
Oh, and to bring this post full circle, while it’s bad to not actually eat the healthy food one buys, it’s even worse (in an exponential, snowballing kind of way) to ingest junk food like hot dogs and potato salad and popcorn and soda pop, which have the same effect on us physically as sin does spiritually. But I have found that the key isn’t to fear or focus on avoiding junk food but rather to fill that vacuum with good, wholesome, healthy food. I.e., it’s more about making healthy food a lifestyle, a way of life, than it is about avoiding junk food per se, because when one does the former, the latter takes care of itself and is rendered obsolete; so also, the key isn’t to fear or focus on avoiding sin but rather to fill that (spiritual) vacuum with the tangibly transforming and healing and living and active and palpably powerful Word of God, the Bible! Fill your daily vacuum with that and sin won’t stand a fighting chance and will be rendered obsolete and you’ll enjoy spiritual fitness and health, too. At least for as long as you keep filling that vacuum with God’s wonderful Word!
It never gets old or ceases to amaze me how, in our spiritual and frankly even our earthly lives, everything always comes down and back to the Bible!
DRINK. IT. UP.
(By the way, if you’d like to be a part of the historic event unfolding in real-time at BibleMemory.ORG, here are three great ways to do so!)
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Quick Thought: Searching for a Savior
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryThe Saints were searching for a savior. Not the saints (by definition, saints have already found a Savior) but the Saints, the pro football (NFL) team in New Orleans.
After going many, many, many years without even making the Playoffs…
… they acquired the quarterbacking services of a fellow named Drew Brees. While he proved to be one of the greatest quarterbacks and certainly passers in the history of the sport, he never did bring them a Super Bowl win. (This particular video clip was during his final three years which were with the Colts who had a similar situation as the Saints until Mora and Manning arrived on the scene in 1998… the Colts too were “searching for a savior”.)
Faring even far worse, that city’s pro basketball counterpart, the NBA’s Pelicans, were suffering an even uglier dearth of playoff much less championship appearances much less victories, so when they got the very first pick of the 2019 Draft, they too were searching for a savior and thought for sure they had found one in the overwhelmingly top college player, out of basketball and intellectual powerhouse Duke no less, named Zion Williamson. Immeasurable potential, but like Sam Bowie and Greg Oden and countless others before him, to say it hasn’t gone as planned would be the understatement of the year if not decade.
Now the San Antonio Spurs are sure that they’ve found their savior in last month’s NBA Draft, a 7’4″ physical “freak of nature/athleticism” succinctly named Wemby. We’ll see how that pans out but so far, in his first few games in the Summer League, well, let’s just say that the results haven’t even come close to living up to the hype and expectations. (This bodes neither well nor poorly for his future in the league, he’s literally just getting started, but after said first few games, many Spurs fans are already feeling a sense of deja vu vis-a-vis Williamson, Oden, Bowie et al, while, if you listen closely, you can still hear the rest of the teams in the league letting out a prolonged sigh of relief.)
But there IS a Savior who WON’T EVER disappoint you! His name is Jesus Christ, and I personally invite you to place your full faith and hopes and expectations in Him and can promise you with infinite certitude that you’ll never, ever, ever be disappointed.
He is the very personification of perfect performance and fulfillment and follow-through and reliability and results, rendering “disappointment” a thing of the past for those who put their faith, their trust, their dependence in Him.
Nuff said.
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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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