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…
Quick Thought: The Much More Malicious Virus
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryAs the current pandemic of the past two years looks like it’s ebbing to an actual end, my deepest desire and most passionate prayer would be for the masses here in the U.S. and around the globe to realize that even far, far, far, far, far, far more deadly and long-lasting than COVID is the still-spreading spiritual virus of sin.
Its consequences are far greater, entailing not just physical but also spiritual death.
Its reach is far greater, leaving exactly ZERO people untouched.
That’s quite a combination already… but there’s more! Because…
Its longevity is far greater – no less than eternity itself. Forever and ever.
I saved that one for last because the second half includes the hope of God’s good grace and gift of the gospel. Trust me when I tell you that knowing where one will spend eternity in the life to come makes this current, temporary life far more joyful and fun.
But may we not stop there, with ourselves, but also share it with as many people as possible, as we have opportunity, while we still have time for them to likewise be saved.
I say while we still have time because I’m sure I’m not alone in seeing what a super-small step it would be from where we went, what we witnessed during the pandemic to the events noted in the Bible about the end times, the final day.
May each of us prepare each day for that day.
Because as Paul poignantly penned in Romans 13:11, “for now salvation is nearer to us than when we [first] believed.”
And that clock continues to tick.
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Lasting Lessons from March Madness
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryA few posts ago I mentioned March Madness, the annual college basketball tournament which has long been a springtime classic for sports and especially b-ball fans; it just completed and here are some observations and takeaways and, believe it or not, spiritual/biblical parallels or illustrations or lessons.
The referees definitely have a job to do… but it’s not so much a job as an honor and privilege (since the refs for that game are selected based on stellar performance in past games). The same is true when it comes to Christians and “witnessing”, sharing the Gospel, God’s plan of salvation, with others: it’s definitely a job/command…
… but not so much a job as an honor and privilege for which we have been specifically selected and approved and with which we have been entrusted.
(Because if we believers don’t tell others about the great grace and goodness of God, who will? If we don’t tell them, how will they ever hear about it and believe, and be saved from their sin and sins and the eternal penalty thereof?)
Also… as discussed in-depth in a prior post, maintaining momentum, not giving back gained ground, is crucial for winning!
This exhortation/warning is given by God because He knows how prone we humans are to “letting up”, to “getting lax” after achieving growth or accomplishment or success in a given area or facet or aspect of life – spiritual, sports, financial, relational, etc… which is why He gives a similar and even far more famous warning several books earlier:
Another way of putting that is this: Don’t get lax. And certainly, above all, don’t get COCKY!
Throughout my entire childhood my dad and I had what was undoubtedly the longest-running, most fun, most exciting backgammon competition. It didn’t increase how much he loved me – that was clearly already 100% – but it did in a certain sense increase how much he “liked” me, i.e., how much he truly and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with me in that pastime, i.e., how much we bonded on a human, personal, personality level. I genuinely loved those countless, daily-for-a-decade games of backgammon with Dad… and all the more because we discussed the Bible for 50-75% of the time spent playing backgammon. But the main point for this post is that it was absolutely uncanny that when either of us would get way, way, way ahead in a game and start “trash-talking” and “teasing” the other person, the one who got cocky would almost always end up LOSING the game in nothing short of a miracle comeback by the other one. It was really something. Like clockwork. Every time. To the point that we developed a saying right as one of those mammoth comebacks occurred: “You got COCKY! Don’t get COCKY! Never, never, never get COCKY!” That’s what the two verses above are saying. Don’t get lax in life and especially not in one’s walk with the Lord, one’s level of spiritual growth.
But that coin has a second side and that’s this: Never GIVE UP. (Cue Winston Churchill here.) Missed your first several shots in a basketball game? KEEP SHOOTING. Trust the hours of practice you’ve put in and KEEP SHOOTING. Or, put another way: Keep at it. Stay the course. Be persistent. Endure. Because just as crucial as it is not to get cocky when one is “up” or “winning” or “ahead”, it’s equally essential not to give up and to keep at it, to stay the course, to be persistent, to endure, to “keep on keeping on” when one is “down” or “losing” or “behind”.
Made your first several shots? Great. Don’t get cocky.
Missed your first several shots? KEEP SHOOTING THE BALL.
Also… don’t keep looking at the score/scoreboard; rather, focus on (playing) the GAME!
It’s much less likely that we will give back gained ground if we keep our focus on the Lord, not the “scoreboard”.
Also… play as if you’ve ALREADY WON! Because, as a born-again believer, you have!
In other words: Don’t get cocky… but do be confident! In the Bible. In God’s promises. That He will be true to His Word and words. (Spoiler alert: He ALWAYS is!)
And last but definitely not least… focus on playing great DEFENSE. Let God handle the offense.
The Bible is crystal clear that in the Christian life, OUR ROLE is one of DEFENSE, NOT offense (which belongs to the Lord).
Probably THE BEST illustration of this from the sports world would be the 1985-86 Chicago Bears of the NFL. They had one of the greatest running backs of all time (Walter Payton) yet, inexplicably, were infamous for having next-to-no offense… yet they WON IT ALL and were world champions that season because they had the best DEFENSE.
Let’s end this post by coming back to basketball. I’m always amazed how a team can have a phenomenal shooter, scorer, offensively-gifted player, yet invariably not keep feeding him the ball, not keep passing the ball to him and just let him “do his thing” on offense. Yet how many times do we Christians – how many times do I, how many times do you – who happen to have a teammate who C-A-N-N-O-T M-I-S-S even a S-I-N-G-L-E S-H-O-T ever, how many times do we fail to just give Him the ball and let HIM take care of the offense while we focus on defense, on our role?
Let’s purpose in our hearts not to be so foolish going forward. Let’s just give the ball to the Lord. Every time. I assure you that the results will be phenomenal. And historic. Even far better than Kansas, Duke, Kentucky, UCLA and UNC combined. Times a trillion.
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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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Serious, Searing, Scathing, Scary
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryThe Bible is filled with blessings and warnings, with encouragements and exhortations. It covers the entire spectrum of life: literally anything one could come across or encounter, the Bible has an application for that! It has a principle (at least one, often multiple) that’ll deal with and inform a person how to best proceed in a given matter, which path to take. It is complete. It is all-sufficient – not only for this life but also for the life to come.
It is the Word and words of God Almighty Himself, so it is infinite in authority and truth. Indeed, it defines truth. Because it IS truth.
Therefore, it greatly behooves a person to not just read it – a good and necessary first step – but also to HEED it.
Its promises and blessings – which many people view as the “good stuff” – but every bit so beneficial, beloved, are the “biting” sections, the grave warnings.
Like I said, there are many throughout the Bible. And many spoken by the human lips of the Lord Jesus Himself:
… just to name a few. And here are three more, coming from the anonymous human author of the book of Hebrews:
… but the one warning which is similarly serious and searing and scathing and scary but probably the most surprising in all of Scripture comes from the Holy Spirit by way of Peter in the second of his two epistles (that just means a “letter”) included in the canon of Scripture:
Wow! Whoa! What a warning!
I knew that there was something worse than being an unbeliever, than being unsaved, unredeemed…
… but those words of warning at the end of 2 Peter 2 take the cake: it would actually be better for a person “NOT TO HAVE KNOWN the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away” from it.
Stark.
Stunning.
May we not take our salvation lightly or for granted. May we not “turn away” from its path of pure and righteous conduct.
But may we also go further and keep an eye out for those who have made this very bad, very unwise, very consequential choice, and lovingly seek to be used by God to TURN THEM BACK.
Spiritually, we are our “brother’s keeper”.
Let’s make sure our own life is on track, then – through the testimony and power of pure living – let’s look to bring others along for the ride.
The ride which will one day come to a halt in heaven.
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