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…
Never Gonna Let You Go
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryBack in the 80’s when I was just a kid, I remember a really annoying song of that title but this post ISN’T about that.
Because while that (very overplayed) pop song was indeed annoying, the way I’m using the title is EXTREMELY POSITIVE, a HUGE BLESSING! Here’s why.
As discussed at length in this website’s About page, for years I kept trying to think of a way, a unique way to demonstrate how grateful I am to the Lord for all He has done and who He is and one day not too long ago it hit me: He answered that question in a big way by placing in my heart a not just strong but inescapable desire and indeed compulsion to memorize the ENTIRE Bible and then recite it, His “love letter” to humanity, to recite HIS OWN words BACK TO HIM.
And as described in prior posts, on the home page and in the Overview video, as I memorized my very first whole book (the book of James) the Bible itself started revealing to my mind’s eye a very specific memory method which has continued to unfold with each of the first six books I’ve memorized such that the more I memorize, the MORE ROOM there is in my mind to memorize even more, and so on, it’s amazing and when that process is completed (I’d estimate it’s around 75% right now) I can hardly wait to SHARE it with you, with everyone, with the worldwide masses as the Lord leads and enables and empowers.
But in order to fulfill His FULL calling – not just to memorize the entire Bible but then to recite it back to Him – and oh yeah because it’s commanded in Scripture (Colossians 3:16) my daily routine includes RECITING the books of the Bible He has graciously allowed my to have memorized. You know, so I don’t give up gained ground… or as 2 John 8 puts it, so I don’t “lose what has been accomplished.” So two great reasons for me to not just memorize but RECITE Scripture each and every and throughout the day. Either provides infinitely sufficient motivation. BOTH produce the aforementioned compulsion.
That was a (periodic) recap of what this history-making undertaking is all about, but the point and purpose for this post is simply to say that while I was reciting the book of 1 Peter this morning (#3 of my 6 so far, en route to all 66) one of the verses which really stood out to me (they seem to take turns =) was 2:25 which says, “For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.”
We often hear and talk about “guardian angels” but did you ever realize that the Lord Jesus Christ HIMSELF is “guarding” YOUR soul?
Wow, talk about amazing!
But Peter wasn’t alone in literally witnessing the transforming and protective power of Christ. No, John did, too, so it’s no surprise that 1 John 5:18 says this: “We know that NO ONE who is born of God sins [Literally (Greek), ‘does not keep on sinning’, i.e., as a pattern, such that it characterizes one’s life; James 3:2 makes crystal clear that even believers will still sin: “For we ALL stumble in MANY ways” (can I get an ‘Amen’ to that? =)]; but He who was born of God [i.e., Jesus] KEEPS [Literally, ‘guards‘, i.e., Guardian, just like 1 Peter 2:25!] him [i.e., His children, EVERY Christian] and the evil one does not touch him.”
Wow, talk about JAW-DROPPING!
Do you know what that means? It means that you and I can go through life with TOTAL CONFIDENCE, KNOWING that not just one or more angels (the “ministering spirits” noted in Hebrews 1:13-14) but the Lord Jesus Christ HIMSELF is literally “guarding” us… just like those Roman soldiers guarded His earthly tomb after His crucifixion but multiplied by infinity.
With that perspective, net-net, factoring in the necessary and indeed joy-inducing and endurance-producing testings and trials (James 1:2-4; Hebrews 12:11), life is EASY, a veritable CAKEWALK!
Thank You, Lord, for watching over each and every one of Your children. We need it. Our flesh is not only weak but utterly sinful, totally incapable of anything good (Romans 7:18) so thank You so much for literally GUARDING us all day every day of our post-salvation lives such that even the devil himself cannot, will not, DOES NOT touch us!
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Quick Thought: Not What It Seems
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryFor reasons which are probably obvious given this history-making undertaking the Lord has laid on and in my heart (i.e., my schedule is pretty much booked for the next several years since I’d like to finish memorizing the ENTIRE Bible before, you know, rigor mortis sets in =) I don’t have much time at all to play games but I find that some of them are actually a big POSITIVE in terms not only of fun but time management, i.e., some of them can help keep the human mind sharp and therefore result in increased productivity, i.e., five minutes of playing that type of game and 55 minutes of work usually results in getting MORE done than just working for all 60 minutes. I don’t apply that principle to every hour of the day, but I try to do so every three or four anyway and find that works really well.
I just spent the past few minutes playing one of my favorite such games: FreeCell. I don’t know if it’s still the case (haven’t bought a new laptop in nearly two decades) but that game used to come preloaded on virtually all computers so you’re probably very familiar with it but basically you have eight columns of cards (or one can just use numbers of four different colors) and to win you have to move the cards/numbers around so as to “free” up the lowest and up to the highest until there are no more on the board. The key – and main benefit, main mind-sharpening aspect – is to THINK AHEAD and indeed several moves ahead, making it very much like Chess in that regard except you’re only playing the board/yourself, not an actual opponent.
Here’s the thing: it can often LOOK LIKE a move is good but when someone goes to actually make it they unfortunately learn that the move instead ended in getting stuck and thus losing the game.
And that’s EXACTLY how it is in life!
A situation presents itself that seems like a home run. So you gladly and gleefully swing.
But unfortunately, it often results in a strikeout instead.
I’ve found that this is one reason that the Bible is so important in our day-to-day lives. It literally “makes wise” and “enlightens the eyes” (Psalm 19:7-8) and thus lights the way and reveals those opportunities which truly are home runs and which ones are strikeouts, pitfalls, just waiting for us to fall in headfirst.
Like my mom used to always say when I was growing up, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” So true (and/because it’s straight from the Bible, more on this in a future post). And the Bible does BOTH, prevents and cures as a given situation calls for. Like the Bible testifies of itself in Psalm 119:105, it is indeed “a lamp to [our] feet and a light to [our] path.”
Thank You, Lord, for being so gracious and generous in giving us such an amazing and effective tool in successfully navigating life: Your Word, the Bible. Thank you that, like you – indeed, because it’s from You and by You and of You – it is absolutely perfect and flawless and infallible, so just by “reading and heeding” it we can know in advance which opportunities in life will be strikeouts and which ones will be home runs – a help we desperately need since so often a path which presents itself SEEMS right but is actually wrong, SEEMS good but is actually bad, SEEMS beneficial but is actually detrimental.
May we AVAIL OURSELVES of that tremendous tool, the Bible, every day, every hour, every minute, every second.
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“Just as”
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryWhile that phrase does kick off one of my (and clearly Billy Graham’s) favorite hymns, that’s not what this post is about. Rather, as I continue the rest-of-my-life calling to memorize the ENTIRE Bible (and then recite it back to Him as a very unique love/thank-You gift and then help others do likewise in a way that’s actually easy and FUN) I find myself coming across it more than once. I’m sure there will be others in the future as I work my way through this historic goal but will highlight two for now since I came across both just this morning.
Just as David is “the man after God’s own heart”, I view the beloved Apostle Paul as “the man after Jesus’s own heart” in that I can’t think of anyone in the A.D./post-Christ’s-earthly-life era who more fully resembles Him, so much so that the Holy Spirit superintended his commanding the early Christians and all since to “imitate ME”! WOW! And he could say that because of the fact that he imitated the Lord: “Be imitators of me, JUST AS I also am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1)
The second location of that phrase I came across this morning is far more immediately attainable but just as (no pun intended =) mind-blowing.
Because “just as” Paul imitated the Lord Jesus in general, we are to do so in a very specific way, in the matter of FORGIVING OTHERS.
I think that perhaps the two most difficult things for human nature to swallow are submitting (voluntarily giving up control) and forgiving. Forgiving those who wrong or mistreat us. No, human nature’s default position is revenge. Yet, as ever, the Christian is called to do the EXACT OPPOSITE of what comes naturally to us, the exact opposite of the flesh (faith’s filthy but ultimately feckless foe). But praise the Lord, He gives us very clear MOTIVATION in the Bible to help us do that, to forgive others.
He often motivates us via carrot but particularly when a matter is SO crucial, indeed grave, He seems to also and even primarily use a “stick”. And that’s certainly the case when it comes to forgiving others. Just look at what He says in Matthew 18:21-35 about a certain slave whose master forgave him an unpayable debt but who then went out and demanded that a fellow slave repay him a far lesser sum and had the guy thrown in prison for nonpayment. And when the master heard of it, he had these choice and very pertinent-to-us words: “Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, JUST AS I had mercy on you?” Then the master restored his (unpayable) debt and had him tortured then said this (here’s that “stick”!): “So shall My heavenly Father also do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
“From your heart” is a very high bar, but the Bible goes EVEN FURTHER than that! We are to forgive others to the same EXTENT that the Lord has forgiven US. I.e., not just sincerely but completely, without reserve.
Talk about a HIGH BAR! The highest. The absolutely highest. And yet that isn’t a suggestion, it’s a command. A very clear command with very clear consequences.
Can you think of anyone in your life whom you haven’t forgiven? Fully and completely, without reserve or reservation or holding back? Any hidden grudges beneath the surface in your life? I strongly urge us all to take a very close – and frequent/regular – look at that, just to be sure, since the consequences of failing to do so could not be any bigger or graver. Perhaps it’s a sibling or parent. Maybe a co-worker or boss who is making or in the past made your life miserable. Maybe an ex. Maybe someone at church.
Remember when I said that God not only gives us that command but also the motivation? Here’s what I mean. If you can’t bring yourself to do it for them, for that person(s) who wronged you, and if you won’t do it for the Lord, DO IT FOR YOURSELF! In other words, the perspective I’m about to tell you will make this MUCH EASIER and thus provide ample motivation: forgiving others benefits YOU infinitely more than it benefits them.
Give that perspective a try and I know that you, like me, will find freely forgiving anyone and everyone to be a ton of FUN! You literally won’t be able to “get (give) enough of it.” You’ll become ADDICTED to fully and immediately forgiving others, such that it will become your new “default position”, your “knee-jerk” reaction whenever some “jerk” wrongs you. As long as you don’t forget who’s the biggest beneficiary by far: YOU!
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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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