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: It’s Not About Others, It’s About YOU!
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryWhen people learn that I’m already well on the way to memorizing the ENTIRE BIBLE and have dedicated the rest of my life and all of my life savings to this, many (mistakenly) make the assumption that I’m some sort of super-saint. Nothing could be further from the facts because the truth is that the more I memorize Scripture, the more I see, the more I realize just how sinful I am and have been. Thankfully it doesn’t stop there. Rather, it proceeds to erode and eradicate each sin which comes into view… ping, ping, ping. Like cans set up by a sharpshooting prodigy with a new BB gun.
But then it proceeds to reveal MORE things in my life which aren’t in line with Scripture, but flips that script, too, and “performs its work” (1 Thessalonians 2:13) in “transforming us into the image of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18). And on and on it goes. This process won’t end on this side of eternity. The Bible is so amazing: it not only identifies but also eradicates the sin in our lives.
Anyway, I understand why so many come to that conclusion and I have to confess that every once in a while I find myself turning my gaze from my own sin, sins, sinning, sinfulness and onto things exhibited in the lives of others, but before letting that linger for long I’m reminded of a passage in the Bible which I first read when I was a child and it has always stuck with me.
It’s in the last chapter of one of my “favorite” books: John 21:22. It’s very well-known, I’m sure you’d heard and/or read it many times. It’s the third time that Jesus manifested Himself after His resurrection. He’s eating with the disciples and afterward asks Peter – three times, much to the latter’s chagrin (perhaps due to the repetition [like when someone asks YOU the SAME THING multiple times] or the fact that it reminded him of the equal number of times he denied knowing Jesus on the night of His crucifixion) – if he loves Him, and Peter affirms that he does, and Jesus tells him to shepherd His sheep. Peter then starts asking Jesus about John and the Lord basically tells him to “forget about the other guy” because when it comes to sin (in that case, specifically about betraying Christ) or who’s doing what or how much to further the kingdom of heaven, it’s not about others, it’s about YOU!
For years now, whenever I see something in someone else that doesn’t seem right, I don’t even let my mind “go there” and instead automatically turn it right back to focusing on how much I’VE sinned and how much room for growth and improvement there is in MY life… and it absolutely revolutionized it. A much happier path to walk along in life. When it comes to praise, focus on others. When it comes to a need for improvement or growth, focus on yourself. It’s not just far more joyful but effective and productive.
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The Stages of Spiritual Growth (Good, Better, Best)
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryThe best-known location of the spiritual growth continuum is probably 1 John 2:12-14: little children > young men > fathers.
But another one I’ve discovered in recent years and just love is this:
“Remember Jesus” > “Consider Jesus” > “Fixing our eyes on Jesus” (in 1 Timothy 2:8, Hebrews 3:1, and Hebrews 12:2)
(If I were in alliteration mode I might say “meet, meditate, metamorphose”) (I especially love that last one, PERFECT word since here’s the meaning per the Merriam-Webster dictionary: “to change into a different form especially by supernatural means; to change strikingly the appearance or character” – that’s EXACTLY how it is in the Christian life!)
I discussed these in a prior post but didn’t point out the poignant and palpable progression of these three. (I guess I am in alliteration mode after all! =)
When I first confessed Christ as my Savior, as THE Savior, as the ONLY Savior (1 Timothy 2:5), it was as though, from a personal experiential standpoint, after not really being an inherent part of my life much less MY LIFE (Colossians 3:4; Galatians 2:20), I “remembered” Jesus. From those countless sanctuary sermons, Sunday school lessons and youth group events. All of that accumulated knowledge about Him and His Word which flames the fuse of faith (Romans 10:17) came back in a big way but this time came to life. (Literally.)
Thereafter I found that I “considered” Jesus regularly, consistently, without the elongated spells signified by spiritual silence as it were. I found myself thinking about Him all throughout the day. This was coupled with (produced by) a greater and greater presence of the Bible (the “sword of the Spirit” – Ephesians 6:17 – which He wields so well, like a doctor’s scalpel) in my life and mindspace, which fans the flames of faith.
Now that has gone to a whole other, more intense, even more consistent level such that NOT thinking about Him and His Word has become the exception, not the rule anymore. The script has flipped. And I couldn’t be more thrilled. Or more grateful.
In which stage of spiritual growth do YOU find yourself today? That’s the second most important question in life. One huge help in my journey has been to regularly “take inventory” of my mindspace, of the actual thoughts which enter and exit or linger in my mind each day. I’ll elaborate on this in a future post (see item “3.” in the Side Panel or very bottom of this page if you’d like to automatically be notified by email whenever a new post is published) but for the purposes of this one, the main thing is to truly and straightforwardly evaluate the nature and duration and especially object of your thoughts that day or hour or week. If the Lord and Heavenly Father and Holy Spirit and the Bible top that list in both quality and quantity, in both essence and extent, in both degree and duration, you can be sure – no, “certain” – that you’re on exactly the right path (2 Peter 1:8). Otherwise, not (1:9). But we’ll never know unless we regularly (“all the more diligent”) self-administer that test, unless we consistently complete that self-examination (1:10; also 2 Corinthians 13:5).
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the most important question in life, and that’s whether we have a relationship with the Lord at all. That’s the very beginning, the genesis (no pun intended), the starting line spiritually, and only then can the race (1 Corinthians 9:24; Galatians 5:7; 2 Timothy 4:7; and to bring it full circle for this post, Hebrews 12:1) of the Christian life begin. Like when they fire that blank gun at the start of most track events. It’s an obstacle course at times (2 Timothy 3:12) but well worth it (Romans 8:18; James 1:2-4) as you seek to “remember” then “consider” then “fix your eyes” on Jesus.
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The (Positive) Purpose of (Awful) Anxiety
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryIn a recent post I focused on God’s loving sovereignty, which – if focused upon – will render anxiety in one’s daily life virtually nonexistent. No joke, no exaggeration.
This will be a running theme in this online journal/blog, for that very reason, because it IS so utterly bedrock and beneficial and blessing in nature, which rears its beautiful and heaven-borne head literally every single day of my life.
For this entry/post, I’ll focus on just one aspect of that.
Anxiety is unhealthy, wrong, unbiblical, sin. Understatements all. In fact, not just detrimental to one’s mental and emotional health but also physical: it’s a long-known scientific certainty that stress (a.k.a. anxiety, worrying, fretting, obsessing) is not just direly damaging and indeed deadly to the human body but I believe it’s at the very root of ALL disorders. More on that in a future post(s) but for now I think we all agree that anxiety is bad.
But per that prior post, God routinely uses something that’s bad and indeed even sin for our benefit and upbuilding and strengthening and good. It was true regarding Pharaoh – perhaps the perfect personification of pride and evil and wickedness and a (major, massive) “control issue” – as seen in the crystal clear conclusion of Romans 9:17, and true regarding “ALL things” as stated just a handful of verses earlier (Romans 8:28). And so it is with anxiety.
It is indeed bad, sinful – but the initial tinge of anxiety is a magnificent manifestation of God’s grace! Like when we barely brush up against a hot oven or sizzling saucepan on the stovetop. Meaning, I firmly believe that God, in His great and ongoing grace, gives us an alert when we’re about to veer off-course, like a highway guardrail, a wonderful “warning system” which He has created for and placed within us. Because He knows the default position of the human heart. Of every human heart – from Pharaoh and Adolf Hitler to Billy Graham and John MacArthur and even the beloved Apostle Paul himself (hard to believe? Just go back another chapter, to Romans 7:18, and you’ll see this stunning self-summary by that super-saint: “For I know that NOTHING GOOD dwells in me, that is, in my flesh”… if that was true about him, how much more so you and me and the entirety of humanity?) – as succinctly stated in Jeremiah 17:9 – “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked/sick…”
Indeed.
God, who created us, who even knows the number of hairs on our heads (Luke 12:7; Matthew 10:30), knew our default position and how given we would be to anxiety, which is nothing more than the human reaction to the inherent knowledge that we are not in control. And that, like nothing else, makes a person nervous, unsure, anxious. So how generous of Him to also create a built-in warning system to alert us, to flash emotional messages to our minds like “danger ahead” and “starting to veer off-course” – in the form of the initial onset or tinge of anxiety.
Please don’t despise it. USE it! By viewing it as a loving and advance reminder from God to you, to avoid the cliff of trying to “take control” and instead acknowledge and affirm the infinityfold fact that HE is in control, always and in all things. The HE is sovereign – and loving. What more could a person possibly need or want?!
Answer: nothing. Not a thing. Not a thing beyond that is needed to experience a life of perpetual bliss and peace and comfort and joy. Every day. Every hour.
So the next time you feel the first foray of anxiety into your life, into your mind, flip the script and simply remind your mind that it’s a GOOD thing that we’re NOT in control, that God IS – since He knows us better than we could ever know ourselves (and therefore what will truly make us happy) and since He loves us more than we could ever love ourselves – so WE DON’T NEED TO BE! Think of it as God’s literally reaching down from heaven and snatching that burden OFF OF OUR SHOULDERS and ONTO HIS.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest… for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. For My yoke is EASY and My load is LIGHT.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
The ONLY thing we need to do is to LET HIM!
“Casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
He’s able, He’s willing, and He’s ready. Are you?
Make this a practice, an ongoing “thing” and activity in your day-to-day life and I GUARANTEE that your level of happiness and joy and peace and love will steadily increase. And you can quote me on that.
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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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