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…
Perspective is EVERYTHING!
/in Uncategorized /by Bible Memory“A sated [satiated, satisfied, full-stomached] man loathes honey, but to a famished man any BITTER thing is SWEET.” (Proverbs 27:7)
What an amazing verse and truth. One man, who’s full, deems even honey to be undesirable, but a man who’s starving deems even a BITTER thing to be sweet, to be desirable.
It reminds me of a drawing that I saw on the internet years ago. It has two scenes. Or more accurately, one scene from two, opposite perspectives/angles.
The first image is of a man who has been stranded on an island who finally sees a boat approaching and thinks he’s about to be saved from his dire situation.
The second is of a man who has been stranded at sea who finally sees land and thinks he’s about to be saved from his dire situation.
So the next time you catch yourself feeling a bit ungrateful or taking your blessings for granted (I’m sorry to say that this happens far too often with me and is probably my biggest, most frequent sin), just remember that there are (literally) billions of people who would (literally) give their right arm (or both) to be in your shoes. So no matter how bad or dire your situation may seem from time to time, just keep in mind (a) that NONE of us DESERVES ANYTHING good, that it’s “all gravy” and could be much worse (1 Peter 5:8), (b) that there are people suffering far more severely than you (1 Peter 5:9), and (c) that such times in our life serve a very distinct and marvelous purpose far more grand and joyful than the circumstance itself and, by the way, are ONLY TEMPORARY and won’t last forever (1 Peter 5:10) (but the benefit they produce will!).
Ah, yes, perspective is everything.
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Never Sit in This Seat. (And Avoid Those Who DO!)
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryYou might think I’m talking about the seat “at the head of the table” referenced in Luke 14:7-11. And that’s also a seat to be avoided at all cost. The seat of selfish pride, of self-honor.
Or you might think I’m talking about “the seat of scoffers” referenced in Psalm 1:1, at the very beginning, in the very first verse of that longest of all biblical books and constant “love song” to the Lord and His Word. And that too is a seat to be avoided at all cost.
But I’m talking about trying to place oneself in the seat of God Himself, as referenced in 2 Thessalonians 2:4.
You might not immediately think that you have anything in common with the Antichrist of end-times fame, and certainly it’s on a different scale, on both a prophetic and actual basis, but did you ever realize that any time we try to control things or other people, we are absolutely putting ourselves in HIS seat? Since He – and He alone – is sovereign, since He shares control with no one? And every time we exhibit pride – like the Antichrist or those dinner guests in Luke 14 – that’s tantamount to placing ourselves in the seat of Him for whom alone “pride” and “Self” aren’t wicked and indeed, in His case, are utterly appropriate and fitting and righteous? Pride is something of which He COULDN’T ever be guilty because He is worthy of all glory and honor and power and praise and worship, is He not? Indeed He is.
He is worthy, YOU AND I ARE NOT. Distinctly not. (That statement should garner me an Oscar nomination for Biggest Understatement in a Supporting Role.)
We look at the Antichrist’s conduct described in 2 Thessalonians and Revelation and Daniel (among other passages) and immediately realize how foolish and silly and repulsive it is, yet we are guilty – in essence if not extent – of the very same thing whenever we would seek control over anything but ourselves (Galatians 5:23) or – “with all dignity” – one’s children (1 Timothy 3:4) during that temporary phase of their lives. Whenever we let pride creep in by deeming ourselves better than others — than anyone else — or by seeking honor and glory for ourselves versus “putting the spotlight on others” and overarchingly on the Lord Jesus Christ.
So instead of unknowingly and unintentionally following the example of none other than the Antichrist, let us determine this day, here and now, to instead – and very knowingly and intentionally – follow the example of Him who loved others so much that He laid down HIS OWN LIFE that they might live (1 Timothy 2:5-6; 1 John 3:16; Romans 5:18-19), who was so humble that he didn’t regard even ACTUAL AND LITERAL EQUALITY WITH GOD something to be grasped or counted as gain in terms of human self (Philippians 2:3-11), and when suffering didn’t turn that onto those inflicting such but rather entrusted Himself to God (1 Peter 2:23; 3:9; 4:19). And so should we.
“EVERYONE who is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord; assuredly, he will not be unpunished.” (Proverbs 16:5)
“For EVERYONE who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles himself shall be exalted.” (Luke 14:11)
“And WHOEVER exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12)
“Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” (James 4:10)
Or as Charles Haddon Spurgeon would put it, each of us has a choice to be HUMBLE or be HUMBLED. May we choose the former. Like that wise dinner guest in Luke 14:10. I gladly do so since even in the human/horizontal realm it’s just far more flat-out fun. And if it was good enough for “God in flesh appearing”, how much more fitting for sinners and mere mortals like us?
Lastly, there’s one more takeaway, one more way to apply this truth.
In sports lingo, everything discussed above primarily pertains to “offense”. But this is also imperative for a strong, healthy “defense” in life. Here’s what I mean.
What we do is very important. For instance, James 2:14-17 and 1 John 3:17-18 are crystal clear that qualitative to any genuine Christian is the consistent practice of meeting the needs of others. Same with the broader category of loving others, to the point that 1 John 4:7-8 says “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love” and again at the end of that very same Chapter, verse 20 says this: “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he HAS seen, CANNOT love God whom he has NOT seen.” Whoa! And James 3:9-12 echoes that very sentiment when it comes to how we speak to or about others: “With it [our tongue] we bless our Lord and Father; and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing [of God] and cursing [of others]. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh AND bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Neither can salt water produce fresh.” And while our first human priority is toward other believers, this definitely extends to ALL people, which is why the beloved Apostle Paul says, “and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, AND FOR ALL MEN [i.e., mankind, people, everyone]” (1 Thessalonians 3:12).
Yes, what we do is very important – but so is what we DON’T do.
Meaning, that while it’s crucial that WE never try to sit in the seat which belongs wholly, fully, and solely to GOD (i.e., trying to control others/circumstances, pride, etc.), neither should be populate our life’s relationships with people who do try to sit in that seat. I’m not talking about strangers or reaching out to share the Gospel with people who exhibit such a pattern in their life but rather whom we do – and don’t – give a regular role in our own life.
While the Bible makes this clear on a general, overarching level, it also makes it clear in several very specific areas of life or patterns of conduct. Here are just a few, the ones which are always at the forefront of my mind when discerning which relationships I should or shouldn’t be allowing into my life so as to be in full compliance with Scripture and wisdom:
I’ll elaborate far more in that future post but I’m sure you get the point, that not only should we make sure WE don’t try to sit in God’s seat but also not to spend time or focus or allow relational proximity with people who DO. And as we know from football and basketball and baseball and hockey and tennis and golf and any sport, it’s crucial to have both a strong offense and defense, and the Bible has just taught us that exact same principle in regard to the spiritual and relational aspect of our life. Much more about this in that future post, but simply starting to implement this biblical filter in your current relationships will have a huge effect and change your life in ways you can’t even imagine. More emotionally liberated and free. More wise. Much more happy. Stay tuned!
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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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Don’t forget to add some AIR!
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryThat word, air, always makes me think of Michael Jordan. Air Jordan. Who earned that nickname by gliding ten feet in the air from foul line to rim, seemingly without effort, capped-off by an imaginative slam-dunk rarely seen by anyone else before. Or since.
But in this post I’m talking about actual air. You see, as discussed in previous posts, when the Lord called me to quit my job to devote full-time to memorizing the ENTIRE BIBLE and commit my life savings to this historic project and building this website to chronicle the journey and then using this history-making event to help others in the areas of Bible memory, spiritual growth, additional happiness in this life and eternal treasure and reward in the one to come, and even in physical healing based entirely on simply ingesting (“finding”) the words of God, the Bible (per 1 Timothy 4:8 & 6:6 and especially Proverbs 4:22 – it doesn’t get any clearer than that!), I sold my only car and started relying on my bike and own two feet to get me around town as needed. While it’s a LOT more work than merely pushing a gas pedal, there have also been some great benefits, like getting back to my high school weight and far more importantly finding that it has been during those walks and bike rides that the Lord has opened my eyes and ears to some amazing truths which I’ll be sharing with you via this online journal (a.k.a., “blog”).
Anyway, I had gotten frighteningly low on groceries so today I rode my bike to the store so I could make it through the next week without dropping to my fetal weight. =) I hadn’t gotten more than 30 seconds into the trip when I noticed that my bike was far tougher to pedal than before. Way tougher. To the point that I was barely moving. Expending SO MUCH energy and effort but not getting anywhere.
I’m usually extremely careful about biking. To obey all rules and laws and ordinances, to avoid getting hit by the smartphone/can’t-go-ten-seconds-without-texting crowd of drivers these days, and to maintain its mechanical fitness. Well, I was quite intent about getting to the store so as to stave off starving tomorrow so I left without doing one thing on the preparatory checklist: I neglected to check the air in my tires.
And that’s when it hit me that this is EXACTLY how it is in the Christian life, in our walk with the Lord. How many of us “expend a lot of energy and effort but don’t get anywhere” to speak of, don’t really grow all that much?
The Bible in general and Bible memory in specific is the “air” in the Christian life.
Oh, sure, a bike will move if the tires are low. But not very much. And not very effectively or efficiently. But if you try Bible memory on a regular, systematic basis, you’ll find that you will GLIDE through life. Like Michael Jordan used to do on the basketball court. EVERYTHING will become easier, more effective, more efficient. And bear greater – and tangible – fruit.
So before you leave your home next time to go to work or the store or run some errands, do yourself the biggest favor and DON’T FORGET TO ADD SOME AIR! Memorize a verse or two, and then recite it throughout the day. Let it baste beautifully in your brain, in your body, in your heart and soul and mind. And I assure you that you’ll start to go through life like Michael Jordan on a basketball court.
P.S. If you aren’t sure how to best memorize Bible verses, stay tuned because the more books of the Bible I memorize, the EASIER it becomes and the greater CAPACITY for even more because of the very specific memory method it is revealing to me, to my mind’s eye, which (believe it or not) also makes it EXCITING AND FUN, and which I can hardly wait to share with you here when that process is complete or at least 95% complete, something like that. I expect such to occur in the coming months so stay tuned, it’ll CHANGE YOUR LIFE – not just spiritually but also intellectually and emotionally, just watch and see! (NOTE: If you’d like to automatically be notified by email when that and other future posts are published, you may do so in “3.” in the Side Panel near the top of this page and at the very bottom.)
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