Many people will (mistakenly) think that anyone who memorizes a huge amount of Scripture must be some sort of “super saint”. I have this to say about that, and that’s this: Super saint? NO I AIN’T! Not even close. (To echo the Apostle Paul in Romans 7:18, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh”.) In fact, just the opposite of their notion is true, because the more of the Bible I memorize, the more I realize how utterly and entirely sinful I am in and of myself, in my flesh. You see, as Psalm 19:7-8 clearly states, the Bible – and especially memorizing the Bible – “enlightens the eyes”. It breaks through the blindness which besets us from birth and opens one’s eyes. To the truth and existence and nature and will of God. To the nature and detrimental, destructive, and indeed deadly consequences of sin (Romans 6:23). And to the nature of man. Our flesh. Our fallacy. Our tendencies. Why we do what we do. Why we do what we should not and not do what we should! (Romans 7:19) So you can see why I say that the more Scripture one memorizes, the more one will see the righteousness of God and the sinfulness of oneself, of the flesh, to the extent that I can honestly say that I’m the BIGGEST SINNER I know, I’m the biggest sinner I’ve EVER known, and I’m probably the biggest sinner YOU’VE ever known, at least that’s how I see it, that’s my (believe it or not blissful) Bible-borne perspective.
But thankfully Psalm 19:7-8 doesn’t stop there! Because it’s just as clear that the Bible also “restores the soul” and “makes wise the simple” and “rejoices the heart”! It’s not just a win, not just a home run, memorizing and reciting Scripture is a GRAND SLAM! And not just spiritually, but humanly… not just in the spiritual realm, but in the human realm, not just in the life to come but also this present life (1 Timothy 4:8). And I can testify from firsthand experience that all of this is absolutely true: so long as I’m doing so on a regular basis, my spirit remains utterly joyful, rarely ever leaving the proverbial “cloud nine”. I find that I see things that many others don’t (heightened insight produced by the Word within). And I find that my heart remains filled with and focused on the things above, not on the things that are on earth (Colossians 3:2), not on the things which are seen, but unseen, not the things which are temporal but eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18) – what a wonderful way to go through life! And what’s amazing is that I’m just at the START this journey of memorizing the entire Bible, after which the Lord is leading me to turn this into a full-fledged, full-speed-ahead, full-time ministry – here’s the plan…
PHASE 1: Memorize the ENTIRE Bible as a “love/thank You” gift back to Him and also to prove, to demonstrate to the world the utter and tangible power and benefits of the ingested (memorized) Word of God! And for the first few months to highlight the need and leave room for the Lord to lead like-minded Bible-loving believers to support this in whatever ways they’re able and willing and excited to do so when learning about this historic endeavor and opportunity.
PHASE 2: After memorizing all or at least the vast majority of the New Testament, the next step will commence and entail totally changing the emphasis of this website from seeking one-time and especially Monthly Partners so as to get and keep this going to just giving back by meeting the needs of others, to “fulfill the law of Christ” by “bearing the burdens of others” (Galatians 6:2) and “serving one another” (Galatians 5:13; 1 Peter 4:10).
Specifically, I will make myself available all throughout the day virtually every day so anyone will be able to:
- Ask and receive Bible-based answers to their questions about the Bible itself, God, sin, human nature, and whatever else might be on their hearts at any given time. Literally for the rest of my or their lives, they will have a ready and waiting friend and/or listening ear and/or shoulder to cry on according to their need at the time. Without reservation, and without judgment.
- Submit prayer requests to be prayed for by someone who is brimming with the living Word within him, which I firmly believe is the biggest key to effective prayer: the Word sanctifies (John 17:17) and cleanses (Ephesians 5:26) and keeps pure (Psalm 119:9) and away from sin (Psalm 119:11); now combine all of this with the fact that “the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears attend to their prayer” (1 Peter 3:12) and “The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much” (James 5:16b) and perhaps speaking most poignantly to the amazing link between memorizing Scripture and an effective prayer life, “If you abide in Me, and MY WORDS ABIDE IN YOU, ask WHATEVER you WISH, and it SHALL BE DONE for you.” (John 15:7). How will people’s lives literally change and be transformed by the supplication and intercession by one in whom such a massive amount of Scripture will be dwelling? GAME-CHANGER. Life-changer. WORLD-changer! (Literally. Just ask the people who were living in the time of Elijah.)
- Find a BIBLICAL – Bible-loving, Bible-believing, Bible-practicing – church near them, right in their local area! I am already in the process of putting together this network of churches; denomination will be irrelevant, the only criterion will be the extent to which they demonstrably adhere to the principles set forth in the Bible about “how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:15) With a primary focus on how supportive they are of Bible memory. I expect even just the human-interest/intellectual aspect of this project to attract countless people who aren’t even religious or are very early on in their spiritual growth who’ll need and want to find a church that will foster and maximize said growth.
- Find the businesses in YOUR area that are owned and/or managed by fellow Christians who love the Lord and His Word and realize the importance of and support Bible memory. Galatians 6:10 and 1 Timothy 6:2 make clear that it is our responsibility as Christians that our everyday choices inure to the benefit of fellow believers whenever possible, so I’m going to make that super easy and convenient by posting a nationwide (but searchable by state/county/city) LIST of Christian businesses so we can all choose THEM whenever we need a product or service; once assembled, it will appear on the “Find A Christian Biz” / Yellow Pages section here at BibleMemory.ORG so please check back for that in the coming weeks.
PHASE 3: Turn this burgeoning history-in-the-making effort into a full-speed-ahead, full-fledged, full-time ministry to Educate, Encourage, and Empower others to memorize and recite Scripture on a regular, systematic, verse-by-verse, book-by-book basis! Tall goal, but totally doable, because something very interesting happened as I memorized my very first book of the Bible, the New Testament book of James. That goal seemed not just tall but downright monumental. Undoable. Right? Wrong! Because, amazingly, the more of it I memorize, the EASIER it gets! The more of it I memorize, the more I am able to memorize. By the time I came to Chapter 5, I knew this large task was indeed going to be accomplished. BIG difference than when I was facing Chapter 1 Verse 1.
This is a fantastic real-life demonstration of Matthew 19:26 which says, “With men, this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Including memorizing the ENTIRE Bible! You see, in the physical realm, the more water you pour into a glass, the less capacity it will have for more water to be added. But in the spiritual realm, when it comes to God and His Word, the Bible, the exact OPPOSITE is true! The MORE you pour into your mind, the MORE capacity you’ll have for additional verses and chapters and books to be added! Not less. And this amazing power is exponential in nature: I saw a large increase in capacity from James 1 to James 5, but double or triple the capacity by the time I finished memorizing Hebrews 1-5, and then quadruple or quintuple the capacity by the time I finished memorizing Hebrews 6-10, and so on. This finding is literally historic, and indeed the closest thing to a bona fide miracle in recent history of which I’m aware: it’s verifiable, it’s tangible, and – due to the “living and active” nature of the Bible (Hebrews 4:12) – it’s even repeatable. While the specific extent of this phenomenon might vary from person to person, the essence of the Word does not. Ever. This is how I’ll be able not just to Educate and Encourage the masses to memorize and recite Scripture on a regular, systematic basis but also to EMPOWER them to do so (the Word through me). (Believe me, once a person gets a taste of this, his or her life will never be the same. Human metaphors don’t really do it justice but in terms of the Christian life, it’s like trying filet mignon for the first time after a lifetime of eating hamburger.)
This will primarily be accomplished by producing a course, a syllabus, an entire series of videos, CD’s, and even audio cassettes, which will take all of this and make it SUPER EASY and CONVENIENT for people the world over to learn and apply this at their own pace and as their individual schedules permit. I am utterly convinced that another worldwide spiritual revival will occur, but I’m even more certain that it will only occur as people start ingesting the living Word of God by memorizing and reciting it regularly – “all the day” (Psalm 119:97) and even “day AND night” (Psalm 1:2-3).
By the way, this would be a great time to let you know that as I’ve been memorizing Scripture, a very specific METHOD of doing so is coming into focus, which, as noted above, I can testify firsthand is making it MUCH EASIER for me to memorize and retain – not just the Bible but EVERYTHING: to-do lists, schedule and meetings, various events that occur, etc., a true “sponge” effect! – and I’m 99.9% sure that it will do so for virtually anyone and everyone who applies it. It’s still coming together but seems to be getting close to the point that it can be rolled out. This one aspect alone of this one phase alone could easily and literally change the world and people’s everyday lives.
PHASE 4: Set up new and/or work with established addiction centers to specifically address the huge need for healing, curing, and then preventing from recurring (relapse) the massive crisis of addiction to pain killers, opioids, and other drugs, as well as the dreadful disease of depression. I am absolutely certain that the best and probably only way to truly beat, to truly eradicate, overcome, and conquer an addiction is to turn to something even more addictive – and I am equally certain that the most addictive thing in the universe is the BIBLE, the living and active Word of God, the Word ingested. No doubt about it. The main challenge is that so relatively few ever really give regular and systematic Bible memory a try, but I – with your and the Lord’s help – intend to change that!
It won’t happen overnight but I have no doubt that change is indeed coming. And just in case you don’t think the Bible extends or has relevance to the physical realm of human existence, I humbly give you Proverbs 4:22 which, referring to the Bible, the “my words” of verse 20, clearly states that His words “are LIFE to those who find them, and HEALTH to ALL their WHOLE BODY.” Is that an amazing verse or what?! We have a super-duper health “pill” readily available to us (the Bible is the most-published and available book of all time) yet SO FEW EVER ACTUALLY SWALLOW IT! To their utter “missing out” yet few if any are even aware of this because nobody has trumpeted it from the proverbial mountaintops but with your help I intend to change this, too, and do just that!
I didn’t start memorizing entire books of the Bible as a child but did memorize a lot of single Bible verses and – totally not surprisingly in light of that verse/truth/fact – I haven’t had to see a doctor or go to the hospital my entire adult life. Not even a single time. No emergencies. No health surprises. Not one. I don’t think the two are unrelated or that this remarkable health history is mere coincidence or the result of “good genes”; no, I’m certain it’s that verse at work.
No, it won’t happen overnight but down the road I look forward to organizing some clinical/medical trials to demonstrate that this is universal and not just specific to me. I dare say that other than imparting the Gospel or giving one’s own life to save another’s, there is no greater act of love and kindness and therefore Christlikeness (since He epitomized and epitomizes both) than to free a person from the cruel slavery and bondage of addiction or depression, to provide them with the answer, the antidote, something that actually and permanently WORKS! So even just this phase of the action plan will likely be enough to revolutionize the nation and world.
CONCLUSION: If you like what you’ve heard here and found yourself nodding in agreement several times, please read on…
The Vision
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryAs a recap and summary of what BibleMemory.ORG is all about…
For years and years I have felt a strong desire to give a gift back to the Lord for Who He is and what He means to me and all He’s done, something above and beyond the norm, as important as those daily gifts of obedience and worship and fellowship and meditation are. Something in addition to those. A grand, overarching love gift and thank-You gift back to Him. And as noted on the About page and repeated in this blog’s very first post, one day IT HIT ME. Like a bolt of lightning from a stormy sky, it hit me EXACTLY what I could do. Indeed, what I MUST do. And that is, for the first time in known human history, to MEMORIZE the ENTIRE BIBLE and then recite His OWN WORD AND WORDS BACK TO HIM! [I am of course referring to non-deitic human history, since the Lord Jesus Himself not only KNEW the entire Bible by heart, not only KNEW the Word, but WAS the Word, was the very personification of the Bible. Whenever I use the term “human history” it excludes the Lord Jesus since He is in a class of His own, a class of one, since no other human before or after can even come close to comparing to Him even just on a human level, even just in his humanity.]
That’s quite the gift, to be sure. It will – and indeed already has begun to – require a full-time, day-in-and-day-out, multi-year commitment but (a) is still not even one-infinitieth of what He truly DESERVES but (b) is the closest to that I could think of, the best I can do, so I decided right then and there to dedicate the rest of my life to this and the ministries which I’m sure will flow forth from this historic endeavor, this history-making undertaking.
Even apart from the spiritual/religious aspect involving the Bible, just from a human, intellectual standpoint I already know that there’ll be a huge amount of media interest in this and that their presence will be extensive on the day or more likely week that I actually and literally RECITE the ENTIRE BIBLE back to Him [Lord-willing… and I’m sure He is! How could He NOT be? Like I mention on the home page, just think about how pleased, how flattered YOU would be if you gave a heartfelt love letter to the person you were dating and then on your next date that person RECITED IT BACK TO YOU BY HEART, FROM MEMORY! (Okay, some people might be frightened by that but you get the point. I.e., because most of us wouldn’t write a love letter in the first place if we had just started dating, if we didn’t already have a good idea of their character and suitability, I would definitely be flattered and view that as a huge positive/plus!)]. I mean, for any mere mortal (let alone such a flawed one as I) to be able to memorize much less recite at one time anything so voluminous as the ENTIRE BIBLE would have to attract a ton of attention – religious, media, academic/intellectual, and otherwise.
So what I currently envision is making a whole week (month?) of it (since the Bible could never be recited in just one day) and use that event to focus the world’s attention on the Bible – its literal, functional, actual power, regardless of the vessel – and our precious Savior. I am highly confident that such will be sustained far beyond that event/week/month via the resultant ministries (discussed here) but even if it weren’t, just being used to direct the world’s focus on the Lord of the Word and the Word of the Lord even for a minute would single-handedly make my entire life very worthwhile.
Of course, none of this will happen if the Lord doesn’t lead enough like-minded Bible-loving believers to serve as His hand and fingers by getting behind this and supporting it in whatever ways they’re able as listed in the Side Panel at the top-right of this page. Because if I can’t devote FULL-TIME to finishing that ginormous task (there’s a reason it’ll be the first time in human history) it wouldn’t happen. (I could probably finish the whole New Testament on a part-time basis but He deserves so I am dead-set on ALL of His Word, BOTH halves, so I need to start doing so full-time.) And that’s also why it’s so important that Lord-led believers also spread the word and “share” this and the other posts with everyone they know, by word-of-mouth and/or on their social media platforms, to “follow” this blog and subscribe to the Bible Memory YouTube Channel, and to sponsor this whole thing via the Donate button above or below and to check that little box on the PayPal page and become a Monthly Partner in this endeavor, even if just for ten bucks a month (just 33 cents a day).
I already KNOW that the Bible is so powerful that being ingested (memorized) even by just one person – no matter how flawed – will absolutely shake the world to its core and produce some downright amazing, jaw-dropping things and I can hardly wait to see exactly what He has in store but it’s exciting beyond description even in foresight… methinks the world is about to get a real eye-opener, and I can’t thank you enough for being a big part of that!
So that’s the vision in a few paragraphs. There’s so much more to say and share but I’ll do so via future posts. For now, I just want to end this one by testifying to the fact that the Bible has not only saved me – in every way a person could possibly be saved: spiritual, physical, emotional, relational – but has put me squarely on the proverbial “cloud nine” each and every day. Just under the umbrella of the Holy Trinity, the Bible has become my all-in-all in this life, because it’s the bridge that joins me to the Holy Trinity. Day after day, hour after hour, minute after minute. One of the taglines or mottos of this Blog is “HAPPINESS GUARANTEED.” Because, to borrow a phrase from Ephesians 3:20, I’m exceeding abundantly beyond certain that anyone who regularly ”follows” this blog and these posts – who “reads ’em and heeds ’em” – will absolutely see a tangible and wonderful and constant increase in their sense of happiness and joy and peace and love in their day-to-day life. And believe me when I say that such won’t be because of me but in spite of me. Not because of me but wholly, fully, and solely because of the BIBLE. Its power. Its work. Its utter endurance (1 Peter 1:23,25; Psalm 19:9; Matthew 5:18; John 10:35). Its “tried and true” nature (Proverbs 30:5). Its tangible effect on anyone it indwells – and the stronger the indwelling (Colossians 3:16), the stronger the effect and effects.
Which brings me to my final point. There’s no question that to MAXIMIZE those effects and benefits and rewards, a person will need to INGEST the Bible, to MEMORIZE it themselves, to literally place it INSIDE themselves – their mind and therefore body and life. But the Bible is SO powerful that just as in nature a virus spreads from person to person, so also the effect and effects of the Bible can be realized just by PROXIMITY. Not to the same EXTENT as if ingested by that person, but for those who don’t think they have the time or inclination (yet!) to memorize the Bible on a regular, systematic basis themselves, I’m thrilled to tell you that just being close (via regular exposure to these posts) to someone who DOES will still have a major effect and benefit in your life. It’s my honor to have you here and to SHOW you what I mean as the coming months and years unfold.
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About This Blog
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryJust as giving you the backstory on how this whole thing came about was appropriate for the subject matter of the very first post, it seems equally fitting that the second post should share the ins and outs of this blog, of all future posts, so without further ado…
You might notice that I don’t intend to include dates on these posts. There might be exceptions, like if a post is time-sensitive (e.g., commenting and/or giving a biblical perspective on a breaking news event, etc.), but this will be the general rule of thumb. Why? Two reasons.
First, because as you’ll see more and more as this journey progresses, the Bible is absolutely and utterly TIMELESS. Like the precious Lord Jesus Christ Himself (Hebrews 13:8), His inextricable Word, the Bible, NEVER CHANGES. Proverbs 30:5 makes clear that “EVERY word of God is TESTED”, or literally, is “tried” – tried and found totally blameless and flawless and without fault or error. It’s perfect because it’s from the perfect God. It’s a flawless book because its Author is flawless (the Holy Spirit). It’s the only truly perfect tangible thing in the universe because of how infinitely-closely-tied – indeed, inextricable – it is to the perfect Lord Jesus Christ, “who committed NO SIN” (1 Peter 2:22), “who knew NO SIN” (2 Corinthians 5:21 [much more on this in a future post, one of the most life-changing for me personally, and I GUARANTEE it’ll be the same for you so please stay tuned for that. Very timely note: if you’d like to automatically be notified when future posts are published, simply click on the grey “Follow Bible Memory” button in item “3.” in the side panel to the right or at the very bottom of this page! It’s totally FREE and you can cancel anytime but I’ll go out on a limb and predict that you never will, that these Bible-centered and very practical and sometimes even personal posts will bring such benefit and reward and ongoing joy into your life that the thought of canceling will never even enter your mind but in case I’m wrong about this (UNLIKE the Bible, I myself AM flawed) it’s good you at least have that option! As I often say, HAPPINESS GUARANTEED!]). In fact, not only does the Bible, the Word of God, never change (speaking of its meaning and work and effect, not about the seemingly-endless stream of interpretative “versions” which keep popping up) but God will actually curse anyone who would even TRY to! (Proverbs 30:6 but especially Revelation 22:18-19 … GULP! YIKES!) It reminds me of and indeed epitomizes the adage “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” But in this case, “Since it’s perfect, don’t even try!”
[Another aspect of this blog: as just demonstrated, green print will be used to indicate that it’s an aside, a side thought; this will often though not exclusively be used to further explain a certain word or phrase in a Bible verse so as to make clear that it’s explanatory commentary and not the literal translation.]
But the second and main reason these posts generally won’t be dated is this: while the Bible, the Word of God, never changes, my insights into such DO since the Lord and the Holy Spirit and the Bible itself (all working together) are constantly refining my thoughts and thinking and perspective on various and sundry matters, always performing its “growing” work (1 Peter 2:2 – “Like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word [i.e., the Bible, God’s Word], that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” … much more on this, too, in a future post), so I will reflect that in these posts, i.e., as the Lord and Word bring other verses or additional light on the subject matter to my own mind, in my view it would be downright criminal NOT to share those with you and future readers by adding them to that post.
Also, while my life and by extension this website and blog posts will remain focused on the Person and work and ongoing ministries of the Lord Jesus Christ and under that umbrella on His Word, the Bible, He in His loving sovereignty has brought about (in spite of myself) quite a life story, and has taught me so many aspects of His nature and Word through those life lessons and experiences and journey that I can tell upfront right now that it would be absolutely impossible for me NOT to also share those with you, and I look greatly forward to that, not only because I have a very strong hunch that they will be a big blessing to you as you hear about those and especially all the ways God has used them in my life and I’m sure will in YOUR life as well, but also because it will give Him the opportunity, the wide open door to multiply said usefulness and to further give me the opportunity to fulfill 1 Peter 2:9 and “proclaim the excellencies of Him”! Win/win/win. Sounds good to me!
The Lord has graciously given me a number of strengths and talents and skills but I can assure you that anything “mechanical” isn’t one of them! To put it mildly. (Those who’ve known me for a while especially in my childhood would probably say that this statement should earn me an Oscar nomination for biggest understatement in a lead role.) But an amazing thing has happened on the way to memorizing entire books of the Bible: it has, in a hard-if-not-impossible-to-fully-describe-or-explain kind of way, “activated” to a whole other level the all-sufficient, utterly-comprehensive teaching ministry of/by the Holy Spirit as clearly set forth in 1 John 2:27 – “And as for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have NO NEED for ANYONE to teach you; but as His anointing (i.e., the Holy Spirit) teaches YOU about ALL THINGS, and is true…” I love that phrase “no need”. While I can testify first-hand that there is massive benefit from exposing one’s life and mind to the “accurately-divided” (2 Timothy 2:15) Bible-based teaching and preaching of those whom He has given said gift (Ephesians 4:11; 1 Corinthians 12:28), this verse clearly teaches the importance of being DEPENDENT only and ultimately on the Holy Spirit for this. (After all, who better to teach us a book than its author! Makes sense.) I also love that phrase “all things”. And that’s the main point of this paragraph, because I find that His teaching and guiding isn’t limited only to the Bible (I can also testify to this first-hand, because He leads and guides me regularly about matters that aren’t specifically addressed in the Bible, several of which are of a modern-day nature which the Bible absolutely addresses and covers in general but sometimes not in specific like whether or which kind of car to drive, whether or where to go for a vacation, things like that. But thankfully, the Holy Spirit’s teaching and leading truly does cover “all things” just like that verse says. And for a very recent and pertinent example, like I said, I’m perhaps the LEAST “mechanically-inclined” person on the planet. Sports? Almost all of them. Musical instruments? A few. But mechanical things like trying to fix a car or, say, Build a website? Never! At least never before. Because the programmer who was supposed to build this one had some sort of personal/family emergency arise partway through and couldn’t finish and I couldn’t find another programmer willing to finish what a different programmer had started (fully understandable) so would you believe that I asked the Lord and specifically the Holy Spirit to help, to teach me how to do so – I who have been singularly non-mechanical since birth – and indeed I cited that very verse to Him and would you believe that what you’re seeing with your own eyes as you read this and visit this website is the result? (You’re probably thinking, “Yeah, I actually DO believe that this website was built by someone not mechanically skilled!” but trust me, it was a minor miracle for Him to do that given just how non-mechanical I’ve always been.)
As noted in the “Proof of Authenticity” section on the home page (which you can always get back to with a single click on the BibleMemory.ORG logo at the very top-left of all pages, to the left of the long red bar of different functions/sections of this website), one of the most important things about the decision to launch this whole project/ministries-to-be/website was to demonstrate that it is indeed 100% authentic, not just someone talking about memorizing the entire Bible but actually well on the way (3 of 66, 1/22 of the way there, almost 5% already… and I’m just getting started!) so that’s when I had the idea to demonstrate such by making videos of my reciting those first three books of the Bible from memory. And the only way I could think of to do so WITHOUT any chance of “cheating” was to go down to my local Walmart and buy one of those sleeping blindfolds. First, please know that recording myself has always been and shall undoubtedly forevermore be one of my LEAST favorite activities in life. Second, please know that recording myself while wearing a sleeping blindfold is THE least favorite activity and looks so strange to me BUT a very small price to pay for the perennially important purpose of leaving no doubt whatsoever as to my sincerity about this (not-so-)little project and the progress made so far (without which I never would’ve spent the large amount of time and expense to record those, build this website, etc.). So I’m going to publish those videos as a blog post after the first few foundational ones but in the future will post them here as I finish memorizing and truly knowing them “by heart” (i.e., in chronological order) but will post them at the very bottom of the home page in their biblical order so it’ll be much easier to find a specific book and to track my overall progress as I seek to become the first person in known human history to MEMORIZE the ENTIRE BIBLE – all 66 books – and then recite His own words back to Him as a (very unique and massive-but-still-not-nearly-enough) love/thank-You gift to the Lord for all He does and Who He is! Somebody should’ve done this by now, a long time ago, 2,000 years is way too long but I think the Lord Himself will agree, better late than never! And this gift will not just be from me but from and on behalf of every person who supports this in whatever ways they’re comfortably able!
Lastly (I hope that sound I just heard wasn’t a bunch of people cheering) (all kidding aside, future posts will usually be fairly brief… these first few, not so much since they’re of a foundational nature) and as you’ve probably already noticed, I intend to put specific Bible references in bold print, for the same reason just noted, to keep the Bible front and center on this website and blog and burgeoning ministry as it is in my own mind and life. If there’s one thing I’ve learned it’s that doing so will never bring about failure but failing to do so will. Besides, apart from the Lord and His indescribably powerful yet precious Word, I am NOTHING; and the more and more I grow in love with Him via the Bible, the more and more I “grow in HATE” for my self/flesh, that part of me which is anti-God and anti-everything-good but which will continue to envelop each and every one of us for the rest of our natural life. More on this, too, in a future post… another major life-changer I can hardly wait to share with you.
Looks like I have a lot of writing/sharing ahead so stay tuned!
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Welcome to the BibleMemory.ORG blog!
/in Uncategorized /by Bible MemoryIt is such an honor to publish the very first post of the BibleMemory.ORG blog!
First and foremostly, I want to thank the Lord for His immense goodness and grace in making this a reality. And His patience with me on a daily (if not HOURLY!) basis. And for His providing the funding to build this website and obtain the most PERFECT domain name for a ministry (.org) focused on Bible Memory (BibleMemory) – put those two together and here we are. Amazing. I STILL can hardly believe that it was available for my use, but as I’ve seen my entire life and entire adult life in particular, when God is truly in something, it will never lack his support and provision. Even down to a website address. Incredible.
Speaking of His provision, I decided to leave my job in order to focus FULL-TIME on memorizing the ENTIRE BIBLE since that’ll take several years and I’d much rather accomplish that BEFORE I die. Kidding aside, thankfully when I was working I was able to allocate enough in my life savings to fund this website out of my own pocket as well as enough to last another few months for it to get off the ground but again, when He is truly involved in any venture HE WILL lead other believers to also get behind it, and based on the enthusiastic reaction from the comparatively few people I’ve told about this in recent months, I already know that He will lead many like-minded Bible-loving believers to do just that and to be the fuel which powers this historic project and the ministries which flow forth from it. (We’re about to find out!)
That will obviously be crucial (if I ever stop publishing posts or videos you’ll know why!) but EVEN FAR MORE so is the dire need for your PRAYERS and those of as many people you can tell about this as possible. I am absolutely DESPERATE for the intercession of my brothers and sisters in Christ on behalf of this project and burgeoning ministry and by extension for me personally. That I will remain faithful to “keep on keeping on” in this call to memorize the ENTIRE BIBLE which He has placed in my heart. And further to OBEY and APPLY in my daily life that which I memorize. And to remain humble. And submitted and committed to His will in general and in this matter in specific. And that He would indeed lead all who visit this website to “spread the Word by spreading the word” and tell their friends, family and followers on their social media platforms as well as word-of-mouth, as well as the other ways to help out as indicated in the Side Panel near the top of each page. And that He would use this project and website and resultant ministries not only to bring immense blessing to the lives of others – starting with YOU! – but also massive CHANGE, that this would literally have a LIFE-CHANGING effect on all who visit, marked by a tangible and indeed dramatic increase in their current level of love, joy, peace, and ALL the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). And then for them to have the same effect on their loved ones and strangers alike. And that He will richly reward – not only in the life to come but also in THIS life (1 Timothy 4:8) – every single person who supports this in any way they can, to repay them TENFOLD (or more) and in amazing, jaw-dropping ways.
If enough like-minded Bible-loving believers do just that, I am absolutely, 100% CERTAIN that the day will indeed come when I will recite the ENTIRE BIBLE from memory, from heart – and please know that it will be a love gift and thank-You gift to the Lord not only from me but from and on behalf of every person who makes that a reality by their thoughtful support. What day that will be. In my view it’ll be the second-most “day of rejoicing” in all of history, that a group of Bible-loving believers would MAKE HISTORY TOGETHER in this very unique and never-done-before and most-pleasing way. May He be greatly and ongoingly glorified in, through, and by all of this.
Lastly, it seems the best way to end this very first post would be to tell you the backstory of how BibleMemory.ORG came about, so without further ado, here it is, which I’ve also given a permanent place on this website’s About page.
About
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Welcome to BibleMemory.ORG! I’m DJ Bible and I’ll be your host. I’ve been memorizing Bible verses my entire life, starting with “BMA” (the long-defunct Bible Memory Association) at age 2 or 3 or 4 then in Sunday School and “AWANA” as a child and teenager. And ever since. It has become like both oxygen and blueberries to me: I need it and want it. It not only sustains me but also produces enormous tangible benefits in my day-to-day life – spiritual, emotional, relational, and even physical (Proverbs 4:20-23; verse 22 highlights the physical aspect/benefits) – totally life-transforming and amazing and I can hardly wait to demonstrate all of this for you, it will CHANGE YOUR LIFE, guaranteed. Directly, or by osmosis (i.e., the blessing and blessings borne by reading and/or listening to anyone whose brain is brimming with the Bible).
I’ll delve into all of that in great depth in future posts but for now it will suffice to say that I started out memorizing various Bible verses in a “sporadic” manner based on the curriculum of those various programs but now I do so on a regular, systematic basis, i.e., verse-by-verse, book-by-book – and what a difference that has made! (“All the difference in the world” as my mom always said while I was growing up.) It has taken my life to a whole new level. In every way, in every area.
I’ll discuss the specifics of how that all came about in a moment but at some point the thought hit me to actually “spin out” VIDEOS first of my reciting entire books of the Bible from memory and then detailing the specific memory method which the Bible itself is making known to me (the “enlightening the eyes” of Psalm 19:8 in action!) and ever since, everyone started calling me DJ Bible and the nickname stuck and I can’t think of one that I’d rather have or which would be more near-and-dear to my heart so that’s the backstory. Almost everyone who hears my life story has told me to write a book about it; while my favorite subject in life used to be myself, the Bible – and especially memorizing it – did a 180 in my mind, in my life, such that now I’m literally the last thing I like to talk about and instead prefer to speak of the Bible and the Lord Jesus first, last, and everywhere in between. So I don’t have any plans to write a book about my life – as interesting and unique as it has certainly been – but I did register the internet domain name DJBible.org for a personal website should the Lord ever lead me to do so but for now will just direct it to this website, BibleMemory.ORG. I wish there were far more ways I could rightly compare myself to the beloved and beyond-amazing Apostle Paul, but other than viewing myself as “the biggest sinner”, one of the few other ways I feel like I’m on his same level is found in 1 Corinthians 9:16 – as was the case with Paul and preaching the Gospel/Bible, so also I can honestly say “Woe is me if I do NOT memorize the Bible.” Per one of the taglines, this is my ministry, my passion, and indeed my very life. And I couldn’t be any more thrilled about that!
Speaking of websites, and as promised a few minutes ago, here’s how BibleMemory.ORG came about:
For years I tried to think of something I could do to please the Lord in a very unique, above-and-beyond, historic way, so as to adequately express my love and gratitude for Him – for all He’s done, for all He does, and just for who He is!
And not too long ago, He came calling and a light bulb went on in my head and heart. I got it! I got it! I thought of something I just KNOW He’ll absolutely LOVE! To memorize the ENTIRE BIBLE, every word which He has written to us, then to QUOTE HIS OWN WORDS BACK TO HIM!
I immediately realized how zonked even a sinner like me would be if I were to write a long love letter to a woman I was dating at the time and then at a future point she responded by quoting that letter back to me word-for-word! I’m just a dirty rotten sinner saved by grace, He’s the God of all creation and power and purity and perfection so how much more would this mean to HIM?! I think a lot. Lots and lots. Oodles times a trillion.
The conversation (which occurred entirely in my soul, not ears, not audibly you’ll be glad to know 🙂 ) which immediately followed on that occasion, when this thought first hit my head and heart, went something like this:
Me: “But, Lord, I’m the LEAST likely and logical and capable person to pull off such a historic task, which nobody else in known human history has been able to do and I don’t have an overly great mind to begin with, I’m no genius, so how on earth can this be?”
God (again, not audibly but in my spirit – exactly as referenced in Proverbs 20:27): “Fear not, just start doing it, just memorize the first few verses of the first selected book and I through My Word will take care of the rest and make it happen.”
Me: “But, Lord, I’m still just a human vessel and a very flawed one at that, even if You make it happen it would take years and I’ve got bills to pay so have to spend most of my time working my job as You know. I’m really, really sorry but I just don’t have nearly enough time to accomplish that!”
God: “Fear not, I have already prepared many like-minded Bible-loving believers who will support this so you can dedicate your life FULL-TIME to it and thus this shall be a gift to Me not just from thee but from them, from every person who will indeed heed My lead and meet that need.”
Me: “Huh? You think enough people will actually donate to the cause of Bible memory? You’re omniscient so I know You know that most people cringe at even the thought of trying to memorize anything much less the Bible much less the ENTIRE Bible. Political candidates? Sure, people donate literally millions of dollars to them in just a FEW HOURS, that has become commonplace any more, but donating to the cause of Bible memory, how can this be?”
God: “It is. Because I AM.”
Me: “Okay, Lord, I’ll do it, I’ll dedicate my life and devote FULL-TIME to fulfilling this calling, but YOU are going to have to do it because I can’t, I’m not even a thousandth smart enough to memorize an entire BOOK of the Bible much less all SIXTY-SIX of them. And I’ll dedicate my entire life savings to getting started but YOU are going to have to cause enough Lord-led like-minded Bible-loving believers to even hear about this and then support it because my life savings alone would only last a number of months and I’m going to need several years even WITH Your holy help, due to the sheer volume of Your written utterances and my own utter inadequacy.”
God: “Good, My child. As I say multiple times in the Bible, ‘He who believes in Me will not, shall not be disappointed.’ [Slight pause] What are you waiting for? Get going! Get to it! Because after I accomplish this work, I’m going to use it in many ways, to bring forth many ministries out of it, so get going, My child!”
And so I did. (How could I not after that?!) I decided right then and there to leave my job and devote FULL-TIME to pursuing this calling, this history-making undertaking, and remarkably I wasn’t even nervous because I was and remain utterly certain that He’s totally in this, and then He proved that almost immediately. (He didn’t need to, but He did.)
How, you might ask? Well, I knew that I’d need to chronicle this in real-time, not just for present but also future purposes, so that meant I needed to build a website, the very first step of which is getting a good Domain Name/URL, a good website address. One which would be really easy to remember but also clearly and quickly and succinctly explain what the website is all about. All of the really good ones are almost always taken, as I’m sure you know. Even the ones which aren’t actually being used have been bought by someone hoping to sell it for a handsome profit.
And that’s when He made it absolutely, unmistakably, inescapably clear just how much He is in this and just how intimately and directly involved He has been from the very start.
Let’s put it this way: if one were starting a ministry focusing on Bible memory, what would be the good no great no perfect domain name? Yep. I was zonked (showing my lack of faith and how easy it is for such to creep in even just in human terms… Hebrews 12:1 demonstrated) when I checked the absolutely perfect domain for this: BibleMemory.org (of course!). I remember thinking, “No way would THAT domain be available, no way would it NOT already be taken like twenty years ago! Not even worth checking, don’t waste your time.” Wrong! Wrong! Because when the Lord is truly in something, miracles happen and needs are met, and as you now know if you’re reading this on the website, unbelievably, unthinkably, the website address BibleMemory.org was indeed available for my use, just waiting for me to follow the Lord’s amazing lead and provision and to put it to use in order to chronicle this historic project, what is sure to be an amazing journey. And after getting over my shock and amazement that THE PERFECT domain name was actually AVAILABLE for me to use, that’s exactly what I did and the rest, as they say, is history. Or more accurately in this case, history in the making. (Literally! In real-time!)
And just one additional thought about something I said above, about how the Lord intends to bring forth several ministries out of this historic undertaking, this first step of MEMORIZING the ENTIRE BIBLE! (Gulp! Humanly speaking, it hurts my head just thinking about the enormity of this task.)
I mention several on the home page but will highlight just one of them here.
Psalm 19:7-8 has long been one of my all-time favorite passages (and chapters) of Scripture (along with John 3, Colossians 3, and Matthew 5-7 among many others but these would have to top the list). It clearly states that the Bible “restores the soul”, “makes wise the simple”, “rejoices the heart”, and “enlightens the eyes”. (If I were in a poetic mood I’d say that it “restores, makes wise, and opens the eyes!”) And these are just two short verses of over 3,100! And as you might imagine, the Bible has a lot more to say about itself but even just these two are fully, infinitely sufficient to CHANGE ONE’S LIFE. Literally.
In fact, let’s just take one of them, verse 8. Even just since I heeded the Lord’s call and started this task of memorizing the ENTIRE Bible, I can tell you that an otherwise-inexplicable and unfading sense of joy has manifested itself in my daily life, even more than before. “Rejoices the heart” indeed!
But I want to hone in on the second half of that verse, that the Bible also “enlightens the eyes”. You see, when I first set out to memorize an entire book of the Bible, the New Testament book of James (because of how practical and easily-applied it is, so given to daily application, almost like a shorter version of the Old Testament book of Proverbs), well, to say that it was a daunting task would likely earn me an Oscar nomination for Biggest Understatement in a Supporting Role. I remember thinking to myself, “There’s no way!” But something funny, something amazing happened on the way to obeying that calling of the Lord to “just start doing it, just memorize the first few verses of the first selected book and I’ll take care of the rest” as described above. I did just that, I memorized the first verse, then the second, then the third, and much to my amazement with each verse and certainly with every few chapters, it got EASIER. And before I knew it, the very first entire chapter was in-the-bag, a done deal. I was so excited! How could this be? How could it be that the more I stuffed into my mind, the more I was then able to pour in? The more I ate, the hungrier I got!
As you know, this is totally opposite of everything we learned in science class when we were in school. But what our wonderful teachers didn’t take into account is that the Bible isn’t like a glass of water. That the human mind – especially when filled with the right thing – isn’t like the human stomach. And the combination of the two is more powerful than any and indeed ALL of the chemicals we combined in those countless science-class experiments.
How can this be? How can this be? I attribute it fully to that verse, Psalm 19:8, that the Bible does indeed “enlighten the eyes” when ingested. When consumed. When swallowed. It might look nice sitting on a table or desk or dresser or nightstand, but it only goes to work and “does its thing” when poured into one’s mind.
And man oh man, did that ever prove to be true in my case, in my firsthand experience. Because before I knew it, I was able to recite that entire book of James. And it wasn’t that hard, it wasn’t nearly so scary as I had thought when first starting out. And you know what? I kept going and started memorizing the book of Hebrews and guess what, those thirteen chapters were even EASIER than the five of James! And memorizing the entire book of 1 Peter was EVEN EASIER! It’s exponential. It’s amazing. It’s certainly a minor miracle if not technically a full-blown, official one. Just ask what was the mind of an A/B/C-student when I first began at James 1:1.
But there’s even more to this story. Because the more of the Bible I’ve memorized, the more and more a SPECIFIC memory METHOD is taking shape, is falling into place, piece by beautiful piece. And once completed, I intend to share it with you and with the world, to shout it from the mountaintops, and am absolutely certain that it will have the same effect on others as it has on me, that it will enable and empower virtually ANYONE to memorize and RETAIN massive amounts of the Bible and ANYTHING ELSE! I’d go on to describe the many, many, many tangible benefits of this but that would take hours so I’ll save that for future posts. Stay tuned. Your life is about to be revolutionized. (Like Georges Foreman and Zimmer say in those Meineke and Men’s Wearhouse TV ads, “I guarantee it!”)
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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!
5. Share this post on your social media by clicking on one or more of these platforms:
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