It seems as though “PK’s” (pastors’ kids) tend to largely end up going to one extreme or the other in life.  I’m sure there are many who end up somewhere in between, in the middle, but the ones I remember most vividly either “turned out” to be very, very good or very, very bad/troubled.

I’ll leave it to the Lord first and foremost, and under that umbrella, other people to render a verdict on how this  PK, moi, yours truly, has turned out, but in any case a massive benefit of being born into such a situation (especially spiritually but in other ways, too) is that the Bible was constantly (no exaggeration) being discussed all around me since birth (my father entered seminary to get his MDiv shortly after I was born).  While that wasn’t (couldn’t have been) “the” reason (since none of my siblings showed much interest in the Bible or spiritual things as kids), it absolutely didn’t hurt in my starting to memorize Bible verses at age two or three, mainly via the (long-since-defunct) BMA and (still-going-strong!) AWANA ministries.

As briefly discussed in the Overview video on the Home and Videos pages and YouTube Channel (YouTube.com/BibleMemory) and alluded to in a prior post, Bible memory has had many wonderful and powerful benefits and effects in my life including near-perfect health; I literally haven’t been sick even a single time my entire adult life (and only of the “faking it!” variety throughout my school years so I could stay home and play video games and watch TV 🙂 ) but I used the word “near-perfect” just now because there was kinda one exception:  for a few years as a teen, maybe every 3-6 months (warning, please delay for a good hour or two before reading on if you just ate) I would develop ingrown toenails.  Always the “big toe”.  (And once on BOTH feet at the same time… OUCH!)

But would any rational, sane person think that said pain was relegated, was limited to just that toenail?  Of course not.  The pain, the consequence, the result (quickly) spread to the foot and leg and indeed entire body.  (If you’ve ever broken a leg or foot or collarbone, you know exactly what I mean.  And we certainly all know that a toothache doesn’t just affect the mouth.)

And that’s exactly how it is in the Christian life!

When we sin, the consequences, the results, the effects don’t remain limited or relegated to our  own life but indeed spread to the entire body (local and even universal) of Christ (church… Colossians 1:24).  (Good example of what I always say… in a slight tweak of Apple’s slogan, “There’s a verse  for that!”)

• “… Do you not know that little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?” (1 Corinthians 5:6)

And God is very clear how urgent a matter this is when He, through Paul, says in verses 11-13 “not to associate with any so-called brother if he should be an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler – not even to EAT  with such a one.  For what have I to do with judging outsiders?  Do you not judge those who are within the church?  But those who are outside, GOD JUDGES.  Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.” (Emphasis mine.)

The only thing on which I rely and depend in this life is the Bible and through it, as a result of what it says, the Lord and Holy Spirit and heavenly Father.  Ergo, if a principle or perspective is taught in the Bible, that’s not 99.9% but 100% (or as I used to say as a child, “infinity percent!”) confirmation, all we need, full stop.  Yet I find that the Lord doesn’t just confirm truth to us via the source and essence of truth, the Bible (John 17:17), but also in life itself (which makes perfect sense since God is the Author of both).

Two recent – and stark – examples of this principle (one person’s conduct affecting the group) in action, all from just the past year alone and spanning the political spectrum:

The name “Cuomo” used to be among the most respected in all of politics, but that’s no longer the case as it evokes mocking and ridicule after son Andrew was forced to resign in disgrace amid multiple scandals including multiple criminal complaints:  the results, the consequences, didn’t affect just him as his conduct has obviously tainted his entire family and especially his father Mario’s legacy.

Ripple effect.

And when the year kicked off with around a thousand people with Trump and Republican flags and hats storming the U.S. Capitol as Congress was certifying the big presidential election two months prior, the results and consequences didn’t stop with them:  as we’ve all seen in countless news stories all year, the actions of the (comparatively) few (i.e., 800-1,000 of the reported 250,000-1,000,000 who attended that rally at the White House) has in very large part tainted the entire Republican/MAGA/conservative political movement.

Ripple effect.

And how many times have many of us shared the Gospel with someone in the past year whose reason for rejecting it included the name Jerry Falwell Jr. or Ravi Zacharias?  [Not judging or criticizing them but rather biblically benefiting the Body by beseeching you to not only imitate Christ-like conduct (1 Corinthians 11:1; Philippians 3:17) but also realize and reject bad behavior by those who confess Christ with their mouths in public even while doing the exact opposite with their deeds in private (Philippians 3:18; 1 Timothy 5:20 … and verses 24-25 are eerily on point… not criticizing at all, for truly “there but by the grace of God go we”).]

Ripple effect.

So too, your and my words and actions and decisions have ripple effects.  The vast majority of which we’ll likely never even know about on this side of eternity, but those ramifications do indeed extend to the lives of others, and certainly to the body of Christ so I think it very wise for each of us to go forward and live the rest of our time on earth with this perspective and to ensure that said words and actions and decisions are good and decent and noble in nature such that the related ripple effects will inure to the benefit of others and especially the body of Christ, not to the detriment as the examples just discussed.

In other words, to live by Bible verses such as these:

• “… do justice… love kindness… walk humbly…” (Micah 6:8)
• “‘For My hand made all these things.  Thus all these things came into being,’ declares the Lord.  ‘But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word [i.e., the Bible]‘” (Isaiah 66:2)  [Interestingly, James 2:19 clearly states that even demons  shudder/tremble at God and, implicitly, His word and words, future final judgment of them, etc., so how much more should we?!]
• “Let the words of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14)

Because a toothache isn’t just felt in one’s mouth.  It spreads throughout the whole body.  Just like sin does in Christ’s body, the church. (Colossians 1:24).  Like leaven (e.g., yeast… as I often say, “There’s no leaven in Heaven!”).  Like cancer.

Or spider venom.

When I was a teenager, I was bitten by a spider in our backyard shed.  I immediately told and showed  my parents who virtually worshipped me throughout my entire formative years and into adulthood and I love them dearly but at times they’d tend to “have their heads in the clouds” (almost always on ministry matters so I didn’t mind!) to such an extent that things – even important, indeed, even life-and-death things – of a physical, earthly nature sometimes didn’t quite “register” with them at first, on their own, and surely enough their reaction was to “just trust the Lord” and “pray for it to heal” which are all well and good but should never be misunderstood or misused to avoid the human responsibilities in life which are in line not only with God’s will but indeed His very design for creation, for life, for us – so I respectfully let them know in no uncertain terms that at least one of them would be driving me to the emergency room within ten seconds and to their credit they did and it’s a good thing because otherwise the first person in known human history to memorize the ENTIRE Bible and then recite it back to the Lord as a one-of-a-kind love and thank-You gift for all He does and who He is would never have made it out of his teens:  you see, the urgent care doctor said that I hadn’t been bitten by just any spider but a brown recluse, one of three in the black widow family.  The doctor cut about a half-inch section out of my arm because he could see the poisonous venom starting to spread.  (The Lord was faithful to protect me – as always – but what a great illustration of the primary means by which He does so:  via the “common sense” with which he has endowed each of us such that virtually everyone knows (or learns) not to put their hand on a hot stove or in a fire.)  The last thing the doctor said was that had I gone even just ten or twenty minutes longer I would have definitely lost my entire arm (via amputation) and quite possibly my life.

And that’s another great example of how it is with sin in the body of Christ, the church:  when sin infects one member of the body, it’s sure to spread.  Like spider venom.  Like cancer.  Like yeast in a lump of dough.  So next time we’re tempted, let each of us immediately remind ourselves that giving in and sinning would not only displease the One who has given literally everything for us and not only bring certain discipline but also adversely affect the entire body of Christ, especially our local church.

I find that focusing on how my sinning would affect God and my fellow believers is an even far more effective motivation and means by which to overcome temptation.

May I never, ever be a stumbling block or spider bite or cancer to my brothers and sisters and especially my Lord and Savior and best friend by far.

How could ANY pleasure promised by sin (James 1:14-15) even COME CLOSE to comparing to the pleasure delivered via purity and righteousness and obedience?

Next time you experience temptation I hope you give that tip a try!  It has worked wonders for me.  Along with a few others in particular which I’ll discuss in-depth in future posts.  But the biggest “bat” by far to aid in believers’ battle with temptation and sin and the evil one is, yep, you got it, the B-I-B-L-E (to quote a beloved Sunday school song).  Reading it, yes.  Studying it, yes.  But especially memorizing  it.

• “Your word [i.e., the Bible] I have hidden  in my heart, so that I may not sin  against You.” (Psalm 119:11)
• “Let the word of Christ [i.e., the Bible] [not just dwell but] richly  dwell within you” with the result that “whatever you do  in word, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:16-17)

With one year’s ending and another’s beginning, may we refocus our day-to-day lives on pure and righteous living and obedience to God’s Word, the Bible.  And that’s really BibleMemory.ORG in a nutshell:  to demonstrate the true and tangible and jaw-dropping power of the Bible – in my own life and then help do so in the lives of countless others.  If YOU would like to be my partner and “fellow worker” for the kingdom of God in general and for the cause of Bible memory in specific and thus share in the eternal/heavenly and  immediate/earthly benefits such is sure to produce, please click here and, if comfortably able, also the small “Make this a monthly donation” check-box on that PayPal page as this would provide even far better visibility and planning for the many ministries methinks God intends to flow forth from this historic project underway at BibleMemory.ORG!

May He bless you richly in the New Year.

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