For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. Romans 15:4 (NIV)
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Deuteronomy 11:18 (NIV)
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalms 119:105 (NIV)
If you'll recall Matthew 4:1-11, it talks about Jesus being tested by Satan in the wilderness...and what did Jesus use as defense against the evil Satan? Scripture. Plain and simple. He didn't need to get into a ferocious screaming match or fist fight. He rolled the words of God right off his tongue and the Devil was powerless against it.
If only it were that easy...it would be easier if I knew more scripture. I remember thinking several years ago that scripture memorization was not only impossible, it was somewhat useless. That was the very immature me, I'm just a little more mature in my Christian walk today...just a little. I now have that desire to know more scripture.
There is nothing like someone calling you out on a bible verse or asking you a question that YOU should know because YOU'RE a Christian and you (me) don't know the answer. So there I am stumbling around and finally spit out, "I'll have to get back with you." Or how about this, "Oh, I know what you're talking about, the story of Naomi and Ruth, oh yeah, it's somewhere in the Old Testament and there was a guy, oh, what was his name, that one of them ends up marrying?" Geesh. I have been in church for almost 37 years, seriously, I have probably only missed church a handful of times per year since my birth and that is what I sound like when having a conversation about scripture or stories from the bible. I can probably only recite about a dozen scriptures. It is shameful.
As noted by many all over this universe, going to church doesn't make you a Christian and going to church doesn't mean you know scripture either. And, as we all know, some people are good at memorizing and remembering stuff and others are not. I'm not very deep...I work well at the surface when it comes to reading and understanding stuff. I have trouble analyzing difficult text and really need about a 4th Grade level of difficulty when it comes to grasping things at times.
But I came across a Nookbook called 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Robert Morgan, I figure I am in that group of "everyone" so I bought it. And I decided that, by golly, if I wanted to quit looking like a deer caught in the headlights when someone asked about scripture, maybe I should decide to actually try to learn some more verses. I read the first several chapters with excitement. I read stories of how scripture had brought people out of the most deep and dark places and how some folks who had attended VBS in their youth only a few times, once faced with a horrible circumstance, could rattle off a memory verse that they had forgot even existed in their brain...and that got me all fired up.
Since it is my turn teaching our adult Sunday School class at church, I thought I would throw this little challenge at them and see what happens. No one voiced a great objection and we had some good discussion so we're going to try it for a while. This past Sunday we started with the "Fantastic Four" as R. Morgan calls them in his book and next Sunday we'll move on to the very significant "Roman Road." I am excited about getting those memorized and in order. If you can't tell another one about the Road to Salvation, you may be in trouble!
I am not sure why I never thought scripture memorization was important. I suppose a lot of it could be related to laziness on my part and maybe pretending there isn't enough time in the day for it. I think I thought that as long as I had a bible, I was good to go...who needs to learn them, they're all tied up nice and neat there in this leatherbound book or I can search them out on the Internet. Well, that sounds mighty fine if you carry your bible everywhere you go and know exactly where every scripture is located.
We take our bibles for granted...no doubt. How many do you have at home? Are you restricted? Are you afraid of someone coming and taking them or destroying them? Nope, not yet. Hope it never comes to that. There are lots of places today where a Christian bible is considered illegal and forbidden. What if you were forbidden from owning a bible? Would you be comforted by your knowledge of scripture? Would you be confident enough to be in another country witnessing to someone without your bible? I can only assume that missionaries have to have a great deal of scripture knowledge because they could be in situations at any moment without their bibles. There are some amazing stories in this book about POW's and their reliance on scripture to carry them through.
I am trying to imagine how I would feel if suddenly I was restricted from all access to God's word, an actual bible or the Internet, from a church, preacher, Sunday School class, etc. Wouldn't that be strange, to actually be forbidden to seek out God's word. If that were to happen at this very moment, as noted above, I would have about a dozen scriptures tucked away in my brain somewhere that I could rely on, but that would be it.
I love music and can sing along with almost any song I've heard a few times before. I can hear a song that I liked that is 20 years old and sing right along with it. I can tell you all the addresses I've had in the past, I can recite Shakespeare, a few of Shel Silverstein's goofy poems, and line after line from silly movies...but I tell you that I know only a dozen verses from the bible. Shameful.
Our Holy Bible is full of some super cool stuff and it is high time that I started learning some of it. If you are inspired to memorize scripture, grab a copy of this book. I think it was $10 at http://www.christianbooks.com/, and I'm sure any local Christian bookstore would have it as well. (I did find that I needed a hard copy as opposed to my Nookbook.) I also found that I preferred a different translation than the one he used in his book, so make sure you find a translation that works well for you. And as always, I will be asking the good Lord to help me in this quest...we all know I can't do it without Him :)
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