Guest Post: Bible Memory Goals

The following is written by a dear Bible Bee friend, Anna M.  She is a fifteen-year-old Bible Bee senior, and has a lot of wisdom and encouragement to share with us on the topic of memorizing God's Word.  More of her writings can be found here: Sweeter Than Honey Blogspot.   I pray that you would be blessed by this just as much as I was!

With 2016 just around the corner, most of us are probably making goals and plans for next year.  I thought that this would be an appropriate time to share some things that I've learned about memorizing/studying during the Bible Bee off-season.  By the way, this post focuses more on memorization than study, because I'm not starting an in-depth study until mid-January, and because I enjoy memorizing more than studying :).

It's very important to memorize everyday.  A few weeks ago, I missed a day due to business. The next day, I was feeling tired, and I lazily thought, Well, since I missed yesterday, surely another day wouldn't make much difference. So I didn't memorize that day either.  Then, the day after that, I still didn't "feel like" memorizing, but I realized that I was being tempted, and if I missed yet another day, would I ever memorize again? It's a slippery slope to miss even just one day, and we have to be careful that we don't gradually go from being faithful memorize-ers to forgetting completely about doing it.  Consistency is everything when it comes to memorizing.

I'd really encourage you: don't wait until you feel like it to memorize.  There have been so many days that I didn't feel like memorizing in the afternoon (the time that I usually do all my memorizing), and so I planned to memorize after supper.  Well, after supper I would be cleaning up the kitchen, and then we would fold laundry while Daddy read a book, and I never ended up memorizing that day, or I would be trying to memorize in just a few minutes before I went to sleep and I wouldn't really have time to meditate on what I was memorizing.  The truth is, most of us won't "be in the mood" to memorize until we are actually doing it.  Memorizing is something that I love and enjoy so much, but when I'm not doing it, I forget how much I love it.  

I've also found that when I commit to a reasonable amount, I'm more likely to get it all done.  Last year, I made too many plans for after Bible Bee study and memorization, and so I wasn't able to do all of them to the best of my ability.  Of course, it's also quite possible to make goals that aren't high enough.  I did that in 2013, so I didn't feel overwhelmed, I just didn't end up doing as much memorizing as I probably would've if I had made more plans.  Hopefully, I will find the right balance this year :).

It's also important to have a plan.  Rather than just picking a few random verses to memorize each day, I've found it helpful to memorize portions or books of the Bible.  Not only does this help with context and understanding what you are memorizing, but it also helps you to make goals.  For example, if you decided that you were going to memorize the book of James in January and February, you would need to memorize two verses a day on most days.  Memorizing books also keeps me motivated, because I get excited when I'm nearing the end of a chapter or book! :) If you don't know what to memorize, here are a few suggestions:

Isaiah 53 -- A beautiful chapter foretelling the death of Christ.  
Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) -- This passage teaches us how to rightly obey God.
Psalm 119 -- One of my favorite chapters in the whole Bible.  Its focus is God's Word.
An epistle -- The epistles are a great place to start if you've memorized before, but have never memorized an entire book of the Bible.  They are filled with encouragement, exhortation, and God's truth.
A gospel -- When I first heard about someone memorizing a gospel, I was more than a little surprised. Was it really possible to memorize a whole gospel?  But as I turned the thought over in my mind, I decided it would be a good idea to try it.  I had memorized some epistles, and I wanted to try a different genre.  I first thought about Mark since it's the shortest, but then I found out that John was less than 900 verses, which was a good bit less than I had expected.  So I thought and prayed about it for awhile, and I started memorizing it on November 12, 2014.  Ironically, John 1-12 was the study passage for this year's Bible Bee, so I had a nice head start on it :). I'm still not finished with it yet (I'm in John 17 at the moment), but I hope to finish it sometime in the next few months, by God's grace.

Whatever you decide to memorize, I would encourage you to make memorizing God's Word a priority and to be diligent with it.  It's not always going to be very easy, but it is so worth it!

If you have any tips, I would really appreciate them.  I still have a lot to learn in this area.

"Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day."

Psalm 119:97

Seek Him First

I have prayed much about what the Lord would have me to write as we focus our thoughts on New Year's goals and resolutions, and He has led me not to say my own words, but rather to speak His Words.  Do not close this article or take it lightly.  Pause for a moment and allow your heart to prepare itself to read these words.  They are living and active and have the power to change your life this next year, if you will take them seriously and meditate on what they say, applying it to your life. 

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” ~Matthew 6:33

Our New Year’s resolutions are to be all about.  I have found in my own life that when I seek His kingdom (the spread of the gospel) and God Himself (through His Word and prayer) all other things simply fall into place.

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.” ~Philippians 3:7-11

Take out your list of goals for the next year.  Ask yourself honestly if you are counting all things loss for the sake of knowing Christ.  Is He your number one priority?  If He isn’t, I can assure you through my own experience that 2016 will be meaningless and joyless.  We must seek Him, for “in His presence is fullness of joy and at His right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11).

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” ~Galatians 2:20

Read this one over a few times.  Is it true of your life?  Do you live as if you were dead and He only alive?  Allow the Scriptures to pierce your heart and change your life.

I close with a prayer from Ephesians 3:14-21. Please, do not close the article yet.  Read to the very end.  I can promise that even as these words are spoken over you right now, they will bless you. Remember Who it is you serve. And put Him first in all things.

“ For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,  from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;

that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

Ponder These Things

This Christmas season, it's so easy to get caught up in all the business.  There are presents to buy, cookies to bake, gifts to wrap, parties to attend, and carols to sing.  The workload never seems to end!  I mean, it is so wonderful, but there is just so much to do!

We can get so caught up in all the busyness.

I imagine that it might have been busy on that very first Christmas, so many years ago.  Everyone was travelling to their hometown for the census.  Bethlehem was overflowing with guests from all over Israel who traced their heritage to this small town.  The inns were bursting; people of all ages scurried about. Just imagine the noise level!  It must have been simply chaotic.

Enter Mary and Joseph.  Mary, well advanced in her pregnancy, after a long journey on the back of a donkey.  I can imagine that it wasn't very comfortable.  They knock on inn after inn, all to know avail.  Talk about hectic!  When they finally find a bit of straw to lie upon, there is a Baby demanding to come into the earth.  Finally, Mary, with the little Baby Jesus sleeping in her arms, imagines she might now have some long-needed peace.  Then burst in a bunch of shepherds.  And I'm sure she had many more visitors in the days to come, for the shepherds proclaimed Jesus' birth loudly for all to hear.

It was all so wonderful; so good.  But it was busy--going, going, going.  So many distractions, so many things that needed to be done.

In the midst of this however...Mary stopped.  In a season busier than any she had ever experienced, she took the time to meditate on what was going on.  Here's how the Scriptures put it:

"But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart." ~Luke 2:19

She paused even in the midst of the to-do lists, and thought about what this all meant.  She took in the weight of what was going on around her. Banes' Notes on the Bible says this: "This is the original meaning of the word "weighed." She kept them; she revolved them; she "weighed" them in her mind, giving to each circumstance its just importance, and anxiously seeking what it might indicate respecting her child."  She pondered the significance of each memory--the visiting angel, the nine months spent with a Baby in her tummy, the shepherd's visit--and brought them all together in her mind.

She pondered, or weighed, the significance of what was going on around her. This was no ordinary event--God's own Son coming in the likeness of man!

This Christmas season, let us ponder these things in our heart, just like Mary.

As we look back over that world-shattering event, do we ponder how absolutely amazing it is that Jesus Christ--the One Who cast stars into space and ordered the world--came to be born, not in a mansion, but in a simple food box?  Colossians 1:15-17 says, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist."

This God--the Holy One of Israel--came to earth as a simple Babe.  He humbled Himself in a way no other king has ever done.  Just think about that for a moment!  I love the chorus of "How Many Kings."  It expresses the wonder of what Jesus did for us so well:

How many kings, stepped down from their thrones?How many lords have abandoned their homes?How many greats have become the least for me?How many Gods have poured out their heartsTo romance a world that has torn all apart?How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

This year, instead of allowing the busyness of life to distract us from the true meaning of Christmas ponder the wonder of Jesus' birth.  And worship Him this Christmas.

Photo Credit: Freeimages.com

Leonard Ravenhill on Prayer

How do you learn to pray? [Well], how do you learn to swim? Do you sit in a chair with your feet up drinking coke learning to swim? [No], you get down and you struggle. That's how you learn to pray. Prayer is our strength; Prayer generates strength; it generates vision; it generates power; and the devil wilI drive you away from the prayer closet more than anything.

No man is greater than his prayer life.

I want to see something that God builds. I want to find some people so hungry for God that every night they want to pray and make intercession. We're not going to move America any other way.

If you tell me this, I'll tell you how spiritual you are: will you tell me how much you pray? Brother [and sister], I'm not interested [if you're] booked up ten years; I'm not concerned about how many books you've read, how many doctorates you have [or how large your church is], tell me how much you pray!

How much time have you spent with Jesus today? When is the last time you've gone to Him and say, "I'm not going to ask you for a thing; I come to worship you in spirit and in truth."

Jesus prayed there at the Jordon [at His baptism]; He prayed at (the) Mount of Transfiguration; He prays here [John 17] and just before He goes to the cross. Prayer, prayer, prayer all the way! Should I pray less than He prayed?

One Thing I Have Desired

"One thing I have desired of the Lord,

That will I seek:

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord

All the days of my life,

To behold the beauty of the Lord,

And to inquire in His temple."

~Psalm 27:4

Does this verse express the cry of our own hearts?  Especially as the Christmas season approaches and minds become consumed with things they want, we must remind ourselves of that which bears infinite value--Jesus Christ Himself--and seek Him with all our hearts.

One thing...

Notice how David's whole being focuses with singleness of heart, mind, and body on this one thing.  If he could have only this, he would be satisfied.  For his own personal gain, he seeks only this.  He doesn't come before the Lord asking for a better job, or a peaceful kingdom, or even a new Ford Mustang.  Rather, David approaches the throne-room of God with one petition on his mouth: That he may dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  Is the Lord our number one (and only) goal in life?  Do we seek this with an undivided heart, longing just for more of His presence?

I have desired...

The Hebrew word used here for "desire" means so much more than simply "a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen" as our culture defines it.  In fact, the Hebrew word is better translated, "to ask, enquire, borrow, beg."  It is not just a feeling, it is an active pursuit.  David seeks after the Lord with everything he has in him.  Do we?

Of the Lord...

Notice where David turns with this deep desire of his heart.  Whom does he ask to fulfill his request? He doesn't seek the counsel of esteemed Bible teachers or prophets.  He doesn't gather his wise men together for a discussion of how to increase the presence of the Lord in his life.  Rather, he goes directly to the One Who alone has the power to answer his request.  So often we seek pastors, sermons, books, and discipleship groups to give the answers that are found in Jesus Christ alone.  Even this past week, as I longed to have a greater awareness of His presence in my life, I was tempted to seek the help of godly men and women in our church, instead of falling on my face before God Himself and seek the answers that can only come from Him.  

That will I seek...

This is the part that the Lord still has so much to teach me.  How do we truly seek His face?  How does this go beyond merely a desire into action?  Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible, puts it this way:  How shall we seek that we may dwell in the house of the Lord forever? "By incessant prayer, until obtained; importunity and perseverance in prayer are the way to succeed, as appears from the parable of the widow and unjust judge."  Let us get on our knees before the God of heaven and incessantly pray for such a mindset--one set on the King of the universe.  Let us seek His face through prayer and scripture reading; let us seek until we find.  Know this: We serve a God who delights to pour Himself out upon us and show us Who He is.  But there is much that we must first learn through the process of waiting, and so, while you are waiting for the Lord to answer your cries, do not doubt.  Be patient.  Keep praying, keep seeking His face.  And know that one day, not far from now, He will come.  He will.  But first we must seek Him with our whole heart, leaving nothing behind.

That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.

This isn't the physical house of the Lord--heaven.  For in order that our spirits might dwell there, we must leave this earthly body behind (if we have believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, that is).  Instead, this line speaks of our hearts and minds dwelling in the temple of Almighty God.  Colossians 3:1-2 explains it best: "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth."  This also follows with the concept of abiding in the Lord.  Much as a branch abides in the vine, so we ought to abide in Christ (John 15).  Although David may (and probably did) mean a physical house of the Lord, since Christ has appeared, we can now dwell in His holy temple, even while on this earth.  I love the way The Treasury of David puts it, "For the sake of communion with the King, David longed to dwell always in the palace; so far from being wearied with the services of the Tabernacle, he longed to be constantly engaged in them, as his lifelong pleasure. He desired above all things to be one of the household of God, a home-born child, living at home with his Father. This is our dearest wish, only we extend it to those days of our immortal life which have not yet dawned. We pine for our Father's house above, the home of our souls; if we may but dwell there for ever, we care but little for the goods or ills of this poor life."  This is a place where we continually abide in the Lord, communing continually with Him and lifting up never-ending praises to His name.

I will leave you to meditate on the last two beautiful lines on your own, but I pray that, as the Christmas season fills hearts and minds, that we would desire but one thing, that we may abide continually in the house of the Lord forever.

Search the Scriptures

Acts 17:11 says "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so."

How many of us are like these men in Berea, searching the Scriptures daily? How many of us go home after hearing a good sermon, only to further dive into the Scriptures to see what they have to say about this? How many of you, after reading this article, will dive into your Bible to see if it is expressing a biblical worldview? How many of us, after hearing the opinions on the theology discussion look to see what the Scriptures have to saw about the subject?  Searching the Scriptures in such a way is something that I do not follow perfectly, so this exhortation is just as much for me as it is for anyone else.

I wonder what would actually happen if we did this... If we searched the Scriptures every day, to find out if there is truth in what we are reading, hearing or seeing. I know one thing for sure, we would all gain a biblical worldview.

1 John 4:1-3 adds, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world." We are called to test the Spirits.  How can we discern what is a lie without first knowing the truth?

The enemy is trying to deceive us so that he might corrupt our hearts. That's his number one specialty --deceit. We mustn't let him win this battle; we mustn't believe his lies; and in order to do this, we need to be continually searching the Scriptures.

The more we abandon the Bible, the more the voice of this world and the voice of the devil drowns out the voice of truth. I've been told that if you hear a lie long enough, you'll believe it. If we are not continually flooding our minds with truth, they will be corrupted by the sin and dirt of the devil. 

My friends, we must not let this happen! 

1 Thessalonians 5:21 says, "But test everything; hold fast what is good." Let us test everything that we read, hear, and see; holding on to only that which aligns with a biblical worldview.

Paul once said of Timothy "and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 3:15). Timothy held fast to the Scriptures.  He spent time in them.  And, as Paul says, they made him wise.  The Word of God teaches us what is truth, because it is the very words of the Lord to His people.  We must be spending time each day in these words so that our minds can be transformed.

How can we expect to grow, if we don't consume the pure milk of the word and the bread of life? We must be reading the guideline for life, if we expect to follow the straight and narrow way. If we want to become more like Christ, we must first know what He is like. The people you spend time with are the people you will imitate. When we spend time with God, we will find ourselves subconsciously imitating God.

Let us be diligent to read God's Word and hide it in our heart so that our feet may be planted firmly upon the truth of God's Word!

Receive the Word with Meekness

"Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." ~James 1:21

Stop and take a moment to examine this verse.  "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." 

As we approach God's Word, we must come with a pure heart. If we have built up walls of sin and rebellion, we will not be willing to allow the Word of God to penetrate our hearts and change our lives.  Before we approach the Scriptures, it is right to confess our sins and lay aside our own selfishness.  We must be ready to receive God's Word, but first we must empty ourselves of all else.  We must turn away from that which is contrary to God's Word.  Once we have done this, we are ready to receive His Word with a pure heart, in full assurance of faith.

God's Word is freely offered.  Will we "receive" it?

We have access to the Scriptures 24/7.  We read the Bible.  But do we receive it? Do we allow it to have a place in our heart?  Do we meditate on it and abide in it?  Is it "implanted" in our hearts?  This is not a matter to be passed over lightly, but a matter that deserves much thought.  When we read and find a passage that challenges the way we have been living, are we willing to receive and accept it?  Will we allow it to change our lives?

Do we receive it with meekness?

This implanted word is freely offered to us, but do we approach it with an attitude of meekness?  Do we come with open hands and a soft heart, ready and willing to be molded by this living and powerful Sword?   Do we approach the word as newborn babes, like 1 Peter 2:2 says, "as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby"?  We can either approach the Word seeking to be changed, or looking to poke holes in it and find fault with it.  Which do you and I do?

We must approach God's Word with clean hands and a pure heart.  With a meek spirit.  This is not meant to be something to add to our list of rules, but rather something for which we should plead with our heavenly Father to grant us.  We are cannot possibly become "clean enough" or "meek enough" on our own.  If we were left to ourselves, we would never be able to approach God's Word.  

But our gracious Lord, who humbled Himself by coming in the likeness of men, being the complete image of meekness and purity, will, of Himself, make us pure.  He alone can cleanse our hearts and teach us how to approach His Scriptures with openness and a heart that is ready to learn.  He will work through us, if we ask.  It is He Who lives in us, and we are not expected to live this Christian walk on our own.  Rather, we must implore our great Provider and merciful Savior that He might cleanse our hearts and grant us meek spirits, so that God's Word can transform our lives, by the power of His Holy Spirit.