Let me start off today by saying that I am not trying to be egotistical here. My intentions are not to have everyone looking at me and saying that I am "such a great person." My intentions are far from that. Instead, I want to bring to your attention something God has been teaching me over the past few months: the topic of memorizing His Word.
For those of you who are students at Union, you may well remember the chapel series we had last semester with David Platt. His last sermon especially was very challenging to me. For those of you who do not know what I am referring too, let me catch you up. David Platt went up to preach during his final chapel that week and told us of how the Chinese Christians he met with one time were so hungry for the Word. He then told us to turn to Romans 1. I was sitting in my seat following along when I realized that David was not reading to us. He was quoting Scripture. I thought that he was just reading a small passage to preach from, but soon he was well into chapter 2. He did not stop until he had finished chapter 7 or 8.
That made me realize the importance of memorizing Scripture more than ever before. Sure I had participated in Bible Drill for 9 years, but I had never considered memorizing longer passages. After his chapel, I was determined that I was going to begin storing God's Word in my heart. So I began memorizing 2 Timothy, probably my favorite book of the Bible. By the end of 2007 I had finished. That experience allowed me to grow in God in ways I never thought possible. His Word became so real to me in those 2 months. So I began thinking of another book to begin memorizing. But then Christmas break came and I neglected to memorize. After that the tornado hit, and I no longer had a copy of an ESV Bible (which is what I used when memorizing 2 Timothy). I began drifting further and further away from the memorization of Scripture, a discipline I feel is needed in all of our lives.
But then, I listened to this personal testimony by Darlene Rose (you can find a link on the homepage). It was really about how she triumphed through suffering. But near the end of her testimony she mentioned how she had God's Word in her heart. They had taken away her Bible, but she was still able to recall various passages because of the studying she had done. That encouraged me to get back into what I had started last fall. So I reviewed 2 Timothy and began Philippians (which I am currently working on).
So why am I sharing this with you? Because I want you to understand the importance of "hiding His Word in your heart." It is amazing when you are in the middle of some of life's hardest situations, but Scripture comes and gives you peace. The night that I was sitting in the bathroom waiting for the tornado to pass, I could hear God through His Word. He provided a peace that I cannot explain, and it came through His Word. We do not just have the Bible to read each day and put it away. You do not know when your Bible will be blown away by a tornado or taken from you by the government. You do not where you will go in life or if the Bible will always be a legal document that you can have. That is why it needs to be more than just a book you have in your library. It needs to be more than just something you read. It should be something you treasure, something you know, and something you can use 24/7.
So as I was saying, I do not want you to think that I am trying to put myself up on a pedestal. I am actually ashamed that I only know 1 book of Scripture along with some other verses. I want to know Scripture better. I want it in my heart.
I encourage you to find a passage of Scripture, whether a verse, a chapter, or a book, and just start. Memorize 1 verse, study that verse, see how it applies to Scripture and your life. Then move on to the next one. Study and memorize His Word, apply it to your life. You will be amazed at what you can learn from God.
Matt
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