I work in sales for a living (writing is my passion but doesn’t pay the bills). In my job I have to know a whole lot about my product. The product I sell has several styles, makes, models and tons of additional options and packages. It is important that I know all the details about my product so that I can adequately demonstrate it and explain it to my customers in hopes of convincing them to purchase it. Needless to say I have had to memorize a lot of information.
As a sales person I am also a student of human nature. I observe the habits of people and listen to the things they say. I am always amazed at how much information the human mind can absorb. I hear people rattling off sports statistics. They know the names of the players, their strengths and weaknesses, their performance averages and the team schedule. I hear folks talking about their favorite television programs and spouting out the characters’ names, histories and they recite favorite lines from past episodes. We have a great capacity to remember the things that interests us and benefit us the most.
There is absolutely nothing more beneficial than knowing the Word of God. God took the time to reveal Himself to us through His written Word and has preserved His Word for thousands of years. It is incumbent upon us, then, to take the time to learn it. If we love Him, as we confess to do, does it not then follow that we should take His Word into our heart? After all, His Word should be something that greatly interests us and is definitely something that will provide us with the greatest benefit.
About three years ago I decided to undertake a very lofty goal of memorizing the book of James in the New Testament. As with any goal I set a time limit for my goal—30 days. I would write out six to eight verses a day on 3x5 cards and carry them with me all day long. Every time I had a free moment I would take out my cards and work on one verse at a time. Once I had that verse down I would move to the next and would recite the previous verses along with the new verse. It was an all-consuming endeavor. I was reciting verses from the time I woke up in the morning and would fall asleep each night reviewing my verses.
I met my goal and memorized the entire book. It was an absolutely transforming experience for me. I realized that when I had God’s Word running through my mind twenty-four hours a day that I had no time for wrong thoughts or wrong words. I was saturating my heart and mind with God’s truth and any temptation that tried to enter in was quickly met with the resistance of Scripture. My sleep was better, my thoughts were more pure and my attitude had improved greatly. I had no time for worldly philosophy and worldly entertainments and it was absolutely wonderful.
Psalms 119:11 says, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you”. By “storing” or “hiding” God’s Word in our hearts we are less likely to engage in sinful behavior. When His Word is memorized and meditated upon we begin to grow in the knowledge of the Lord and we mature as believers.
The Apostle Paul tells us Ephesians 6:17 to “take…the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God.” The sword is the only offensive weapon Paul describes in the believer’s armor. It is a weapon of warfare and, as with any weapon, requires training and skill to wield accurately. The way we train with our weapon is by reading it and memorizing it and meditating on it so that His Word becomes second nature to our thinking. Having God’s Word readily at hand in times of crisis, temptation, encouraging another or evangelizing is of greatest importance to us as believers.
Today, in countries all over the world, the Bible is outlawed. Believers face imprisonment, persecution, torture and even death merely for owning a copy of the Word of God. These believers will memorize whole books of the Bible at a time so that when they are imprisoned they will have God’s Word written on their hearts and can study it and meditate on it in their hearts and minds. Those of us in the free world may not face that type of intense persecution, but having God’s Word in our hearts and minds is the key to living out the command of Romans 12:2 where it tells us; “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (ESV, emphasis mine).
Today is the day to begin taking up our sword and training with it and to become skilful with it. Today is the day we take the time to “store up” God’s Word on our hearts so we can grow in the grace and knowledge of our wonderful Lord.
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