If you were ever stranded on a deserted island and had no access to any reading materials or cell phones, how many Bible verses could you reconstruct from your memory banks? How about your children if you have any? Do your teenagers know the Bible verses they need to withstand the temptations they’ll face? The Bible was written to be memorized. Take Psalm 25 for instance. It has 22 verses. The Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters; so when we find a passage like this with 22 verses, it’s likely an acrostic. Verse 1 begins with the Hebrew equivalent of our letter A. Verse 2, with the Hebrew equivalent of our letter B. It continues this pattern all the way through verse 22. They call that a mnemonic which is a device or a pattern that assists someone in remembering something. David, who wrote Psalm 25, wanted to make it easy to memorize. When you look at Psalm 119, it is actually composed of 22 segments arranged as an extended acrostic. Proverbs 31 also has 22 segments. So, in other words, these Bible verses were meant to be memorized. Before we had many print versions of the Bible, people were forced to memorize portions of God’s Word. Now we have access to God’s Word in many forms. I can pull up scripture on my phone and read it anywhere. The problem comes when memorization becomes a lost art due to easy accessibility. Something that is so good can actually be harmful. Just remember, whenever you store away a verse in your mind, it becomes a concealed weapon. As the great theologian Barney Fife says, “Your whole body becomes a weapon.” The Word becomes a light, a lamp, and a two-edged sword. It is available 24/7 and can “fix” our thoughts as we fix our thoughts on Jesus and His Words. This Sunday is Grandparent’s Day at the Church. Bring your grandchildren or your grandparents and enjoy the gift of many generations worshiping together. Pictures will be taken and available for your memories sake in the weeks following. Don’t want to forget those special times either. It’s going to be a great Sunday. What verse or passage of scripture are you working on? Start small and work your way up. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike
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I don’t advocate the philosophy of this world that says, “If you can conceive it and believe it, you’ll receive it.” It’s much more than just claiming everything you see. However, the Lord certainly wants us to use all the mental powers He gave us by contemplating His Word in our minds daily. Our minds are an amazing bit of God’s creative genius. They process thought, but they also visualize and imagine. I have known many people who have said that they got in trouble for their imagination when they were a child. I think that teachers and parents do our children a disservice when they squelch the imagination of our children and then expect them to pick it up again when they become mature. Daydreams and fantasies that are driven by lust and greed are harmful; but there’s tremendous power in the sanctified use of imagination and visualization.
Look what Scripture says about practicing spiritual contemplation: Matthew 22:37 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ Ephesians 4:23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Philippians 2:5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Romans 8:5-6 5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. The simplest way to put this into practice is by printing God’s Word on the walls of our mind. As you begin to memorize, you begin to picture the scenes and hear the words as if they are spoken directly to you. It is the most powerful tool in changing our habits of thought and feeding our mental health. Dr. Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania, wrote a book entitled, “Learning Optimism.” He suggests that depression is primarily the result of wrong thinking. He writes, Depression . . . is caused by conscious negative thoughts. There is no deep underlying disorder to be rooted out: not unresolved childhood conflicts, not our unconscious anger, and not even our brain chemistry. Emotion comes directly from what we think: Think ‘I am in danger’ and you feel anxiety. Think ‘I am being trespassed against’ and you feel anger. Think ‘Loss’ and you feel sadness. . . . If we change these habits of thought, we will cure depression.” So why not join me in Scripture memory. Internalize the Words of God and mainstream God’s thoughts into your internal being? I guarantee that what you find yourself dwelling on each and every day determines the state of your mind and heart as you lay your head on your pillow to get much needed rest. I am looking forward to continuing our series, “Embracing Exile” this Sunday. As we looked at on Sunday, you need to separate yourself from negative thinking, be filled with God’s Word, and watch not only your life be blessed but others as well. Invite someone to come with you and pray for transformation to be contagious as they experience the God of all comfort. Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike As we look at memorizing Scripture, I will have to admit that memorizing words for the sake of words is of no value. But Bible verses are not just words. They are the Words of God. We may not fully understand every verse we memorize, but the act of learning it pins it to our short-term memories. From our short-term memory, it can filter into our long-term brain cells. From there it sinks into our subconscious minds and then it can be brought to our minds in the background even when you don’t even intentionally mean to do it. I just had the thought that if you were to get in a terrible accident and go into a coma, then your mind will be in a state of deep unconsciousness that lasts for an indefinite period of time. It is there that your subconscious can feed your brain with these ponderings. Praise the Lord that the subconscious can also do its work in our sleep. So what are you feeding your subconscious? The answer is whatever you saturate and ponder on. To that I say, let it be the Word of God. That is the power of memorization. Just think, you have the opportunity to memorize the most potent words in the entire universe.
Think of it this way – when you memorize a word, phrase, line, or verse from God’s Word, it’s like implanting a powerful radioactive speck of the very mind of God into our own finite brains. As we memorize, the Word of God is being planted in the crevices of our soul to be used for the glory of God. When we do all of that, we are doing what the Apostle Paul says in Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. I pray that God will lay a verse on your heart that you will know through and through. Ask the Lord to transform your thinking and give you an opportunity to live out His Words. My son, keep my words and store up my commands within you. 2 Keep my commands and you will live; guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. 3 Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. Proverbs 7:1-3 May the God of peace fill your hearts and minds with His powerful words today and prepare you as we gather to worship on Sunday and continue our series, “Embracing Exile.” Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike For the next several weeks we are going to be focusing on memorizing Scripture. It is an art that has been put aside due to busyness. It is time to not make busyness an excuse any longer, we have to get down to the business of renewing our minds. Scripture has a way of resourcing our mentality. It can keep you from making mistakes, from losing your temper on multiple accounts. It can keep you from committing sins that would have marred your soul. Scripture can give us encouragement during challenging moments, comfort during grief, peace amid alarm, and joy when the sun was obscured by clouds of confusion.
Verses from God’s Word can give you something to say to others on many occasions when you can’t find adequate words to say. Scripture has the power that is supernatural, soothing, convicting, transforming, life-changing, timely, timeless, and eternal. Nothing beats having the Word of God stored away in the chambers of the mind. Dr. Dallas Willard, Professor in the School of Philosophy at UCLA, has this to say about memorizing Scripture, “I’ve found that through Scripture memory the incredible treasures of Scripture are not only just available to my mind, but they inform my whole being in a way that is a testimony to the substantial power of the Word of God. Memorizing miscellaneous verses is a good thing, but when I talk about memorizing Scripture, I’m really talking about memorizing passages, whole Psalms, or long parts of the Letters or the Gospels,” said Willard. “That does something to not only your mind but to your outlook. For me, anything that is going to be effective in spiritual formation or growth in grace has got to be holistic. It can’t be a little side thing that you have a few Scriptures memorized. A simple illustration is the Twenty-third Psalm. Many people have that memorized, but they don’t allow it to inform their thinking and their acting by meditating on it as they should. Having it stored in your mind is a powerful resource for inner development.” Dr. Willard suggests not only memorizing isolated verses but to memorize whole passages. That is a novel idea. But don’t get discouraged. Start where you are and move from there – one day at a time. Last Sunday the Lord led us to anoint anyone who wanted to lay a situation or a physical need before the Lord for healing. It was a powerful time of faith as we gathered around people and prayed for many things. God is always pleased when we exercise our faith and believe Him for a miracle. We leave the type of miracle up to the God of all comfort and healing. He knows best. Next Wednesday begins our Front Row Ministry Prayer from 6:30am to 7:30am in the Worship Center. This time together is what sets the course of our ministry. Everything rises and falls on fervent prayer. Would you join me as we pray for our church, our families, and our nation? What do you spend your day thinking about when you have a pause in your day? I guarantee that whatever your answer is sets the course of your day and puts those things into action. May the things we ponder and recite glorify our Father in heaven. “For as he thinks in his heart, so he is.” Proverbs 27:3 (NKJV) Joy in Jesus! Pastor Mike |
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Rev. Mike McClurgSenior Pastor, Findlay First Church of the Nazarene Archives
March 2020
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