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
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
Rev. Mike McClurgSenior Pastor, Findlay First Church of the Nazarene Archives
March 2020
Categories |