My beautiful yet brilliant wife has the unusual distinction of having turned down a career in swimsuit modeling so she could teach underprivileged children in the public schools. Speaking from the perspective of a professional educator, she recently offered me some advice.
She told me that, in her experience, people do better at learning material when they are not continually learning new material. She discussed a time when she used to take one day out of the normal school week and use it to "relax and review". Students would play games using the skills they had learned during the week. She thought I could benefit from a similar strategy.
I plan on taking her advice, and mixing it with a concept God invented (a little something called "the Sabbath"). So, previously, this was my daily routine:
Read the Bible, out loud, for thirty minutes. Review two flash cards. Learn one flash card.
Now, that is only my routine for Monday through Saturday. On Sunday, the plan is:
Read the Bible, out loud, for thirty minutes. Review the previous thirty-five verses.
Of course, this decision did not affect yesterday's work. I reviewed Genesis 1:6-15. Then I read Genesis 26-31. Then I learned Genesis 1:16-20, which goes like this:
God made two great light-the greater light to govern the day, and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God placed them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning-the fourth day. And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth, across the expanse of the sky".
Today, I reviewed Genesis 1:1-20.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Here's a story that I can't shake out of my head:
4 years ago, I took a Hebrew class with a great scholar of the Hebrew language, Dr. Duane Garrett. One day, at the end of class, he said that he had one last lesson to teach before class was dismissed. He then spoke a sentence in French, and translated it:
"To learn, you must first love".
He then elaborated by saying that, if you love a thing, you will find yourself easily, even unconsciously, learning all about it. Your brain assigns top priority to the thing you love because your emotions demand it.
Then he asked, how many of you have read J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit"?
About a dozen of us raised our hand.
"Who can name for me the thirteen dwarves who accompanied Bilbo Baggins on his journey to the Lonely Mountain"?
Everyone's hand went down, except for mine.
"Well", he said, "Ben knows. Please name them for us, Ben".
I was a little overeager to show off. "Balin, Dwalin, Kili, Fili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, Oakenshield, King Under the Mountain".
He nodded. "Correct."
I was wonderfully pleased with myself.
"As you can see, Ben has developed a love for his subject matter, and the result is a comprehensive knowledge of it."
I was beaming at this point.
"Now", he continued, "can anyone name for me the twelve sons of Jacob, as recorded in the Book of Genesis?"
Dreadful, stunned silence. No one raised their hand-especially me.
What Dr. Garrett said next was graceful. He simply explained the method by which he learned the twelve sons of Jacob when he was in school. But far more cutting was what he didn't say, because he didn't have to say it: "If you really had a love for studying the scriptures, you would have learned basic facts like this, instead of wasting your time learning the names of dwarves". He didn't say this, but I immediately saw that it was true. Needless to say, I learned the names of Jacob's sons soon after this:
Joseph
Reuben
Simeon
Levi
Judah
Issachar
Zebulun
Benjamin
Dan
Naphtali
Gad
Asher
This is a lesson I wish never to forget. If I want to learn the scriptures, I must cultivate a love for them. But the only way to do this is to ask God to give me a love for them. There's no other way.
Today, I continued reading the Bible out loud-for thirty minutes, as before. I also reviewed Genesis 1:1-10. Then I learned Genesis 1:11-15, which went like this:
Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation; seed-bearing plants and trees on the land bearing fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds", and it was so. The land produced vegetation;plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearingfruit with seed in it, according to their kinds, and God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning-the third day. And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky, to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so.
Tomorrow's another day!
4 years ago, I took a Hebrew class with a great scholar of the Hebrew language, Dr. Duane Garrett. One day, at the end of class, he said that he had one last lesson to teach before class was dismissed. He then spoke a sentence in French, and translated it:
"To learn, you must first love".
He then elaborated by saying that, if you love a thing, you will find yourself easily, even unconsciously, learning all about it. Your brain assigns top priority to the thing you love because your emotions demand it.
Then he asked, how many of you have read J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit"?
About a dozen of us raised our hand.
"Who can name for me the thirteen dwarves who accompanied Bilbo Baggins on his journey to the Lonely Mountain"?
Everyone's hand went down, except for mine.
"Well", he said, "Ben knows. Please name them for us, Ben".
I was a little overeager to show off. "Balin, Dwalin, Kili, Fili, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, and Thorin, son of Thrain, son of Thror, Oakenshield, King Under the Mountain".
He nodded. "Correct."
I was wonderfully pleased with myself.
"As you can see, Ben has developed a love for his subject matter, and the result is a comprehensive knowledge of it."
I was beaming at this point.
"Now", he continued, "can anyone name for me the twelve sons of Jacob, as recorded in the Book of Genesis?"
Dreadful, stunned silence. No one raised their hand-especially me.
What Dr. Garrett said next was graceful. He simply explained the method by which he learned the twelve sons of Jacob when he was in school. But far more cutting was what he didn't say, because he didn't have to say it: "If you really had a love for studying the scriptures, you would have learned basic facts like this, instead of wasting your time learning the names of dwarves". He didn't say this, but I immediately saw that it was true. Needless to say, I learned the names of Jacob's sons soon after this:
Joseph
Reuben
Simeon
Levi
Judah
Issachar
Zebulun
Benjamin
Dan
Naphtali
Gad
Asher
This is a lesson I wish never to forget. If I want to learn the scriptures, I must cultivate a love for them. But the only way to do this is to ask God to give me a love for them. There's no other way.
Today, I continued reading the Bible out loud-for thirty minutes, as before. I also reviewed Genesis 1:1-10. Then I learned Genesis 1:11-15, which went like this:
Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation; seed-bearing plants and trees on the land bearing fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds", and it was so. The land produced vegetation;plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearingfruit with seed in it, according to their kinds, and God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning-the third day. And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky, to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so.
Tomorrow's another day!
My apologies, ladies and gentlemen, but I missed blogging yesterday.
What I did not miss was the memorization of scripture.
Yesterday's work proved more difficult than the day before's. The reason for this is not that I had more material to review, but because yesterday's verses were less famous than the day before's. Nevertheless, I did the work according to plan:
I read the Bible, out loud, for thirty minutes. This took me from the end of Genesis 8 to the end of Genesis 18.
I reviewed Genesis 1, verses 1-5.
I learned Genesis 1, verses 6-10, which go like this:
And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters, to separate water from water." So Go made the expanse and separated the water below the expanse from the water above the expanse. And it was so. God called the expanse, "sky". And there was evening, and there was morning, the second day.
And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear", and it was so. God called the dry ground, "land", and the gathered waters He called "seas". And God saw that it was good.
Going through the Bible in this slow fashion is giving me the time I need to reflect on what is happening in these passages. God creates the universe in Genesis 1:1. But the earth is totally chaotic and empty, as shown in Genesis 1:2. Even in this chaotic state, though, God's Holy Spirit is needed to hold it all together, as Genesis 1:2 also shows. From that time on, God forges an orderly universe out of the chaos by His mighty hand, giving form and content to the earth.
I'll post again later today, to tell you what today's efforts have brought!
What I did not miss was the memorization of scripture.
Yesterday's work proved more difficult than the day before's. The reason for this is not that I had more material to review, but because yesterday's verses were less famous than the day before's. Nevertheless, I did the work according to plan:
I read the Bible, out loud, for thirty minutes. This took me from the end of Genesis 8 to the end of Genesis 18.
I reviewed Genesis 1, verses 1-5.
I learned Genesis 1, verses 6-10, which go like this:
And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters, to separate water from water." So Go made the expanse and separated the water below the expanse from the water above the expanse. And it was so. God called the expanse, "sky". And there was evening, and there was morning, the second day.
And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear", and it was so. God called the dry ground, "land", and the gathered waters He called "seas". And God saw that it was good.
Going through the Bible in this slow fashion is giving me the time I need to reflect on what is happening in these passages. God creates the universe in Genesis 1:1. But the earth is totally chaotic and empty, as shown in Genesis 1:2. Even in this chaotic state, though, God's Holy Spirit is needed to hold it all together, as Genesis 1:2 also shows. From that time on, God forges an orderly universe out of the chaos by His mighty hand, giving form and content to the earth.
I'll post again later today, to tell you what today's efforts have brought!
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Okay, here we are at day one of attempting to memorize the scriptures. I don't want to get over-optimistic, but it seemed easy-even fun! I got out my first flash card, which read like this:
In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light", and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light, "day", and the darkness he called, "night". And there was evening, and there was morning-the first day.
What an appropriate set of verses for my first day on the job!
So I set to work, and found to my amazement that the work was finished in only a few minutes!
WHOOOOPEEE!!!
But I should not be overconfident. These verses are fairly famous, and I had a pretty good idea of what they said before I even started. Will I still find things so easy when I get to the book of Leviticus, and God is laying down regulations for the inspection of homes that have been infected with mold spores? That remains to be seen. But for now, I am happy.
But if you will recall, Going over a flash car was not all I had to do today. I also had to read the Bible or a full 30 minutes, out loud. It was right about here that I discovered a new use for our microwave oven. It has a setting on it that says, "Kitchen timer". Just enter a given amount of time, and the microwave sounds an alarm when the time is up. I set the timer on 32 minutes-to give me time to get situated-and set to reading. Thirty minutes later, I had read the first eight chapters of Genesis-more than I have read in a sitting in a long time. Then-oh, what a feeling! I felt moved to prayer.
Do you know that feeling you get when you start to pray, but you feel like you have to force yourself to do it because some invisible force inside yourself simply does not want to do it? Well, that force has been hampering my prayer life lately, but it was not doing so now. Praise and thanksgiving came forth naturally. It felt so good to pray. I have no doubt that it was the reading of God's Word that brought about this change in me. Praise be to the One who spurred me to start doing this! I can feel my life improving already!
In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light", and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light, "day", and the darkness he called, "night". And there was evening, and there was morning-the first day.
What an appropriate set of verses for my first day on the job!
So I set to work, and found to my amazement that the work was finished in only a few minutes!
WHOOOOPEEE!!!
But I should not be overconfident. These verses are fairly famous, and I had a pretty good idea of what they said before I even started. Will I still find things so easy when I get to the book of Leviticus, and God is laying down regulations for the inspection of homes that have been infected with mold spores? That remains to be seen. But for now, I am happy.
But if you will recall, Going over a flash car was not all I had to do today. I also had to read the Bible or a full 30 minutes, out loud. It was right about here that I discovered a new use for our microwave oven. It has a setting on it that says, "Kitchen timer". Just enter a given amount of time, and the microwave sounds an alarm when the time is up. I set the timer on 32 minutes-to give me time to get situated-and set to reading. Thirty minutes later, I had read the first eight chapters of Genesis-more than I have read in a sitting in a long time. Then-oh, what a feeling! I felt moved to prayer.
Do you know that feeling you get when you start to pray, but you feel like you have to force yourself to do it because some invisible force inside yourself simply does not want to do it? Well, that force has been hampering my prayer life lately, but it was not doing so now. Praise and thanksgiving came forth naturally. It felt so good to pray. I have no doubt that it was the reading of God's Word that brought about this change in me. Praise be to the One who spurred me to start doing this! I can feel my life improving already!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Today, I spoke with my professor, Russell Fuller, and asked him what technique the Jews used to memorize the Old Testament. His answer shocked me:
"They began when they were children. Every day they would go down to the synagogue and, together with many other children, chant the scriptures continuously for about two hours. They continued doing this every day for years, until they knew it."
"Really?" I said. "Even on the Sabbath?"
"Especially on the Sabbath", he told me. "Probably twice on that day".
So apparently memorizing things is not complicated; just difficult. I have since reflected on this technique, and concluded that it must be effectual. My own life experience bears it out.
When I was in my second semester of seminary, I had few friends and spent a lot of time by myself. To keep from going stir crazy, I would play movies on my computer. Usually, I played "The Lord of the Rings". For months, the characters from "The Lord of the Rings" were my constant companions, and their words were repeated over and over and over in my hearing. Now, watch this:
It began with the forging of the Great rings. Three were given to the elves-immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. Seven, to the dwarf lords-great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls. And nine-nine rings were gifted to the race of men, who-above all else-desire power. For within these rings were bound the strength and will to govern each race. But they were all of them deceived, for another ring was made. In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret a master ring to control all others, and into this ring he poured his cruelty, his malice, and his will to dominate all life. One ring to rule them all. One by one, the free lands of Middle Earth fell to the power of the ring. But there were some who resisted. A last alliance of men and elves marched against the armies of Mordor, and on the slopes of Mount Doom, they fought for the freedom of Middle Earth...
Victory was near, but the power of the ring could not be undone...
It was in this moment, when all hope had faded, that Isildur, Son of the King, took up his father's sword...
Sauron, the enemy of the free peoples of Middle Earth, was defeated.
The ring passed to Isildur, who had this one chance to destroy evil forever. But the hearts of men are easily corrupted, and the ring of power has a will of its own. It betrayed Isildur, to his death, and some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for two and a half thousand years, the ring passed out of all knowledge-until, when chance came, it ensnared a new bearer...
"My precioussssss..."
The ring came to the creature Golem, who took it deep into the tunnels of the Misty Mountains. And there, it consumed him.
"It came to me. My own. My love. My own. My precioussssss....Golem!"
The ring brought to Golem unnatural long life. For 500 years, it poisoned his mind. And in the gloom of Golem's cave, it waited. Darkness crept back into the forests of the world. Rumour grew of a shadow in the East. Whispers of a nameless fear. And the ring of power perceived-it's time had now come. It abandoned Golem. But something happened then that the ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable.
"What's this?"
A hobbit. Bilbo Baggins of the Shire.
"A Ring."
"LOOOSSSST!!!! AAAUUUGH! MY PRECIOUS IS LOST!"
For the time will soon come when hobbits will shape the fortunes of all.
If I really felt like boring you, I could go on, but you see my point. I didn't have to watch the movie in order to write any of that down. It just flowed out of my mind because it is locked in there by the power of repetition. The same could become true of the Bible, if I will only have the discipline to regularly, consistently, faithfully read through the scriptures.
Two hours a day will do the trick, but I am not sure I have enough discipline to do something like that. For right now, I think I'll just commit to thirty minutes a day and see where it leads.
But just because I am adopting the strategy of reading extended portions of the scripture, that doesn't mean I want to abandon other other strategies. So I have developed some flash cards, each of which has five consecutive verses of scripture on it. The first one starts at Genesis 1:1, and the last one I've made closes out Genesis 10. So here's the plan of attack, as I see it:
Day one: Read the Bible, out loud, for thirty minutes. Learn flash card #1.
Day two: Read the Bible, out loud, for thirty minutes. Review flash card #1. Learn Flash Card # 2.
Day three: Read the Bible, out loud, for thirty minutes. Review flash cards, numbers 1 and 2. Learn Flash Card # 3.
Day four: Read the Bible, out loud, for thirty minues. Stop reviewing flash card #1. Review flash cards, numbers 2 and 3. Learn flash card #4.
Day five: Read the Bible, out loud, for thirty minutes. Stop reviewing flash card #2. Review flash cards, numbers 3 and 4. Learn flash card # 5.
And so on, until I reach the end of Revelation. Then I'll probably start all over again, taking the flash cards in larger chunks this time.
The process will take years, and being consistent with it will be very daunting. But when God has spoken, the more familiar I am with what He said, the better.
I'm starting tomorrow. No turning back now.
HERE...I...GO!!!!
"They began when they were children. Every day they would go down to the synagogue and, together with many other children, chant the scriptures continuously for about two hours. They continued doing this every day for years, until they knew it."
"Really?" I said. "Even on the Sabbath?"
"Especially on the Sabbath", he told me. "Probably twice on that day".
So apparently memorizing things is not complicated; just difficult. I have since reflected on this technique, and concluded that it must be effectual. My own life experience bears it out.
When I was in my second semester of seminary, I had few friends and spent a lot of time by myself. To keep from going stir crazy, I would play movies on my computer. Usually, I played "The Lord of the Rings". For months, the characters from "The Lord of the Rings" were my constant companions, and their words were repeated over and over and over in my hearing. Now, watch this:
It began with the forging of the Great rings. Three were given to the elves-immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. Seven, to the dwarf lords-great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls. And nine-nine rings were gifted to the race of men, who-above all else-desire power. For within these rings were bound the strength and will to govern each race. But they were all of them deceived, for another ring was made. In the land of Mordor, in the fires of Mount Doom, the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret a master ring to control all others, and into this ring he poured his cruelty, his malice, and his will to dominate all life. One ring to rule them all. One by one, the free lands of Middle Earth fell to the power of the ring. But there were some who resisted. A last alliance of men and elves marched against the armies of Mordor, and on the slopes of Mount Doom, they fought for the freedom of Middle Earth...
Victory was near, but the power of the ring could not be undone...
It was in this moment, when all hope had faded, that Isildur, Son of the King, took up his father's sword...
Sauron, the enemy of the free peoples of Middle Earth, was defeated.
The ring passed to Isildur, who had this one chance to destroy evil forever. But the hearts of men are easily corrupted, and the ring of power has a will of its own. It betrayed Isildur, to his death, and some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became legend. Legend became myth. And for two and a half thousand years, the ring passed out of all knowledge-until, when chance came, it ensnared a new bearer...
"My precioussssss..."
The ring came to the creature Golem, who took it deep into the tunnels of the Misty Mountains. And there, it consumed him.
"It came to me. My own. My love. My own. My precioussssss....Golem!"
The ring brought to Golem unnatural long life. For 500 years, it poisoned his mind. And in the gloom of Golem's cave, it waited. Darkness crept back into the forests of the world. Rumour grew of a shadow in the East. Whispers of a nameless fear. And the ring of power perceived-it's time had now come. It abandoned Golem. But something happened then that the ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable.
"What's this?"
A hobbit. Bilbo Baggins of the Shire.
"A Ring."
"LOOOSSSST!!!! AAAUUUGH! MY PRECIOUS IS LOST!"
For the time will soon come when hobbits will shape the fortunes of all.
If I really felt like boring you, I could go on, but you see my point. I didn't have to watch the movie in order to write any of that down. It just flowed out of my mind because it is locked in there by the power of repetition. The same could become true of the Bible, if I will only have the discipline to regularly, consistently, faithfully read through the scriptures.
Two hours a day will do the trick, but I am not sure I have enough discipline to do something like that. For right now, I think I'll just commit to thirty minutes a day and see where it leads.
But just because I am adopting the strategy of reading extended portions of the scripture, that doesn't mean I want to abandon other other strategies. So I have developed some flash cards, each of which has five consecutive verses of scripture on it. The first one starts at Genesis 1:1, and the last one I've made closes out Genesis 10. So here's the plan of attack, as I see it:
Day one: Read the Bible, out loud, for thirty minutes. Learn flash card #1.
Day two: Read the Bible, out loud, for thirty minutes. Review flash card #1. Learn Flash Card # 2.
Day three: Read the Bible, out loud, for thirty minutes. Review flash cards, numbers 1 and 2. Learn Flash Card # 3.
Day four: Read the Bible, out loud, for thirty minues. Stop reviewing flash card #1. Review flash cards, numbers 2 and 3. Learn flash card #4.
Day five: Read the Bible, out loud, for thirty minutes. Stop reviewing flash card #2. Review flash cards, numbers 3 and 4. Learn flash card # 5.
And so on, until I reach the end of Revelation. Then I'll probably start all over again, taking the flash cards in larger chunks this time.
The process will take years, and being consistent with it will be very daunting. But when God has spoken, the more familiar I am with what He said, the better.
I'm starting tomorrow. No turning back now.
HERE...I...GO!!!!
Abraham Lincoln once said, "If I had 8 hours in which to chop down a tree, I would spend the first six hours sharpening my axe". So here I am, three days into the project, and I still haven't started memorizing the Bible. But I have not been idle; I have been planning.
The first question to be answered here is , "If I am going to memorize the Bible, which translation should I use?" What would be a terrible shame is if I went to all the trouble to learn a translation, then quoted a verse to someone and they responded,
(1) The NIV is written in modern English. It is thus easily understandable and its words will flow off my tongue without oo much trouble while I am working on it.
(2) The NIV is more widely used for personal devotions than any other translation.
(3) My seminary professors always recognized the NIV as a very good translation.
So if I memorize the NIV, I will have memorized a translation that is both accurate and easily understandable. Also, it will be recognized as legitimate by most any Christian I come in contact with.
Now, how do I actually do the memorizing?
The first question to be answered here is , "If I am going to memorize the Bible, which translation should I use?" What would be a terrible shame is if I went to all the trouble to learn a translation, then quoted a verse to someone and they responded,
"What translation is THAT supposed to be? I've never even heard of it before."
or
"I don't understand a word of what you just said."
or
"Well of course that verse is bloody rubbish because it was translated by Joseph Smith, and he changed his version in about 600 separate locations so he could convert everybody to Mormonism!"
After giving the matter some thought, I have decided to use the New International Version (NIV). I have three reasons for this:
(1) The NIV is written in modern English. It is thus easily understandable and its words will flow off my tongue without oo much trouble while I am working on it.
(2) The NIV is more widely used for personal devotions than any other translation.
(3) My seminary professors always recognized the NIV as a very good translation.
So if I memorize the NIV, I will have memorized a translation that is both accurate and easily understandable. Also, it will be recognized as legitimate by most any Christian I come in contact with.
Now, how do I actually do the memorizing?
Monday, February 1, 2010
As I said, I am scared. And what I am afraid of can be summed up in one word: failure.
What if I try this task and don't succeed? What if I never reach my goals? And worst of all, what if I quit? The shame that goes with my lack of discipline would haunt me far into the future.
As I consider this, I am reminded of something that a very wise man once said: "Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame." Taking this advice to heart, I will recognize that I am a sinful man, lacking in discipline and wisdom. This is one of the reasons I need to know more scripture, in the first place.
If I go into this project trying to reach a goal or accomplish some great feat, my risk for failure will be very great. After all, anything short of complete memorization of the Bible would be considered failure, under that model. But if I consider the model of success to be obedience to God, then success is within my grasp. For God does not require any great intellectual feat from us before He will consider us successes. What he asks is that we study his Word and obey it (Joshua 1). Memorizing the Bible may be hard, but studying it is easy, and the goal of memoriazation will give me something to shoot for while I am obeying God's command to study His Word.
A good friend of mine (he's 27, but he's wise enough to be thousands of years old) told me that I have nothing to be concerned about in this challenge. "After all", he said, "any scripture you memorize will leave you better off than you were before. You don't have a single thing to lose!" I like that attitude. I think I'll use it.
Well, so much for fear. But that leaves the next question: How on earth am I supposed to go about doing this? I'll explore that tomorrow.
What if I try this task and don't succeed? What if I never reach my goals? And worst of all, what if I quit? The shame that goes with my lack of discipline would haunt me far into the future.
As I consider this, I am reminded of something that a very wise man once said: "Pride is not the opposite of shame, but its source. True humility is the only antidote to shame." Taking this advice to heart, I will recognize that I am a sinful man, lacking in discipline and wisdom. This is one of the reasons I need to know more scripture, in the first place.
If I go into this project trying to reach a goal or accomplish some great feat, my risk for failure will be very great. After all, anything short of complete memorization of the Bible would be considered failure, under that model. But if I consider the model of success to be obedience to God, then success is within my grasp. For God does not require any great intellectual feat from us before He will consider us successes. What he asks is that we study his Word and obey it (Joshua 1). Memorizing the Bible may be hard, but studying it is easy, and the goal of memoriazation will give me something to shoot for while I am obeying God's command to study His Word.
A good friend of mine (he's 27, but he's wise enough to be thousands of years old) told me that I have nothing to be concerned about in this challenge. "After all", he said, "any scripture you memorize will leave you better off than you were before. You don't have a single thing to lose!" I like that attitude. I think I'll use it.
Well, so much for fear. But that leaves the next question: How on earth am I supposed to go about doing this? I'll explore that tomorrow.
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