Storing Bread for Future Famine

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” – Matthew 4:4

[To those who have encouraged me to share on this subject, I apologize for taking so long.]

When I was a theater major, I may have lacked certain talents, but I had one thing going for me – the ability to memorize fairly easily. Not that it got me any major roles, but it did help when I had to perform scenes in acting classes.

It also helped when I first started being serious about studying the Bible. I had a stack of Bible memory cards with a verse of Scripture on one side and the reference (chapter and verse) on the other. I would study them as I did with flash cards, and I learned quite a few. But something frustrated me: I was spending more time memorizing numbers (chapters and verses) than the meaning of the words.

Meanwhile, I had been getting into conversations with groups whose interpretations of Scripture were vastly different from mine (Some would call them cults.), and I was tired of hearing isolated verses quoted out of context to “prove” something I considered unbiblical! So, after realizing that with my ability to memorize, memorize larger passages of the Bible was doable, I set out to do just that, so that when I heard those verses quoted out of context, I could be prepared to give an answer.

I started with memorizing some of the Psalms and chapters such as Isaiah 53 (My favorite chapter of the Old Testament) and Romans 8 (my favorite chapter of the New Testament). After that, I committed the Sermon on the Mount to memory.

One day I heard someone say something that was almost exactly like a line from one of the plays I had been involved in. Apparently, while working backstage, I had memorized much of that play, and I found myself running the whole scene in my head. It occurred to me that if I had become an actress, I’d be memorizing whole plays. – Why not whole books of Scripture?

I had been in a Bible study that was studying the book of James, a fairly short book (five chapters), and the introduction suggested that since it was so short one could read through it in one sitting, one could conceivably read through it every day and have it memorized by the time the study was over. I hadn’t done it at that time, but now as I set out to memorize books, I decided to start with James.

The first day I read through the whole five chapters to get an overview, then repeated the first couple of verses until I knew them by heart. The next day, I reviewed those two verses until I could recite them without hesitation. I went on to learn the next two or three verses. The third day I went over those, got them solidified, and added another two or three verses. By the end of the week, I had memorized Chapter 1. The next week I recited the chapter every day, and the following week I started learning Chapter 2. In this way, I spent about ten weeks committing to memory the book of James. I would recite verses silently as I waited in line at the grocery store and in bed at night until I fell asleep.

For several years, this was how I spent my Bible reading time. I went from James to the book of Philippians, then the book of I John, then figured I may as well add II John and II John, since those two books were so short they fit onto one page in my Bible. (I’m thinking it was probably ego that motivated me to get two more “books” under my belt, but the Lord is working on my motives and attitudes…)

I wanted to know Scriptures written by (through) different people with their unique perspectives, so after I had learned words by James, Paul, and John, I went on to I Peter.

During this season, as I focused on the words of Scripture, I pondered their meaning. If one verse seemed to change the subject from the verse before it, I would stop and ponder what their connection might be, why the writer would have gone from one statement or admonition to another. Often, I sensed the Spirit of the Lord giving me some insight, not only in what the words meant, but what they had to do with me and how I should apply them to my life.

At times my imagination would take off. When reading articles about a country where owning Bibles was illegal, I would often fanaticize about going there, taking only what was in my mind/heart. The authorities at the border could search me all they wanted but wouldn’t find any Bibles. But then I could go to gatherings of believers and share Scripture; all I’d need would be a translator. 😉

I spent several years on Scripture memory before setting it aside and beginning a new schedule of Bible reading. For the next few years, I read straight through the Bible, a little each day. When I came to a portion I had committed to memory and tried to recite them, I found I’d become a little rusty and would spend some extra days there, learning them over again. I have done this several times now with each passage or book, and each time I do, it takes a little less time to relearn them. Lately I’ve been making a point of seeing to it that I know these chapters and books like the back of my hand. I’d like to be able to say them in my sleep. If I ever get to that point, I may try to memorize more – as my aging brain will enable me!

But more important than being able to recite God’s Word, I want to make sure I’m living it! After all, there are atheists who can quote whole sections of the Bible, which they’ve memorized in order to mock them.

Recently David, a fellow blogger suggested the possibility that we might not always have the right to read, carry, or even own a Bible in America. That seems unlikely, but lately our freedoms have been eroded, and we should never take our blessings for granted. David suggested that we should be reading and studying our Bibles as though they were going to be burned next week. (Talk about a different perspective!)

P.S. Although I have gone over these passages dozens, maybe hundreds of times, I’m still finding I’m discovering something new each time I revisit them. Imagine that! It’s almost as though the Word of God is a living thing. 😉