When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt with his “strong hand and powerful arm,” (Deut. 26:8) he gave them his law, not to control them or steal joy from them, but to protect them from living a life of destruction. I was a rule-follower as a child, but I hated the rules. I always tried to push the envelope. “Don’t do this or that” seemed to be rules developed by a killjoy. Boy, how I was wrong. My parents told me not to run in the street because they loved me and not because they wanted to rob me of joy. As my earthly parents implemented rules in my life to protect me and give me abundant life, so does my heavenly Father.
Often I need to be reminded of my Father’s goodness.
Shortly after God’s delivery of Israel from Egypt’s ruthless rule, they began to groan and question the goodness of God because life didn’t pan out for them like they had hoped. In Deuteronomy 6, we witness God’s instruction to remember his goodness, his provision, and how they are supposed to meditate on his law and worship him in whatever they do.
So how does this relate to scripture memory?
Currently, I’m spending time learning Romans 12:9-21. There have been and will be times in my life when I will be tempted to doubt God’s goodness, faithfulness, and righteousness, and I won’t have a Bible in my possession to reference. It’s during those times that having his word in my heart will bring me back to a state of worship.
Like the Israelites, I need to be reminded of God’s goodness. Sally Lloyd-Jones reminds me of this in her book, Jesus Storybook Bible:
“No, the Bible isn’t a book of rules, or a book of heroes. The Bible is most of all a Story. It’s an adventure story about a young Hero who comes from a far country to win back his lost treasure. It’s a love story about a brave Prince who leaves his palace, his throne — everything — to rescue the one he loves. It’s like the most wonderful of fairy tales that has come true in real life! You see, the best thing about this Story is — it’s true.”
This Story changed my life. This Story is worth memorizing. This story is changing my life still. (2 Peter 1:2-9)
Y’all are so cute!!
Love your story, Caleb. This same story is changing my life too.
What a heart knows by heart is what a heart knows.
Thanks for sharing, Caleb! That’s so true what you said about having God’s Word in our hearts and minds–to lead us to worship Him. May He continue to bless you in that!
Caleb, appreciate your words of wisdom. Thanks for sharing this morning. Also, great job speaking last night. I always love hearing your “life” stories when you speak. Press on.
Thank you for your story. As you said, when the Bible is not in front of us, if we have his word memorized, it can affect us then. I often tell people that if they even memorized one verse in the year that one verse applies to every moment of their lives for the rest of their lives and that one verse could impact them greatly by having it memorized and recalling it to mind often
Caleb,
I memorized Romans 12 back when I first started this trek of memorizing. I had read the whole thing here and there throughout my Christian life, but when I memorized it, I remember thinking that if every Christian followed these guidelines and nothing else, we would be viewed much differently from the non-believers of the world. Shortly after that —Chip Ingram’s book, “R12”, was published. Do you have it? Also, I just sent the Jesus Storybook Bible to my nephew who is 4. That book is so stinking AWESOME and I have bought so many copies for so many people.
Thanks for sharing Caleb.
Hi Caleb. You are so right about Gods guidance being for our benefit and not to steal our joy. Janet just led a retreat for us this past weekend in Colorado on the yoke that Jesus offers to the weary. I viewed it before as a tool for toil, but after some in-depth teaching, I now see it as a loving gift. Scripture does reveal the love and generosity of our Heavenly Father. Knowing it by heart reminds of his goodness anywhere and anytime we call it to mind. Thanks for sharing your heart with us, Caleb!