Advice from a Senior
This past semester - my last at Harding - I decided to try something new. Well, really it's not new, but I haven't done it in years. I decided to try memorizing parts of the Bible.
This seems like a strange thing, I know. Most of us grow up memorizing certain verses in Sunday school, verses that are almost a rite of passage. I can almost hear my Sunday school teachers saying, "You cannot graduate from class until you know John 3:16… oh! and Psalm 23 too." But past that, most of us never pick it up again. When was the last time you tried to memorize a section from the Bible? I haven't in forever. My mom tried to get us to do it some in middle school - I think we made it all the way through that long section in Proverbs 31 about a virtuous woman - but that was about as far as it got.
Why even bother? I think there are compelling reasons to do it, that a strong case can be made for it. First of all, we have a charge to be prepared in season and out of season to give an answer for the hope that we have. I may not always have my Bible with me (I don't always carry mine around), and so need to be able to support my hope with an answer that I can always have with me and ready. Does this mean it's necessary to memorize? Certainly not, but it helps. Why else? Well, growing up, I was always told that my generation will probably face persecution for the sake of Christ. Is this true? I don't know, but I can certainly see a time coming where Bibles might be banned. I want to be prepared in case this ever happens. It reminds me of Corrie ten Boom and her sister, Jewish sympathizers in World War II who got caught and put in a death camp along with the Jews. One of them was able to sneak a Bible in and the other knew enough of it, that between the two of them, they were able to be a great blessing to all the other prisoners there. Should this be my future, I do not want to be lacking when the time comes and I could have been a light had I only been more disciplined earlier. Finally, I sometimes have a hard time focusing when I study the Bible - I'm not sure what to take from it or how to study it. But studying it with the intention of memorizing gives me a chance to study it more with a purpose that gives me focus.
Those were reasons that I started doing it, but along the way, I've discovered unexpected blessings. One of my favorite promises is one given in Psalms, "those who look to you are radiant, their faces are never covered with shame". But I feel as though I never have a spare moment to just sit around and think about God. However, an average time to walk to class is about 7 minutes for me. These were minutes during which I used to go over what I needed to do that day, or worrying about a test, or saying hi to friends I passed, or just enjoying the day as I went between classes. Now, however, I find that I can be going over parts of God's word while I walk, something that gives focus to my thoughts and hope to my fears and worries. It gives me entirely new purpose when I see friends and a completely different perspective on the day I'm enjoying. I finally understand when David says, "I have hidden your Word in my heart…" That always seemed odious to me before, but now I see how treasured his Word is to me now. These days, I love turning the words over in my mind, trying to understand how they fit together, and how I might be able to live them out in my own life.
How does this apply to technology? Well, memory work is not everyone's strong suit. That's why there's an app for that. ;) One such app is called MindVault and was developed about a year and a half ago as a tool to help with this very thing.
This seems like a strange thing, I know. Most of us grow up memorizing certain verses in Sunday school, verses that are almost a rite of passage. I can almost hear my Sunday school teachers saying, "You cannot graduate from class until you know John 3:16… oh! and Psalm 23 too." But past that, most of us never pick it up again. When was the last time you tried to memorize a section from the Bible? I haven't in forever. My mom tried to get us to do it some in middle school - I think we made it all the way through that long section in Proverbs 31 about a virtuous woman - but that was about as far as it got.
Why even bother? I think there are compelling reasons to do it, that a strong case can be made for it. First of all, we have a charge to be prepared in season and out of season to give an answer for the hope that we have. I may not always have my Bible with me (I don't always carry mine around), and so need to be able to support my hope with an answer that I can always have with me and ready. Does this mean it's necessary to memorize? Certainly not, but it helps. Why else? Well, growing up, I was always told that my generation will probably face persecution for the sake of Christ. Is this true? I don't know, but I can certainly see a time coming where Bibles might be banned. I want to be prepared in case this ever happens. It reminds me of Corrie ten Boom and her sister, Jewish sympathizers in World War II who got caught and put in a death camp along with the Jews. One of them was able to sneak a Bible in and the other knew enough of it, that between the two of them, they were able to be a great blessing to all the other prisoners there. Should this be my future, I do not want to be lacking when the time comes and I could have been a light had I only been more disciplined earlier. Finally, I sometimes have a hard time focusing when I study the Bible - I'm not sure what to take from it or how to study it. But studying it with the intention of memorizing gives me a chance to study it more with a purpose that gives me focus.
Those were reasons that I started doing it, but along the way, I've discovered unexpected blessings. One of my favorite promises is one given in Psalms, "those who look to you are radiant, their faces are never covered with shame". But I feel as though I never have a spare moment to just sit around and think about God. However, an average time to walk to class is about 7 minutes for me. These were minutes during which I used to go over what I needed to do that day, or worrying about a test, or saying hi to friends I passed, or just enjoying the day as I went between classes. Now, however, I find that I can be going over parts of God's word while I walk, something that gives focus to my thoughts and hope to my fears and worries. It gives me entirely new purpose when I see friends and a completely different perspective on the day I'm enjoying. I finally understand when David says, "I have hidden your Word in my heart…" That always seemed odious to me before, but now I see how treasured his Word is to me now. These days, I love turning the words over in my mind, trying to understand how they fit together, and how I might be able to live them out in my own life.
How does this apply to technology? Well, memory work is not everyone's strong suit. That's why there's an app for that. ;) One such app is called MindVault and was developed about a year and a half ago as a tool to help with this very thing.
Another one is called Memorize Anything, and it takes a different approach, choosing also to work with audio and check your progress.
These are just a few examples, but there are others out there as well. Find what tool works best for you. Give it a try before laughing at me. See what you think. That's advice from this senior.
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