Do you struggle with scripture memory? Try this approach

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.-Psalm 119:11

Most Christians that I know 1) think that scripture memorization is probably important and 2) that they find it really difficult to accomplish.  I know that for me, this is certainly a challenge.  Here is something that I have been trying lately that so far, seems to be producing effects well beyond what I would have anticipated. 

The first thing you are going to do is go to Christian Audio before February 1st and download the free ESV Bible.  Okay, you don't have to download this one; I'm just trying to help out because it is a great translation and its free.  It is truly free, not just a gimmick.  It is only available until January 31 so get on it if you are interested.  Put the Bible on your iPod, iPhone, iPad, cellphone, whatever.  You could certainly find an audio Bible of whatever sort you would like.

The second thing you are going to do is that you are going to pick a chapter of the Bible that you want to memorize.  That's right, a chapter. I know, it sounds overwhelming, but stick with me here (there are actually really good reasons for learning long passages, but I won't go into them here).  I chose to start with Ephesians 1.  Then, when I go anywhere, I set Ephesians 1 on repeat.  It is just under 3 minutes.  I try to talk along with it.  Don't worry, in the cell-phone age, everybody looks like they are talking to themselves, and even if people do think that about you, who are you trying to please, man or God? I have listened to it 6 times today already. Over the last 2 weeks, I've probably listened to it 100 times or more.  I not only have down the whole passage at this time, I can even mimic the inflections and pauses of the narrator. 

Keep listening to it until the passage is solidly in your memory stores and then keep listening just to make sure. Then, you can add the next section. So, tonight when I go home, I intend to make a playlist that is just Ephesians 1 and 2, which I will then listen to repeatedly until I have that down then keep adding until all 6 chapters are done. 

If you really want to power it up, combine it with this method for memorizing long passages of scripture described by Andy Davis. This too only takes 10 to 15 minutes per day.

As an example, if you commit to listening to Ephesians 1 for just 15 minutes per day, you would listen to it five times. Within the week, it would be 35 times. It would be 465 times over the course of the month.  A year? 1825 times.  That's almost 2000 times just by listening for 15 minutes per day!  Do you think you would know chapter 1 of Ephesians well by that point?  Yes, you would. Just check out Deuteronomy 6:6-9 if you need more convincing.

Where can you listen? In your car.  In the shower. As you are going to sleep at night. While you are doing dishes. While you are walking around the block.  The options are wide open to you.

Wondering what to work on memorizing? Here are a few suggestions, but you could really start wherever you wished.

• Exodus 20
• Psalm 19
• Psalm 23
• Psalm 51
• John 1
• Romans 8
• The book of Ephesians
• Phillipians 2-4

Book Review: The Heart of a Servant Leader

Dear Jack,

I have just been blessed to read the most remarkable book entitled The Heart of a Servant Leader (2004), which is a collection of letters you wrote during your ministry. Your daughter Barbara saw fit to edit this volume of your correspondence into this volume. We should be thankful to God for her editorial gift. But I wanted to write to you thanking you for your deeply pastoral heart. I had heard of reputation from other Christian teachers and was eager to read what you had to write. In your letters, I discovered a man who loved the gospel and who sought to glorify God and love people. I deeply appreciated the transparency with which you wrote to the people you came into contact with.  Further, your commitment to dependence upon prayer is palpable throughout your writings. I am eager to recommend your letters to all who are willing to consider them. You communicate how deeply in the grip of the grace of Christ you are and I long for other believers to see that as well. 

I know that you are now with the Father, but I pray that God will raise up a generation of disciples who will love others warmly and worship God fervently.  I am pleased to commend this book to anyone seeking to that end.

Book Review: The Divine Conspiracy

If Dallas Willard had a work he was best known for, it was probably The Divine Conspiracy (1998), though he wrote many other books as well. This book is an extended treatise on the Christian life, not as some ethereal or future thing, but as something earthy and present. Willard compellingly looked to the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as informing an actual way to live.  He makes the argument that too often in modern evangelicalism, we look to Jesus as Savior, but have little hope that faith in him will produce any real sense of change.

The middle of the book is an extended treatment of the Sermon on the Mount, what Willard chose to re-title the "discourse on the hill."  Willard looked to Jesus teachings in Matthew 5-7 not as a series of new laws for the Christian to follow but representative of the lives of those who are growing in Christ.  In other words, those connected to the vine will increasingly manifest those things discussed in the discourse. 

The second to last chapter is entitled "A Curriculum for Christlikeness".  To me, this was the strongest part of the book.  Here, Willard took all that he had previously discussed and applied it more directly to the life of the Christian.  Known for his promotion of spiritual disciplines, it is here that he begins to discuss them with some detail, particularly the disciplines of silence, solitude, study, and worship.  He makes a compelling argument for them. 

The Divine Conspiracy is a good book.  Willard's thoughts on the sermon on the mount were informative and worth pondering deeply.  His defense of the disciplines too was useful.  Having said that, I am never quite sure what to make of Willard.  When I read his works or hear him speak, I often find myself wondering about his perspective on certain issues (e.g., is everyone saved?) because he never quite comes around to an answer.  I also worry that some who make it as far as chapter 9 may see a causative, rather than correlative, link between disciplines and holiness that may not be quite so clear.

For the more academically minded, The Divine Conspiracy is worth reading, but for many readers, it will be too much.  If you are interested in spiritual formation and growth in Christlikeness, but are not ready for a heavier work like this, it may be worth reading Willard's book Renovation of the Heart or even John Ortberg's The Life You've Always Wanted, which Ortberg himself referred to as Willard for Dummies, as both books are much more accessible. 

Book Review: Risky Gospel

For me, this was the right book at the right time. I guess I would characterize Owen Strachan's Risky Gospel (2013) as a treatise on Christian spirituality and growth. But it is not just that.  It is also a book that stresses the importance of a biblical worldview for all areas of life. And it is also deeply gospel centered.  At its essence, though, Strachan issues a bold call to 21st century Christians to step out of their comfortable enclaves and begin to take risks for the gospel, to believe what the word of God actually says.  

In the opening chapter, Strachan diagnoses what he sees as the problem, a church that is scared of confrontation and desires above all to be safe. Having observed many believers, including myself, I think he is an astute diagnostician, though if we are to be honest, it is not a difficult diagnosis to make. Having pointed out our fear, he begins to lay groundwork for how Christians might begin to risk it all for the sake of the gospel. On page 29, he wrote, "we are saved not so we can hedge our bets. We are saved to put everything on the table for God"

I appreciated several things about this book.  Throughout the book, but particularly in the chapter "Risky Identity", Strachan seeks to remind us who we are in Christ.  We are not just forgiven, we are new creations in Christ who are more than conquerors. In that context, he offers a bold push-back against the view that even though we are saved, we are always going to be a mess, while at the same time acknowledging that we will always be sinners. 

In the later two-thirds of the book, Strachan explores what this "risky identity" means for the Christian life. He examines risky spirituality, risky families, risky work, risky church, risky evangelism, risky citizenship, and risky failure.  Each of these represent aspects of the Christian's life where being a bold gospel witness is important. In each of the chapters, Strachan briefly established the theology behind his thinking and provided poignant examples before he moved on to much more practical advice. For example, when he exhorts the reader to develop risky families, he provides a number of practical steps that people can implement to grow that area.  This is one of the greatest strengths of the book.  In fact, the practicality of his writing often brought to mind specific people that I know who would benefit from certain concepts, myself included. 

Their is not much that detracts from this book.  By the end, the notion of "risky" felt a bit overwrought much like John Piper's "future grace" in his book by the same name, but I understand how it becomes part of the branding and central theme flowing throughout. 

Strachan is a strong writer and communicator. I have been blessed to read things he has written in the past and this book is equally engaging.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Great Counsel on Depression Medications

The more I read of David Murray, the more I appreciate him.  He is a pastor and professor (Old Testament and Practical Theology) who writes wisely about depression.  Today, he offered this excellent counsel to someone who has decided to go on medications for depression. 

He begins:
So sorry to hear you are still suffering in this way. But I’m very happy to hear that you are going to the doctor’s today. I know you are nervous but I wouldn’t worry about the visit – you will probably be just one of a dozen depressed people the doctor will see that week. He’s used to it.

I’m glad you are willing to consider the meds. The side-effects are usually minimal for most people and are often greatly exaggerated by opponents of medications.

Please take the time to read this piece. Also, if you are feeling depressed or anxious, please talk to someone--a pastor, a friend, or your doctor.  

No Mr President

In 2009, John Piper addressed the then newly elected Barack Obama about his statements made about abortion.  They remain relevant today as it is the 41st anniversary of the tragic Roe v. Wade supreme court decision.

Choose Your Weapon

A few years ago, I was looking to purchase a new deer rifle. I went into one store and the salesman presented me with a single shot rifle, telling me how his father had killed more deer with that gun than I would ever kill in my lifetime. He was deadly accurate with it. Part of the reason why he was so accurate was that he knew every inch of his gun well. He knew exactly what to expect when he used it.

As a practiced shooter, he could probably use some else's gun well too, but not as well as he could use his own.  His single shot was an extension of his body and so it made sense for him not to use a new gun every time he went hunting.

I suspect this familiarity applies to other implements as well.  Swordsman get to know the weight and balance of their own swords. Golfers use their own clubs because they know how they will perform. Chefs prefer certain knives because they know exactly how they will perform. Though they may be accomplished with these instruments in general, their precision comes from their own objects becoming a part of them.

I believe this lesson applies to Bible as well. The more we familiarize ourselves with one translation, even one Bible, the more it becomes a part of us.  Granted, we will certainly be able to navigate other Bibles and translations better than we had before, but our ability to make a Bible our own rests in engaging with the same text again and again.

I know that many people switch translations year by year. No doubt this offers fresh perspective on God's word, but I suspect it limits the ability to truly own the text and write it deeply on our hearts.  This is Grant Horner's Bible. Horner has been using the exact same Bible for 25 years. Do you think he knows it well?  In this audio clip, John Piper also makes a plea for finding a translation and sticking with it.

My encouragement is to get a good Bible, written on real paper, in a standard translation (ESV, NIV, NASB) and read it until it becomes a part of you. 

Of First Importance

Things that are not of first importance:

• How long it took for God to create the world.
• How God created the universe.
• What type of music churches play.
• The role of women in the church.
• The size of your congregation.
• Your political persuasion.
• Ten million other things.

What is of first importance:

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, ESV)

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15:12-19, ESV)

God is More Passionate Than You Are

God is not a bored, tired gentleman of a grandfatherly nature sitting on his La-Z-Boy throne in heaven who shows only polite interest in your life. God is passionate.  In fact, He is more passionate than you are.  Much more passionate.

He loves you so much that He pursues you everywhere.  He pours forth blessing after blessing on you.  He loved you so much He sent His son to die and bear the penalty for your sin and He offers it as a free gift.  He allowed His son to be Killed. Gruesomely. So that He could have relationship with you.  He loves you passionately.

He also hates sin much more than you do. He despises sin.  When you are disappointed and angry with yourself for sinning, His hatred for that sin is infinitely larger than yours. He also hates the sins that others commit against you much more than you ever will.  He hates sin so much that He sent his son Jesus to do away with that sin once and forever. 

Never think of God as impassionate.  His desire for you, His hatred of sin, His passion will always supersede that of your own.  Praise God for that.

A few Brief Thoughts on Theology and Worship Music

I want to tread carefully in this post because I am sure to offend some people, which is not my intention.  I have been thinking about writing a post on worship music for a long time and never really could settle on how to proceed.  This morning as I was listening to Kristin Getty sing The Power of the Cross, I thought maybe today would be a good day.  Before I proceed, let me offer a disclaimer.

First, I like modern praise and worship music. I attend a church that sings primarily recent praise songs and I belt them out at the top of my lungs.  I was even a worship leader at our church for quite a while and at my previous church.  I am not someone who scoffs at the music we sing because frankly, I love it and it allows me to worship God in song.  In fact, I am not going to single out any specific worship songs that I dislike because that is not the point. 

However...many modern songs lack theological depth.  Many praise songs that are now written are emotionally engaging, but cognitively weak.  I believe that we are to love God not only with our hearts, but also with our minds.  I also believe that our song choices should be influenced by not just what makes us feel warm and tingly, but which takes our view of God to greater heights. 

The Young Blimeycow gets it about right in this post on "How to Write a Worship Song"



So, what are examples of songs that are theologically rich and engage both the mind and the heart?  Certainly, In Christ Alone by the Getty's is a classic example. Almost no one believes it was written just 12 years ago because it sounds like an old hymn.

How about the song I mentioned above--the Power of the Cross?



What are some songs, old or new, that you think express deep theological depth?