Thinking About the Incarnation

Just in time for Christmas Eve, I want to pull together a few resources on how we might better think about the mystery of the Incarnation in the face of a society that has over-sentimentalized and commercialized the season where we celebrate the greatest miracle in the universe: God the Creator becoming a man, our Redeemer. Those in Invert youth Sunday School will recognize some of these as the basis of my talking points for our lesson on the Incarnation.

First up, Russel Moore's blog post about the "holly jollyness" of much of our Christmas music and how it betrays the stark reality of God's purposes in Christmas. We should be careful not to overstate the point - I think it is absolutely appropriate to celebrate holidays with lots of festive cheer, and I love listening to Christmas music on repeat all of December (just ask my wife!).

In a time of obvious tragedy, the unbearable lightness of Christmas seems absurd to the watching world. But, even in the best of times, we all know that we live in a groaning universe, a world of divorce courts and cancer cells and concentration camps. Just as we sing with joy about the coming of the Promised One, we ought also to sing with groaning that he is not back yet (Rom. 8:23), sometimes with groanings too deep for lyrics.
http://www.russellmoore.com/2012/12/18/crucify-your-holly-jolly-christmas/

Next, the historical-theological masterpiece of Athanasius, On the Incarnation. Athanasius, who battled Arius over the deity of Christ at a pivotal stage in church history, can wax a little philosophical in his writings, but I think students of most ages can get through at least a chapter or two and benefit a lot from his reflections. The whole thing can be read in a few hours. Just reading C.S. Lewis' introduction to this translation is worth the time to click through:

 His epitaph is Athanasius contra mundum, "Athanasius against the world." We are proud that our own country has more than once stood against the world. Athanasius did the same. He stood for the Trinitarian doctrine, "whole and undefiled," when it looked as if all the civilised world was slipping back from Christianity into the religion of Arius—into one of those "sensible" synthetic religions which are so strongly recommended today and which, then as now, included among their devotees many highly cultivated clergymen. It is his glory that he did not move with the times; it is his reward that he now remains when those times, as all times do, have moved away.
http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/history/ath-inc.htm

It's a little late to really dive into and savor a good Advent devotional, but this one by John Piper is certainly good enough to read at any time and any pace (you could read the whole thing in the next 2 days and finish while the rest of your family is napping on Christmas evening!). http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/books/good-news-of-great-joy

Finally, a couple contemporary Christmas songs that melodically make the point that Christmas is much more than decorations and singing carols, both from my favorite Canadian Christian band, downhere. The first is "Christmas in Our Hearts."

The second is perhaps my favorite Christmas song written in the last 100 years, "How Many Kings."

I hope you enjoy this Christmas and take time to reflect on how Christ came into this world not just to give us a squishy feeling, but that all of God's eternal and divine purposes came together in this event: God became Man.

The Persistence of God in Making His Name Great in All Nations

Deuteronomy 4:27-31
    And the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and you will be left few in number among the nations where the LORD will drive you. And there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul. When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the LORD your God and obey his voice. For the LORD your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.

Jeremiah 24:5-7
    Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I have sent away from this place to the land of the Chaldeans. I will set my eyes on them for good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up, and not tear them down; I will plant them, and not pluck them up. I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart.

Ezekiel 36:20-27
    But when they came to the nations, wherever they came, they profaned my holy name, in that people said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they had to go out of his land.’ But I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations to which they came.
    “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came. And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them. And the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes. I will take you from the nations and gather you from all the countries and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.

Acts 1:8
    But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

1 Thessalonians 1:6-8
    And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.

2 Corinthians 2:12-3:3
    When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.
    But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.
    Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

 Isn't it comforting to know the great desire of God to put his Spirit into people from all nations in order to make his name great, a desire that persists through suffering, through exile, through the darkest disobedience of his own people who forsake him, through the ignorance and fear of Christ's most intimate disciples... The plan of God is clear and unfailing! So what are we waiting for? He will bring us to the nations with or without our approval. 

Matthew 28:18-20
    And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus Christ - Everything we got and Everything we'll get

One of the great realities of life is that basically everything that culture desires or esteems is completely backward to what God requires and reveals in Christianity. Confessing and following Christ means that we no longer seek the world's wisdom, we no longer try to become prominent or popular or powerful in the eyes of society. By ourselves, because of our wretchedness, our sinful desires, all we are is ignorant, impure, immoral, and imprisoned. What is our reason to boast in anything we have done on our own? Instead, we know that it is in Jesus we find everything.
 
There is a great verse in the Bible that reminds us of the all-encompassing nature of who Jesus is and what he means for us. Here is Matthew Henry on 1 Corinthians 1:30:

He is made of God to us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (v. 30): all we need, or can desire.

We are foolishness, ignorant and blind in the things of God, with all our boasted knowledge; and he is made wisdom to us. We are guilty, obnoxious to justice; and he is made righteousness, our great atonement and sacrifice. We are depraved and corrupt; and he is made sanctification, the spring of our spiritual life; from him, the head, it is communicated to all the members of his mystical body by his Holy Spirit. We are in bonds, and he is made redemption to us, our Saviour and deliverer.

Observe, Where Christ is made righteousness to any soul, he is also made sanctification. He never discharges from the guilt of sin, without delivering from the power of it; and he is made righteousness and sanctification, that he may in the end be made complete redemption, may free the soul from the very being of sin, and loose the body from the bonds of the grave: and what is designed in all is that all flesh may glory in the Lord

Memorizing Galatians in under 6 Months

There are many resources available to help us treasure up God's Word. Paul exhorts the church to let "the Word of Christ dwell in you richly," or as my pastor puts it, 'stockpile' Scripture so we may further study it, share it, and sing it in worship and thankfulness to God (Colossians 3:16). Just today, John Piper linked to a blog post here that details some practical tips on how to memorize Scripture, along with this helpful encouragement:

The reason memorizing Scripture is important is that remembering God's word during the day is a matter of defeat or victory.
— John Piper (@JohnPiper) June 30, 2012

One of the more creative and practical ways that has come out was the Memory Moleskine by Timmy Brister. A couple years ago he wrote about how he divided the book of Ephesians into several weeks' worth of memorization, printed out the text and glued it into a moleskine so he could add his own journaling notes. Last year it became a group effort when Brister and The Resurgence put out a more polished PDF of Philippians that broke up the book into 4 months (January 1 to Easter Sunday) so that everyone on the internet with a moleskine could "partner together" to learn and meditate on the togetherness-servanthood of the church in light of Christ's sacrifice.

We've reached the halfway point of 2012 and if you're like me then you have long ago disappointed yourself with your New Year's reading/memorizing goals. Take heart, because by the end of 2012 you can memorize all of Galatians and become enamored with the Gospel. I put together my own homemade PDF you can download here:

Memorize Galatians in 24 Weeks


You should be able to print the document out and fit the columns into a medium-sized Moleskine (check out the Philippians link above for details on how to put it together). The last few pages are the same tips that The Resurgence provided, summarizing Andy Davis' popular extended memorization plan. If you just want the schedule, then here is what you can memorize each week to get all the way through (Remember, review is the key, every day! But there are extra weeks for catch-up and review):

(Week 1) Galatians 1:1-10
(Week 2) Galatians 1:11-20 
(Week 3) Galatians 1:21-2:5
(Week 4) Galatians 2:6-14
(Week 5) Galatians 2:15-21 
(Week 6) Galatians 3:1-9
(Week 7) Galatians 3:10-16 
(Week 8) Galatians 3:17-23 
(Week 9) Galatians 3:24-29
(Week 10) – Review 1-9
(Week 11) Galatians 4:1-7
(Week 12) Galatians 4:8-14
(Week 13) Galatians 4:15-20
(Week 14) Galatians 4:21-27
(Week 15) Galatians 4:28-5:3 
(Week 16) Galatians 5:4-12
(Week 17) Galatians 5:13-21
(Week 18) Galatians 5:22-26
(Week 19) Galatians 6:1-6
(Week 20) Galatians 6:7-12
(Week 21) Galatians 6:13-18
(Week 22) – Review weeks 11-21
(Week 23) – Recite weeks 1-22
(Week 24) – Meditate, Pray, and Rejoice!

If you look at the length of the text or the number of verses per week, you can tell I slightly front-loaded the work - if you start today, half the book will be done by Labor Day. This was intentional for three reasons. I assume most of us have a slightly less busy life in the summer and can spend a little more time on Scripture Memory. Also, when I start a new project most of my good energy comes at the front so I will want to memorize more earlier. Finally, it's easier to memorize more early because there is less to review.

I included a black title page if you wanted to put something on the front of your journal. Brister had a catchy title for the Philippians work, "Partnering to Remember," that matched both the intent of the memory project and a major theme of the letter. I tried thinking of a similar catchy title for memorizing Galatians but came up blank - "Gospeling Galatians," "Grounding in Faith,"... Nothing really fits. What do you think?

Where Cross the Crowded Ways of Life: The Work of Christ in the City

One night near the end of our time in New York (yes it is true, I came back home), the team sat around at our guest housing and got out some of our 'authentic' market-bought djembes and sang songs in a very touching time of worship. Since we all came from different churches and musical backgrounds, we made use of some old hymnals in the building (it was Baptist guest housing, after all) to get on the same page with lyrics and melody. After several rounds of familiar hymns, one of the guys flipped open to a song that was a poignant reminder of the pain and challenges of living in the city, and also an encouragement of the many graces that Christ provides in such an environment. As the world becomes more urban, more crowded, more tense, it seems the gospel of Christ has the ability to ring out even more clearly to those broken souls who long for a Savior.

Where cross the crowded ways of life,
Where sound the cries of race and clan
Above the noise of selfish strife,
We hear your voice, O Son of Man.

In haunts of wretchedness and need,
On shadowed thresholds dark with fears,
From paths where hide the lures of greed,
We catch the vision of Your tears.

From tender childhood’s helplessness,
From woman’s grief, man’s burdened toil,
From famished souls, from sorrow’s stress,
Your heart has never known recoil.

The cup of water given for You,
Still holds the freshness of Your grace;
Yet long these multitudes to view
The sweet compassion of Your face.

O Master, from the mountainside
Make haste to heal these hearts of pain;
Among these restless throngs abide;
O tread the city’s streets again.

Till sons of men shall learn Your love
And follow where Your feet have trod,
Till, glorious from Your Heaven above,
Shall come the city of our God!

Unfortunately I could not find one decent vocal recording of this hymn so here is a nice piano rendition. Apparently the common tune can be traced back to Beethoven.

New York: Week Wrap

Our work in Harlem is practically finished. We still have a little bit of packing, cheap sightseeing, and a plane to catch, but conversations that are happening have happened. The work now is in the hands of Chris Clayman and his small team of full time missionary workers and church planters. They have already done much work, in fact some of the people we met, Chris already knows them well and has even visited family members back in actual Africa, wives and children of those unable to visit them while financially stuck in New York's Little Africa. Hopefully our conversations have pushed the people here who have been stuck in a cultural and hardened Islam to consider Chris's constant Gospel testimonies anew and fresh. Definitely keep praying as our team will, that our short relationships with the West Africans will lead to fruitful long friendships for the missionaries and ultimately reconciled relationship with our God and Father.

It would be remiss of me not to make known that the work is great and the workers are few, but New York is always looking for more sowers, tillers, and harvesters. Chris would love to receive a team from any church or ministry group. His website has some more information, including a flyer and short brochure on a doing one year internships with the team. http://ethnycitybook.com/NYC-Missionary-Training-School.php

New York: Friday

John 14 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Today we had an interesting conversation with a gentleman at a tailor's shop. We asked him what he liked about New York and why he came from Senegal. His answer was a little bit different than what others have told us this week. He said that what he has loved about being in the states is that he has finally found peace. Peace, from knowing that he has a safe and productive job, a safe place to live and reside, days free from danger and conflict.

What most interested me about his answer is that, at least from what I've heard, peace is not a common interest or hope for Muslims. It's not that they are actively seeking conflict, at least not the West African ones, but their emphasized values are more on seeking honor and avoiding shame for themselves and their families. Hindus and Buddhists are on a search for peace and rebuke the American lifestyle for not finding it. Yet, for this tailor and probably under the surface for many West Africans, there is a desperate search for some final peace.

Isn't that true for the rest of us, too? Daily we are always encountering conflict, something that stresses us out and worries us, and our heart longs for some inner peace, a knowledge and comfort that our conflict will be relieved.

This is the message Jesus has given to the disciples, that when he left the world and they felt that all was wrong in the world, Christ's peace would still be with them. And not just some ethereal emotion, but the tangible presence of the Spirit of God would be upon them and in them. And that is the gospel we proclaim to the nations: that though they say they have found peace through financial and political stability, a deeper and fuller peace is known through reconciliation with the God who created and rules the universe by means of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and manifested in the giving of the Holy Spirit to all who would put their trust in Jesus' work.

Friday is our final workday in Harlem. Pray that we make plain the peace of Christ that is supreme over all other copies and shadows of peace and comfort found in this world.

New York: Tuesday

Ephesians 2:11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called "the uncircumcision" by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands- remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.

One of the toughest things about connecting with the people is the large culture gap. Different ethnicities, different cultures, different skin colors, different languages, different hobbies and entertainment. An even greater hindrance is that our team is part of the national 'majority' culture, and our target group, the West Africans, are vulnerable immigrants. They are strangers in a foreign land and have little welcome from Americans. Strange to me, there is even a longstanding tension with the African-Americans.

But that is part of the beauty of the Gospel. In our sin and our shame we were divided, hostile to God, far away, strangers to his people. Christ humbled himself and sacrificed himself on the cross so that we could have peace, so the hostility would be torn down, so we would have hope and be near to God. Muslims have an acute sense of the holiness of God and the distance between this world and God's dwelling. What they are missing is the peace of knowing that in Jesus, God has brought himself near to us, despite our utter sin.

Today, we seek to continue breaking down walls between ourselves and the people we are trying to reach. A couple members of our group have spent time (or were even born and raised) in Africa and know some of the languages or the colonial French, which lessens the culture gap. For the rest of us, the work may prove hard and slow. But the Gospel runs deep and is powerful. For the glory of the Father.

New York: Monday

Luke 10: 5Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you. 7 And remain in the same house, eating and drinking what they provide, for the laborer deserves his wages. Do not go from house to house.

Today we finally have our first 'work' day in New York. That's not to say we are not already tired! Yesterday (Sunday) we got to worship with a congregation of brothers predominantly from Burkina Faso. What a blessing to sing praises to Our Father with the nations, and we didn't even leave the USA! In the afternoon we prayerwalked the Harlem areas where West Africans are mostly gathered. While it's not central Manhattan, Harlem is still filled with tons of people in tight quarters. There are churches on many corners, but most lack vibrancy and solid gospel truth. Even still, the work among West Africans is nearly zero. Among African peoples with Muslim backgrounds, there are no established churches. There are, however, around 60 West African mosques in Harlem, not even counting the 400 non-African mosques in the city.An overwhelming task before us. How will we ever reach all these people? Today, we pray that God will lead us to these 'persons of peace' that will be receptive to our message and to our friends, so that we may sow seeds of the Gospel on soft ground.

Pray: New York

For the next week I will be in the Big Apple, the grand city, New York, on another mission trip with the school. This is a little different adventure than the last time I wrote asking for trip prayers. I will probably be challenged a lot more in expanding my relational qualities, and the people we interact with will probably be a lot more hesitant to hear what we have to say and to be connected with the local 'missionaries' we want to connect them with. Primarily we are working with a team of church planters in a section of Harlem that is primarily filled with West African immigrants, many of which are Muslim. Most of the week will be spent walking and talking on the streets of the marketplaces, trying to build short friendships and break down barriers in the community that prohibit the gospel.

Our trip leader gave us a prayer-walk guide and I wanted to share the outline of it here so you could pray with me for God to work in the lives of the people we will see and interact with. The whole prayer is premised on God opening what he will open and doing the work through our obedience that he wills to happen. Some of these should be self-explanatory.

Pray that God would:

1. Open the heavens. Isaiah 64:1-4 "Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down that the mountains might quake at your presence...no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him."

2. Open hearts. Ezekiel 11:17-21 "...And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God."

3.  Open homes. This is the "person of peace" strategy, that through one peaceful person a whole family or neighborhood will be invited to hear the gospel. Luke 10:1-10 "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest...    Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace be to this house!’ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him. But if not, it will return to you."

4. Open highways. Specifically, that God would grant proper channels and methods, that our work would not distract or conflict with God's declared plan. Isaiah 62:10-12 Go through, go through the gates; prepare the way for the people; build up, build up the highway; clear it of stones; lift up a signal over the peoples... “Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.” And they shall be called The Holy People,The Redeemed of the LORD; and you shall be called Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.

5. Open hands. Matthew 10:5-8 "...And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay."

Bookends in John - Glory of God and Belief in God

The Gospel of John is perhaps the simplest book of the New Testament in terms of grammar and writing style. It does not contain many flashy turns of phrase, subordinating clauses, or strings of synonyms like in Luke or Paul. It can be read and understood on a grammatical level by the youngest of readers - no wonder it is often the first book read by novice Greek students!

Yet, on a theological level, John is the deepest in the whole Bible. It is often called the "Spiritual Gospel" in contrast with the synoptics (which are not spiritual?!). Some of Paul's letters like Romans can be studied and digested paragraph by paragraph as a logical argument pieced together, but it is often said of John that the individual parts cannot be understood unless the whole Gospel is understood. Today I want to look at two key verses in John's Gospel, one at the beginning and another at the end, and hopefully help us dive more clearly into this great Gospel.

 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:14

This is not an unfamiliar verse to many. In the 13 verses that precede it, we see the cosmic beginnings of the universe: all things were created through this grand Word that was with God and strangely, was actually God. Now in our verse we are told that this Word is the person of Jesus Christ who, though being God, became man and became the manifestation of God's glory. Matthew calls him Immanuel, God with us. John calls him the dwelling place of glory, which can only remind the Israelites of the Temple, the place where God's Holiness was most highly displayed. For example, in Exodus 40:35, we are told that the cloud, which was God's physical guiding presence for Israel, dwelled over the tent, and God's glory filled the tabernacle. The very word for tabernacle means "dwelling place," and the same Hebrew root is borrowed by John for the incarnation of the Word. So many have suggested we could better translate Christ as having "become flesh and tabernacled among us," to remind us of the way he resided among us just like the various places in the Old Testament where God resided with Israel: the ark of the covenant, the tabernacle, and the temple (it is also convenient to not confuse this word with the more common word in John, "abide" or "remain," a theme beyond the scope of this post!). The Son of God came down from heaven, became fully man, full of grace, full of truth, and showed his glory to the world.

 But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. - John 20:31

This verse, near the end of the Gospel, is also very well-known. Our response to John's Gospel is simple and brief: believe. Believe in Jesus as who he says he is, the anointed Messiah fulfilling the Old Testament prophecies (including the Temple, as well as providing the New Covenant, the grand Prophet of Moses, the full embodiment of Wisdom, our High Priest, our King, our Redeemer, our Savior and Lord), the divine Son of God who was sending the Holy Spirit after him. Believe in this Christ, put your trust in him, put your full dependence upon him. For no one else grants life, nothing else can grant life except Jesus Christ. Without Christ we are dead (Eph 2:1), we are in darkness, blind, we are unclean and wicked before God, ignorant of the Truth, unable to know the Word.

John 1:14 serves well as the topic statement for the rest of the Gospel. All of the signs display the glory of God in the miraculous and yet human workings of Jesus. The discourses spread throughout the book proclaim the grace of God in full truth, that Christ calls all to himself. John 20:31 serves as the corresponding purpose statement. Through 20 chapters, John is nearly done with his presentation of Jesus' interaction with the disciples, and the call which heretofore has been indirectly given in the story is now directly given to us, the audience: believe in this glorious Christ. Will we answer as Nathanael, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" and receive life from Jesus? Or will we rest in our own knowledge and assumptions as the Pharisees, and remain in our guilt (John 9:41)?

Value of Memorizing Scripture: Part Two

In my last post I summarized a few quick points about the value of Scripture Memory, laying out three categories of relationships where a knowledge of God's Word helps us. The truth is, all three of these categories (vertical, horizontal, and inward) are inter-related, but we can say some distinctive things about each relationship. Today I will start with the vertical relationship.

How does memorizing Scripture help our relationship with God?

This hopefully is obvious and redundant to any believer, but it cannot be said enough: The Bible is God's Word. A less redundant concept that is lacking today: To know God, you must know the Word. If you do not know the Word, you do not know God. We may learn certain subjective things about God through nature or our experiences, or objective facts about God told in the Bible may be confirmed in other ways, but God is not ultimately known through searching *deep* inside yourself or going on some kind of processing journey.

The Value of Scripture Memory

"What if I offered you $1000 for every verse you could memorize in the next seven days? Do you think your attitude toward Scripture memory and your ability to memorize would improve? Any financial reward would be minimal when compared to the accumulating value of the treasure of God's Word deposited within your mind."

Donald Whitney introduces the section on Scripture Memory in his now standard book, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, with this financial illustration to encourage Christians to memorize Scripture. I think Whitney could have used the same illustration for nearly every other Christian practice and discipline, but it works especially well for Scripture memory because I can think of very few "bad" ways to memorize a verse, other than objectively not memorizing a phrase correctly or by memorizing a verse with the wrong attitude and motive, but those are topics for another time. I started to address the topic of improper, or rather, inadequate memory habits earlier on this site and perhaps will get back to that soon. Fortunately, in a few weeks I am set to give a short seminar at my church's youth retreat on Scripture Memory, so you may be seeing several more posts here about it!

For today, I want to summarize the main benefits that Whitney proposes for memorizing God's Word. I have organized his points into three categories: our vertical relationship with God, our horizontal relationship with others, and our inner relationship with the devil and our sinful flesh.

Memorization Helps our Relationship with God
Knowing Scripture can strengthen our faith. When we come upon times of struggle or weakness, we should turn to God and his promises of faithfulness. More often than not, we do not have a concordance or a John MacArthur standing next to us who can point us directly to the verse we need (and we may not even have a Bible readily accessible). "Memorizing Scripture strengthens your faith because it repeatedly reinforces the truth, often just when you need to hear it again."

In the same light, knowing the Bible in our hearts can push toward meditation and further study of the Word. Like a tune that gets stuck in your head, if you have memorized Scripture then you will be continually be reminded of these verses and they will force you to consider and apply their Truth.

Memorization Helps our Relationship with Others
The most tangible use of Scripture is in witnessing or counseling to those around us. If we claim to be followers and disciples of Christ, then we should always be telling others about God's very Word, and perhaps the most effective way to do so is by having it memorized. It is always a joy for me to be in casual conversation with someone else, and to be able to interject Scripture that comes to mind. The fewer portions of Scripture I know, then obviously the fewer I can talk about!

Memorization Helps our Inner Battle
One of the interesting things we learn from Matthew 4 is that Satan uses God's Word in a superficial and twisted way to deceive (see also: Genesis 3, Job 1), while Christ battles and defeats Satan with God's Word correctly (sidebar: there's a bigger point to this passage about Christ's victory on behalf of us, but that's another blog series!). Meanwhile, over in Ephesians 6, Paul tells us to put on God's armor, including Scripture, so that we may be equipped to stand against spiritual battles. 2 Timothy 3:16 says point-blank that the Bible tells us about doctrine and trains us in righteousness. To escape from sin, we must flee to the words found in Scripture.

One benefit Whitney mentions that may overlap between these categories is that memorization can help to guide us. The Holy Spirit is promised to be a Counselor and an Advocate for us, but how does that happen? John 14:26 tells us: But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Jesus is specifically talking about the creation of the books of the New Testament, but I think he is also making an application for us, that the Holy Spirit will work to impress upon us passages from Scripture as a Helper for us.


The benefits of memorizing Scripture are about as numerous as the amount of methods published on how to memorize Scripture. I have only given a few of the points here, and they are a tiny introduction. Hopefully we will be able to elaborate on these categories of why we memorize. But for now, I pray this encourages you to get in God's Word, to know Christ and the power of His resurrection more intimately. Take to heart the words of Proverbs 22:17-19:

    Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise,
        and apply your heart to my knowledge,
    for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,
        if all of them are ready on your lips.
    That your trust may be in the LORD,
        I have made them known to you today, even to you.

Is Christ the Lord, or is He your Manager?

The LORD is my manager;
I’m equipped with what I need to be successful.
He makes sure I have enough to eat and drink,
And that I’m not too stressed out.
He gives me what I need to get by;
He communicates good advice
so I can keep him satisfied with my progress.

I came across this excellently-written "Semi-Psalm 23," and the ironic realities gripped me. I go through life doing nearly everything on my own. I'm pretty smart, I have decent means to get through life. I give lip-service to what Christ provides for me but little more.

But when the darkness closes in and I feel half-dead,
I’m frightened by all the pain that grips me,
Because you seem so far away from me,
And your distant management of my life leaves me alone and afraid.


I have not known any real hardship. I have tried hard to rest content with what I have, and I really have never been in a place where I didn't know how I was going to eat or whether or not I would be provided for. Yet, somehow I still let the pressures, the stress, the distraction of this life overtake my inner emotions and I let Christ become a fading distance. Sometimes out of guilt or shame, sometimes out of fear, I run into myself instead of to the riches of Christ.

You do let me help myself to the leftovers from your table,
Which I suppose is better than what my enemies get.
You acknowledge my presence at dinner,
And you let me pour a little wine into my cup.
I guess I have an adequate and decent life most of the time,
And I can always stay at the LORD’s house for a few days if I ever feel the need.

Obviously the writer of this poem was making a satire off Psalm 23, where God is our great Shepherd leading us where we need to go even in times of suffering. I think another passage in the Bible can unlock the truth of how Christ relates to us. Instead of the lackadaisical approach to Christ portrayed here, consider the precious words of Colossians:

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son.

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

…The riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

Our local church is just beginning a study into this wonderful book about Christ and his Lordship over us. I am excited to study again the greatness of who Christ is and what He has accomplished in my life. I pray it is a time of renewal and revived focus on making great the name of Jesus and no longer trying to rely on our own strength.


    If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.