Week 7: Big Progress?

Day 47          Verses Memorized:  154          Working on:  John 4:43-54

The John Squad
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My Progress:
I had an extremely productive week banging out 34 verses of Jesus talking with the Samaritan woman.  For some reason, this was just an easy passage to pick up on.  The dialogue is still BRUTAL - It's so annoying to have everything right and then mess up on a 'said' or 'replied' or 'answered'.  I have about 11 more verses until Chapter 4 is finished.

Some Thoughts:
I wish I could say that my spiritual growth was as successful as my memory this week.  However, I am sad to report that this week's progress was a result of my brain and not my heart.  Apparently, if you don't spend a lot of time with the Lord, He doesn't speak with you as much.  I don't have any mind-blowing thoughts about this passage because I didn't take the time to sit with the Lord and ask Him to reveal things to me.  So yippy skippy 34 verses...  Big stinking deal.  I would've rather learned 1 verse and connected with my Savior on a deeper level than memorize 34 and feel disconnected from Him.  Shame on me.  That will not happen again.

Week 6: Slow and Steady

Day 40          Verses Memorized:  120           Working on:  John 4:1-26

The John Squad
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My Progress:
Oh yeah - Chapter 3!

I spent several days reviewing Chapters 1-3.  It was amazing how rusty some parts of the first chapter were already, so I'm going to have to consciously slow down new memorizing in order to incorporate a little review each day.  I have now begun to memorize the first couple verses of Chapter 4.  This is a long conversation with the Samaritan woman.  Dialogue is always a problem for me (remembering "said" vs. "replied", "answered", "declared".  So I think it will be slow-going for a little while.  But I am not overly concerned with deadlines - only that I am spending some quality time each day with my focus on memorizing the Word.

Some Thoughts:
I'm only in the initial stages of this passage, so I don't have any deep, theological thoughts yet.  However, one thing really struck me as I began reading it over several times. 

Jesus sat down by the well because He was tired.  Read slowly here:  Jesus was tired, so He sat down.  That just blew me away.  Knowing how strong, mighty and powerful Jesus is makes it hard to believe that He ever got tired at all.  But after thinking more thoroughly about His "human-ness" and remembering verses about Him sleeping, or going off by Himself to rest, I realize even more how His earthly body of flesh must have been such a cage for Him.  And it really blows my mind when I think about how He is infinitely stronger than we can imagine because of the fact that He allowed Himself to be so weak.  That must be the strongest strength there is!

Additional Thoughts:

• It finally happened.  Bible verses went through the wash.  I knew it was only a matter of time.  But when I pulled out the laundry the other day and saw little pieces of fuzzy white balls all over our clothes, I knew immediately what had happened.  My husband and I both carry our verses around in our pockets so we have them on-hand whenever a moment for study might arise.  I was thankful that they were his verses and not mine.  hehe
• I had to stop listening to my husband's Bible on CD because all I ended up doing was mocking the guy's voice.  Leave it to my sinful, wretched self to make fun of the Bible.  So I try to avoid that situation altogether now.
• My 6-year old daughter did something very out-of-character one day so I turned to her and asked, "Who are you?"  She non-chalantly replied, "I am the voice of one calling in the desert 'make straight the way for the Lord.'."

   

Week 5: Three Chapters Down

Day 33          Verses Memorized:  112            Working on:  Finalizing Chapter 3

The John Squad
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My Progress:
Well Chapter 3 sure got difficult at the end!  But I am happy to say that I have a strong handle on the entire chapter.  I will spend a few more days going over it to make sure it's solid before I move on to Chapter 4.  My overall progress has slowed down because I am using some of my memorizing time to go back and review the previous chapters.  This whole experience sure would be a waste of time if I got to the end and couldn't remember the beginning!  So I spend a little time each day reviewing Chapters 1 and 2. 

Some Thoughts:

• I'm still struggling with Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus.  I wish I knew for sure what the whole water/spirit thing meant - and why He uses the pronoun "we".
• 3:20  "Everyone who does evil hates the light."  That verse sure struck me because I am certainly one who does evil! 
• John the Baptist is just so darn awesome.  He's gotta be one of the coolest people in the Bible, next to Jesus Himself, of course.  I truly love him and the disciple John (a major part of why we named our only son John).
• How John the Baptist could be so humble and self-sacrificing is astonishing.  "He must become greater; I must become less" is a verse that we should all live by.
• I love how John the Baptist mentions that the friend is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice.  It just reminded me of how he leaped in the womb when he heard Mary approaching.  I wonder if he had been told stories about that encounter.
• Can't move on to Chapter 4 without mentioning the final verse.  "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."  YIKES!  I don't know about you, but I don't want any of God's wrath remaining on me!  I sort of wish this was the world's most famous verse - rather than 3:16.  Sure, He's a lovey-dovey God, but let's not forget about His wrath!

Week 4: Making Progress

Day 26          Verses Memorized:  93          Working on:  John 3:1-21

The John Squad
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My Progress:

I am about halfway through Chapter 3 and am making steady progress each day.  There are certainly days when I accomplish less, but I am definitely pleased with my overall progress thus far.  Chapter 2 was totally awesome because it was action-packed and half the length of Chapter 1.  With the exception of one or two wacky phrases, I picked it up pretty quickly.  I think my brain is becoming accustomed to what I'm asking it to do and has made some improvements in its ability to memorize.  However, I fully understand that there will most certainly be rough days ahead and I'm prepared (with the Lord's help) to fight through them when the time comes.

Here we are reciting Chapter 2:                     

I've realized that I have a fairly significant fear that has taken root in my heart and as time goes on, it seems to be growing.  I am quite apprehensive of when the time comes to memorize the details of the crucifixion.  As it is now, I spend vast amounts of time thinking about the verses I'm memorizing.  I can't imagine meditating on His agony for extended periods of time.  I'm not looking forward to those chapters.  Hopefully God will start doing some work to prepare me for that.

Some Thoughts:
First of all, I love the scene where Jesus is outraged at the people in the temple courts.  It got me wondering if "zeal for your house will consume me."  Is His house so incredibly important to me that I have feelings of anger if it is being misused?  I need to start having more respect for His building, which includes having the right heart and attitude when I am inside it.

"Jesus would not entrust himself to them".  He knew that his "followers" didn't have a true, saving faith.  As I was thinking about that verse, I started thinking that He must've felt awfully lonely.  For me, one of the most important things in my life is being understood by others.  I don't even care if they agree with me.  I just want them to understand me.  Nobody understood Him.  As I reflected on how lonely that must've felt, I got to the next couple of verses:  "He did not need man's testimony about man" and realized that He really doesn't need anything from us!  His perfect fellowship with the Father met all of his spiritual needs regardless of our response.

Midway through Chapter 3, I hit some struggles.  Jesus is talking with Nicodemus and there is some deep theology in there that I just plain don't get.  I'm looking through 2 different commentaries as I go along and I also ask my Pastor's opinions from time to time.  It's amazing how many different ways there are to interpret the same verse.  I got stuck on where the water comes from in verse 5, and why He is using "we" in verse 11.  After hearing all the possibilities, I've come to the conclusion... that I'm still not sure.

While Jesus is talking with Nicodemus, he asks him, "you are Israel's teacher, and do you not understand these things?"  I felt as though Jesus was respecting the authority and position of Nicodemus in the church and because of that position, was expecting more from him.  As a result, I had feelings of conviction because my husband and I have been teaching Sunday School for about 7 years now.  It's a position I suppose I've begun to take for granted and not really grasped the true value and importance it might have on a young person's life.  I'm hoping that I understand more than Nicodemus did and am worthy to hold a position of guiding and instructing others.

As I was cooking along memorizing verse by verse, I came to 3:14 and was taken completely off guard when I was overwhelmed with emotion as I read its words.  "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."  Hence, as I mentioned earlier, my fear of memorizing the crucifixion.  This was just a mere reference to it and I hard time thinking about it.  The story of the snakes among the Israelites is one of my favorites.  I love how God provided a way out that required faith to look in a certain direction.  But imagining the Son of Man being lifted up... and then reading on "so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life" is just overwhelming.  I can't understand it.  I'm just unable to grasp that kind of love.

Week 3: Still Going Strong

Day 19          Verses Memorized:  73          Working on:  John 2:12-25

The John Squad 
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My Progress: 
I officially finished Chapter 1 - Hip Hip Hooray!  I am now working on the very end of Chapter 2 and I think I'll have it down within the next couple of days.  I LOVE this chapter.  I think I may have slowed my pace down a little, but that is not because of lack of effort.  I have been spending just as much time as I was before, but I seem to be running into more questions with this chapter.  I've used my time to study deeper into the words, talk with my Pastors, and read through different commentaries to gain a better understanding about what all this means.  I glanced at Chapter 3 and am feeling a little nervous about it because it looks quite challenging, but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

Below is a video of my husband and me reciting Chapter 1.  We messed up in a couple places, but that just makes it more authentic, right?

Some Thoughts:

I could not be happier with my experience thus far.  I knew this would be rewarding, but I am absolutely astonished at how much I have learned and grown in just a few short weeks.  I was confident that God was going to do a mighty work, but I had no idea all the wonderful things He had in store for me.  What a true honor to have the privilege of basking in His word.  There is something special about memorizing His words that has made my relationship so much more intimate and personal. 

While I am reading verses that I have read for most of my life, it's as if I'm truly hearing them for the very first time.  I realize now that I had become all too "familiar" with the Bible.  I would skim through passages because I knew I had read them many times before.  But what an incredible difference now that I have taken the time to sit down and meditate on every single solitary paragraph, sentence, word, and letter.  It sounds rather silly, but I feel like I'm meeting Jesus for the first time.  I mean, really getting to know Him.  And I'll tell you something:  He's pretty awesome! 

Some questions I've encountered through my meditation:

• Why did Mary go to Jesus when there was no more wine?  Some say it's because Joseph had died by then and as the eldest son, she would've approached Him first.  Some say she had seen Him do great things before.  Others say she knew exactly who He was and that He was going to handle the situation accordingly. 
• Why does Jesus respond, "my time has not yet come" and then He goes and does it anyway?  Some say it was out of respect for His mother.  Others say that it was because of Mary's faith.

I struggled a lot with this whole Jesus/Mary exchange.  John MacArthur says that by saying, "Dear Woman", he was indicating that from that moment, their mother/son relationship had changed.  He was now her Savior and Lord rather than an earthly son.  Can you imagine? 

How sweet of Jesus to perform this miracle.  The fact that He would take the time to do this astounds me.  (I don't know how full the jars were to begin with, but if there were 6 jars holding 20-30 gallons each, it may have taken quite some time and effort to fill them!)  It just shows how much He cares about us.  He spared this family the embarrassment of running out of wine.  He allowed the festivities to continue so that people could have enjoyment in the celebration.  Anybody who says God is a kill-joy who takes the fun out of life is sorely mistaken!

I also got to thinking about the water turning to wine.  How Jesus can take nothing and make it into something.  This is incredibly encouraging to me because when I'm feeling like a hopeless, lost cause that will continue to slip into perpetual sin, I know that God can transform my heart.  I know that He can take my garbage and turn it into something marvelous.  Just think about that for a moment.  He can take our emptiness (nothing - like water) and turn into something wonderful (sweet - like wine). 

What an amazing God. 

Thank you, God, for revealing Yourself more to me each day and for allowing me to see just a glimpse of your goodness.  How I enjoy our time together!  I am grateful for what You've taught me and pray that through Your strength, I will become worthy of the honor to have these words stored in my heart for the rest of my days.

Truly, an Amazing God.