My Progress:
Chater 20 is finished and I am officially on the last Chapter of John. I am beyond thrilled to think that I am going to achieve my goal of memorizing John in 2 years (as well as my secret goal to memorize it in 1). Nothing can deter my progress now! --Not even the most awful stomach virus in the world that has been ripping its way through my family this week.
Chapter 19 was awesome. Jesus is resurrected and we get to see the poignant reunions with his disciples and loved ones.
"then the disciples went back to their homes, but Mary stood outside the tomb crying." (That totally would've been me.)
I love the verse, "Jesus said to her, 'Mary'". She instantly recognizes Him and falls at His feet. Memorizing these verses, I almost felt like I was there.
Then we get to Thomas. He wasn't with the other disciples for Jesus' initial appearance and wouldn't believe the news when they told him. I love that Jesus appears again a week later and says, "put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe." Jesus didn't rebuke Thomas or give him a hard time. He simply revealed Himself with love. Thomas is another guy in the Bible who I feel gets a bad rap when really, wouldn't we all have reacted in the same way?
These are just a few of those biblical moments that I wish I had the privilege of witnessing firsthand. The incredible depth of emotion and the tangible victory of Jesus over sin and death must have been tremendous to experience.
And once again, I am in the Bible. "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." I'm one of the ones who has not seen and yet has believed! Totally awesome.
My ultimate favorite verse: "But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." I can almost picture John in my mind writing these words. And he is writing them to us! After memorizing over 800 verses, not only have I grown closer to Jesus, but I have developed this inexplicable love and respect for John for writing this book. I feel a tremendous sense of fellowship and brotherhood when I think about John and look forward to the abundant joy I will experience when I meet him in glory someday. In the meantime, I am loving more and more each day that we gave our sweet baby boy the name John.
One chapter to go. I'm feeling a little sad that it's almost over...
I am hanging in there, Thank you Jesus.presently I am fighting cancer and I am in hospice care. But I did get to be a Chaplin in the local prison system and did get a chance to teach scripture memory classes here, as well as recite chapters and books to the inmates. It is so inspiring to see the select few attain interest and work together to memorize and create a unified endeavor within their circumstances by the grace and inspiration of God. Its a wonderful thing to watch people get turned on by the Word!
ReplyDeleteHope your doing well, all of you. Whats up with you guys?
Thank you for memorizing scripture. Memorizing some myself I was really inspired and connected with a lot of what you said. It is so true. His word just lives in you, and you see it everywhere. Thank you for your devotion and your humility.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your support. It's nice to know that there are others out there who value memorizing Scripture. It's amazing to experience God in such a real way. Keep memorizing!
DeleteI know you will probably never see this, but have you continued your memorization? We are just wrapping up the book of John and wondered if you were still with it.
ReplyDeleteHello! I’m so glad to see that people still look at this from time to time! I hope it is an inspiration and encouragement. To answer your question, I am currently no longer memorizing an amount of scripture like this endeavor was. However, I do continue to memorize on a more “normal” scale. (A verse or two at a time rather than whole chapters :) It is so important. Looking back, this was clearly a time when God was working in my life in a very big way. I will remember it always. While I can no longer recite the chapters the way I once could, I have cherished what I’ve learned.
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