In 383 AD Augustine, the
first emperor of the Christian world remarked with amazement at his mother’s
advisor Ambrose. "When he
reads," said Augustine, "his eyes scanned the page and his heart
sought out the meaning, but his voice was silent and his tongue was still!”[1] Silent reading as we do today was
a remarkable and curious endeavor.
In contrast to today, ancient libraries were not the places of
silence.
Do you remember Philip in
Acts 8? He was walking along the
road when he came across the Ethiopian Eunuch reading out loud from the book of
Isaiah. He was reading out loud not
because he was on a deserted road and no one would hear him, but because this
was the normative way to read.
From the beginning the
books of the Bible were written down with an oral element in mind. Written on large scrolls that
required careful storage and limited accessibility to the general public, Bible
portions were often read aloud with those in attendance capturing the details
of the story through hearing and subsequently retelling.
Step Five: Getting it Out
An integral part of the
memorization process is to learn to take what you have memorized and practice
it by speaking it out loud. There
are two reasons that we do this.
The first is that speaking
the Scriptures out loud greatly enhances our ability to remember as our ears
hear what is spoken. So often we meditate
on the Word and memorize it but it stays in the recesses of our mind. What you will discover is that when you
review the Scriptures to yourself, the memory is brilliant. But when you begin to speak it out
loud, you will find the problem areas.
This is a key aspect of review and retention.
The second reason is that
learning to speak them out loud to others prepares you for ministry
opportunities. Memorization
Scripture is not for self-edification alone, but for the strengthening of others. The Word of Christ in its happiest form dwells in us so
richly that it oozes out for the blessings of others. You will find that when you discover how it can bless
others, it will inspire you to memorize even more.
Having said this, it
doesn’t mean that we load our Scripture guns and shoot out verses at everyone
who comes our way. How we use
Scripture in conversation, the timing with which we use it and the spirit with
which we tell it matters. We don’t
want to blast people with the latest set of Scriptures we’ve memorized but we
do want to do as the Scripture say and “season our conversation with
salt.” When we do this there can be rich benefits.
A man I know was
approached by a non-Christian and in casual conversation, he was asked why
there was so much evil in the world if there was a God. With all wisdom instead of preaching a
theology of suffering and evil, he told her a story from Scripture (the form
that Jesus most often used to handle questions). He said there was a farmer that planted seeds but at night
an enemy came along and scattered weeds.
When the plants grew up there was good crop mixed with the weeds. The workers at the farm asked the
farmer if they should pull out the weeds, but the farmer said to hold off until
they were mature, otherwise in pulling the weeds the good seed might get pulled
up as well. At the time of the
harvest the wheat would be separated and the weeds would be burned in the
fire. (Matt 9)
When the woman heard this
story, she said to him with great conviction, “Oh... I get it now.”
No expounding of Scriptures needed.
Getting the Word out for
others is an essential part of memorization. There are many ways that Scripture can be used for
outreach and for the benefit of others.
1) Write
down your discoveries. Whether
you do this for outreach such as in a blog or for your own personal journaling,
this is a critical step. You don’t
want to lose what the Lord reveals to you and trust me, the more You begin to
memorize the more He will reveal Himself.
“Draw near to me and I will draw near to You.”
I personally have kept a
blog for several years that notes some of the things I’ve learned (http://memorizationandmeditation.blogspot.com). You never know when something you
discover might serve as edification for someone else.
Additionally there are
times I go back and review and am completely surprised at some of the discoveries that I’ve recorded but have
already forgotten. Keeping them
logged is a wonderful way to hold on to truth. So whether it is for yourself and/or to share with the world,
record your discoveries.
2) Share
Scripture portions with friends.
One way in which I love to share is when I’m on a road trip with
friends. I let them know I’ve been
working on a section of Scripture and would it be Ok if I recited it to
them. This is good practice but
what I’ve discovered is that they also share their Scripture verses or their
own discoveries in return. It
becomes a time of mutual edification.
But it doesn’t have to
limited to car rides and with friends.
Oftentimes you may be talking to either a believer or an unbeliever and
the Lord will bring to you a recollection of a Scripture that is fitting for
the situation.
Recently I was speaking to
a group of people and it came to my mind that Psalm 3 would be an ideal Psalm
to illustrate what I wanted to talk about. Without even much thought I explained the background of the
Psalm and then launched into reciting it.
Having that at the ready without even having to look it up made the
message I was giving that much more meaningful.
3) Use
Scripture stories for evangelism. Imagine choosing the longest line in a
super-market and asking to share a Scripture story with the person standing
with you in line. A 45-second
Scripture story may be the very seed of truth that they need to hear. You don’t always need to preach
afterwards (unless the Lord leads you), but Jesus often ministered to people
with a story. Or how about sharing
in a doctor’s office with the person next to you?
A friend who works in a
country that persecutes those who share the gospel had a creative way to do
evangelism. When they were in the
local form of a taxi, the two of them would begin to talk to teach other about
the things of the Lord. One would
say to the other,
“Wow! Look at those beautiful mountains and
this beautiful greenery. Only a
Creator could make something like this.”
The other would respond,
“Well, indeed, the Bible says that “God created the heavens and the earth.”
The first one would ask,
“Really? Tell me more.”
And between the two they
would discuss what the Scripture say knowing that their taxi-cab driver would
listen to their conversation.
A similar strategy was
used by a group of young students who got on the bus system and at a normal
conversational level took turns reading the Bible out loud to one another. They led several people to the Lord as those
around them asked them to explain what they were reading.
Another woman I know uses
Bible story telling as her primary means of evangelism. She goes to the shop-keepers and
different people she meets and tells them a Bible story. Then she will ask them a few questions
of what they thought of the story and how it applies to their life. Over the process of weeks and months
she disciples them to conversion.
Disciple making movements often use Scriptures in a similar manner for
church-planting.
4) Gospel
presentations. This is an
effective way for people to hear the story from Scripture and see it unfold in
a way they haven’t experienced before.
By using Scripture alone one can tell the story as an eye-witness to
others.
At the very least and the
very most, ask God to use the Scripture He’s placed in you for the edification
of others. It will also help
you more than any other factor in solidifying the Scriptures in your own heart
and mind.
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