Chapter 17: A Woman at War

It was as if the Lord had prepared her many years before.  Darlene Diebler was a missionary in the jungles of New Guinea.  She was actually one of the first European woman to follow her husband into the Baliem Valley to bring the gospel of Jesus to an area known for cannibalism.  She had braced herself for these hardships, but there was one she hadn’t prepared for.  In September of 1945, the Japanese invaded New Guinea and Darlene, her husband and her colleagues were carried off to a Prison of War camp.

They tried to take everything from them.  The separated the men from the woman, gave them limited rations of food, and tried to take away their faith.   But there are some things that just cannot be taken.

“As a child and young person, I had had a driving compulsion to memorize the written Word.  In the cell I was grateful now for those days in Vacation Bible School, when I had memorized many single verses, complete chapters, and Psalms, as well as whole books of the Bible.  In the years that followed, I reviewed the Scriptures often.  The Lord fed me with the Living Bread that had been stored against the day when fresh supply was cut off by the loss of my Bible.  He brought daily comfort and encouragement—yes, and joy—to my heart through the knowledge of the Word.

Paul, the apostle, wrote that it was through the comfort of the Scriptures that he had hope and steadfastness of heart to believe God.  I had never needed the Scriptures more than in these months on death row, but since so much of His Word was there in my heart, it was not the punishment the Kempeitai had anticipated when they took my Bible. “[1]

---

[1] Pg. 14.  Evidence not seen:  A woman’s miraculous faith in a Japanese prison camp during WWII/ by Darlene Diebler/Rose.  San Francisco, CA  Harer and Row 1941.

Chapter 16: Maximizing Memory

There are things we can do maximize the memory the process.  What we put in can often be what we get out.

1)  A healthy brain is a happy brain.  Just like the rest of our body our brain needs food, water and oxygen to thrive.  Poor quality food, low hydration and lack of exercise that give a our brain the oxygen reduces our ability to absorb and remember.   If we want to solidify the Word of God in our hearts, it means taking care of our whole bodies.

2)  Life is better when we are together.   I don’t know about you but I work best when I have accountability and friends along the journey.   The same is true with Scripture, when we do life in the Word together, we get a lot farther along.  For planners this may look like regularly held practice sessions.  For spontaneous folks like myself, it means calling up my friends when I want to recite Scripture or going to them when they need to practice.  Also when we look at Scripture to examine the relationships, I have found such richness in exploring the Scripture with my brothers and sisters in Christ, especially when they are from different countries and/or socio-economic backgrounds.  The richness with which we understand Scripture together is beautiful.

3)  The more you give the more you get.   The more you pray and discover ways to give to others the Word that is now treasured in your heart, the more you will be encouraged to get more from the Word.  Pray and seek ways to serve others with the Word you are learning.

4)  Obedience is God’s Love Language.  We treasure His Word in our hearts so that the lives we live will bring His joy.   This is the whole focus of memorizing His Word, that we love Him in the way that brings joy to his heart.

Chapter 15: Caution Lights

Every good road has a few caution lights.  This is true even with Scripture memorization.  These are some of the ones I’ve discovered in which we must be careful.

1)  Forgetting to pray and seek the Lord—It’s easy to get so goal-focused that we forget to include the Lord in the process.   Seek the Lord not just with your mind and heart but with your spirit as well. 

2)  Putting goals above process.  Set your direction firmly but your time frames with grace.  You don’t want to become so driven that you lose the process of absorbing and digesting the Scriptures.   

3)  Boasting/pride—When you begin to tell people how many Scriptures or books of the Bible you’ve memorized, it may be a good sign that you’re goal has superseded the ultimate goal of increased relationship—Jesus. 

4)  Not taking times of rest—Remember that taking a break from a section of Scripture is a part of the memory process (caution too much rest is equally not beneficial). 

5)  Appropriate pacing—Memorizing large portions is not a sprint but a marathon.  When you run a sprint you go as hard as you possible can go.  When you run a marathon you rein yourself in so that you can go the distance.  Go at the speed of developing your relationship with the Lord.

6)  Make sure there is review—No process is perfect in keeping the Word fresh.  It’s the process of review that helps keep it alive.

7)  Falling back into habits of rote—It’s quicker to go with rote and it has short-term success.  But for long-term success I’ve found this method much more fruitful.

8) Trusting the process—This is a five step process (1)—Researching the relationships, 2)—See the Movie, 3)—Tell the story, 4)—Attaching the words, 5)—Getting it Out) and for this method to work, it all stands or falls together. 

9)  Not writing down discoveries.  When I don’t write it down, it becomes quickly forgotten.  I’ve kicked myself many a times for the discoveries I’ve lost.

10)  Thinking you don’t have enough time.  “One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time.”  John Piper.  Same could be said of all spiritual disciplines.

Chapter 14: How to Get Started

Now that you have the tools to start, how do you move forward.  Let’s review the steps: 

Step One:              Research the Relationships

Step Two:              See the Movie

Step Three:              Tell the Story

Step Four:              Adding the Words

Step Five:              Getting it Out

The first thing you need to do is choose a Scripture passage to memorize.  A gospel story is perhaps one of the easiest places to begin.   Starting with a gospel story is a good place to begin.

Secondly create a working document.  When you are memorizing large portions of Scripture, it is helpful to put it into a word processing document, double-space and remove the chapter and verses.  The reason is that originally chapters and verses were added hundreds of years later.  This has been helpful for research purposes but it can distract from the story.  Sometimes we don’t realize that stories are connected to each other as they are broken up by a chapter marker.

Third is to work the process.  The first two steps, especially in our eagerness to memorize are the ones we like to go through quickly.  But if we slow down and do these well, the other pieces will come together much more quickly and with much more longevity. 

You have the tools in your hand  to get going.  But before you go on any journey, it’s important to have some words of wisdom. 

Chapter 13: Now that you've Learned it, Forget It!

Forgetfulness.  It's the confession I have to make at every job interview when they ask about your weaknesses.  In graduate school I was always forgetting where I put my car keys.  At one point I copied five of my keys and distributed them among my friends.  

 Forgetting things is generally speaking not a desirable trait.  But, when it comes to memorization, it plays a part in the process of retention.  

If you were taking a foreign language and had the option of a taking a one month intensive course all day long or taking that same course spread out over four months, which would you take?  You might be able to pass the test after taking the first course but to embed the information in your long-term memory, you would do better to take the second option.  The brain needs intervals of rest or times of "forgetting" for optimal retention.

This science was researched primarily in the 1885 by Ebbinghaus and was called the forgetting curve.[1]  Ebbinghaus logged his ability to remember non-sensical information and graphed his retention or lack thereof. Later researchers would build on the understanding of the forgetting curve and try to determine at what intervals of time between reviewing were optimal for memory retention.  This research is called by a number of different names such as "spaced repetition" or the "spacing effect."  

While the rate of memorization and then resting from the material differs among researchers, one area in particular researchers agree on.  “If there is a strong initial learning, afterwards spaced review is actually better than traditional methods of cramming."  In a study conducted by Cepeda et. al (2006) participants who used spaced practice on memory tasks outperformed those using massed practice [cramming] in 259 out of 271 cases.”[2]   That's a 96% rate of improvement.

Decisive intervals of time for review are challenging to pin down as there are many factors such as interest in material, type of material being retained, previous exposure and other variables.  Yet some have found very successful intervals of learning and reviewing.  Today flashcard software as well as language software such as Pimsleur is built on this principle.

So how does this apply to scripture memorization?  First of all there needs to be a strong initial connection with the material being memorized.  Studies show that this meaningful connection to the material plays a big part of memory retention.  This comes through meditation, understanding and application of the text as well as seeing this process as a means to strengthen not just knowledge but love for the Lord.

Secondly, memorizing and having spaced review is better than cramming.  Some are more spontaneous while others are highly structured and need a careful plan.  A good practice is to review your text several times a day the first few weeks, and then began to add more and more distance between repetition.   I have found that the time away is actually helpful in discovering where the weak points are at.  For those who are structured, a personal set of scheduled intervals may be helpful.

Make it a goal to have spoken a verse out loud 40x, at least 10 of those times to other people.  You will find that the first 20 times may go smooth, but then a rough patch tends to occur which will eventually smooth out again.  Space it out where there is more intensity initially, rest, then review, then rest from those verses a little more, then more review.  It is a process that can last several months.

The nice thing with review is that there is no end to where you can practice your review since it is stored away in your heart.   It can happen spontaneously with another person or on your own. 

With the advent of smart phone technology, review can also be enhanced through various apps.   I use a recorder app to listen to my voice, create the story and/or check the accuracy.  I use a multiple counter app to keep track of how many times I’ve reviewed each Scripture.  I have a Bible on my phone so that when I’m sitting and waiting in line or at the Doctor’s office, I can work on Scripture.   Be creative with the tools that help you to review.

---

[1] http://psychology.about.com/od/cognitivepsychology/p/forgetting.htm

[2] Cepeda, N.J., Cobum, N., Rohrer, D., Wixted, J.T., Mozer, M.C., &  Rohred, D.  (2006).  Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks:  A review and quantitive synthesis.  Psychological Bulletin, 354-380.

Chapter 12: Getting it Out (Step Five)

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. 

---

[1] Alberto Manguel, Chapter 2 of A History of Reading(New York; Viking, 1996).

Chapter 11: Memorizing Lists

In the heart of Papua New Guinea some friends of mine were translating the Bible.  They came to the place of predicament, the genealogy.  Up to this point the translation of portions of Scripture had been only marginally received and they wondered what effect the genealogy would have.  Would it turn them away?  Too boring?  Could this really be Scripture?

What they discovered was quite the opposite.  The people group they worked with became excited and began telling everyone else, “It’s true! The Scriptures are true!”  In their culture, if you had a genealogy, you had a heritage and therefore the story was true.  It became a door opener for the validity of the gospel.  Even lists and genealogies still have their place in Scripture.

MEMORIZING LISTS

When it comes to memorizing lists, we look to a slightly different method but one that still captures visual images in our mind.    To do this requires the combination of several aspects.

The mind has an ability to store strongly in its mind 2 images at the same time solidly.  With each additional piece of information, the ability to hold on to those items becomes less and less.  But it can handle 2 items well.

But what do you do when you have a list of 10 items?  Let’s look at 10 completely random items that have no relationship to each other.

Refrigerator—basketball—arrow—curtain—toothbrush—mouse—microwave—cell phone—shoe—milk jug

Based on the understanding that the brain can remember solidly two images in the mind, pick the first two images and placing the second image 1)  On top, 2)  To the right or 3)  Piercing the first image. 

For example, imagine the word “refrigerator” and your next word is “basketball.”  Set the basketball in your mind 1) on top, 2) attached to the right, or 3) piercing the refrigerator.  For our sake place the basketball in your mind on top of the refrigerator.  Now look only at the basketball in your mind and let’s picture an “arrow,” making the arrow pierce the basketball with its tail sticking out to the right.  See only those 2 images strongly.  Now in your mind enlarge the arrow and have a giant curtain hanging from the end of the arrow.  See only the arrow and a curtain.  Then imagine a toothbrush piercing the curtain,  in your mind seeing only the curtain with the toothbrush sticking out.  Without looking, test it out now and see if you can list the first 5 items beginning with the refrigerator.  Now practice adding the remaining elements.  If you had have trouble remembering, it’s probably because the pictures need to be more vivid in your mind. 

Once you are able to do this successfully, let’s move to the genealogy of Jesus as we read in Luke 3.  For me Jospeh is the obvious parental figure of Jesus.  I have an image of Joseph in my mind based on the details we know of his life.  For me the work of remembering the genealogy starts with the name “Heli,” Joseph’s dad. 

The way to handle this is to code the words in such a way that they can create some kind of visual image in your mind.  For example with Heli I think of the Greek word Heli which means “sun.”  So right away I picture a bright shining sun.  The next name on the list is Matthat.  Not a problem there as my brother’s name is Matt.  So I picture my brother standing on top of the sun.  The next name is Levi.  I think of the priests of Levi so I picture someone in his Levitic robe putting his arm around my brother.  The next name is Melchi.  I don’t know how to pronounce the name but it looks like milk.  So I put a jug of milk balancing  on top of the Levites head.  Each subsequent image like we did before is on top of, to the right or piercing the first image.  I only keep two images in my mind at a time.

So now I think to myself Jesus is the son of Jospeh (easy one), the son of Heli (picturing a sun), the son of Matthat (picturing my brother), the son of Levi (picture a priest with his arm around my brother, the son of Melchi (milk jug on top of priest’s headl), and so on…  The key is to code the words into somewhat familiar pictures and only keep 2 images in your head at the same time.  Try it and see how you do.

Some memory methods encourage you to take the first letter of the word and make a pneumonic.  Instead of these images in the mind, they would encourage you to take the letter J (Jospeh), H (Heli), M (Matthat), L (Levi), M (Melchi) and so on.  Then come up with a sentence with those letters such as Joseph Has My Little Mouse.  This can work but the mind is much better suited to memorize with imagery and with so many “M’s and other letters, it might be difficult to remember if it’s Matthat or Melchi.

Chapter 10: Attaching the Words (Step Four)

Now that your paraphrase flows freely from the picture in your mind, we come to the point where we add the actual words.  Your work with the first three steps will lay a strong foundation for this step. 

Step 4:  Attaching the Words

Have your text in front of you.  Look at the words and pick the first short phrase which should be approximately 3-5 words.  Remembering the movie of that incident, recite those words that match the picture.

For example for the healing of the leper, I look down and read the words, “While Jesus was in one of the towns.”  I remember the story in my head of Jesus in this small, village town with a few villagers scattered about.  I see the image in my head.   While I work on remembering the picture I’ve create in my mind, I then attach the words by saying them out loud—“While Jesus was in one of the towns.”

Next I look I read the phrase “a man came along who was covered with leprosy.”  So now I look at the movie in my mind of Jesus walking through town, and then the man comes along and he’s covered with leprosy.  Then I say the words, “While Jesus was going through one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.”

I go back to the verse and see that it is not quite tight.  The Bible says, “While Jesus was in one of the towns” which was a little bit different than what I said.  I correct myself and try again.  “While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.”  All the while I am matching the story in my imagination with the exact words I am now speaking. 

Then I add the next phrase, “When he saw Jesus.”  In the movie in my mind I picture him seeing Jesus.  Then I start with where I’ve come so far, “While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.  When he saw Jesus…” 

You get the idea.  You keep adding phrases and matching them to the picture you have created in your mind.  You do this while you keep building and adding more text.  Always and ever keeping the story image before you and now attaching the exact words to the story. 

One caution is that if you find yourself reaching for the words, stop what you’re doing.  Go back and look at the text.  It’s better that you go back then strive to remember the words.  Just keep the film in your head  as much as possible while attaching the words.  It will come.

Soon you will find that the exact words are starting to attach to the story.  It will take some time but it does come. 

When you have a section of verses down, it is time to practice.  The important key is that you keep the story in your head as you are reciting the words.  The reason is because when you see the story in your mind, those around you will be seeing the story with you.  If you see words, they will hear words and become bored.  Practice out loud to yourself first, and when you begin to get a handle on the Scripture, it is time to practice with other people. 

There was one student who was in a missionary training school that had learned this method.  It was testimony time after they had come back from local outreach  and everyone was getting up sharing their amazing outreach stories.  Then she got up and began to tell the story of two men along the road who were healed of their blindness.  They didn’t realize until half way through the story that she was telling the story of blind Bartimaues.  This is exactly the goal.  Tell the story in such a way that you saw everything happen and you are telling your outreach story.

Chapter 9: Tell the Story (Step Three)

You’ve looked at the story through the lens of relationship to understand the factors that affect the relationships going on.  You’ve created a movie in your mind as if you were an eyewitness of these events.  Now we go to the third step and that is paraphrase.

Step Three—Tell the Story

When you come to the point of paraphrase, you want to be able to tell every detail of the story but to do so in your own words.  This strengthens the images in your mind and the story progression.   We’re still not to the stage of attaching the exact so use your own words.  Tell this story as if you were there and it is an eyewitness account.  If you have not created a strong story with a high sense of details in the movie in your imagination, you will be limited when you go to add the words.  If you’ve done Step one and Step two well, this should be a fairly easy step.

To show you an example of what the above story would look like in my own words as a paraphrase, I would probably say something akin to the following:

“Jesus was walking through one of the towns when a man came up who had leprosy from head to toe.  It was nasty.  When the man saw Jesus, instead of calling out “unclean!” he ran to him and fell with his face to the ground begged him for healing.  He kept saying, “Lord, if you’re willing you can make me clean.” 

Then Jesus did the unthinkable.  He reached out his hand and touched the man!  You heard me right, he touched him!  Then he told him, “I am willing, be clean!”  And would you believe it?!  That guy was instantly healed!  There was not a spot of leprosy on him ANYWHERE!” 

Everyone’s paraphrase will look and sound a little bit different.  This is OK as it needs to be in your own words and sound like you telling it.  But it also needs to resemble the storyline of the text as much as possible and reflective of your research. 

A key element is that you need to speak this out loud.  This may mean telling your pillow or the cat or dog this great story.  Ideally it is best to sit down with someone over coffee and tell them about this event you “saw.”  The biggest factor is to not let this be in your head alone.  It’s when your ears hear your own words that the story grows in strength.

Chapter 8: Location, location, location

-->

How we choreograph or move the people and elements in our story helps us understand the text.  This is part of how we “see” the story unfold.

For example, if you’re memorizing the gospels, the Galilee pictured in your mind should always be in one area (north) and your Judea is always in another (south).   Maps can be very helpful in creating an understanding of geography.  When the Scriptures say, “and Jesus went to Capernaum” it’s good to know where that is at in your mind.  Or when the gospels say, “he went to Bethany” it’s helpful to know Bethany is right outside of Jerusalem.  These clues help you to understand the story.

But it’s also good to have not only the big picture of location of where people are at but the smaller picture.  Where were the people standing in the story?  Where were they looking?  Where are they seated or standing?  Creating placement is an aid to memorization.

For example, let’s look at Psalm 4.  Take a moment and read this psalm.

1Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God.

Give me relief from my distress;

be merciful to me and hear my prayer.

2 How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame ?

How long will you love delusions and seek false gods ? "

Selah"

3 Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;

the LORD will hear when I call to him.

4 In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds,

search your hearts and be silent. "Selah"

5 Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD.

6 Many are asking, "Who can show us any good?"

Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.

7 You have filled my heart with greater joy than when

their grain and new wine abound.

8 I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD,

make me dwell in safety.

In the prelude of the Psalm we know that it is “Of David” so that helps set the authorship.  But we have no specific mention that would tell us the context, so that’s where we create a context as best as we can. 

Initially the psalm may seem challenging as it shifts from a prayer to God (v. 1), then addressing outsiders (v. 2-3), next addressing  worshipers or perhaps his military cabinet (v. 4-6), then back to addressing the Lord (v. 7-8).   The cohesion could be difficult to comprehend but with the aid of location helps, the progression can be made more clear.

First of all we look at the psalm and discern as much about the background as possible.  We know that he had enemies who were defiling the name of the Lord.  We also know that he is addressing people who are seeking the ways of God.  Perhaps he’s fleeing from Saul and in the cave.  Or perhaps he’s in his house and things are getting tense right before he is overthrown by his son Absalom.  It’s unclear but we can put it into a plausible context.  For me I have chosen the latter, putting it into the context of the conflict with his son Absalom.

Location Point 1.   I imagine David in his house and looking out his second story window.  Outside are those who hate him and want to overthrow his reign, hearts that have been swayed away from him by his son.  His fellow God-fearers and his advisors are there in the room with him.  He is in front of them with his back turned away and his head covered as he quietly prays to the Lord—“Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God.  Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer.” 

Location Point 2.  At this point I picture him wandering over to the window and looking down into the street only to see men who are angry, protesting and throwing objects at the palace.  They are also holding up idols in their hands that they worship as they  mock the One True God.  As David is looking out the window, half praying and half pleading, he voices quietly to himself, “How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame?  How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?  Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself; the Lord will hear when I call to him.” 

Location Point 3.  Next I imagine him turning to the people in his living room, he is facing them but pointing out the window at what is going on outside.  He addresses his fellow God-fearers as they are angry and muttering against the unrighteousness right out the window.  They are angry and wanting to kill them all.   Then he addresses them pastorally saying, “In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.  Offer right sacrifices and trust in the LORD.”  Many are asking, “Who can show us any good?”  Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD. “

Back to Location Point 1.  Then I picture him turning away from them again in prayer with eyes lifted toward heaven.  “You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new abound,” he says, pointing out the window when he says “their.”   “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” 

So we took an event that may or may not have happened in David’s life and with the details given create a storyline.  The story in my mind may be different than yours and that is Ok as long as we are staying true to the text.  Perhaps you can picture David writing this psalm when he is in a cave and fleeing from Saul.  Perhaps you imagine another event in David’s life.  But find a story that would fit the context as best as possible and create the film in your imagination.  But keep in mind the location to create your story, both the location of the persons involved as well as the geographic location. 

Chapter 7: See the Movie (Step Two)

Next time you are having coffee with a friend and you are relaying to them a story that happened to you, you will find that as you are telling the story, your mind is re-creating the event in your imagination.  Our words are the overflow of what we are seeing in our mind’s imagination.  They walk together. 

Next time you have a conversation with someone watch what happens when someone is telling you a story.  As they are talking, you begin to visualize the story in your own mind.  You create in your imagination how things were said, what people looked like and where they were placed.  You do this without even being intentional.  Everything is based on the story in our minds. 

Words may change in how we tell a story, but the image we’ve created in our mind stays the same.  These film clips in our mind of what we experience or “see” are told are stored in our long and short-term memory.  Stories and pictures.  Not the words that describe them.

The problem when we memorize words is that we tend to “see” mainly words and the visual side of our minds is dulled.  It’s possible to memorize this way but it does not make the strength of impact good for longer-term retention.  Add to that much of the development of the story stops as soon as the words are memorized. 

Step 2—Seeing the Story

What we’ve done with Step 1 is to create an understanding of the details of the story and the tensions of those relationships.   Step 2 is where we create an imaginative film-strip in our mind as if we were an eye-witness.  We picture all the details of the story as if we were making a movie.   Take note of what things looked like, how they dressed, where they are in the story, etc…

For example, let’s take the story of the healing of the man who was healed of leprosy:

“While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy.  When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”

Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him” (Lk 5:12-16).

Here are just a few basics of the relational details:

·       Jesus had been standing by the Lake of Genessaret so he was probably in the Galilee region when he mentions “one of the towns.”  Galilee was not necessarily the religious center and was probably more of the “back country” villages of the time.

·       Jesus was probably dressed as a commoner with his robes because according to society he was not a priest, a Pharisee/Sadducees or religious person. 

·       Leprosy required that those who had it shout “Unclean!” so no one would get near.  People were terrified of getting leprosy as it was a death sensitive.

·       For Jesus to reach out and touch him made Jesus unclean and put him at great risk.  Touching someone would require a significant reason as it would make him unclean and threaten his very life.

So in our mind we take every detail of the story and fill it in with the information we read and that which we’ve discovered.

“While Jesus was in one of the towns”—I personally don’t see crowds around him at this time so for me I imagine him in a primitive village.  Perhaps he is walking through town on a journey to set up to teach again in some yet to be determined location.  If he had been there longer the crowds would’ve come but he had been there long enough that the leper knew he was passing through town.  So I imagine him walking through town with his disciples as he is travelling along with some curious followers and his disciples.

“A man came along who was covered with leprosy”-- I imagine a leper who had dirty rags, nubs for fingers, white spots on his face and rags everywhere.  I imagine him with the most lonely, distraught and desperate eyes one could imagine.  Yet there is a flicker of hope as he heard that this guy has healed people.  I picture him seeing Jesus, running to him, and falling on his face in a pathetic heap.  If Jesus comes through, he’s healed.  If not, he’s a dead man. What does he have to lose?  I see those around react in shock and horror and even the disciples backing away at this obvious leper.  I see a religious leader and an elder in the background picking up stones ready to take this man out because he didn’t obey the law and yell, “Unclean.”  I see Jesus’ with an expression of grief at this man’s misery and desperation.  I see the disciples in a quandary trying to figure out what to do with this guy.  They don’t want to get near him as he has deadly leprousy, but he’s threatening their master. 

“When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.”  I see snot and tears and desperation and total abandonment.  I don’t picture a clean, one-time statement but a desperate begging and pleading with God over and over in between tears and sobs.

“Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.”  This was THE action that took the breath away of everyone.  You can hear the collective gasp.  You can feel the terror and question from the disciples wondering what their master just did.  NO ONE touched a leper.  NO ONE.   I see Jesus so broken in love for this man that he didn’t even care if he became defiled.   He reaches down and touches the man.  The touch wasn’t so much about healing his body as it was to heal his soul—his broken, rejected, anguished, defiled soul.

“I am willing,” he said.  “Be clean!”  And immediately the leprosy left him.”  I imagine the shock on the leper’s face.  Did he hear right?  Did Jesus say he was willing?  Did Jesus tell him he was clean?  He looks into the eyes of Jesus and sees only love.  As he reaches out towards Jesus from the ground. he sees his hand and sees that his leprosy is gone.  He touches his face and feels soft, supple flesh,  He frantically looks at others parts of his body and none of it is there.  His eyes fill with tears as he looks back and forth between Jesus and himself.  He can’t believe it.  He stands and sees that his feet are whole.  He begins to rip off the rags and throws them on this ground.  The leper laughs in amazement.  He can hardly believe it himself.  The bystanders don’t know what to do.  Some think it’s a hoax.  The religious leaders still have stones in their hands.  They decide to call a quick conference.  The disciples aren’t sure what to do.  They’ve seen healings yes, but leprosy?  And to touch the man?   

The story goes on.  Jesus gives the man direct orders not to tell anyone but to show himself to the priest.  But he can’t keep the news in.  He was dead but now he’s alive. 

-----

So now that you have the picture in your mind, you slowly go through the text again and see this movie unfold in your imagination.  Read the text again making sure you get all the parts of the story.   The sharper the details the better.  Where was Jesus standing?  Where are the disciples?  What is the man doing?  Etc…  Fixate every single detail of the Bible text into this film in your mind. 

This perhaps is the most key aspect of this process.  If you get the story pictured in your mind, it makes everything else easier.  And the nice thing about getting the story is that it never ends.  Burnout is never necessary because the more you study and understand, the richer the picture develops.  Never stop studying and building the details of the story. 

It is good to note that during this time you are not working to get the exact words.  The focus of Step 2 is to create as clear as picture as possible in your mind.   This is something that the Lord taught a friend of mine called Johanna.

In the 1960’s, Johanna and her husband were arrested in a communist country for spreading the gospel.  They were held for four days.   While they were being interrogated by the police, the Lord spoke to Johanna and told her that he wanted her to memorize the book of Revelation.  Upon her release she returned home and began the process. 

For 45 minutes in the morning and for 45 minutes in the evening she opened the book of Revelation,  got down on her knees and asked for the Lord’s help.  As she was reading the Word, the Lord showed her to paint the pictures of the imagery in her mind.  With scene after scene she began to see each and every image.  Much to her surprise in 11 days she had memorized the book of Revelation, word for word.