The Test of Camping

[This article is also found on Ada Bible's blog - Sabea at www.adabible.org/sabea ]

This past summer, my wife and I made an interesting vacation choice. We needed to be in Marquette to move our son into his college dorm and to be with our daughter as she gave birth to our first grandchild. It was a great milestone week for us, but wanting to save some money and feeling a bit adventurous, we decided to camp… in a tent… for six nights… in the temperamental Upper Peninsula weather.

This wasn’t the first time we had tent-camped—we had all the equipment from weekend excursions from the past. But, it had been a few years since our last tent adventure, and six nights was the longest I had ever camped in a tent. There’s a lot of planning and packing that goes into a week in a tent: clothes for all types of weather, coolers and tubs filled with food, chairs, charcoal, tools, and gear. Packing, unpacking, setting up, preparing, living out of bags and tubs.

Everything about camping takes more time and energy: cooking, eating, cleaning, showering. It’s a slow, inconvenient way to live. My wife tells me that’s the allure and beauty of camping. It’s a process that slows you down; it relaxes you.

Honestly, it took me two days to discover that allure.

Camping frustrated me. It created tension in me. Why was I purposely making everything in my life more difficult and time consuming? Why was I trying to live in the very limited shelter of a tent, subject to the elements of weather, constantly battling bugs and dirt in the simplest duties of living? Our first meal was BBQ chicken over an open fire. Seemed like a great idea, but our wood was wet and we fought to keep the fire hot enough. It took two hours to finish cooking. It hardly seemed worth the time and effort. I grumbled through the whole experience.

But after a couple days of struggle, I began to settle into a new rhythm. I became more patient and began to enjoy the process of it all. But, in the end, I was glad to pack it all up and rejoin life with comfort, quickness, and convenience.

As we continue exploring the series on the feasts and festivals of Israel, I’m intrigued by the things that God asks his people to do in their celebration. God gives them physical things to do that were to help them remember and commemorate their past, while celebrating their present state of blessing. In the Feast of Tabernacles, God tells the Israelites to move out of their homes and live in shelters, booths or little tabernacles, for seven days. This was a symbol of remembrance of Israel’s 40 years of wandering in the desert where they lived in tents and God’s presence with them resided in a mobile tabernacle. This was like a national campout!

I think this exercise illustrated two important principles to God’s people.

First, it reminded them that, though their season of wandering was very difficult, God remained present with them—meeting their needs and sustaining them in every way. Second, the exercise reminded them that God had delivered them from the wilderness and was currently blessing them abundantly. They were to see his blessing in the harvest of the crops and grapes they had just gathered. In response, they were to give a gift of gratitude in proportion to God’s unique blessing.

As I think about this festival, I’m left with some significant questions to ponder.

How do I see the “desert” seasons of my life?
How does God lovingly sustain me when my resources are depleted?
How does God love me when I wander?
How are my needs and longings met in times of trial and hardship?

But, there’s another set of questions that this discussion causes me to pursue.

In times of abundance, am I proportionally grateful and proportionally generous?
Or, do I have the propensity—as God blesses me with more—to spend more on myself?

Take some time to reflect on the principles taught through the Feast of Tabernacles. Ponder God’s generous hand with you in the desert times and in the abundant times. Respond to him with generous gratitude.

Gratitude, Generosity and Terminal Cancer

Yesterday was one of those rare and special days in ministry when I had the honor to be in the presence of someone truly impressive. Her name is Renee and she’s dying. For two years she’s battled cancer, and recently the doctors told her that any treatment she receives will be to help the quality of her life rather than the length of her life. She’s planning her passing and understands that her number of days is short.

Until yesterday, I had not met Renee. She had requested the pastoral staff come to her home to pray with her. We are always willing to do this for folks, but honestly, I always feel awkward and anxious as I enter these situations. I never know what people are truly hoping for in these moments of prayer.  Would Renee hope we could bring God’s miraculous healing of her cancer? Would she or her family be in an inconsolable emotional state? Would she have questions about death, heaven, and her spiritual state? All of these were possibilities and we needed to be prepared and willing to speak into them by God’s grace and the Spirit’s power. What would Renee need from us? But as Dan, Cindi, and I walked into her front door, we all knew immediately we were in for something completely unexpected. We were in for a rare treat.

As we walked through the door, Renee greeted us with a radiant smile and a warm, prolonged hug. She was truly excited to see us, though we had never met. Immediately, I felt at ease. As we talked with Renee in her kitchen, we could see physical signs that cancer and chemotherapy had ravaged her body. She introduced us to her sister Mimi, who helped arrange our visit and to her daughter and son-in-law who came for the day. “Can you believe that they drove all the way from Kalamazoo just to clean my house?” she exclaimed.

As we moved into her living room, we could hear a vacuum cleaner running in a back room. Renee began to talk about her family as we looked at a picture of her four daughters on a shelf in a prominent place in the room. As I understood her, only one was a biological daughter. The other three were girls that she and her husband had taken in over the years. They had come to be their daughters through love, care, and an open home. She explained that the daughter who was cleaning her home was a girl they took in 18 years ago when she was 15 years old. Her life was riddled with pain and abuse and Renee and her husband opened their lives and home to this girl in need.

Renee talked about her husband who had passed away a few years prior. She looked forward to seeing him again in heaven. She joked about the things she wanted to say to him and hoped that heaven had been a good place for him the last few years. Renee told us stories of her life while using words like “blessed” and “grateful” throughout. It was obvious to me that this woman is traveling the final days of her life with joy, contentment, and uncommon peace.

Cancer was stealing physical comfort from her, but it could not steal her love for each moment she had breath. Inwardly, I asked myself, “What prepares a person to face their death with such ease and comfort?” I’ve concluded that Renee must be a person who lives in constant gratitude for the blessings God gives her. Her gratitude spills out into generosity. She knows that God has blessed her with the purpose of her being a blessing to others. Living with that heart-perspective has led her to finish well with joy and dignity.

As we go through this series on the Jewish festivals, I’ve wondered about the lives of those who celebrated these holidays faithfully. What principles did they live by as a result of these celebrations? Well, I think Renee helped me answer that question. Think about the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost. This was another festival that celebrated the harvest. The principle that God wanted to instill in his nation was to give thanks to the Giver who had again provided for their needs. He wanted the people to then share some of that provision with the poor and those traveling through their region. In Leviticus 23, God lays out an elaborate way for them to offer their sacrifice of gratitude for the harvest. It included them offering to God wheat, bread, lambs, bulls, and goats. It appears to be a generous offering back to God their provider. But, there was more.

When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 23.22

Interesting thing to add to the end of a festival description, isn’t it? God wants his people to experience his provision and blessing with grateful hearts, gratitude that spills over into generosity to God, and to others in need.

Renee became of hero of mine yesterday in that regard. She’s a woman who has lived these principles for a lifetime. She can now pass into the arms of the Giver with joy and ease. I’m grateful for that hour with Renee and hope she can encourage and minister to me more in her final days. It was a pleasure to learn a lesson about gratitude and generosity from this special lady.

 

Cold Shower

An old friend of mine tells the best rescue story I’ve ever heard.  I wish you all could hear him tell it but let me give it a try. 

Kurt and his wife Ginger had been vacationing in the Upper Peninsula’s Keweenaw lakeshore.  Kurt had just packed up his boat and gear as they prepared for the 10 hour journey home.  As he loaded his van, something caught his eye out in Lake Superior.  It was a canoe.  He had noticed that particular canoe earlier tooling around close to shore.  It was a dad with his two young sons.  What grabbed Kurt’s attention was how far out the canoe was now and how choppy the lake had become since the last time he saw it. Kurt reached in his bag for some binoculars.  Something in him told him that that they could be in trouble. He wanted to be sure they were alright.  Lake Superior conditions are known to change quickly for the worse and this man’s boat was not equipped to handle the increased chop.  Looking through his glass, Kurt’s fears for this family were realized.  They had drifted too far from shore and the canoe could no longer navigate the waves.  The boys were hunkered down in the bottom of the canoe as dad, looking very tired, fought with all he had to fight the current back to shore.

While Kurt unpacked his boat from the top of his van, Ginger began to make 911 calls. Kurt also had a canoe but his was equipped with a small engine.  He hoped it had enough power to carry the waves.  Ginger got word from emergency personnel that the closest rescue boat was over an hour away.  They would continue to look for help in the area but it was appearing that this family had to survive for at least another hour.  Kurt was convinced he had to help and as he put his boat in the water a couple walking the shoreline stopped to see what he was up to.  Kurt explained the situation and a man Kurt had never met, climbed into Kurt’s front seat of the canoe.  

As they navigated the chop to go find the father and his sons, Kurt noticed his boat was taking on water.  He knew that this rescue would need to be quick and efficient for anyone to survive.  He began to feel his life and the life of the stranger in the front of his boat were now at risk. They found the family fairly quickly but as they came along side the other canoe, they noticed it filled with water and the dad was now outside the canoe.  Kurt and his friend began to move the boys from the swamped canoe to his and then the dad from the side.  But with every movement they made, waves crashed into Kurt’s boat taking on more water. It too was becoming swamped and before long, all five people were submerged in the water.  Cold water.  40 degree, cold water.  Kurt knew that hypothermia was just minutes away for each of them, so he pulled everyone together and asked them to link their arms through another person’s life-vest straps.  Perhaps this would help conserve body heat but Kurt was thinking that this would also help those doing body recoveries.  Based on when the rescue boats were expected to arrive in the area, he was convinced they weren’t going to make it. 

But as any hope began to drift, something amazing happened.  Out of nowhere, a police boat appeared.  This particular boat was not supposed to be available that day but when they heard the calls on the radio they put their boat in the water and started a search.  Not knowing exactly where to look, they set out in a general direction to see if they could help.  That general direction led them in a straight line to the two swamped canoes.  Within moments, all five were out of the water and treatment for hypothermia began.  Everyone would survive.  Everyone was rescued.

One of the most compelling parts of this story was something Kurt said he does to remember that day.  He told me that on a frequent basis he’ll stand in the shower and turn off all the hot water.  He’ll stand for minutes in the coldest shower he can endure.  When I asked him why he does that, he said “I never want to forget how cold Lake Superior water was.  I never want to forget what I was rescued from.” 

Thousands of years ago, God put dates on the Jewish calendar for celebration.  One of those dates was for the Passover Feast.  In essence, this date was similar to our 4^th of July.  This was a celebration of the freedom they were given from their slavery in Egypt.  They had been delivered; they had been rescued!  Each year, they were to remember what they were delivered from by acting out the events that God orchestrated for them to be set free.

Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb for his family, one for each household…. The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect, and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month, when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight. Then they are to take some of the blood and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs.

That same night they are to eat the meat roasted over the fire, along with bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast…This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste; it is the Lord’s Passover.

At Passover each year, they were to take their best lamb and kill it.  They were then to paint their door posts with the blood.  The lamb could be eaten but they needed to eat with travel clothes on.  Interesting dinner, isn’t it?  In a way, God is asking them to stand in a cold shower.  He wants them to feel the fear and pain of the past.  He wants them to feel the life and death urgency of their ancestors burden of slavery.  He wants them to never forget what they were rescued from. 

We too have been slaves; slaves to our sin.  God has again provided a dramatic rescue.  Some of us have been rescued out of the ugly mire of our sin.  We’re in a swamped boat, cold and clinging to life. We’ve been plucked out of the middle of our broken mess.  Others of us have been rescued from a sinful mess.  It’s like we’re tooling along the lakeshore as the wind blows and waves pound.  God rescues us before we can drift deep into danger.   Either way, we are all rescued!

So how do you mark your salvation?  What causes you to remember the pain of your past slavery?  How do you celebrate the joy of the freedom that was gifted to you through God’s dramatic rescue of you?  Think about what your cold shower could be this week.  

 

 

The First and Best

I always found it interesting that the only time the really nice dishes came out of the cupboard was when “company” was coming over. Mom’s good China dishes and fancy glasses were used almost exclusively when guests joined us for Sunday dinner. In reality, I didn’t really care about the dishes we ate on, I only cared about the food that would land on my plate. But, I also noticed that the best food was served when company was over. My dad was a pastor of a small country church when I was growing up and mom was a wonderful pastor’s wife. She viewed her role in supporting dad’s ministry as being warm and hospitable, opening up our home to guests on a very frequent basis. These guests would get the best we had to offer— the best dishes, the cleanest house, the choicest cuts of meat from the freezer, and a killer dessert.

I didn’t mind all the special attention that was given to company, the benefits were obvious to a growing boy who loved to eat. I knew it would be the best meal of the week. But, there was a moment at the beginning of each of these meals that would trigger a bit of concern in me. You see, there was this rule in our home that guests would be served first. After the prayer, each dish on the table would be lifted from the table and handed to the guests. I wasn’t to take anything until our guests were served. So, when that platter of fried chicken was placed on the table, I would eyeball the best piece hoping it would still be there when the platter got to me. I hated the idea that our guests got the first shot to grab the best piece. Selfish and petty, I know, but that was my boyish, child-like mindset in those situations. Looking back though, I can’t remember not getting a satisfying portion of all the food offered at any meal. In fact, we always had enough for seconds and even thirds.

No one taught me how to feel and think that way. Selfishness and self-protection came natural to me. I think it came from a primal, fleshy view of life that says, “Get what you want and deserve, then protect it with all you have.” Ironically, being generous, hospitable, and selfless had to be taught and learned. Those principles of living didn’t come naturally.

As God formed his chosen nation, Israel had to learn the same lessons. God wanted them to be distinct, set apart, and different from every other nation on the planet. Every other nation had a “get all you can and protect it” mindset but God’s people were to stand apart from this selfish life-view. God wanted them to realize that all they had came from the generous loving hand of God; and he wanted them to trust him to provide on a continual basis.

This principle was clearly seen in the festivals, or the celebrations, that God placed on their yearly calendar. The Festival of the Firstfruits was a time God set for them to express their joy and gratitude for their annual harvest. In essence, God tells them to throw a party because the harvest was gathered and it was good—God had provided them with what they needed in abundance. But what’s interesting about this celebration is what God asks them to do before they enjoy the fruits of the harvest. Check this out:

When you enter the land I am going to give you and you reap its harvest, bring to the priest a sheaf of the first grain you harvest… you must sacrifice as a burnt offering to the Lord a lamb a year old without defect, together with its grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of the finest flour mixed with olive oil—a food offering presented to the Lord, a pleasing aroma—and its drink offering of a quarter of a hin of wine. You must not eat any bread, or roasted or new grain, until the very day you bring this offering to your God. (Excerpts from Leviticus 23.9-14.)

I find that interesting. Before they could enjoy the fruit of their harvest, God asks them to give back their first and their best. Why? I think it’s because they were like me at that the table with the platter of fried chicken. They needed to be taught to trust that God had provided more than enough, even when their best had been given away. The alternative was for them to give from their leftovers. How would that reflect the heart of God?

Hundreds of years later, God demonstrated this principle of giving the first and the best in the most dramatic way. Mankind had a sin problem that could only be resolved with God giving something of high value. He gave his Son—his first and his best.  Jesus, the Son of God, the second member of the Trinity, came in humble fashion as a baby. This baby grew into a man, the Messiah, who died an unimaginable death to pay the penalty we owe for our sins. Jesus was the ultimate lamb without defect. Now that Jesus, the ultimate firstfruits offering is given, we can celebrate life—eternal life.  I’m so glad God gave from his first and best and not from his leftovers.

So, how does the principle of firstfruits affect the way you give? Are you giving your first and best from the resources God has provided you? Or, do you give from what’s left over after you’ve grabbed the best from the platter?  Something to ponder this week.

 

Wiggley Bat

Over the next couple of months, I’ll be using some of my disposable time in a batting cage. Baseball season doesn’t start until March, but the winter months offer a great opportunity for players to work on their hitting. Hitting a baseball is a very mechanical, athletic motion that takes a lot of repetition to master and fine tune. And because of that, the mechanics can easily break down and bad habits set it.

Last winter, I coached a high school player who had the habit of wiggling his bat incessantly as he waited for the pitch to be thrown. I’m not sure where he picked up this habit. He may have seen a major league player do it or it may just have been a nervous tick he developed. There’s nothing inherently wrong with wiggling your bat, unless it negatively affects the outcome of your swing. It was obvious that this little habit was no help to him as he struggled to make solid contact, swing after swing. So, I put a ball on a tee and gave him one instruction, “As you get into your hitting stance, focus on a quiet, still bat. Then, just hit the ball.” After some tee work, I threw him some live pitches, giving him reminders and gentle corrections along the way. By the time we finished, his hitting was much better and the wiggle was gone. He beamed with confidence. All he needed to do was to simplify his approach to break a habit that was negatively affecting his performance.

A week or so later, I noticed that this little bat wiggle was back. This time, I held my correction back and I stood and watched him struggle. I wanted to see if he could figure it out and correct himself. I wanted to see if he changed his approach. Again, he was struggling to make solid contact. I asked myself, “Does he remember what we talked about? Does he realize what’s going on with his bat moving all over the place? Does he think he’s doing it right? Or… did he not believe me? Did he not think my correction was good and right for him?” After a few minutes, I stepped in and we started again. I’ve learned that repetition seems to be a key to coaching. Over time, he’d get it without my help.

When we began the New Testament Challenge this fall, we looked at this passage:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3.16-17

My coaching mind resonates with this verse. A big part of coaching is pointing out what needs correction and what needs further training. The goal is to be ready, equipped to do what the coach wants us to do. These verses tell us that God uses his Word to show me how to grow and improve in how I live. But, I think we struggle with the same issues my baseball player did with his wiggly bat. We listen to teaching but then forget what we’ve heard. We hear correction but when faced with an opportunity, our mind and body default to old, bad habits. We’re given instruction but we doubt that the guidance will really help.

As we finish the NTC this week, I hope we all have developed a new or better training habit of reading Scripture on a regular, if not daily, basis. But, reading is not enough to bring about transformation. We need to read in a way that we capture the principles in our mind and heart. And, we need to read with the attitude of wanting it to break our bad habits of living and to help us build new ones. Most importantly, we need to read so we can know the ultimate Coach and trust that his words are true, beneficial, and have our best in mind.

Hearing and Doing

My mom used to say, “Learn to play an instrument that you can play in church.” As a kid, I always had the fascination of being able to play guitar or drums but my parent discouraged this dream. You need to know that I grew up in a very conservative, rural church community where guitars and drums were trumped by organs and pianos. So, as a kid, I learned to play the cornet. Ironically, I haven’t seen a cornet in a long time on the stage of my church; and my days of playing the cornet have long passed.

Music has changed and so has the church in regards to music. But, my little dream of learning to play guitar or drums still lingers in my soul. From time to time during worship at a weekend service, my heart drifts away from the lyrics of the song we’re singing and I find myself just watching the musicians do their work. They make it look so easy and I wonder what it would be like to create the rhythms and rifts that they do so naturally.

A couple months ago, I had the privilege of being at a small group retreat where a friend of mine led us in worship. Eric is a gifted worship leader who beautifully played his acoustic guitar to guide us into meaningful moments as we sang worship songs. When our worship time was done, Eric and I had a chance to chat about music, worship and the art of playing the guitar. I told him about my latent dream to learn to play and how fascinated I’ve been over the years with people who do it well. He asked, “So, have you ever tried? Do you own a guitar?” I told him I had, but not with much consistency or effort. I do own a guitar but it has resided quietly in my basement going untouched for many years.

Eric asked if I had ever taken lessons or spent time with someone willing to show me some of the basics to get started. I said I hadn’t but often taught that would be a good idea. I fully expected that to be the end of the conversation but Eric pushed it further. He said, “If you have some time, I’d be willing to help you learn.” He even suggested some times and places. I felt honored to be offered such a kind gift but I found myself awkwardly trying to find reasons to say, “thanks, but no thanks.” Eric got the hint. I think he figured out that I was more intrigued by the idea of being a guitar player, than I was really interested in pursuing it. Later I privately wondered why I balked at the chance to pursue a dream. In reality, I think I just want to be a good guitar player rather than wanting to learn and practice to become a good guitar player.

Unfortunately, I think we often treat our pursuit of following Christ the same way. God enters our life through salvation and then he tells us to be his followers in all areas of our life. He wants us to look and live like him. But then we realize that we are far from that goal and it will take time, effort, and practice for us to live as God desires. He offers us help through his Spirit and his Word yet we struggle to commit to the effort and pursuit. This, I think, is why James penned these words. He knew the human heart had the tendency to hear but not do, to dream but not pursue, and to be informed but not transformed.

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. James 1.22-25 NLT

As I’ve read my way through the New Testament Challenge this fall, I’ve become aware again the Bible offers a ton to learn and know. It’s overwhelming at times. There’s so much to digest, understand, and to discuss in just the NT. But, if I’m not diligent to read with an open heart, I may just leave this valuable information in my head and never allow it to help me be truly transformed. I find it interesting that James follows his discussion about hearing and doing with some hard hitting comments about how we are to use our mouths, and what genuine religion really looks like. It’s as if James is saying, “You’ve heard, now let me give you something to do! You understand, now get busy. ”

If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless. Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you. James 1.26-27

Resisting Temptation

As I write, it’s Halloween morning and I’ve just spent a few minutes flipping around the internet as I often do before I jump into some real work. Today, there are self-help articles all over the place on how to resist the temptation to over-eat candy and sweets. It’s one of those days when candy is everywhere. This interests me because I love candy and will most definitely be feeling the urge to enjoy too much of this good thing. Then, I stumbled on this headline: “Think of God, Resist Temptation, Study Shows.” Ooooh… that’s hitting both my candy and my pastor fix. So, I clicked to find this:

“The American Psychological Association suggests in a new study that if you think about God, you'll be more likely to resist temptation when it comes to the Halloween candy. The study, entitled "Divergent Effects of Activating Thoughts of God on Self-Regulation," by Kristin Lauren of the University of Waterloo, Aaron C. Kay and Gra´inne M. Fitzsimons of Duke University, tested 37 undergraduate students. They found that "participants who read a short God-related passage reported greater willingness to resist temptations to achieve a major goal, such as maintaining a healthy weight, finding a long-term relationship or having a successful career. This effect was found only among participants who had previously said they believe an omniscient entity watches over them and notices when they misbehave.”

God reminders can influence the self-regulation not only of believers but of anyone who has a representation of God as a cultural concept, then at least in cultures where God is portrayed as omnipotent and omniscient, reminders of God are likely a persistent and pervasive influence on self-regulation. (goddiscussion.com, Dakota O’Leary)

I’m always intrigued when I see a secular explanation of a spiritual, biblical principle. And as usual, they seem to have gotten some of it right and some of it wrong. First, the wrong. God doesn’t want to be used as a mental, cooping tool to help us achieve our personal goals of weight loss or cholesterol health. He doesn’t want to be relegated as a “reminder” to influence our self-regulation of nasty habits. Instead, he wants to be Lord of all.

But, I do find it interesting that there’s a measure of truth in this article. It shouldn’t surprise us that science and research can be consistent with biblical principles. Think about these words from David in Psalm 119 in light of the APA study:

I have tried hard to find you—
don’t let me wander from your commands.

I have hidden your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119.11-12 NLT

I love the context of this passage. David has just described why God’s Word is so valuable to his life and he declares his delight in following God’s decrees. But then David says he has tried so hard to find God and doesn’t want to wander from him. I think he knows how quickly he can stray and desperately doesn’t want to lose his intimate connection with God. So, David states the solution—he’ll hide God’s Word in his heart. This will stave off temptation. This will hold back drift and sin.

As a kid, I memorized this verse and many others thinking that Scripture memorization was what it meant to “hide God’s Word in my heart.” What I found was that memorizing Scripture was just a good start. What I was doing was hiding God’s Word in my head. They say that the head is approximately 18 inches physically from the heart; but spiritually, the head can be miles from the heart. I think there is much more to this than a “reminder for self-regulation.”

When Jesus was tempted three times, he used Scripture to refute and rebuke Satan. Think about how vulnerable Jesus was in this situation. He was alone. He was without food. He may have been weary. He was in the discomfort of being in the wilderness for an extended period of time. But, when the most evil of enemies approaches him to deceive and distract him, God’s Word pours from his mouth as if it was part of his personal fabric. It’s interesting…another word for heart is “psyche.” This is someone’s inner most being. What is in the heart cannot be masked or violated. What’s in the heart will be revealed in times of trial and temptation. When Christ was weary, hungry, and tempted by the worst evil imagined, Scripture poured from his heart. It was more than a tactic of self-control; it was a revelation of his true heart. As a result, Jesus was able to walk away from temptation unscathed.

As you continue to read through the New Testament this week, think about the difference between having Scripture in your head and having it in your heart. Remember the verse below from our reading last week. Notice the connection between God’s Word and our inner most being. God desires to change us from the inside out through his Word.  

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.  Hebrews 4.12 NLT