DO YOU REALLY OWN THE BIBLE?
by Dr. Wayne Evans

 
     Do you own a Bible?  I don’t mean, “Do you have one on your bookshelf or coffee table?”  I mean instead, “Have you really claimed it any of it for yourself?”


     What am I talking about?   Dr. William Power, professor the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, writes about his experience in World War II.  He was sitting in a fox hole at night with nothing to do to pass the time.  He decided to quote all the scriptures he could remember.  He was not a professor of theology at this time, but he had grown up in the church, attended Sunday school regularly, and had listened to thousands of sermons and lessons.

     Do the math:  each week he heard a Sunday school lesson, and sermons on Sunday morning and night. That is at least 3 a week, plus attending revivals, and youth programs prior to Sunday evening worship. That means 200 scriptures a year for the past 12 years. That would be 2400 scriptures in the past 12 years. 

     William began with John 3:16, Psalm 23 & 100, the Lord’s Prayer, portions of the Christmas story, the Love Chapter (I Corinthians 13), and a smattering of verses from the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) and Romans 8..

     That was about it.  Could it be that was all he remembered?   He had held a Bible in his hands daily, reading a few verses every night before he went to bed, but he couldn’t remember more than 50 verses. If  he were captured and became a prisoner of war and someone took away all the Bibles, he would  have none of the comfort he would need.

     That night he made a decision to start memorizing scripture.  For the next few months in the service he began to do just that. He did not have huge chunks of it committed to memory, but he made a lot more progress than he ever had before.

     None of us know when we will need the comfort and strength that only the Bible can provide. One day you may be too sick to open your Bible. Maybe you will be in a car accident and be the only survivor. How do you want to spend your final hours?  Would you want to be able to recall the words of  the Bible in such a time?

     Some will say they can’t memorize.  Okay. Then I suggest you start reading the same verses every day for a week, and see how well you can write it out, or fill in the blanks for those you do write out.  “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks for the reason for the hope that is within you” (I Peter 3:15).

     How much of the Bible do your really have?  Your grandmother’s Bible won’t do if you don’t carry it around inside you.  

     If you work on one verse a week, do you know how much Bible you will gain?
“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalm 119:11)

Wayne Evans is pastor of Grace United Methodist Church  in Ruston. An archive of his columns is at his church web site www.graceruston.org in the link to the “Pastor.”  You may contact him at gracepastor@suddenlinkmail.com