rebelling against low expectations
How do you react when you hear someone talk about Bible memorization? I know for a lot of us, it’s with a vague feeling of guilt. I should probably do that. I should probably do that more. What stops us from memorizing God’s word? There are lots of reasons. I’m not good at memorizing. I can’t remember anything. I don’t have time. I’m going to do that…...
I have a confession: I have always skipped over most of the Old Testament. The Psalms are good and the Proverbs offer very interesting tidbits that I feel are very applicable. But what about books like Leviticus and Deuteronomy? I believed everything else was true, and the history and stories were great, but I didn’t think they had much application to my daily life. They were just for the...
In a recent article for GQ, the editors said, “We’ve been told all our lives that we can only call ourselves well-read once we’ve read the Great Books.” From there, they proceeded to call out the “Great Books” for being “really, really boring.” J.D. Salinger made the list twice, as did Ernest Hemingway. Brace yourself – Tolkien appeared too for The Lord of the Rings. It seems his meticulous...
What are your goals for 2018? With the new year just begun—and a new semester starting soon—most of us have some sort of goal in mind. Maybe you plan to read a certain number of books. Maybe you want to start running, biking, or working out. Maybe you’re just looking forward to starting school again refreshed and rested. But what are your goals in relation to God’s word? As Christian teens, our...
The Bible is considered essential to the Christian life. We call it the “Word of God” and say it’s “inspired.” We talk about having “daily devotions” like we talk about “having dinner.” We question the rightness of an act by whether it’s “biblical” or not. In fact, if you’ve grown up in a Christian home, you likely have little hints of the Bible all around you. The Bible is really important to...
My memorization journey really began in 2009, when I signed up for the National Bible Bee competition. That first year, I probably didn’t memorize more than a hundred verses — and my motivation was definitely no higher than the $25,000 Primary division prize. But by God’s grace, over the past eight years I’ve grown so much — both in faith and in memorization ability...
rebelling against low expectations
