= How Much of =
God's Word
Is Stored UP?
= In Your Memory? =

What Spiritual Discipline
gives us the greatest advantage
in Keeping the Commandments of Jesus?

Here is a Revelation from God ...

God's Word gives numerous reasons that He solidly lays out, so that every man shall know that he should be diligent about storing up the word of God in his heart.

 The entire kingdom of God begins when such a man takes the initiative to righteously respond to the call of God upon his life. One sign that reveals a man's intention, is that he will diligently work at memorizing the word of God.

Our job as disciples in Christ, is to become diligent, focused, and serious students of the words of Jesus. One of the most important steps in that process is to memorize God's word.

Long before we had access to the internet, emails, the printing press, and books available to all families, we mainly had written letters, and our memory. 

That was pretty much it. And suffice it to say, that our memory was our most important tool.

The primary way information was communicated, was not through writing, but through verbal communication, and through memorized information. 

In other words, we needed to memorize the information that we were going to communicate with others. That was the normal everyday thing that everyone did. 

One important part and demonstration that a student had learned a lesson, was that they were able to recite the lesson that they had learned. That kind of recitation required memorization.

Before I had a cell phone. I had most of my friends & family phone numbers memorized, and also the phone numbers of businesses and workplace numbers, and all other important phone numbers were committed to memory.

Modern teachers and modern preachers typically do a lot of reading in their lectures. They lean heavily on their notes, their computerized phones, tablets, laptops, and many forms of electronic media, which they can project on a large screen for all to see.

But that's not the method used by the great preachers in history. They knew the word of God so well, (because they had it memorized it) that they could speak without any notes (see Charles G. Finney), any papers, or any backup materials. All they needed was an audience, they were ready to speak in season and out of season. 

In the spur of the moment, at the drop of a hat, they could insert the word of God into any conversation at any time. And they could speak compellingly for one hour or 12 hours, depending upon how much time the audience could sacrifice. 

One time Paul was speaking into the middle of the night, and one in the audience fell from the second floor and died, Paul went and prayed for the man, who was raised from the dead, and then kept speaking until sunrise. Not missing a beat. And he did that all from memory.

I believe that is one reason earlier generations were so much more effective in their testimony and sharing the word of God, than we are today.

I believe that is also one reason why earlier generations were more effective at keeping the Commandments of Jesus, and abiding in the presence of God, and in the favor and blessing of God in the home, in the workplace, in school, and in the marketplace.

They had the word of God memorized, and that memorized word guided them into all of their daily duties & activities. Especially when there was an opportunity to share God's word with another person. They just lived in their entire lifestyle by keeping and sharing the commandments of Jesus, in their every day lives. And we are shortly going to learn exactly how they did that according to the very teaching of God's Holy Word.

The point being here is that you can really tell the difference between a man filled up with the commandments of Jesus, and able to communicate them at the drop of a hat, and a man who has not memorized the word of God, and who bumbles and stumbles trying to make a point that he somehow kind of remembers, but doesn't really know exactly the words, etc.

The difference between these two different types of faith is like night and day. Yet both want to serve God. Both want to bring glory to his name. But the one that has not memorized Jesus' commandments, cannot easily and fluently, and almost effortlessly share his faith, like the one who has memorized God's word.

Now I must confess to my own shame, that I spent 40+ years, avoiding the subject of memorizing the scriptures. I made excuses my whole life, that I was not good at memorizing scripture, and as a result, I fulfilled my own negative self prophecy. 

One result is I have not memorized hardly any scripture in comparison to what I could have memorized if I had diligently pursued this as a spiritual discipline from the very beginning.

And a second much more embarrassing result is that I have not fully kept the Commandments of Jesus. I have let sin operate in my life. I have let shadows of darkness, corrupt my testimony. And I have walked in Direct disobedience to keeping the Commandments of Jesus. And yes, I have made excuses for all of that, for which I am now fully repenting. 

By diligently, focusing on memorizing and keeping the Commandments of Jesus, so that I shall not hear the words: "Depart from me the workers of iniquity, I never knew you. Because you didn't keep my Commandments: You are not one of my sheep. You refused to listen to my voice. You did not do the things which I said. Therefore, your name has been removed from the book of life. And you have been assigned to the place of those who rejected my word." 

To be completely honest, anyone going to church, who is not actively seeking to keep the Commandments of Jesus, is in danger of hearing the very words above. We do not all have a magical, get out of jail free card. Our faith must be confirmed by our works. That's the gospel truth. If we truly are saved by faith and true Grace, we shall keep the commandments of Jesus, because we love him. And we will do that diligently, much more successfully, when we memorize his word in order to keep it and the heat of a battle, in the spur of the moment, at the drop of a hat, being instant in season and out of season. The only way he can fulfill that calling is to memorize his word. 

If I had made memorizing Jesus word, a foundational stone upon which to stand, I also would have been much more effective in training my children to memorize scripture, so that the word of God could protect them, instruct them, heal them, counsel them, and guide them, in their daily lives. But that I did not do. 

And for that I have great regret. Because they got sucked in by the world, that attacked through the divorce process. Because the word of God had not been formed as a solid foundation for them, or our family, upon which we all could stand. 

As a result: The world came in and took a hold of their minds, and their lives, and turned them into disciples of vain philosophy, that is taught in modern atheistic, and aggressively anti-Christian, anti-Bible educational agendas, and the worldly peer pressure, and herd instinct, and the enticements of magic, and the deception of worldly lusts, and temptations captured their minds and souls. And eventually they rebelled against the kingdom of God, because they never became ground in Keeping the Commandments of Jesus. Why? Two Reasons: Because they had not stored up the word of God in their hearts, because they have not memorized the word of God as a daily discipline that would become their guiding light to protect them from all the darkness that had come against them. And that opened the door to all kinds of false teaching, and worldly influence.

 and there art that was filled with the word of God. And that gave them easy access and communication that was guided by the Holy Spirit to say and to speak the very things that were on the heart of God. They spoke with the anointing, that often felt like a sword rushing into the audience, cutting down pride, sin, selfishness, the resistance of the flesh.

Not to do so would be incompetent, irresponsible, and childish behavior. 

I recommend that every blood bought child, adolescent, young person, and mature person in the kingdom of God, at whatever level of maturity in which they be found, that they should immediately begin memorizing the word of God from day one.

And I recommend that we begin here (if you have not already memorized this verse) to do so now:

Thy word have I hid in mine heart,

that I might not sin against thee.

--Psalms 119:11 (KJV) 

In order to enter into the fullness of your personal kingdom calling, and to personally serve, and walk in intimacy with the King of Heaven, you must begin to gain a magnificent vision of the work and wisdom that is being set before you. 

For without a grand understanding you simply can not have a grand and glorious life engagement in your mind, soul, spirit, body, and your whole spiritual man, which we will discuss in just a moment.

When a man or a woman chooses to walk with God, gaining the purity of heart and mind--provided in the word of God, many things can start to change radically, and mental Clarity and Kingdom focus can come quickly.

When the choice is made to become single minded, and to stop being double minded, the mind, soul, spirit, and heart can gain a new focus, and a new Freedom, that it never had experienced previously. 

The spiritual man has access to abundant resources, that are simply unavailable to the natural man. 

Once the born again soul begins to realize who he is, and who it is that is calling his name, such a one becomes literally renewed in their mind. (see Romans 12:1-3)

Romans 12:1-2 (KJV) 

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The spiritual man sees the spiritual warfare happening all around him. 

And instead of reaching for a drink of alcohol. Or another fix from drugs, (or food, social media, or TV, video games, or movies, or worldly parties, or sports competitions, or hobbies, etc.) They reach out for the word of God. 

When this happens: All of these old worldly things, that once sought to conform us to the pattern of this world--no longer have the same authority, the same pull, the same grip that they used to have on our lives. 

As a result, we actually break the bondage of those old things that were designed to bring us into death. And we overcome them because we now know the true purpose of our lives is to enter into life, and the kind of life that is actually more abundant, than anything we thought we could achieve in the life of bondage we had before..

We, who now believe, now have the resources of heaven to reach for and pull down into our own world by faith, so that we can have life, and faith, and hope--more abundantly. 

And ALL these things regenerate us from the inside out. 

Therefore, we no longer need a nicotine hit, or a junkie fix, and why is that? Because we have life, and life more abundantly living on the inside of us being stored up, and it is powerfully engaging us on a continual basis, as we continue in the word of God, just as Jesus said we would if, we would truly and fully become his disciples. 

The old ways will pass away, and the new ways that replace them will live forever. And note: all of this is engaged in us, as we literally choose to memorize the word of God. And this next verse is a good one to memorize.

John 10:10-11 (KJV) 10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

  Only Jesus knows what real life really is all about. Because only Jesus knows what life was intended to be like before the fall of Adam and Eve. Everyone on the face of this earth has a shaded, corrupted, and faulty view of what eternal life is all about. The only one that fully knows is Jesus himself. 

That is exactly why Jesus came to give us: Eternal life. 

But we can only receive that LIFE, if we choose to follow him--all the way to the end. And not give up, because it's too hard. Not give up because we wanna go back to Egypt,  back to serving idols, back to being slaves to our old nature, our old sinful lies, and our old demonic behaviors. Going back to the "good life", as many people call it, is actually the road to hell.

Once we see these things from a spiritual mind from the perspective of Jesus, we can get a strong grip on the handlebars that will take us to heaven.

MAY GOD GIVE US HIS GRACE, FAITH, HOPE, LOVE, AND THE SPIRIT TO PERSEVERE THROUGH THE SPIRITUAL WAR, that will face us on a daily basis, SO THAT NOT ONLY OURSELVES AND OUR FAMILIES, BUT OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS WILL ALL BE ABLE TO TAKE THE WORD OF GOD INTO THEIR LIVES AND SEE THAT TRANSFORM THEM FROM THE INSIDE OUT TO BECOME NEW SPIRITUAL BEINGS, FULLY TRANSFORMED, AS NEW CREATURES OF LIGHT, SO THAT WE MAY ACTUALLY FULFILL OUR HEAVENLY CALLING IN CHRIST JESUS.

And yes, people really do need to see the real Jesus living in us as the apostle John shares:

1 John 1:1-7 (KJV) 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of:

 The Word of  L i fe; 

2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3 That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, 

that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

[personal note: I highly recommend we all memorize for 5, 6 and 7.
This will be incredibly useful on a daily basis and the kingdom of God.]

In order for ALL THE ABOVE to happen, we need to drink deeply of his word, not casually, not socially, not "politically correctly," not hypocritically, but spiritually and seriously, and diligently.

One of the greatest privileges we have in this world is to take on the nature and character and personhood of Jesus. And bring that joy, that piece, that Love, that integrity, that humility, and all the power, and all the beauty, and all the glory embodied in our relationship with Christ, bring that to those around us. And see their lives changed because they came in contact with Jesus. Jesus in you is the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:27-29 (KJV) 27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is

 Christ in you,
the hope of glory: 

28 Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: 29 Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.

Jesus wants to heal us, and reprogram us, with his eternal truth. So that we can completely overcome every lie of the evil one. WE DO THAT, by simply Keeping his commandmants. And so that we can adequately, and even marvelously be able to represent Him to the World.

This kind of mental healing is given through his abundant life. It is part and parcel in the experience of being born again. 

We are no longer a slave to the old man. And the New Man (in Christ Jesus) is ready, willing, and able to give you the kingdom. The power & The glory. To help you walk along the narrow road. With singleness of mind, and purity of heart, and a new and heavenly royal mindset--that begins to renew your life today, and daily from this day forward, and carries you into eternity, on a constant path of continual growth, that will never end.

Thankfully, you don't need to take my word for it, or any man's word for it. For that matter, you can fully investigate this whole kingdom reality on your own, and be free in your spirit to hear God directly, to hear the voice of God in the word of God, through the power of God, by the grace of God, for the glory of God. That is your new high calling in Christ Jesus.

1 John 2:26-27 (KJV) 26 These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you. 27 But the anointing [the Holy Spirit] which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

If you want to grasp this Kingdom of Heaven with both hands, and your whole heart, you will need to take specific steps of faith. 

One of those steps is to become a Berean Believer. Before the Berean Jewish community had ever heard the gospel, they were just normal every day Jews, serving God the best way they knew how. But when they heard the gospel of Jesus Christ being preached, their ears were opened, and their hearts burned with passion to know if these things could be true.  

As they investigated the scriptures carefully, they saw the promises of God being fulfilled in their Messiah, Jesus Christ, and they were brought into the fullness of the kingdom of God in short order. Through faith in the word of God, they became a glorious new Christian Community together, becoming followers of Christ--and it all began with the searching personally word of God, to see if these things were so.

See below:

Acts 17:10-11 (KJV) 10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These [Jews] were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word [of Jesus, the Messiah] with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

As you will see from the context: Paul and Silas were moving quickly through the ancient kingdom of Greece, also called Macedonia. In the first City, they were thrown into prison and beaten, and yet in that whole process , there came great glory to God, and grace unto the people of Philippi, who believed. The night they were beaten, God sent angels who opened the doors and loosened the chains of all that were in the prison (that in itself is a dramatic picture prophetic feedom being presented to the people of Macedonia), and this resulted in the salvation of the whole large family of the jailer. And thatv night, there began and established and genuine God ordained born again, Church in Philippi. 

Then being asked by the authorities in Philippi to leave the area, because they were afraid of Paul and Silas. They left peaceably and their next stop was Thessalonica. And after preaching the gospel there they experienced persecution, and had to leave that city on the threat of their lives (because of the hatred of the Jews, who did not love the word of God, but love their religion that actually replaced God's word and replaced relationship with God with man-made teachings)

And so Paul and Silas came to Berea. There they met faithful Jews, who wanted to receive the promises of God.  Instead of being offended, and rejecting the word of God, they received the word of God with readiness of mind and heart. And these new Jewish converts to Jesus, wanted to put their new faith into action immediately. They became doers of the Word.

That is the kind of believing Jesus is looking for. That is the kind of faith that can be poured out through the word of God. Much grace, much favor, much healing, much redemption, can sweep through a whole community--that will receive the word of God in that openhearted manner. And these are the people Jesus died on the cross to redeem.

That is what this discipline of memorizing God's word is all about. It is becoming the solution to the problem exactly: How am I to obey God?, one thing is for sure, we are not to obey God like the Jews Thessalonica, who actually hated the word of God. And tried to poison the minds of all who would receive it. But even in the midst of that spiritual war, was birthed another church. In fact, when you know, Church history, you realize that the very first letter Paul wrote that is recorded in the New Testament was the letter of first Thessalonians.

So we like the Thessalonians, and the Bereans I'll have specific choices to make; and specific steps to follow in order to bring glory and honor to the name of Jesus, and to the word of his testimony. We have the choice to love him, and receive him. Or the choice to hate him and reject him and his word. Many reject his were just by simply faking it. This is extremely dangerous. This creates a lukewarm faith, that will be spewed out of Jesus mouth. This is something he hates. This is something we need to be extremely careful and alert of. False, and fake Christianity have spread throughout the entire world. And that has been the enemies plan from the very beginning..

But Jesus warned us from the very beginning that the enemy would sew weeds among the wheat. And that was allowed, because the Lord would use that to refine the faith of the faithful and obedient. And expose the false faith of the faithless and disobedient.

We ourselves have to make the same decision. We can generate a politically correct faith., that is fake and that perpetuates the problem of ignorance inside the body of Christ. Or we can generate within ourselves, a completely politically incorrect faith, that penetrates the problem of ignorance, and soundly, defeats it by simply doing what Jesus said to do. Keep my Commandments. It doesn't get any more simple than that. And S has been said over again, we must do that by storing his word up in our heart, that we may be obey quickly and cleanly because it is living on the inside of us.

That is the whole purpose of  choosing to memorize of the scriptures in the word of God. We study them. We meditate on them. We seek them both day and night, and as we do, they will return for us a treasure for more valuable than gold and diamonds, or rubies and gems, and  they far more enduring than anything this life can offer us.

When the true word of God gets an anchor in your soul, and the seeds of God get poured into the depths of your heart, and you store them up like treasure, like gold and silver, more precious than gold, then, as a consequence of your diligence and your fellowship with the Holy Spirit, you are transformed by the kingdom of God, living inside of you. 

When you have a change of heart: You no longer resist the Commandments of Jesus. You long to keep the Commandments of Jesus. Then the great grace of God is no longer a hypocritical religious lifestyle (based on dues and don'ts) but a living river of life, that satisfies the very need of the soul, to become a faithful and true servant in the kingdom of God.

Our choices are simple: 

1) We will serve the king, and the kingdom of this world, and eventually perish in the flames of our own rebellion, our own darkness, our own hatred of the light. 

Or 2) We will choose to serve the King, and the Kingdom of Heaven, and we shall enter into a covenant that will protect us, nourish us, and eventually bring us into our eternal home-- once we have grown in His Word, and become faithful to the Word of God, which is Jesus himself. 

Once we have prepared our hearts to live with and serve the king of heaven, forever, and ever, we will become the bride of Christ, the one who has made herself pure and has cleansed herself, and put on his robes of righteousness--we shall gain a new mind and a new heart provided for by the king of heaven, that those in the world can simply not comprehend, because they simply do not have the spiritual resources to do so as noted in first Corinthians chapter 2.

1 Corinthians 2:13-16 (KJV) 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 15 But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. 16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.

This new gift comes to those who have met Jesus Himself, and have heard the call from Jesus himself, and have changed their minds to no longer walk as a natural man, but as ones who have received of the Spirit of God as a gift. 

As a result, we take off the old clothes of the Flesh, and having washed themselves in the water of his Word, and having received the cleansing healing, purifying blood of Christ, so we put on the New Wardrobe from God, (having clothed our nakedness and shame, see Revelation 3:17), which is pure, and bright, and clean, and without blemish, without stain, and without the old deeds, lies, and worries of the flesh.

Revelation 3:17-19 (KJV) 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

This calling we have undertaken, is a whole new package deal. So it only makes sense that we should begin unwrapping the package and taking it seriously step-by-step. In such a way that we no longer continue to be the problem, but in god's heavenly plan and format we become the solution. Not only for ourselves, but for all those around us, who need the kingdom of God to be seen and heard and touched, and felt. They need to see the living Christ, living in us.

The truth be told: We need the deep power of his word to enter into our soul, to be birthed in the heart, to be made new in our lives, and to renew the platforms of the mind--every one of them. 

And this is eloquently taught in one single chapter, in a letter to the people who believed in Jesus, and wanted to walk with him, in Spirit and in the Truth in the city of the Colossians:

Colossians 3 (KJV) 1 If ye then be risen with Christ [step one], seek those things which are above, [step two] where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth [step three]. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth [step four]; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6 For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: 7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

8 But now ye also put off all these [step five]; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds [step six]; 10 And have
put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: [step seven] 

11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering 13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. [step eight]; 14 And above all these things put on charity [step nine], which is the bond of perfectness. 

15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful [step 10]. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom [step 11]; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. [step 12.]

Now, that's a 12 step program for every believer upon the face of the Earth, more powerful than even the 12 step program offered by the alcoholics anonymous and addictions group--which has helped tens thousands of people break their addictions. But the kingdom of God is even more powerful, and more effective, and more completely healing.

This is the kingdom of God coming to earth. This is the whole program of Jesus renewing individuals from the inside out. The spiritual mind will see this and cling to it. 

You will notice that memorization is required in this program, it is the central glue that holds the whole kingdom of God workmanship in place:

Let the word of Christ dwell
in you richly in all wisdom ... 

Memorizing the Bible is one of the most primary spiritual disciplines that renews the mind and causes a whole chain of Kingdom events to become possible. 

Now before we leave this beautiful chapter, there is a specific calling upon every family that is laid out in perfect order, in the last eight verses of this chapter.

18 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.
[step one]

19 Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
[step two]

20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. [step three.]

21 Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.
[step four]

22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God
[step five]:
23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men
[step six];
24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons
[step seven].

If you look closely at all of these proposed steps, you'll see something in common. All of these steps are not optional for the true believer who wants to put his faith in Jesus Christ, and follow him with his whole heart. Each one of these steps has inherent in it a commandment.

In English, we have a grammatical forum that is called the command form.
It is where we remove the word "you" from a sentence. In order to have a complete sentence in English you need to have at minimum, a subject and a verb. And yet many sentences in English do not require the subject to be written. Because it is understood by the context to be a command. The sentences: "Stop!" and the sentence "Don't do that!" are both perfectly correct grammatically because they contain both a verb and a subject. Only in both sentences above the subject is understood. It is inferred. And the subject of the sentence is "You." So it is understood: "You Stop!" "You, Don't do that!" If and when Jesus should speak those things to us, we should obey Him. Not to do so would be an act of disobedience.

 That is how the command form works in the English language. And you will see it frequently throughout the scriptures. When Jesus, or a writer under the authority of Jesus, rights, us a sentence to obey, in the command form, we can take that to the bank. It is a command from Jesus, and in other words that commandment is not optional. It is to be performed with diligence, and with wisdom, and with grace. And not to perform the command to the best of ability, is to literally be disobedient to the word of God. 

When we have this mindset in our lives, and we hold ourselves to a high standard in doing the word of God, not just hearing it. We become transformed in a way others cannot be. And we become like the one in whom we obey.

Here are just a few of the initial kingdom benefits--for walking with Christ: and becoming like Christ himself. 

• • Blessed our the pure and heart for they shall see God. 

  • Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy. 

  • Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

  • Blessed heart they which do hunger and thirst, after righteousness, for they shall be filled. 

  • Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the Earth. 

  • Blessed are they which are persecuted for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
    
    

When you believe in the promises of God, you become changed buy those very promises on the inside of your interior life. And your mind is no longer a tool of the enemy, to make you stumble, and to make others around you stumble. Your mind becomes clean. Your heart becomes pure. Your walk becomes simplified. The goals of your Spirit become honed, sharpened, clarified, and they renew your whole body, mind, and Spirit.

When you truly enter into the family of God, your relationships are built around a new kingdom mental focus. And yes, the power of God becomes available and fluid to those who study together, pray together, seek the kingdom of God together, and take the mission of God seriously. 

When the kingdom of God becomes the number one first priority in our lives, that is when the promises of God, the blessings of God, the healings of God, the transformations of God, and the glory of God comes down and rests on the people of God.

And yes, all of this begins in the simple process of storing God's word up in the heart. As we have said on the homepage of this website, that the good man brings forth good, out of the good that was stored up within him, and now we know what that good is. It is 100%, the word of God printed on pages of paper so that we can read it day and night, whenever we have a free moment. And from there, we can memorize it and store it up on the inside of our souls building ourselves up in our most holy faith.

That right there is the call of God in a nutshell. The sooner we grab a hold of it the sooner we can experience the benefits promised in it. Which will include persecution, afflictions, and rejection from those who hate God's word. But what would you rather have $1 million on this planet that is going to perish or $1 trillion in the kingdom of God that will never perish. Where moth and rust cannot corrupt, and thieves cannot break in and steal.

The wisdom of God is clear and clean to those who perceive it and receive it.

Jesus told the Jews, who had gathered around him, that were very much focused on making money this short and quick proverb.

Matthew 16:26-27 (KJV) For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Right before the above statement, Jesus sets the context for this very specific challenge:

Matthew 16:24-25 (KJV) 24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

As a first priority in their lives, and they become a horrific threat to the kingdom of darkness.,  which no longer has power over their lives. 

The new authority  of God has come to take the place, and clear the way, to grow oaks of righteousness. And when the ground has been plowed, and broken up, and the hard soil has been watered and softened, then the seed can be planted deep, and the harvest to come will be sure.
These are Direct promises from the holy one of heaven. He is the bread of life that came down from heaven, to satisfy the hunger of those who would seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and then would have all these other things added unto them.

And this whole process, begins with the simple discipline of hiding his word in your heart.

Thy word have I hid in my heart,
  that I might not sin against thee. --Psalm 119:11

Acts 17:10-11 (KJV) 10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Below is a first year challenge to Learn 52 verses in 52 weeks in the coming year. You can start any week of the year and track your progress. The verses are organized are scriptures that challenge us to memorize His Word, and the Benefits that come from memorizing his Word, and how we become effective servants in His Kingdom as we continue to Grow in His Word.

Below are some suggestions on How to Commit Bible Verses to Memory.
There are a number of different ways people approach this very powerful discipline. Let me know if you find a method that really works for you that should be added to this webpage to help others store up God's most valuable treasure in their hearts.

Here's some other studies you may benefit from ...