....memory

 Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You. Psalm 119:11

I’m amazed sometimes at all the things we fill our minds with. For instance, some people know the names of every character in the Star Wars films along with all the plot twists. Others seem to know the scores of every professional baseball game that has been played in the last four decades.

As for me, I have in my memory banks the lyrics to songs I’ve heard years ago, including the theme song to The Flintstones. I don’t know when I consciously learned them, but I know them.

We have all kinds of data floating around in our minds, but do we know the Word of God? Do we know what verses deal with specific subjects and what the Bible says about certain topics?

In our own strength, we don’t have the power to resist temptation. That’s why we need to take time to memorize the Word of God.

When Jesus had been fasting for 40 days and nights in the wilderness, the devil came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread” Matthew 4:3.

Yes, Jesus had the power to do that. No doubt He was hungry—hungry to the point of starvation, even.

But with His response, Jesus gave us an example to follow. He showed us how to deal with temptation. And He stood on ground that we, too, can stand on.

Jesus said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’” verse 4. He fought temptation with the Word of God.

It’s good to carry a Bible, but the best place to carry the Word of God is in your heart. Memorize it so you can draw upon it when temptation comes knocking at your door. And indeed, temptation will come.

-greg laurie