Activity from onfire247§↻

Congratulations, onfire247! Seems like you finished those last hundred verses quickly. :-)

Thanks! I'll be honest, this one snuck up on me. Last time I looked at my finished verses it was at 237. The higher you go here the more and more the achievements get spaced out so they all surprise me now.

I love the achievements on this website. It was one of the features that drew me here. I'd love to see more of them. Some ideas I've had include:
The Longest Verse (Esther 8:9)
The Shortest Verse (John 11:35)
The Roman Road (Rom 3:10, 23; 5:1-2, 5:8; 6:23; 8:1; 10:9-10, 13)
The Beatitudes (Matt 5:1-12)
The Prodigal Chapter (Luke 15)
The I Ams of John (6:35; 8:12; 10:9, 11, 14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1, 5)
The Verse Everyone Knows (John 3:16)
Let's Get This Party Started (Gen 1:1-2)
Glutton for Punishment (Job 1)
Well That Escalated Quickly (John 4:17-18)
The Gospel Tour (Memorize one chapter from each Gospel)

😃 Those would be some good ones. I've noticed that you often put titles to passages - seems like a good way to keep the subject matter in mind, or organize the passages.

I think any incentive to spend more time memorizing God's word is of value.
And the achievements are good for this.
However, it's not a good motivation to try to impress others with our achievements, but rather keep our focus on impressing God, and preparing for future ministry/tribulation.

Just in the past month, Pastor Artur in Canada was imprisoned and denied a Bible.
He would have had to rely on memorized verses to keep him going.

So a good question to ask is:
If I was imprisoned without a Bible, which passages would I need to remember to get me through?

Also, if I have an opportunity to share the gospel, which passages should I be able to quote?
Your Romans Road verses would be in this group.

Another important category of scriptures to memorize is holiness:
eg. Psalm 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
and Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart...
This is linked to the beatitudes you mentioned in Matt 5:8. Blessed are the pure in heart...

Having a discussion about the most helpful verses is a great idea, but I don't know how to initiate that.

I should add my congratulations too.
OnFire, you are doing really well!

Congratulations! Inspiring!

Thanks Saintman and HSM!

Saintman, you always bring good perspectives to the conversations on here. I love when you contribute!

I would like to make some general observations as well that are not directed at you or anyone else on this website personally. I'm not sure trying to impress God through any activity is a good idea. Regardless of how much we work toward impressing God, nothing we do is really impressive. We all start at a deficit that never gets better outside of Jesus' paying our debt. Anything we do internally or externally for the kingdom that is not a reflection of the gratitude we have for what the Lord has done for us has the danger of becoming pride. You are correct that one must always be in a fight with pride (be that works intensity or achievements bragging) to avoid getting off track with God.

As a side note, while we cannot impress him, we can, however, please God. But you don't have to memorize verses to do that; you just need to have confident assurance, or faith (Heb 11:1, 16), that God is true to his Word. To be sure, faith comes from knowing the Word, but largescale memorization is not necessary for that. Better to know one verse for each situation and believe that God will keep it than to know 1000 verses and not be confidently assured of any of them. I do, however, find that knowing multiple verses builds my faith and gives the Holy Spirit something to work with when ministry opportunities arise. This is why I memorize.

In my experience, the people that step into pride on achievements don't last very long here. Achievements just come too slowly after the first couple of months to sustain those people. I also think it is hard to look at achievements on this website as in any way trying to impress anyone. This website is just too anonymous. Finishing 300 verses on an anonymous website is like peeing in a blue suit. You may feel warm about it, but most people who look at you won't know you've done it. But there is something motivating about them for me personally, which is why I like them.

Perhaps the simple solution is to have an opt out option for those who don't feel comfortable with achievements or points. There's a place for all perspectives here!

Yes, if there was an opt-out for achievements, I would pick it!
Regarding the issue of faith and works, I would refer to James 2:18,
and Revelation 3:2.
I was brought up with the common theological doctrine that our works are like filthy rags (and no one ever explained the context of that verse), which then implies that we shouldn't even try to do anything good, as it might risk pride etc.

However, I have since learned that God does care about our works, as is revealed by how many times "works" are mentioned by Jesus in Revelation 1-3.
Also, in the sermon on the mount, Jesus says we will be rewarded for activities such as praying in secret.
I am sure Bible memorization is in a similar category of activity,
and that we will be rewarded for it, provided we don't become prideful or have the wrong motives (such as being seen by others).

Also the Sheep and goats passage of Matthew 25 is all about works.

Another good exercise is to find how many times the phrase, "According to your works" appears.
Here are just a few:
Matt 16:27, 1 Peter 1:17, Rev 2:23, Rev 20:13.

I'm not saying this to win an argument, but rather to help you.
I wish someone had told me this at some point years ago.
I only discovered it through my own Bible reading, etc.

I hope this is helpful for you, Onfire.

I appreciate these comments from both of you, Saintman and onfire247. I would like to add one comment about the achievements. They are inspiring to me. I don't view them as elevating one individual over another, but rather as stirring up one another to good works (Heb 10:24). Since we are on this website, we all understand the value of Scripture memorization. I am encouraged and positively challenged to apply myself to memorization when I see others who have patiently and consistently applied themselves. As we study God's Word, we deepen our understanding that there is nothing good in us, but everything good and lovely and perfect in Him. That will bring more humility.

The badges and points don't point to perfection but progress. If someone takes a break, they can always return and pick up where they left off. Consistency seems to be "rewarded" the most with points and badges. It seems that consistency and endurance is vital in our Christian walk as well.

Blessings!

I understand you a lot better now Saintman. It is funny how the baggage of our childhood affects our future. I remember when I was growing up my mom thought that video games were of the devil. Actually, she thought most things were of the devil. If you have seen Waterboy, the mom in that movie reminds me a lot of my mom. But she never explained (or knew probably) why they were of the devil, so I rebelled. Once I turned 18 and moved out, I played video games almost nonstop as a result. I still play them to this day, although sparingly. She used scriptures as a stick to punish, which is spiritual abuse even if she did it from a good heart.

I, too, have spiritual baggage from growing up in the Word of Faith movement (of which I am still a part, though modified). I remember often being taught that when you give your tithes you will be blessed by God, yet I never received anything that I could measure when I was being faithful to giving. After stepping away from the faith for a decade, I came back and started tithing again when I recommitted to God. But this time something was different. Instead of giving to get, I was giving because I owe. I owed God for the great work he had done in bringing me back. I owed others who needed my giving to hear the message of the gospel because others had given previously for me to hear the very same message. It was a subtle change in my attitude, but man oh man what a difference it made in receiving back from God.

Like you, I also see this thread of works throughout the NT. Likewise, there is a heavy thread of obedience as well in both the OT and NT. Many modern believers miss that to their detriment. Like most doctrines in the Bible, they must be guarded with hermeneutical eyes that take into account the context of the verses themselves and how the subject is addressed across the whole of Scripture. When you look deeper, you see that faith and works are two sides of the same coin. Paul, James, and Peter all believed in the same core Jesus beliefs modified by their upbringing and environment. They also had different audiences, however, which we must remember. These factors should force us to adjust our understanding of their teachings accordingly when deciding how to live our lives. For example, the core audience of both James and Matthew were Jewish converts. That's why their message is more focused on the importance of works, which is very much in line with Jewish tradition. Paul, and to some extent Peter, on the other hand, wrote primarily to Gentiles who had little in the way of a works tradition. Thus their messages are more related to the importance of grace.

To elevate works over grace (or vice versa) is to twist the Bible into something it is not. Kenneth Hagin Sr. often warned of the danger of getting into a ditch when looking at doctrines of the Bible. To focus solely on work is to drive into a ditch. To focus on grace alone is to drive into another ditch. It is the middle ground where the car should drive. This is a heavily debated topic (probably the most debated, at least in the last 1000 years), and it is unlikely that we will solve it here. This is my perspective on the subject, however, for what it is worth. I am open to the Holy Spirit to modify my belief, however. I appreciate your perspective, and this website where we can discuss matters of such importance!

Like my giving example, thought, I have found that it is the attitude that matters in all things related to God. Once I learned that, I stopped worrying about how many crowns or rewards I will receive in heaven. (Getting heaven is a good enough thing, and anything beyond that will just make it better!) I also don't bother with how God created the world or how it will end. That all works itself out. The key to being a true Christian is to hear the voice of Jesus through the Holy Spirit and do what he says in the way that he says it. And in the in-between times, to try to live your life as best you can according to the measure of light that God has given you through the Bible. The rest will work itself out. If we get rewards for memorizing, great! For me, though, I memorize because I owe. The more Bible I know, the more I can contribute to breaking the chains of darkness others find themselves in. If I can bring one person out of the pain of that snare, that is reward enough.

That is a great perspective HSM. Achievements stir me up as well. I love when others on here hit those milestones (especially the memorization streaks). Those achievements are visible reflections of lives being changed. I rejoice at that as much as I do when someone gets baptized!

OnFire, I am so glad to hear that your goal is to help others break free from the chains of darkness. That is a wonderful goal for your memorization.

Yes, I agree that we can't focus on either grace or works alone.
I started life as a Catholic, where the true message of salvation through faith in Jesus wasn't conveyed, and entry to heaven was believed to be based on works (eg. Mother Theresa), and how often you went to church and prayed the rosary.

But then we converted to Evangelical theology where we were made terrified of "works" because then we might be tempted to trust in them for our salvation (like we did as Catholics) and then be lost.
Sadly, most sermons I've heard in Evangelical churches (and Bible College) focus entirely on grace with the verses on works being entirely avoided.

But in recent years, I have come to believe that good works ARE important for believers, much more than I was led to believe by the prevailing winds of theology.

By good works, I mean everything that we are asked to do by Jesus - keeping his word, sharing the gospel, praying, fasting, giving to the poor etc.
Of course, not trusting in them for salvation, but doing them to please God and bless others.

And perhaps you're right, that nothing we do can 'impress' God, but since I coined that term, and found that the concept works for me pragmatically, I'll keep using it!
I find that the traps of apathy, laziness and sin tend to appear if I'm not pressing forward in my effort to "impress" God!

It's great to be able to discuss these things amicably and hear different perspectives.

😁

Amen!