(Preached at PRBC 5-31-15)
In the summer of 1980 I went on a mission trip with my home church, the First Baptist Church of Harrah, to Switzerland and Germany. During the trip we also took a one-day visit to Paris, but in many ways I was disappointed by the city. It was dirty, both physically and spiritually, and after half a day of visiting, I sat down on the curb of one of the city’s streets, and I could feel that I was sinking into a depression. But I had recently begun to memorize scripture, and had memorized James 1. Without anything else to do, I just began reviewing that chapter as I sat there: “James, a bondservant of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the 12 tribes who are dispersed, Greetings! Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” The more I quoted of that chapter, the more God’s Spirit began to lift me up, until I got to :12, “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial, knowing that the testing of his faith produces endurance …”. By that time, I was no longer sinking in depression, but “soaring” in the heavenly places! God’s Spirit had used His word to lift me up. This was the first of many times in which I have found scripture memory to be one of the greatest blessings of my lifetime.
shawnethomas 