It's Too Late...

to be awake.

But...  I am scheduled to give the devotional for the quiz tomorrow, and it's been a more difficult process than I thought it would be.

In the end, this is it:

Words:

I don’t usually find myself speechless when it comes to quizzing, but as I sat down to put together this devotional, I sort of felt at a loss for words.  We’ve heard many excellent speakers this quiz year, both on the district and at invitational quizzes, and the theme of their devotions has been, almost without exception, the importance of keeping quizzing in perspective and applying what is learned to our lives.  And that’s good stuff… really good stuff…  In fact, I would venture to say that the reason Bible quizzing got started was to get teenagers involved in really studying… and memorizing… and learning from God’s written word to us through Scripture, and obviously that’s the goal, right?

But…  I have to say that I think there are probably a lot of different reasons that people *actually* get involved in quizzing.  Some are undoubtedly more “noble” than others.  If I’m *really* honest about why I first began Bible quizzing some nineteen years ago… ahem…  I know most of the people in this room weren’t even born yet, which is sort of a painful reminder of how old I am… But… I would have to say that I didn’t really start out hoping to internalize whole books of Scripture and… you know… to keep them around in my mind and heart for decades.

The honest truth is, there was this guy on my district (which was Eastern Michigan) who I found really interesting, and he had been a *really* good quizzer, and I had a friend who pretty much said to me, “You know, if you want to keep Phil Michaels’ attention… you’re probably gonna have to quiz”… and so I did…  And apparently it worked pretty well…  

But at any rate…  I don’t know what *specifically* brought each one of you here today.  Maybe you quiz because the lunch is so good… or because you’re racking up scholarships to go to Olivet…  or because your crazy parents decided to have five children to make up a whole quiz team, so it’s sort of a genetic thing…  or maybe it’s because your friends are here…  But whatever the reason, I am *sure* that even if you don’t realize it, a large part of why you’re here is that the Holy Spirit is working in your life and drawing you closer to him. 

I love Scripture that talks *about* Scripture…   

Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you”

When Joshua is speaking to the Israelites, he says, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. This is how you will know that the living God is among you” (Joshua 3:9-10).

In Isaiah we read, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever” (40:8).

In Hebrews we have, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (4:12)

And of course, even in Matthew, when Jesus is tempted, he says, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (4:4)

These aren’t *just* words…  these are words to *live* *by*.

Several years ago, I heard a song by a relatively unknown band, “Mike Crawford and His Secret Siblings”, The title of this song is “Words to Build a Life On”.  It’s actually a really long song, like seven or eight minutes long.  I originally thought maybe I’d bring it along to play, but since they only gave me 5-10 minutes total, I figured that probably wasn’t going to work out.  But it actually reminds me, quite a bit, of the list of Beatitudes that Jesus gives during the Sermon on the Mount, and it talks about how blessed we are, especially in the midst of life circumstances that aren’t “ideal” from our human perspective, and the chorus is really simple.  It just says, 

“These are words to build a life on
These are Your words how can they be mine
These are words to build a life on
These are Your words I want them to be mine”

And then there’s a bridge that says,

“Give us ears that we may hear them
voice that we may sing them
life that we may live them
hope that we may give them
hearts that we can feel them
eyes that we can see them
thoughts that we may think them
tongues that we may speak Your words”  

And so I would just challenge you… and encourage you… as you study the Scriptures, both for quizzing purposes *and* for life purposes… to commit them to your memory and to your heart, and to make these words your own.

L.