Paul McKenzie

Memory Verse, Thursday, January 30: Philippians 2:16

"holding forth the word of life;
That I may rejoice in the day of Christ,
That I have not run in vain,
Neither laboured in vain."

Sometimes the KJV words things so well, giving prose a poetic feel, arranging the words in such a way that you grasp the great emotion the apostle must have felt when he wrote these Spirit-breathed words.

Paul, like all believers will stand before his Lord on the day of rewards, and receive from Christ blessings for his "race" during his brief mission on earth. And here, Paul sees the real accomplishments of any good missionary: that those he has taught would "hold for the word of life".

The goal of a good teacher is not for his sake, but to see his students excel. I like to tell my students that my goal is to teach myself out of a job. I also encourage them from day one to teach someone else what I have just taught them, for I know that when teaching another you learn better.

The most dissatisfying experience for a teacher is when the student simply doesn't care. The student is just there because mom and dad hope something will ignite their child and give them purpose. With students like that, I try to find out what does make them thrive, and try to point it out to the parents.

I'll never forget this one student who was very reluctantly learning guitar. He was as sharp as a tack, and could do everything I asked, but never practiced and had no desire to learn. After a few weeks of this misery, I found out that he wanted to be a drummer, so I told his parents that they were wasting their time and money with him on guitar. Since I was working at a music store at the time, I was able to introduce them to some good drum teachers that were available. It's funny, but they had no idea, and immediately transferred him over to the drums. I'll bet he is thriving now.

For me, it gave me great joy, because I love music and know how music can help one in more than just playing an instrument. It brings a sense of purpose; it brings discipline and great satisfaction that can transfer to other walks of life, and for many, even a full or part time way to make a living, doing something that they love.

This is the same in the Body of Christ. A good leadership will discern, and take the time to discover the gifts each member has to strengthen the church, and will utilize them in ways that bless both the member and those around. I've also found that there are many facets to gifts, for each gift is actually an application of a certain ability that can be applied in ways we may have never thought possible.

I think that's why Jesus would say that if one had been faithful in little things, He would put them into greater things. Which leads to another point: that the more you perfect the little things, the more you can build upon them until you are skilled in all sorts of things.

So you see all throughout this letter how Paul is full of encouragement. He is not looking out for himself, but looking out for the things of others. We'll see this over and over again. And we see in this verse why he runs so hard, enduring so much hardship for the sake of spreading the gospel to the world!

For he loves his Lord with all his heart, soul, mind and strength, and displays this love to all who will listen. And when they listen, he will do all he can to teach them, with the goal of making them self-sufficient Christ followers.

We see this, not only from Paul, but from every letter we have from the other apostles. For example, in 3 John we see "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." (v4) Just a cursory reading of each letter shows how much these men of God loved the church, and how important it was to them to see them walking in truth and love.

Most of us may not have churches to shepherd, but we have families, friends, or areas within the church where God has called us to utilize the gifts He has given us to benefit others and strengthen the Body of Christ. If you are a parent, or an aunt, uncle or cousin, what great opportunities you have to reflect the love of Christ! You may be the only reflection they will see! Be faithful in everything, big or little. For what you might think insignificant could be the greatest work God has called you to do.

Make it your goal to "hold forth the Word of Life!"

Today if you hear His voice, harden not your heart.

Memory Helps:

"holding forth the word of life;
That I may rejoice in the day of Christ,
That I have not run in vain,
Neither laboured in vain."

Rhyme: "word of life/day of Christ", and "run in vain/laboured in vain"; "That I may, that I have".

Many times we learn the mechanics of the verse before we can dwell on the meaning of the verse. Both are important, because you have to get the words right before you can get the real meaning. That's why I use techniques and word pictures to help me get the words down.

And when you are trying to recite it, over and over, many times you suddenly "get it". You've spent so much time repeating it that you hear it more and more in sermons, teachings, and notice it more in the books you read. And the more you "exercise" your mind, the easier it is to memorize, because the techniques become second nature.

I'll give you an "on the spot" word picture: I'm "holding forth the word of life", seeing myself holding (with four fingers showing to remind me of "forth") a Bible, with the title on it in big letters "Word of Life", since that is what it is.

And I am rejoicing because it is the "day of Christ", and He is saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" I happen to be wearing brand new running shoes, holding a weather vane and a hammer. The shoes remind me of "Run", the weather vane reminds me of "vain", and the hammer reminds me of "labor".

I've had weird dreams kind of like that, haven't you? Wondering, why in the world am I rejoicing in new running shoes holding the Bible, a weather vane and a hammer before Jesus? But it is hard to forget, and makes the verse easier to memorize, as well as giving yourself a little chuckle in the process.

Now, if you think that is wacky, replace yourself with "Dash", the little speedster in "The Incredibles", since he is my "memory character" for verses 16 (D=1, SH, J, or CH=6, vowels fillers). It makes sense that the Lord gave him brand NEW running shoes (N=2 for chapter 2), so he is speeding around in crazy joy! With the Bible, hammer, and weather vane, of course. Now you have a link between the verse and 2:16!