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When I was 22 years old, my mind was very weak. Math was unfathomable, as were most of the classes I took in college. Because of this, I decided to drop out. During this period in my life I lived the typical college life: the girls, the parties, the substances. And because of my lifestyle, my mind grew more weak. If I was in a large social setting and many people were talking at the same time, I could not concentrate on the person that was talking with me. And I found that the more I continued this “party lifestyle,” the more my mind was weakened. There were times that I could not even recite my phone number, even though I had lived in the same location for two years.
I remember clearly thinking at that time, “Is this all there is to life?” At the time, I was perfectly unaware of who the Holy Spirit was, but nevertheless He was convicting me of the emptiness of this lifestyle. Through a series of miraculous events, God lead me to the front door of the local SDA Church to attend an evangelistic series. Those Bible truths changed my life, and I was led to the One who is Truth, Jesus Christ.
After my baptism, I really enjoyed reading the Bible. It was not easy for me, to say the least, but I experienced great joy and pleasure. I probably understood 10% of what I was reading, but I was compelled to press on. Later that year, when I started attending a Christian school to be trained for Gospel work, a teacher told me, “John, you have to really work hard, because your mind is not good, you must have destroyed many brain cells.”
As you might imagine, this was not the most encouraging statement a young man would like to hear, but what he said was the truth. In a strange way, this motivated me to study harder. But I did not know how to study the Bible. I only knew how to read it. I read the Bible through rather quickly, but I did not gain much from this exercise. But God in His rich mercy led me to someone who taught me how to study the Bible, and to someone else on how to memorize Scripture.
When I started studying and memorizing Scripture, it was as if the Word of God was healing my mind. I found as I spent time in the Word of God, my mind was sharper, and I was able to do understand other concepts quicker and more deeply. I have had people say to me, “How long have you been a Christian? You know the Bible so well!”
I just smile and say, "God is so good! If you only knew what my mind used to be like."
The pen of inspiration has declared some powerful statements about this healing sword:The character of Wycliffe is a testimony to the educating, transforming power of the Holy Scriptures. It was the Bible that made him what he was. The effort to grasp the great truths of revelation imparts freshness and vigor to all the faculties. It expands the mind, sharpens the perceptions, and ripens the judgment. The study of the Bible will ennoble every thought, feeling, and aspiration as no other study can. It gives stability of purpose, patience, courage, and fortitude; it refines the character and sanctifies the soul. An earnest, reverent study of the Scriptures, bringing the mind of the student in direct contact with the infinite mind, would give to the world men of stronger and more active intellect, as well as of nobler principle, than has ever resulted from the ablest training that human philosophy affords. "The entrance of Thy words," says the psalmist, "giveth light; it giveth understanding." Psalm 119:130 (The Great Controversy, 94.2).
Oh, what a book we have in the Bible! It truly is the sword that heals! It can transform us, but only if we spend time in it! Let us not neglect the study of the Bible, let us spend time with Jesus, as He communicates His will to us. As the day approaches, let us be found in the study of His Word. Let us be engulfed in His light and peace. May God Help us all to this end!
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Inspiration for these articles comes from Gideon and Hilda Hagstoz' Heroes of the Reformation
