Each new generation learns valuable lessons that may be missed by a preceding group of people.  I love rereading my favorite books.  Yet, I came from a tradition in which you watched a movie or television show only once.  You certainly didn’t read a book more than one time.  Nevertheless, I would pull out the books that were read to us in elementary school,  especially Penrod and Penrod and Sam, and reread them during my high school years for book reports.  When I became an adult, I would reread books when I read to my children.

Rereading has now become a more accepted practice.  In fact with the advent of videos and DVD’s, children memorize many of the children’s movies because they view them so often.  By the time a child has reached his teen years, he may have read one of the modern classics many, many times.  There are great benefits to this practice.

• First, it teaches children that one pass over a subject matter will produce a most limited knowledge of the subject.
• Second, children will understand at an early age the value of review.

Reading is one of the great pleasures of my life.  I can hardly imagine not being able to have that privilege.  Bible reading was introduced to me by my Sunday school teachers and mother.  We were able to get a check mark if we read our Bible each day.  I loved getting check marks.  The denomination in which I was raised values the study of the Bible so much, that it’s now being accused of believing the Bible is the fourth part of the Godhead.  However, reading the Scriptures has not always fared well through the ages.

In the 16th century, when Martin Luther entered the monastery, it was not typical for a person to read or study the Bible.  Men who had their doctorate in theology seldom read the Bible directly.  Few of them owned their own copy of the Scriptures.  It appears that Luther was one of the few men of his day who had a love for God’s word.  On his death-bed, Luther wrote a note that extolled the value of the Bible and how important it was to read it with a humble heart.

At Special Gathering, we put an emphasis on learning the Bible.  While most of our members cannot read, they still are able to understand what is read to them and the precepts contained there.  Last year, we inserted into the order of service a “Call to Worship.”  After the announcements and several upbeat praise songs, we calm the service and begin with a Scripture verse that is our Call to Worship.  We use one verse for three months.  A member reads the verse and we listen.  After two months of listening to the verse, I ask the members to recite it with me.  The Member Reader will read–or say from memory–the verse and then we will repeat it from memory.

I am amazed at how quickly our members are able to pick up the verse and say it.  There are only a few things that have changed during the years we’ve been conducting Special Gathering worship but I believe that this is one of the most beneficial.

I understand that reading or even memorizing a Bible verse does little to ensure that this word will become affective in our lives.  However, I also know that NOT knowing the Bible almost guarantees that we will not be able to apply a truth to our lives.

Occasionally, I will talk about an Old Testament precept that is repeated again and again.  People who don’t read the Bible are shocked that these Sacred Writings even addresse things such as thrift, banking, ecology or conservation.  Some Christians have no idea that preservation of the land is a strictly-held concept taught in the Law of Moses.

As a teacher and leader of a flock of men and women who are developmentally disabled, it is my responsibility to be sure that the Bible is learned.  Additionally,  the principles must be relearned and then reviewed time and again until they becomes a part of my life and the lives of our members.  However, I also find that I’m not any different from the people I teach.  I need review.  Each time I read a passage of scripture, I should be open to hear and see a new message from the heart of the Holy Spirit.

Is reading the scriptures a chore?  Do you make it a habit to review familiar verses to see if you can “see” a new issue in your life that the Holy Spirit may want to help you overcome?