A "God Thing" Cycle

My sister-in-law recently shared with us a story about my brother's last hour on earth that I had not heard before. When they arrived at the emergency room that morning she didn't yet realize that he was dying. One of her pastors took her aside to try to prepare her for what was going to happen. While they were doing this, a friend of theirs was with my brother. She asked him what she could do to help him and he asked her just to quote scripture to him. After quoting several passages from memory she stopped. My brother asked her to continue and she did so until his wife and the pastor returned. It was not surprising to me that my brother wanted to hear God's Word in his final hours. The scriptures had been such a comfort to him during his last months as displayed in e-mail prayer updates that many of us received regularly from him. It was interesting to me that God had this friend there at this critical time and that she had memorized so many passages that she could share with him during his time of need. Since hearing this story we've wondered if we could have done that if we had been asked. How much scripture have we learned by heart? How much have we retained? We never know when the scriptures we have memorized will be needed by us or for the needs of others. That is one of the reasons we so strongly support the Awana ministry which promotes Bible memorization with children. But there is more to this story about my brother. When we were growing up in Lititz, for years my mother had a weekly Child Evangelism Good News Club in our basement. As teenagers we helped her teach Bible lessons and scripture verses to many children from the neighborhood. One of these children just happened to be the lady who ministered to my brother with the scripture that morning in the hospital. After my mother was killed in an auto accident years ago, this lady wrote a beautiful letter to our family in which she shared how much this club had meant to her. There she was introduced to Jesus. There she learned to memorize scripture weekly. Now we can't help but wonder how much a part my brother actually had in her experience during these key years in her life when love for God's Word was planted in her heart. I believe it was a "God Thing" that completed this cycle from those days in Lititz to those final moments in the hospital. We should never underestimate the importance of teaching God's Word to children. And we should never underestimate the power of His Word in our lives, both daily and at critical points. Here are a few key scriptures to think about today. "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom" (Col. 3:16). "But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 2:14-17) "How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your Word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." (Ps 119:9-11) "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." (Psalm 119:105).