Author, Ray Hollenbach, wrote:

“Everyone reveres the prophet after he’s dead. But in his own day the prophet is rejected, ridiculed, scorned, misquoted, misunderstood, vilified, and in some cases shot in the head.

Today on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States, in predictable Biblical tradition we have honored the prophet after he’s gone, and in short order have reduced the honor to an innocuous three-day weekend for federal employees and school children. In honor of Dr. King, Sears, Best Buy, WalMart, Kohls, Kmart, and Toys R Us all offer fantastic deals of up to 75% off!

Even when Dr. King’s words are Googled and repeated in civic ceremonies, we listen to them with selective hearing and digest the sound bites like hors d’oeuvres at the reception afterward. But the words of the prophets were never meant to go down easy–even for those who agree with them.

Nearly every schoolchild can tell you Dr. King “had a dream,” but perhaps only one in ten can articulate that dream.”.

Can find no real argument here, can you?

No, because this is an all too familiar pattern.  This tends to be how we function – even as Christians and even when it comes to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Didn’t the Pharisees build tombs to honor the dead prophets?  Didn’t they decorate, even, the graves of the righteous?  (Matthew 23:29-31)  Don’t we honor and worship God on Sundays and sometimes forget Him by Monday morning?  Haven’t we, at times, failed to truly internalize His truths and hid His words in our hearts – much less apply them in our daily living?

Hollenbach suggests that “we could honor Dr. King’s memory with a simple and sobering meditation today: Will I hear all of God’s word–or only that portion that goes down easy?”  I suggest we honor our Lord with a simple commitment to internalize His word, hiding it in our hearts that we might not sin.” (Psalm 119:11)

RESOURCES FOR YOU

MemVerse (A Free Scripture Memory System)

https://www.memverse.com/

Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM) (How to Memorize Scripture)

https://carm.org/how-to-memorize-scripture

Bible Gateway Blog (Ten Tips for Memorizing Bible Verses)

https://www.biblegateway.com/blog/2013/03/ten-tips-for-memorizing-bible-verses/

Sermon Central (to read Ray Hollenbach’s full article)

http://www.sermoncentral.com/pastors-preaching-articles/ray-hollenbach-we-remember-dr-king-but-have-we-missed-his-message-2362.asp?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Jan 18, 2016&utm_campaign=scbpu?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Jan 18, 2016&utm_campaign=scbpu&mkt_tok=3RkMMJWWfF9wsRojsqvMZKXonjHpfsX56egkX6CwgYkz2EFye%2BLIHETpodcMSsBmMq%2BTFAwTG5toziV8R7DEJM1u2dkQXhXh