Last week I talked about the importance and value of Scripture memorization. I want to follow-up with not so much a caution but an encouragement. While Scripture memorization is valuable, it bears no true meaning or fruit without Scriptural understanding and without proper application of Scripture to our lives. The clearest example of this dynamic is found in Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. In that interaction, Satan quoted Scripture. He had memorized the Word of God! Satan quoted Psalm 91:11-12 in an effort to get Jesus to assert his kingship in a way that God the Father had not commanded, going outside the will of God. Had Jesus listened, He would have violated the will of God and failed in His mission of righteous obedience. Scripture out of context, in the wrong hands, and with the wrong meaning has the potential for great harm. Maybe you’ve experienced or seen people using God’s Word wrongly and doing others harm. Clearly, memorization alone isn’t sufficient. We need to know not only the content of Scripture, but its meaning and the intent of God. This takes more than memorization. It takes study and prayer and meditation. Parents, this is where you play a crucial role in the lives of your children. As your children memorize, read, and hear Scripture, are they understanding it? How can you help them understand the meaning and intent of Scripture? Not just knowing the basic facts of Scripture and Bible stories, but knowing what they teach us about God, what they teach us about ourselves, how they point to redemption in Jesus, and how they apply to our spiritual lives. This is lifelong work, and it requires the help and illumination of the Holy Spirit, along with submission to the will of God. But this is the opportunity we have, not just to know the words of the Bible, but to know God through them. This is where true life is found (and note that Jesus resisted Satan through the proper use and understanding of Scripture). How can we, as the church, help you – not only to know Scripture, but to understand and apply it faithfully?