Acknowledgements
It is important for me to recognize the great sacrifice and accomplishments of my mentors without whom this system would not exist. Mr. Scott Bailey was a humble man of God, at the turn of the millennium he spoke at our small church group in Pittsburgh. Scott brought a boxful of gifts, one for each of us; he spoke simply but eloquently on the power of knowing God’s word. He talked of the dynamic change in his behavior and married-life as a result of applying himself to knowing scripture. His topic resonated deeply inside of me. At the end of his talk, he handed me a Topical Memory System. Inside the box was a system of cards that you would carry in your wallet or on your person to help you memorize scripture. And so began my journey.
Ms. Jean Yanakos was a mighty woman of God, she had a passion for life that was remarkable, even in her 80’s she had an amazing God given vitality. She mentored me and showed me how to be a better dad. Shortly after my kids were born, I went to Jean and asked her how to teach them the bible. She cocked her head to one side and said, “It’s as easy as A to Z, that’s how I was taught.” I said, “What do you mean?” And she continued, “Well, A is All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, B is By His wounds we are healed, C is Christ died for us, and so on. I was taught from an alphabet bible memory system and that’s how I taught my son and my daughter.” After pondering this for a little while, I told her, “I can do that too.” So I started working with my kids every night before bed, we would go over the alphabet bible verses then we would pray and I would tuck them in to bed, that became our normal routine. One day not long after we started, I went back to Jean and asked her for more bible verses and she said, “Drew, I can’t give you anymore.” She said, “Now is the time for you to pick, you choose the verses that are most relevant to you, pray first and read your bible, then pick the verses that the Holy Spirit highlights to you!”
That was fifteen years ago, Jean has graduated on to heaven and I am sure she is enjoying her reward. I am here still, following in her footsteps, grateful to have known her, standing on God’s word. She gave me a tremendous gift, by not giving me that next set of bible verses; she challenged me to engage, to become a true disciple, to study and know scripture. So today, I challenge you. Do you really want to know scripture, to have it shape your life and to be able to share it with others? You can make it personal, you pray, study, and pick the verses that are most relevant to you, meditate on them and learn them until they become a part of you. Don’t be afraid, go on to create your own system, I empower you to become all that Christ intended for you to be.
Finally, my heartfelt gratitude goes out to both Scott and Jean for the great gift they gave to me.