Scripture and Oxaloacetate

“Citrate Is Kreb’s Starting Substrate For Making Oxaloacetate.” Seven years after completing medical school, my grasp on the Kreb’s Cycle is only slightly better than my recall of what I ate for breakfast on the third Tuesday of November of 2016 (i.e. I am clueless, but probably Raisin Bran). And while my synapses that used to make sense of the Kreb’s Cycle have long-since abandoned their fraternal linkage, I can still recall the first letter of each esteemed molecule thanks to the nifty mnemonic. Please don’t ask me about the Urea Cycle, though, or the stages of embryogenesis. The word “neural tube” conjures up an image in my mind somewhere between The Matrix and a Rorschach Test.

 

If your blood pressure escalated 10 points by reading the last paragraph (as mine did by writing it) I assure you I will attempt to eschew much more medical school or biochemistry jargon. My point, however, is this: You, dear reader, whether radiologist, pediatric nurse or orthodontist, have devoted a significant portion of your life to memorization. Even more so, you have proven yourself to be no mere show pony when it comes to fact retention and recall. You have traversed the jungle of board exams, step exams and organic chemistry finals, and while the forest may have left you battered and tattered, you have emerged through the tangle, or, for those still in training, have at least covered ample ground.

 

Have you and I applied our precious, God-given mental abilities to memorizing God’s Word and hiding it in our hearts? These days, Hebrews 13:5 is far more valuable to me than recalling the branches of the Brachial Plexus. Psalm 1 is of infinite more succor than Ohm’s Law. I think for several of us, though, we must admit we devoted far more energy to memorizing facts that helped us pass tests than memorizing Scripture that helps us pass life. I am guilty. What I want to do is share with you a tool and a method for Scripture memory that has blessed me immensely. Perhaps you already have a way to hide God’s Word in your heart that is fruitful; I applaud you! The method I would like to share is easy, incredibly effective, accessible and utilizes the life-changing principle of spaced repetition. The remainder of this essay is divided around three questions:

 

1. Why memorize Scripture?
2. Why spaced repetition?
3. “How do I practically do it?

 

Why Memorize Scripture?

A thousand pens, a thousand books and an ocean of ink would not suffice to exhaust all the reasons to memorize Scripture. Author Dallas Willard wrote, “Bible memorization is absolutely fundamental to spiritual formation. If I had to choose between all the disciplines of the spiritual life, I would choose Bible memorization, because it is a fundamental way of filling our minds with what it needs.”[1]

 

 

 

Memorization is roadwork for the mind. Imagine a group of Minnesota children standing at the precipice of a hill laden with deep and fresh snow. As the first child careens down on their sled, brisk air whipping back their hair, they create track. If that path is used repeatedly, it becomes packed and durable. Soon, sleds coursing anywhere nearby will be sucked into the robust route. Those who memorize Scripture and meditate on it repeatedly find that fleeting daily thoughts and circumstances will be pulled into God’s Word like a sled going across a hill and encountering a hardy trail.

 

When Paul urges us to renew our minds in Romans 12, it is not just a metaphor. In the mysterious interface between mind, body and soul, a physical change occurs through the act of Scripture meditation. Neuropsychologist Donald Hebb famously said, “Neurons that fire together, wire together.” Research demonstrates that when we use neuronal connections repeatedly, the myelin coating around those axons thickens, and dendrites between those connected neurons become more robustly interlinked. The meat of our brain changes alongside our mind and soul.

 

Practically, having Scripture in my brain influences the trajectory of my entire day. C.S. Lewis once wrote, “The real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals.”[2] For a while now, I have been trying to tame the wild animals. I don’t do this flawlessly, but when my alarm goes off, I aspire to reach over and silence my phone without opening it. The wild animals of email and my iPhone growl and try to leap out of their cage, but I kick them back, forsake my phone and lay back in bed. I then take a few minutes to let my mind wake up to God’s Word. I recite Psalm 1, Psalm 23 and Philippians 4:4-9. I greet my companions: a blessed fruitful tree, a gentle and powerful Shepherd and the joy of the Lord. The wild animals stay in their cage, and I don’t look at my phone until an hour later after I have spent time with God. Take that, beasts.

 

Why Spaced Repetition?

Perhaps you are convinced of the importance of Scripture memorization. We are then led to ask, “How do I effectively memorize Scripture?” This is where the concept of spaced repetition comes in. Imagine learning a new fact: perhaps that the earth is 93 million miles from the sun. Desiring to impress your 6-year-old son (I speak hypothetically) you decide to commit that fact to memory. Now, what do you need to do to remember that fact 10 years from now?

 

To memorize this astronomical statistic, you may need to review it in one hour, then tomorrow, then in a week, then in a month, then in a year and then in three years. This is the beautiful truth of “spaced repetition.” When we learn something new, we need to review it frequently. However, over time, that neural pathway becomes robust, and we need to review that fact less and less frequently to keep it in our memory. Spaced repetition aims to help us review facts right before we are about to forget them, thereby keeping our hard-earned learning alive in our long-term memory.

 

When it comes to Scripture memorization, the initial act of memorization is not complicated. I can open my Bible and read 2 Timothy 3:16-17 until it is committed to memory. I can actively test myself to see if I know it. I can remind myself of the verse tomorrow and next Tuesday. What about three years from now, though? What about when I have 100 verses written on the tablet of my mind? I put in hard and fruitful labor to learn these verses; how do I ensure I will review them at the right time to keep them in my memory? How do I sled that path on the hill before the winds of time erase all traces of my former route?

 

Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning by Peter Brown et. al., is an interesting book I read earlier this year. A group of scientists set out to scour the field of research on learning and try to elucidate principles on what works and what doesn’t. One of the key effective principles was spaced repetition: “Deliberately spacing the repetitions of to-be-learned information over time has been shown to be a highly effective practice…The technique is called spaced retrieval practice, and it’s one of the most powerful methods for promoting long-term retention and transfer to new contexts.”[3] If we want to effectively memorize Scripture, we must utilize the principle of spaced repetition. We can work hard to memorize 50 verses this year, but most of them will be gone with the wind five years from now if we don’t have a systematic method for actively retrieving and practicing those verses at appropriate intervals.

 

How Do I Practically Do It?

I hope your Christian formation has persuaded you of the vital importance of Scripture memorization. Further, I hope you recognize the value of spaced repetition. In the battle for Scripture memorization, there is synergistic power in heart motivation combined with effective strategy. Countless people are willing to memorize Scripture, but they never experience lasting success because of the lack of a systematic means to review the Scriptures they have learned.

 

This leads to the final question, assuming I am motivated to memorize Scripture, and I embrace the theory of spaced repetition, how do I practically pair these ambitions in my quest for memory? A number of ways are available to do this, but let me share what has worked for me. I would like to introduce you to a software thousands of medical students have used for memorizing the cranial nerves and 10 million other facts: a program called Anki. Anki is an open-source program built around the principle of spaced repetition. You, the user, can create simple flashcards, in our case, of Scripture verses. Anki will then show these cards to you at specific intervals determined by a built-in spaced repetition algorithm. At first, you will review a new card frequently, and if you remember the verse, the interval for review will be spaced further and further out. If, however, it is a tricky verse, and you forget it, Anki will automatically take care of making you review the card more frequently until that track is built into your long-term memory. Easy verses you will review less frequently and difficult ones more frequently, helping you capitalize on your memory efficiency.

 

You can start by inputting tens of verses into Anki, eventually this will grow into hundreds or even thousands of verses, and you never have to remember to review those verses again: Anki will automatically display a verse to you as soon as it thinks you are about to forget it, thereby helping you keep an enormous library of Scripture in your long-term memory. This will aid you in the real battle: continually meditating on and applying Scripture to all the circumstances you face in your day-to-day life. Knowledge is not the goal; love shaped by God’s Word is the goal.

 

Anki Introduction

I will now walk you through the simple process of creating Scripture flashcards in Anki. If I have persuaded you of the importance of memorizing and meditating on Scripture, and of the value of spaced repetition, this is where the rubber meets the road. This is the practical portion of the article, and you will want a device in front of you. To get started, pull out your electronic device of choice: PC, Mac, iPad, Android, iPhone, etc. If you download Anki on multiple devices, Anki will sync your cards, allowing you to review your verses from your phone, your laptop or whatever you have handy. I love having Anki on my iPhone because it helps me redeem idle time. If I am waiting for a meeting to start, instead of scrolling through emails, I pull out Anki and review my cards for the day.

 

First things first: Download Anki from apps.ankiweb.net. Navigate to “Download Anki” at the bottom of the screen and choose the version for your device. Be aware if you download through the App Store, there are competitor “Anki” programs developed from the original, so look for the app with a logo of a blue star on a gray background. One other disclaimer: Anki is free on every device except the iPhone/iPad, where it costs a single payment of $25. I started using Anki 10 years ago and have used it for thousands of hours—the $25 was worth every penny! However, if you want to “test things out” before committing $25, you can start by using Anki on your PC, Mac or web browser for free.

 

Once you have downloaded Anki, open the program. You should see a deck called “Default.” You can rename this deck, “Scripture” (swipe left on the deck in the iOS App to rename the deck). Then open the deck and click “Add” to start adding your first flash cards. You should now have a “Basic” flash card with open fields that say, “Front, Back and Tags.” Click the “Type” field on the card in the upper left. This allows you to select different types of flash cards. Change this from “Basic” to “Basic (and reversed card).”

 

Now, in the “Front” field, you can input your verse reference. For example, “2 Timothy 3:16-17.” On the “Back” field, you can write the Scripture in your desired translation, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (ESV). Imagine these fields like the front and back of an actual, physical flash card. Because you have made a “Basic and reversed card,” Anki will sometimes give you the Scripture reference and you will need to know the verse, and sometimes it will show you the verse and you will need to recall the reference. Click “Save.” You have now made your first flash card!

 

When you go back to your deck, you will now see two notes to review for the day. When you review the card, you will mark it, “Again, Hard, Good or Easy,” and Anki will automatically schedule your reviewing of that verse for the rest of your life, helping you transition it into long-term memory. Now, go and add another five verses you know, plus one you want to learn. Once you have added and reviewed all your cards, go to ankiweb.net and click “Sign Up” to make an account. When you have made an account, you can go back to your Anki app, click “Synchronize” and input your account information, and now those flash cards will be accessible from any Anki app on any device. Anki has other helpful and powerful features, which I cannot explain in this brief article. If you want to learn more, please reach out to me or watch one of the available YouTube videos that explain additional features of this powerful program.

 

Now that you have made your first cards, commit to reviewing your due cards daily, being honest to mark it “Again” when you forget it, and gradually add more cards over time. Days, weeks, months and years from now, your memory library of Scripture will expand, and, more importantly, your life will change as meditating on God’s Word literally alters the neuronal connections in your brain and influences the choices you make. You, dear reader, have memorized numerous facts that have helped you pass tests. Now, apply that same industry and zeal to memorize God’s Word, which will help you pass life!

 

“I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11, ESV).

 

*Disclaimer: Neither the author nor CMDA have any financial connection or conflict of interest with Anki.

 

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About the Author

Jake Morris, MD, is an emergency physician who previously practiced in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He completed his medical school at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and his chief residency in emergency medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has been actively involved in CMDA since 2012. He was a Resident Trustee on the CMDA Board of Trustees from 2018 to 2019. He previously served as the Wisconsin Assistant State Director for the American Academy of Medical Ethics. The Morris family moved to Papua New Guinea in early 2023 to serve as healthcare missionaries.

[1] Willard, Dallas. 2001. Spiritual Formation in Christ for The Whole Life and Whole Person. Vocatio.

[2] Lewis, C.S. 1996. Mere Christianity. HarperOne.

[3] Brown, Peter. Roediger III, Henry L. McDaniel, Mark A. Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning. 2014. Belknap Press: An Imprint of Harvard University Press.