Levi Lusko urges Liberty students to study, memorize Scripture as if their lives depend on it

Pastor and bestselling author Levi Lusko stirred Liberty University students to memorize and meditate on Scripture as the lifeblood that they believe it to be in Wednesday morning’s Convocation, calling them to elevate the Word above all other things and let it lead them.

Lusko is the lead pastor of Fresh Life Church, based in Billings, Mont., with multiple other locations.

In order to survive in the wilderness, like much of the land in his home state of Montana, Lusko said it is essential to have gear that is tested and true so that it won’t fail when it’s needed. He gave the illustration of learning how to build a tent while wolves are circling the campsite or how to work a bottle of bear spray while a bear is already approaching. These tools are core to survival, he said, just as the Bible is indispensable in the life of a believer.

With humility, Lusko recited the entire book of James from memory as he walked the floor of the Vines Center, speaking the words naturally and earnestly. When he finished, he said the activity was not to boast but instead to demonstrate the effect that Scripture has when it’s carried and spoken freely, without reading from a page or digital screen.

Lusko shared how, when he turned 40 years old, he realized he could more easily quote comedy movies than the Bible, and he questioned why so many Christians are similar in this way. He quoted author and theologian C.S. Lewis, who said, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

“How weird is it that (quoting Scripture at length) is abnormal for us?” he asked. “Why is it that, since Christianity is true, we don’t give ourselves over to memorizing it?”

He said it’s because “we don’t treat it like our lives depend on it. It is going to be through God’s Word in us that we are going to find help for the difficulty and the troubles and the trials we face. We memorize what matters most to us, and if God’s Word is the only Word that can save us … why do we not treat it like what it is?”

Lusko outlined five ways that one’s life and faith can change when Scripture is, as Psalm 119:11 says, “hidden” in our heart. First, it will make believers more like Jesus, who quoted the Old Testament frequently as he embodied it in His time on Earth. Memorizing Scripture will also provide uninterrupted access to God’s Word that does not rely on the presence of a printed copy or the programming of a Bible smartphone app,  as reliance on technology to communicate the Word puts a barrier between a Christian and Christ. Scripture can also be like a trellis to the figurative vines of our lives, allowing us to grow higher and healthier than we could on the ground. God’s Word gives us the “cheat codes” to the complexities of life. Finally, it can be a ballast — the pieces that give stability to large vessels — that will ground believers in the good times and bad.

Lusko will return to the Vines Center stage on Wednesday night with a Campus Community message as part of the semester’s ongoing series, “Ascent,” where students are being guided through Psalms 120-134.