This year, I wanted to lead our church to memorize scripture through each series. This is a spiritual discipline that has been neglected through the years which is sad since it can bring such life and power to Christian living. Well with all the interruptions we have had with the snow, we have only challenged two memory verses so far.
Here they are:
“All scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2Timothy 3:16-17
“For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than a double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
I can already hear the excuses:
- I cannot memorize
- It is too hard
- I have too much in my head already
- My memory is shot
- I don’t want to do it
Don’t push back or resist this chance to grow. You said you wanted to spiritually grow this year. It is time to put forth the effort. Let God’s word teach you, rebuke you, correct you, and train you. Allow it to cut in your soul & spirit, and your thoughts & attitudes. This spiritual discipline will change you.
So turn off the TV, or turn down the radio and begin meditating on God’s word. It is time to memorize!
Guys this is a perfect opportunity to connect with your family, especially your kids. Get into God’s Word so your family with get into it in the future. Memorizing is not hard, it’s only hard if you don’t want your family to do hard things.
Todd,
I love that you are having us memorize scripture in church! We are doing this with our kids at home as well. They learn a verse each week, and I am making a book for each of them with all the verses they have memorized. One of the first verses I learned was Colossians 3:15-17, which you had us all memorize a few years ago- I will never forget it!
If you are skeptical about the impact that memorizing verses from the Bible can have on your daily life, take a look through some of the sections in Psalms 119. The whole (long) chapter is full of very encouraging passages that remind us of the value and relevance of God’s word to our daily lives. I especially like Psalms 119:11, “…Your word I have TREASURED in my heart, That I may not sin against You.” Taking important principles from God’s word and memorizing them allows us to store His word inside of us where the Holy Spirit can use it as a reminder of God’s standard while we are slogging away in the world, even when we don’t have a Bible open in front of us. HINT: If you find it hard to memorize a verse, share the burden by memorizing it with a friend and encourage one another through it. Doing so will not only hide God’s word in your heart, it will also knit your hearts together in a shared commitment to obey what you all have memorized.
I am blessed to have a mother that challenged myself and 6 siblings to memorize scripture or should I say bribed us. It’s amazing what I would do for a dollar. Today I am so thankful that I am able to recall those special verses that are hidden in my heart.
So many of the scriptures that remain hidden in my heart, were placed there during high school and college days. Today I find that it takes more energy to memorize scripture, but I am using a book by Beth Moore, “Praying God’s Word” to help keep me focused on memorizing. I’m glad our children participated in Bible Drill during elementary school where they had the opportunity to hide hundreds of verses in their hearts, much like our Awanas program helps children with this today.
As you know, Rich and I teach Butterflies (3-4 year olds) in Sunday School. Each month there is a new memory verse for the children to learn. We teach them the verse, including the scripture reference using various methods (sign language, singing, repetition, etc.). I would say that probably 75% of the children learn the verse by the end of the month. While they may not remember it verbatim, we’re hoping that it is tucked away in their big hearts for future use.