Treasuring God’s Word
How would you complete these sentences:
“If I had to choose between all the disciplines of the spiritual life, I would choose ______” and “I know of no other single practice in the Christian life more rewarding, practically speaking, than_____”.
What would you answer? For the late Dallas Willard, and Pastor Chuck Swindoll the answer was scripture memory.
For many of us, we love to find systems and structures that will help us achieve our goal, including when it comes to studying God’s word. While tools like a bible reading plan are good and helpful, there are times in which we need to slow down in our approach to scripture. Psalm 1:2 tells us “his delight is in the law of the Lord and on it he meditates day and night.” Scripture memorization can be a tool to help us truly meditate on God’s word. Let’s explore three reasons why it is important, two strategies to help aid us in memorizing scripture, and finally, one challenge I’d love for you to join me in.
Three Reasons Scripture Memorization is Important
It helps me see things I haven’t seen before.
When incorporating scripture memory into the daily rhythms of life, you have to focus on each word. You say it over and over to yourself. Let’s take Matthew 3:17, “and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’” If you look at the words “behold”, “from”, “this” and “my” in this passage, they might seem trite or extraneous, but they’re not.
Behold tells us to set our gaze upon this, to “listen up” and pay attention, something big is coming. A voice from heaven. Not in heaven, but from. It’s coming down, the voice of God comes down to communicate to his people. This refers to Jesus, the Messiah, this man! All the glorious wonders here are spotlighted on this Jewish man. My tells us Christ is God’s.. there is a possessiveness that God feels and has toward Christ. These are just brief observations we make when we’re able to slow down and go word by word through a verse.
It pushes back against my “efficiency”.
I love to move from one thing to the next. I’m great at starting new projects, but I’m terrible at finishing them. Perhaps that is why I love not having a set “routine” when it comes to my intake of scripture. One thing I want though is efficiency. Sometimes I get hung up on a verse, it takes me down a rabbit trail, and it leads to other questions or thoughts. I wonder why it’s phrased that way in one translation, or the next. The more I observe, the more lost I get, the more inefficient I become. But here is the beauty. I’m not looking to necessarily master the scriptures; I’m looking for the scriptures to master me. To let the word of God dwell richly in me. Those inefficient thoughts lead to great effectiveness of the word gaining root in our hearts.
It helps us battle our sin.
The psalmist says, I’ve hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” If we believe that the Spirit of God applies the work of God in our lives through the word of God, then we will be changed, sanctified, and renewed through the washing of the word. We can find repentance, grace, forgiveness, and exhortation as we hide the word of God in our heart.
Two Strategies for Memorizing Scripture
Put 3x5 Notecards everywhere.
When I was in high school, I had 3x5 notecards of scripture all over my car, on the dash, taped to the steering wheel, on the console etc. I joked with a classmate that with this method, I would memorize scripture through osmosis. While I’m not advocating for distracted driving, I am advocating for surrounding yourself with cards or post-it notes of scripture in the places where you spend your time. While it seems odd, you can find a 3x5 card in a Ziplock bag taped to the wall of our shower. I read that verse every day for a week then change it out. The shower might not be your first choice, but try leaving notecards on your desk, locker, cabinet doors, or whiteboard. Surround yourself with a verse or two and just see how easy it is for you to take in scripture.
Have a sustainable goal.
I kind of detest running. But if I have a goal, a race to train for, a time to beat, a route I’m familiar with, it’s so much easier. Before you undertake scripture memory set a goal. Perhaps it’s to memorize all of Romans 8, or to memorize one verse every two weeks for three months. Set up a sustainable and attainable goal. I love memorizing longer passages of scripture because you really get to see the inner workings of the text and the flow of it. So pick a goal and go get it!
One Challenge to Conclude 2024
There are around 10 weeks left in 2024. Join us in memorizing 10 verses of scripture between now and January 1st.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
- Psalm 1
- John 1:1-5
- Matthew 5:13-20
- Colossians 1:15-20
- Ephesians 2:1-10
- James 1:2-11
It’s been a joy to memorize the beatitudes with our congregation during this sermon series. I pray that we all would dig into the glorious Word of God to know the glory of the God of the Word and HE would continue to transform us.
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