In our world of search engines, we have the ability to search the entire Bible in seconds.
In our world of smartphones, we can do it anywhere and any time.
I know it is a little bit “old school” – but give me a chance on this:
Bible memory work is still a very valuable part of our growth and maturity in the faith.
Sometimes it seems a little “old school” to even carry a Bible to church. The Scriptures used during the service are often projected on a screen making it seem unnecessary to open one at any point in the service.
In order to get to know the scriptures – to get to the point where we know where we stand, we need to get better connected with what it says. I cannot think of any way better to get to know what it says than to memorize the Bible.
Here’s a few thoughts on why. Memorization will …
- Clarify the text – When you memorize, the nuances of the text start to appear. The Bible is FULL of great truths that we miss through skimming and mere devotional reading.
- Grow our faith – If faith comes from hearing God’s word (Romans 10:17) then committing it to memory can’t help but make stronger Christians
- Clean our mind – Our mind returns what we plant in it. Fill it with the good stuff (Philippians 4:8)
- Make us ready – We are to be ready in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2) What better way to be make a convincing response than to be able to quote the scriptures?
All of the cool devices in the world would have a hard time providing these benefits. They make great supplemental study tools but …
They don’t connect us to or help us fall in love with God’s word!
Challenge:
- Take an inventory of Bible scriptures you either know or once knew by heart (There are more than you think!)
- Try to think of passages that you know where to find if you need them, but don’t really have memorized.
- Work on memorizing everything on the two lists.
- By the time you have done this, you will have discovered more passages you want to add to the list. Memorize those too!