the beauty of memorizing scripture
Growing up, memorizing Scripture (aka verses and passages in the Bible) was a regular occurrence. As a little girl, I attended a midweek church group to memorize Scripture, learn about Jesus and be with friends. One of the main emphases was to “complete your book” — memorize the verses in your handbook. So I was pretty used to it.
But once I “graduated” this elementary program, Scripture memory came to a screeching halt.
It wasn’t until a few years ago that I started really making Scripture memory a priority.
You may be wondering, “Tara — it doesn't seem like that big of a deal. I try and read my Bible every day anyway… what’s the difference?” It may seem like more work than it’s worth.
If you’ve ever wondered that, don’t feel bad. My prayer is that God would meet us here today and open our eyes to how stinkin’ AMAZING it is to memorize Scripture — why it’s important and necessary for us all to do and how to go about it.
Why It’s Important
It fills your mind with truth / “things above.”
Remember: If you have given your life to Jesus, you are a NEW CREATION! You now have a new purpose and operating system.
Part of living anew in Christ is setting our minds on things that are “above” — setting our focus on gaining a deeper knowledge of Jesus! That’s where Scripture memory comes into play.
Colossians 3:16 encourages us to “let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” Sure, it’s amazing to read the Bible and we should do it daily! But reading is just the beginning. To have God’s Word dwell and reside in our lives, we have to memorize it. We have to keep it close to our hearts and minds. Filling our minds with truth helps filter out the noise and reminds us of our purpose (aka setting our minds on what’s above).
It amplifies every area of our lives.
Memorizing Scripture and letting it dwell in us only amplifies our lives. It increases our daily prayers — filling our minds with the reminder of God’s promises. It reminds us throughout our days of how we should be living — keeping us from temptation, sin and changing our attitudes to reflect Him.
It also helps us witness and spread Jesus to others more effectively. There’s power in speaking truth over others. And what if you didn’t have your Bible or phone on you? The most valuable words you can give someone is from the WORD itself.
Scripture memorization also helps us encourage other people in our lives. In any conversation, you can be prepared to point them back to Jesus and encourage them with what you have stored up in your heart!
It helps us conform to Christ / renew our minds.
Romans 12:2 tells us to “be transformed by the renewal of our minds.” Instead of conforming to the world, we as believers are called HIGHER. We’re called to actively pursue a life that looks like Jesus.
We need wisdom to stand up against the lies and conform to Christ. This comes from reading the Bible and memorizing it. When an issue or temptation arises in our lives, we can turn quickly to the arsenal of Scripture stored up in our memory bank.
Renewing our minds is a fancy way of saying getting rid of the old junk and bringing in the truth. Memorizing God’s truth aids in extinguishing the lies and reviving our minds with truth. It is easily accessible and ready for any
It helps us combat sin.
Think about the armor of God in Ephesians 6. This passage talks about the different things we as “soldiers” should armor up with to fight against the enemy and stand firm in God. One of those things is the “sword of the Spirit”… aka, God’s Word.
Sis, I’m assuming you know how important the Bible is. But one of it’s main functions is to equip us to fight against sin in our lives. God’s working through us, in the truth, is a way to fight sin — anything that goes against God and detracts us from our purpose.
Memorizing Scripture can help you in the moment to remember God’s truth — to not succumb to sin. It helps us stop and declare this truth over our lives. To remind us that God’s way is better. It helps fight off a life that we’re not called to live in anymore.
How to Memorize Scripture
Before you exit out, I wanted to share a few of my favorite resources for “how to memorize Scripture.” Take some time to look over these sweet articles/YouTube videos. Get creative with your methods. Make it a fun activity that you’ll look forward to — specifically catered to how you like to learn… relax… etc etc!
Tara’s Quick Tip
Sometime today, dedicate a few minutes to finding a verse (or two) to memorize. Make it your goal to memorize it in a week or two — however long you think you can do it. ** If you have on clue what verse / verses or passage to memorize, this is for you: I’d encourage you to make sure that your verse is in context.
Please be aware of what verse you’re memorizing and why. Did you just pluck a random verse out of the Bible and choose to memorize it? Or did you choose it because you understood what part of the story it fit into? Do you have an idea of who it’s written to, how it applies to you or what it tells you about God? Don't forget how important context is! And if you need a good launching point, google verses that apply to a season you’re in. Example: “Verses on Combatting Anxiety.” And then go from there, sis! I’m rooting for you. Dedicate this time to Jesus and watch what He does.
