The Best Way to Treasure God’s Word

What comes to your mind when you hear “Scripture Memory?” Do you roll your eyes and groan? Maybe the last thing you need is one more item to add to your “Good Bible Study Girl” To-Do list. I don’t mean to take a flippant attitude toward God’s Word, but sometimes we have thoughts like this, don’t we?

When it comes to memorizing scripture, many of us have been there and done that. We remember reciting our verses in Sunday school to get the candy. Some of us gave up on scripture memory a long time ago because we can’t remember our phone number, much less memorize a Bible verse! Yet memorizing God’s Word is one of the most important things we can do to grow our faith.

I definitely don’t need one more box to check off of any list, but sometimes I do need something better to think about than my own whining thoughts.  I need a way to take God’s Word with me when I go out into the world.  I need weapons to fight against the lies and discouragement that Satan throws my way. That’s why I’m going back to scripture memory.

Memorizing Scripture is a Life-Giving Discipline.

Memorization is a practical way to store scripture in our hearts, treasure it, and keep it close. God’s Word grows our faith and strengthens us in the battle against sin.

Committing God’s Word to memory brings rich rewards:

• It helps transform our thoughts and renew our minds.
• We grow closer to God as we hide His Word in our hearts.
• God’s word empowers us and gives us wisdom.
• Scripture is our weapon against the lies and attacks of the enemy.
• It gives us encouragement and hope to share with others.

How to Get Started:

Keep a running list of encouraging, helpful, or challenging verses as you find them in your daily Bible reading or hear them in church. You’ll have a list to choose from when you want to start memorizing.

You’ll need something to write on. Index cards are great because you can slip them into your pocket while you’re on the go. I like to keep my verses in a little handy green notebook that fits in my purse. My friend Ellen Chauvin uses a spiral index card notebook that she can flip through and prop open. Use something small and portable, so you can take your verse out and read it during the day.

Getting Down to the Work of Memorization

1. Read your verse 5 times out loud.
2. Write it down.
3. Try to say it 5 times from memory.
4. The next day, read it 5 times, and say it from memory 5 times.
5. Work on the same verse one or two weeks.
6. When you start a new verse, review the last one several times a week.
7. Once a week, review 3-5 old verses.

What better way to treasure God’s words than to memorize them? Scripture memory yields great rewards, but it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Keep it simple. How about starting this week with just one verse? Two verses a month add up to 24 verses a year, and that’s a powerful deposit of treasure into our hearts and minds.

Now it’s your turn: Does the thought of memorizing scripture overwhelm you or encourage you? What has your experience been?

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I’m linking up with Holly Barrett’s Testimony Tuesday, Kelly Balarie’s #RaRaLinkup, Tuesday Talk with Ruthie Gray,  Jennifer Dukes Lee’s #TellHisStory, Holley Gerth’s Coffee for Your Heart, and Lyli Dunbar’s Thought-Provoking Thursday.  Arabah Joy’s Grace and Truth, and Susan B. Mead’s #DancewithJesus. Check out these communities for more encouragement.

 

How to Save Time and Energy {Trust}

Worry! We worry about our finances, our jobs, and how we’re going to find time to get to the grocery store since it’s already 5:00 p.m., and the fridge is empty. We worry about our kids, our parents, and what we’re going to wear to the party this weekend. I ought to know. I’m an expert at it. I work myself up as if I could solve my problems by fretting.

But God’s Word tells us it’s useless to worry. Jesus asked his disciples, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matt. 6:27)

Now that you put it that way, Lord, I guess I’m wasting my time and spinning my wheels when I worry.

What if I could learn to channel that time and energy into trusting God?

David had plenty of problems. King Saul went on a manhunt for him. His own son rebelled against him. In Psalm 131, he reflects on the uselessness of getting stressed out over matters too big to solve on our own:

David also learned the discipline of calming and quieting his mind. Wouldn’t you love to learn that? Wouldn’t it be great to hand anxiety over to God in exchange for His peace? What if we trusted God like a child trusts a faithful father or mother?

Honestly, we probably can’t learn that today. (At least I can’t.) But we can make progress. By making small, daily choices to draw near to our Heavenly Father with our worries, we can learn over time to let Him calm and quiet our fears.

The next time you feel anxious, try these steps along with me:

1) Remember God’s Promises.
Read them in scripture and repeat them to yourself.

2) Praise Him for His greatness. Ask God to enlarge your picture of His power and love.

3) Pray. Ask God to provide what you need or to intervene in your situation. Ask Him for wisdom to understand if there’s anything you can do. If He shows you something, do it. If not, rest and put your hope in Him.

4) Choose to trust in His perfect love. He’s a good Father, always at work for our good. When doubts pop up in your mind, choose trust again and again.

We don’t have to waste precious time and energy replaying worries in our minds. God has the solution to every problem and the power to meet every need. We’ll find renewed strength as we practice putting our hope and trust in Him.

Now it’s your turn: Are you a worrier, like me? What helps you to lay your fears to rest?

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I’m linking up with Arabah Joy’s Grace & Truth, Susan B. Mead’s Dance with Jesus, Faith Filled Friday, and Deb Wolf’s Faith ‘N Friends.

The Importance of Finding Quiet in a Loud World

Do you ever notice what a loud place our world is? We hear so many voices: memos at work, emails, phone messages, calls, texts, and family needs. You listen to a disturbing news story while you cook dinner. Your child needs to take 24 cupcakes to school tomorrow. Your teen needs to talk, and he needs a ride. The guy on the freeway behind you is flashing his lights and honking.

It can make your head spin and knock your soul off kilter. Pretty soon you’re doing double back flips on the inside. You feel like you’re hopelessly behind and there’s not enough of you to go around anyway.

A few minutes with your Shepherd can get you back on track.

How to Get More out of the Bible

Have you ever turned on a water faucet, but nothing came out? Back when my husband and I were newly married in El Salvador, our neighborhood had running water only one hour a day, at 3:00 a.m.! We’d set an alarm clock, and I’d start the washing machine while Jose filled plastic storage containers in the bathrooms. Then we’d fill a large sink on the patio next to the kitchen before going back to bed.

When You Want the Bible to Change Your Life

If you’re a parent, you’ve probably lived this scenario many times. You push against an overflowing Lego bin or laundry basket to get the door of your child’s room open. Fighting dust bunnies, dirty clothes, books, and empty glasses, you make your way into the deep recesses of the room to locate your offspring. You tell him to clean his room. He’s looking straight at you and even says, “Um, yeah. Okay.”

Five hours later, his room looks exactly the same. And the best part? He has no idea what you’re talking about when you ask why he hasn’t cleaned his room! NOT EVEN A RECOLLECTION of your asking him.

Reflecting on the Overwhelming Goodness of God

Sometimes I need to preach the Gospel truth to myself all over again. Because this brain of mine forgets God’s grace and goodness all too easily when things don’t turn out quite like I expect.

A few weeks ago, I jotted down the last items on my list and was out the door to make a grocery store run before we headed out of town to pick up our son from college for Thanksgiving. But I had a surprise waiting for me in the garage. The car wouldn’t start. Our only vehicle was deader than dead. Not even a click when I turned the key in the ignition.

My mind went off in a thousand directions.

Best Ever Family Tradition That Rescues Christmas

When I was growing up, Christmas was all about Santa Claus. I still remember the year I discovered Santa wasn’t real. I was in 3^rd grade, and I’d heard unbelievable rumors from bigger kids at school. Before the crack of dawn on Christmas morning, I raced with my brothers to the tree and saw the doll I’d found hidden in Mom’s closet the week before. The gift tag on the doll said: “From Santa.” I was horrified. The big kids at school were right.

When I had children of my own, I chose not to go the Santa route, but gifts remain a central focus of the Christmas season. Many of us expend more energy buying, wrapping, and giving gifts than we do on any other activity in December.

One Easy Way to Pray on the Go

I give up on being a prayer warrior. I’m a prayer wimp. Can I just say that? During my morning times with God, I love reading and thinking about scripture. I journal and keep a gratitude list. When it comes to prayer, maybe I’m an ADD girl because I pray best when my legs are moving. I go on a morning walk with God. But even on that walk my mind often goes AWOL from the Holy of Holies and takes a hike to La La Land instead.

One Simple Way to Look More Like Jesus

I stood in the yard waiting for the ambulance. Light from the windows and door of our house flooded onto the dark lawn. It was 3:00 a.m., and I’d done what you’re supposed to do when your husband wakes you up to tell you he feels numbness and tingling down the entire left side of his body. I’d called 911.

I was doing the best I could to hold onto bravery.

The 911 team confirmed my fears. My husband was probably having a mini-stroke, but he was stable enough for me to drive him myself to the big regional medical center.

A half an hour later we walked into the ER, where they immediately ushered Jose into an emergency care room.  My courage started to crumble as I sat next to that hospital bed. Tears overflowed as worry set in.

Then Kindness walked into that emergency room.

Follow me over to Dayspring’s (in)courage to read the rest of my story about how simple kindness redeemed an unexpected hospital stay, and how you can look a little more like Jesus yourself.

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Linking up with Holly Barrett’s Testimony Tuesday, Kelly Balarie’s RaRaLinkup, and Holley Gerth’s Coffee for your Heart. Check out these communities for more encouragement.

 

How to Zip Your Lip When It’s Out of Control

I’ve always had a mouth on me. Back in 8^th grade Mae Jones and I talked all through math class. When the teacher moved Mae clear to the other side of the room, we girls just continued talking to each other MORE LOUDLY. The poor woman had no choice but to move us back together. However, when report card time came, I got an “unsatisfactory” in classroom behavior, and my parents let me have it.

My mouth still gets me into trouble.