The Last Verses for 2011!

What a year it has been!  A number of us have immersed ourselves in Scripture memory as a spiritual discipline in 2011; and we will never be the same!  On Beth Moore’s blog, she again invited people to write what memorizing Scripture has meant to them this year.  Here are a few excerpts:

My faith has been tested along the way, and God has been so good and so faithful. And I have been so thankful to have a switchblade of verses in my heart to use whenever the enemy attacks!

I never thought I would be able to memorize 24 verses, but almost every verse has a special meaning to me personally & my year has been richly blessed because of these verses.

This is my first year of memorizing scripture like this and I have to say it’s been amazing to see how God has used his very word to move in my life…strengthening me, encouraging me and just seriously touching my life and drawing me closer to him.

It has motivated me more than you can realize and has changed my heart! Throughout the year, God has put scriptures on my heart to memorize that later would be something that I desperately needed to work through some situations.

[Even though I didn’t memorize as much as I wanted] He took my well-meant verse commitments as an act of worship, and “grew me” in ways I could not have done myself, more than any well-executed plan of discipline could ever have done.

Some of my Scripture memory is almost like a conversation with the Lord. I would memorize a Scripture about crying out to God and the next Scripture I memorized would be His response to me!

I am overwhelmed with joy when I look back at the scriptures I was led to select throughout the seasons of this year – from prayers for power of the Lord in my life, to refuge in His Love, to peace in His presence.

His Word and the intentional memorizing of it this year has been water to my soul. Truly IT is living and active and powerful beyond belief!

I am in utter shock and awe that I memorized even 1 scripture, let alone 24 (actually almost 30). My life is forever changed. His word is in my heart and on my tongue, always. So grateful!

Memorizing scripture has…enhanced my prayer life to pray His Word back to Him. The Holy Spirit brings the Word to my mind to encourage, comfort, convict, and teach me daily.

God has blessed my memory work this year by making His Word come alive to me. I love having His Word on my thoughts and lips.

This has been a year of journeying with God in defeating many strongholds…the strongest of which is fear. The scriptures I have memorized have not only given me the confidence that I CAN remember His Word, but also been my prayer and call for His help. 

This past year has been an amazing journey of delving into Scripture and allowing God to speak His Word to the deepest places of my heart.

[Scripture memory] has become an intimate, private conversation between me and God.

God’s Word has been my refuge and strength. I especially love that when my mind wants to wander and worry, I can take control of my thoughts by reciting my Scriptures. The greatest blessing for me is that the Word is always with me, even when my Bible is not.

My spiral of verses… is like a journal of my year, for I chose verses that related to the circumstances at that time. As the year wore on, the verses took on new meanings and became even richer to me. On sleepless nights, I would start with Jan. and recite each verse. Tears of happiness would flow from the joy of God’s truth.  (I would never make it through all of my verses before I fell asleep.) It is a year I will cherish!

The journey of Scripture memorization this year has taken me to places I didn’t expect to go with the Lord.

God…brought so much healing to my mind through scripture memory. I praise His name!!!

 I really can’t believe I memorized 24 whole verses…When I think about them, say them, proclaim them…they release POWER. God’s Word is so powerful, and I feel like I’ve been injected with 24+ shots of pure, unending power.

I have had a wild year, full of ups and downs, but the amazing thing was that EVERY single scripture God asked me to memorize fit the situation I was in or I was about to be in! I love that part of Him. Through His divinely inspired, loving, faithful word, He prepared me, as well as equipped me for whatever I was going through or about to go through.

Tears are welling as I type and the words to one of my memory verses come quickly to mind, “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.” That a Scripture verse comes to mind so readily is a testimony worth shouting from the rooftops because I don’t think the same way anymore.

What a joy it has been to plant my Heavenly Father’s word into my heart. I have always said I couldn’t memorize His word, but He was so gracious to show me differently.

When I look back over the verses I’ve learned this year, it’s like looking at a scrapbook. The verses remind me of God’s faithfulness, provision and blessing through this past year.

It's obvious that God works when his people say Yes.  I am planning to memorize again in 2012.  What about you?

YouTube Tips for Memorization

Have you ever heard of Punky Tolson?  Neither had I, until I happened to see a four-part YouTube video that she made to give advice about memorizing Scripture.

I later looked at her blog and found out that Punky Tolson is a former actress who is currently in ministry with her husband, Dr. John Tolson.  She tries to memorize 24 verses a year and writes a blog, which, in part, encourages others to memorize too.

Here are Punky’s tips:

1. Relate.   Choose a verse to which you relate emotionally and spiritually.

2. Read it through.  Read your verse in several different translations for more understanding.  Ask yourself: What is the topic?  Who is speaking?  Is there a promise/ blessing/ action to take/ command to follow/ or sin to avoid in this verse?

3. Write it out.  Write it out on an index card. Write it also on several sticky notes, and post those notes around the house and on the dashboard of your car. 

4. Rehearse it.  Say your verse out loud; that way you are speaking God’s truth with your voice.  Divide your verse into word groupings, and learn it phrase by phrase, linking the phrases together.  Sing the verse.  Give the verse a topic, and recite the topic, reference, verse, and reference again when you practice.

5. Respond with it.  Pray the verse.

6. Rule with it.  Use your verse to replace negative thoughts that come to mind.  Live it—believe it! 

Many of these pointers we have talked about in previous blog entries.  I really like the advice she gives in her fifth tip---pray the verse.  Punky says that we should be dialoguing with God about the Scripture, asking Him to show us what it means in our lives, and asking for His help in making it alive and active in us.  “Lord, show me…..” and “Lord, help me…..”  are two phrases that we can use as we pray our verses.  We can also rewrite the verse as a prayer.  Punky says she posts a sticky note on her alarm clock with her current verse so that she can pray it before bed as well as first thing in the morning. 

If you would like to listen to Punky’s video tips for yourself, the URL is http://www.youtube.com/user/thetolsongroup

Organize Your Verses for Review

I’ve decided to get organized!  By that I mean that it’s time to put the verses I’ve been learning for the past three years, as well as the verses I learned as a child, into an organizational system that will help me systematically review them.  Review and retention go hand in hand; if the words are in your memory but you can’t retrieve them---it doesn’t do you much good.  According to my daughter, who took a cognitive psychology course last summer, we have to keep the pathways open so that retrieval is easy.  And the only way to keep those mental pathways open is to……(drumroll, please)… REVIEW.

I found myself in Office Max today, looking for the perfect organizational tools---a card file box and 41 cards with tabs.  I found the boxes, but none of them was particularly inspirational with color or design; there were laminated tabbed index cards as well, but they were pre-labeled A-Z, and I want to create my own labels, so I ended up looking but not buying.

According to Charlotte Mason, a British educator who lived in the late 1800s and early 1900s and whose educational philosophies and materials are popular with many homeschooling families today, with her method of review (which you can see at http://simplycharlottemason.com/timesavers/memorysys/), you can keep hundreds of verses fresh in your memory.  I’m hoping to prove her right.

Here is how it works:  Label one card Daily, another Odd, a third Even, the next seven cards with the days of the week (Sunday, Monday, etc.), and the last 31 cards from one to thirty-one.  Place the cards in the file box in the above order.

The verse that you are currently trying to commit to memory gets filed behind Daily and you work on it every day.  After you can say it well, file it behind either Odd or Even.  Then, as you are learning a new verse, on odd days you will review the verse behind the Odd guide card and on even days the verse behind the Even guide card.  When the newest Daily card is ready to be advanced to Odd or Even, take the card already in that spot and place it behind a day of the week card.  As the days of the week get filled up with cards, then one at a time they can be advanced to the numbered cards. 

As your card file box gets filled up with verse cards, you will end up working on four verses per day---the newest verse (Daily), an Odd or Even verse, a Day of the Week verse, and a Day of the Month verse.  For example, today is Wednesday, October 5; I would look at my Daily verse, the Odd verse, the Wednesday verse, and the verse behind the card number 5. 

The beauty of this system is that after you have memorized a verse, you still review it for a time every other day, then once a week, and eventually once a month.

If you already have a set of verses memorized, just start out by placing them behind the numbered tabbed cards and plan to review one a day. 

And no, I am not planning to take apart any of my precious spirals; I will rewrite the verses on new and colorful note cards—which will provide me with a good review in and of itself.

Now, if I can just find the perfect set of tabbed cards and an attractive card file box...........

The MemLok Bible Memory System

I didn’t know until recently that there were such things as Scripture memory systems.  I thought that all one had to do was pick out a verse, write it on a note card or piece of paper, work on memorizing the verse and its reference, and then review it occasionally to keep it in mind.  Apparently there are organizations which specialize in helping  people pick verses, memorize them, keep track of them, and review them.  Who knew?!

The MemLok Bible Memory System takes advantage of this age of personal computers to sell a fairly inexpensive program to download (currently the Family Edition is $29.95) wherever you use a computer. The motto of MemLok is “Scripture memory made easy through verse-picture association on flashcards. Fun!”  The verses that you memorize are made more retainable because each verse gets associated with a colorful picture. You can elect to have your verse flashcards only on the computer or you can print them off to carry with you and use in other places.

I think that this next feature of the MemLok system is extremely important---a way to monitor the review of your verses.  MemLok’s review is automatic, and it keeps track of everyone in your household separately.  The daily review has to be done in conjunction with the computer, obviously; you have a choice of unscrambling the words of the verses, filling in the blanks from a word bank, or typing out the verse completely without any prompts at all.  Your Completion Record keeps track of your progress, and it’s available to see at any time.  Review is definitely the key to retention, so a good method of reviewing is vital.

MemLok is preprogrammed to use four Bible translations (KJV, NKJV, NASV, NIV), 700 verses, and 48 topics.  However, you can add translations, verses, and topics as you wish.  Although MemLok recommends memorizing one verse each week, you can elect to memorize one a day or take them at a slower pace.  There appear to be lots of user choices with the MemLok system. 

Many homeschooling families are using MemLok, but its benefits are not confined to children of school age.  Individuals of all ages can benefit from this system of Scripture memory. 

I would love to see MemLok at work; in fact, I am going to recommend it to someone I know who is struggling with verse memorization and retention.  Perhaps it would appeal to you too.  You can get further information on this innovative Bible verse memory system at http://www.memlok.com/   

Those of you who are memorizing a verse for September 15, shout it out!

Scripture Memory: A Type of Lectio Divina?

Have you heard of Lectio Divina?  I didn’t know much about it until recently when I researched it in order to lead a lectio divina exercise at a women’s retreat.  I found out that it is an ancient method of looking at Scripture and meditating on a word or phrase that is given to you by the Holy Spirit.  It was kept alive by monks during and after the Protestant Reformation because the Protestant leaders soundly rejected it as a Roman Catholic practice.  Today it is experiencing a resurgence in the Protestant and Catholic communities alike, with groups like the American Bible Society promoting its use as a way for all of us to hear from God through the Bible.

There are four simple steps in the practice of Lectio Divina or “holy reading”:

#1.  LECTIO (READ)

       Read a short passage of Scripture out loud, after quieting yourself and asking the Holy Spirit to guide you.  Is there a word or phrase that especially moves you or causes you to stop and think or question?  What captures your attention in the passage you have read?

#2.  MEDITATIO (MEDITATE)

       Meditate on that word or group of words. How does the text relate to your life experience?  How does it touch you inwardly—your concerns, your memories, your ideas? 

#3.  ORATIO (PRAY)

        Ask God what He is saying to you through the Scripture.  What is it that He may be inviting you to do?  Is He inviting you to change in some way?  Pray about what you have received from His Word, giving thanks for this gift from Him.

#4.  CONTEMPLATIO (CONTEMPLATION)

       Rest in the Father’s arms.  Be still and let Him minister to you in the stillness.  Enjoy His company.  Just be present with Him.

As I gathered more and more information about the practice of Lectio Divina, I realized that as I memorize Scripture, I go through some of the steps listed above.  I don’t do it consciously, but it happens nevertheless.  This is the example that popped out for me.

I was memorizing Isaiah 45:2 in the New American Standard Bible ( I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.) when the phrase “shatter the doors of bronze” was highlighted for me. The word “shatter” kept coming back to my mind.

I looked up other translations to see if there were any other nuances I could glean from their wording.  Shatter was translated variously as break down, break in pieces, make to shiver, smash down, and destroy.  The dictionary definition of shatter was “to dash, burst, or break into fragments.”

Then I thought about bronze.  How hard would it be to shatter something made of bronze?  How heavy do you suppose bronze doors (or gates according to some translations) might be?  So heavy that I couldn’t move them by myself?  So heavy that I would need someone else to open them for me?  Hmmm.

And it became clear to me that God was saying, “I am able to open for you all the “doors of bronze” in your life, whatever they might be (ie. fears, concerns, difficult people or circumstances).  I am strong enough to shatter them so they don’t keep you bound or outside My perfect will for you any longer.  Not only am I able to do it, I am willing to do it for you.  You just have to let me.” Wow!!

The first three steps in the practice of Lectio Divina were there as I tried to memorize the verse from Isaiah; I had read it out loud a number of times, I had “meditated” on a particular phrase, and I had talked to God about it.  The only step I left out was that of contemplation or resting in the Father’s arms.  I have an idea that more contemplation on my part would equal more hearing His voice as well.  

It’s time for the first of our September verses.  I look forward to seeing what you are memorizing!  And if you have found yourself meditating on certain words or phrases,  I invite you to share what you have learned with all of us.

A Woman of Influence

Amy Carmichael was born in the Northern Ireland in 1867, but she spent most of her life in India as a missionary, even though she was chronically ill.  It was she who founded the Dohnavur orphanage and mission and saved over a thousand children, some of whom were destined to be Hindu temple prostitutes, from a sad future. 

Although early in life she had lamented the fact that her eyes were brown and not the color she admired in others (blue), yet as she attempted to blend into the culture of southern India with her dress and darkening her skin with coffee, her brown eyes were an asset to her. 

Amy was also a poet, a hymn writer, and the author of thirty-five published books.  She died in India at the age of eighty-three.

Here are two separate quotations from her writings, both of which relate to the importance of knowing Scripture and using it to defeat the devil.   

Someone gave me a bit of brick and a little slab of marble from Rome. It was wonderful to touch one of them and think, Perhaps the Apostle Paul or one of the martyrs touched this as they passed. But how much more wonderful is it to think that we have, for our own use, the very same sword our Lord used when the Devil attacked Him. [Brooke Foss] Westcott says "The Word of God" in Ephesians 6:17 means "a definite utterance of God". We know these "definite utterances" - we have the same Book that He had, and we can do as He did. So let us learn the "definite utterances" that they may be ready in our minds; ready for use at the moment of need - our sword which never grows dull and rusty, but is always keen and bright. So once more I say, let us not expect defeat but victory. Let us take fast hold and keep fast hold of our sword, and we shall win in any assault of the enemy.

Thank God for the battle verses in the Bible. We go into the unknown every day of our lives, and especially every Monday morning, for the week is sure to be a battlefield, outwardly and inwardly in the unseen life of the spirit, which is often by far the sternest battlefield for souls. Either way, the Lord your God goes before you, He shall fight for you!

Indeed, as we memorize our verses, we are shining and sharpening our swords and keeping them ready for the inevitable attacks by the enemy, whose mission is to kill, steal, and destroy us.  Be ready!

An Interview with Romain

When it comes to memorizing Scripture and being able to remember and quote it, complete with its reference, my twenty-six-year-old son-in-law Romain Dupont is one of the best.  He has been a Christian since the age of eighteen, and his leather-bound French Bible is well-loved and well-used.  He has painstakingly hand-color-coded many Scripture passages by topic, and all the pages from Jean 3 (John) to Apocalypse (Revelation) are completely detached from the rest of the Bible—and have been for several years—because Romain has read and reread these portions of Scripture many, many times.

Romain’s approach to memorizing is much different from mine, and since he and my daughter Angela are visiting the States for a few weeks, I took the opportunity to interview him.

Why do you memorize Scripture, Romain?

The Bible is food for us as Christians.  It nourishes us and helps us to grow as Christians.

We also renew our souls by the words of God.  The word of God affects our intelligence and our thinking, and we need to renew that thinking and our behavior by meditating on the Word.  As it says in Romans 12:2, we are supposed to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Jesus used the word of the Lord as a weapon against the devil during His temptation in the desert when He said, “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”

 

I memorize Scripture to nourish my spirit (my heart), to renew my mind, to give me a formidable weapon against the devil, to know Jesus better, and to find out the will of God.

How do you decide what to memorize?

I memorize principally verses that concern Christian living, the things of God, my relationship with God, and what God wants to do in me.  If a verse fills a need for me or helps my relationship with God, I find several verses on the same topic and meditate on all of them.

You meditate?  What does that mean to you?

I think about the verses, and I pray about them because I want to understand the things of God.  I ask Him to make His words real to me in my spirit.  It’s like the parable of the sower:  First I need to hear and understand the word of God.  Then I receive the word very deeply with joy—the word or seed is not just on the surface or in my head, but in my heart.  I try to keep the words in my heart in spite of troubles that come or the circumstances around me.  After I have meditated on the verses, I know them by heart.

What kinds of topics do you use for meditation?

Some of my meditation topics have been the love of God, the blood of Christ, dependence on God, sanctification, faith, and prayer.

Do you have any words of wisdom for those of us who are trying to memorize Scripture?

There is no power in simply learning verses.  We must get the verses from our heads to our hearts.  My advice is to open your heart to God and ask for His revelation. 

Jesus said in Luke 10:21, “I praise you, Father,…because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to little children.” 

In I Corinthians 2: 10-14, Paul writes about the things that God has revealed to us by the Holy Spirit “who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.”

While memorizing, we can ask God to reveal to us His meaning of the verse for us personally, and the Holy Spirit will teach us.  Little by little the word will become part of our spirits.  When it’s firmly in our hearts or spirits, the next step is to confess it inwardly and declare it out loud.  Then live it out by practicing it.  Even though we may not feel it inside us, we need to remember that feelings are part of our souls (the soul is our mind, will, and emotions)—not our spiritual beings.  It’s important to act out what we believe and not what we feel.

Thank you, Romain, for your insights!

Memory Is a Melody Away!

When my children were small, they delighted in listening to a set of children’s tapes called GT and the Halo Express.  These stories and songs lulled them to sleep at night and  kept them company on long car trips.  Because of those tapes, both of the children easily learned a number of Bible verses.  Why?  Those verses were put to catchy tunes that were easily sung. 

I was raised on the hymns of the faith, and I know by heart the words to songs like these:

 

Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in thee…

What can wash away my sin?  Nothing but the blood of Jesus…

Amazing love!  How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?...

What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!...

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame…

Nursery rhymes set to song bubble up from my subconscious every once in a while, and I can still sing/chant the words to a high school football cheer from my teen years!  And those commercial jingles from another era of television—well, just start with the first word or two, and I’m off and running with the words and tune (think “Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is!”).  Is there any one of us who cannot sing the alphabet (a, b, c, d, e, f, g….)?

Why are these words so easily retrieved from my memory?  I believe it is because there was a melody to go with them—an underlying tune that helped imprint, so to speak, the words in my brain.  The tune helps me learn the words in the first place and it helps me to retrieve those same words from my long-term memory.

Is it possible to apply this principle to memorizing and retaining Bible verses? 

I found several sites on the internet that specialize in putting Scripture to music and then making it available for us to download or buy.  Here is a sampling of those sites:

http://www.biblememorymusic.com/ 

http://www.scripturesongs.net/

http://www.theblazingcenter.com/category/free-scripture-song

http://www.joyfulnoisescripture.org/

http://thewordinmusic.com/music/default.htm

Scripture put to music for children:

http://www.gthalo.com/

http://www.seedsmusicstore.com/

Have you ever thought about incorporating music into your Scripture memory work?  Make up a melody to go with your newest verses, or use an existing tune and give it new words from Scripture to help you remember, retain, and recall. 

Using Topics for Memorization and Review

It’s difficult for me to pass by books even when I’m grocery shopping, so when I stopped to look at a revolving display rack at Wegman’s and saw a slim and inexpensive volume simply titled Bible Memory Plan, I knew I wanted to buy it.

The premise of this book, by Pamela McQuade, is that anyone who wants to memorize Bible verses can do it, by starting slowly with short verses and building gradually to longer passages.  McQuade challenges readers to memorize one verse per week for an entire year, verses which she has pre-selected; each verse is labeled with a general category, and tips and encouragement for memorizing are included for each week. 

The author assigns a topic to each verse she suggests memorizing; Christian life, our God, salvation, God’s word, faith, and seeking God are the six categories she uses. This is my third year of systematically memorizing Scripture, and I have never thought to put my verses into categories like this for the purposes of reviewing or memorizing.  I think this is a great idea!

Here is an example from each category:

Christian Life—For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Phil. 4:13 (NLT)

            God’s Word--Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Ps. 119:105 (KJV)

            Our God—It is God who arms me with strength and keeps my way secure.

2 Sam. 22:33 (NIV)

Faith—So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Romans 10:17 (KJV)

Salvation—If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

            I John 1:9 (NIV)

Seeking God—Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

            Matt. 7:7-8 (NIV)

If these classifications don’t fit you, why not make up your own topic list and label your verses accordingly.  I can think of other possibilities, such as promises to claim, sins to avoid, commands to follow, prayers to pray, the Holy Spirit, and prophecy.  Use your personal topics to help you review your verses and relate them to each other, which should give you another “hook” to help you remember them.

           

In the past, I have reviewed my verses in the order I memorized them, or in the order of their appearance in the Bible; I even made an alphabetical list of first words and/or phrases to force myself to come up with the rest of the verses and their references.  I have used the last few cards of my spiral to make an index or table of contents for the year’s verses and used that to help prompt my memory.  I don’t intend to forsake my former tried-and-true methods of reviewing, but now I have a new tool to add to my repertoire—topics!

The Impact of Memorizing Scripture

On the Living Proof Ministries blog entry today, Scripture Memory Team members were asked to describe what memorizing God’s Word has meant to them this year.

The answers were so moving and encouraging that I would like to share a sampling of them with you.

Memorizing God’s Word this year has:

… amazed me with God’s intimate involvement in my life — giving me EXACTLY (“chill bump” exactly) the scripture I needed to stand firm and grow in faith. Praise His Name!

… helped to keep me focused on Him and has challenged me.

… helped me see how God can use me in encouraging others with His Word more readily and with confidence.
… become a much needed spiritual discipline and comfort for me.
… helped me take every thought captive!
… given me strength and peace to face the most difficult challenge of my life.
… taken me to a much better place mentally most days.
… kept me steady. Thank you, Father, for your Word!
… caused me to quit believing the lie that I can’t memorize God’s word.
… forced me to focus on God’s character, His plan, His faithfulness rather than the things I see and am walking through.
… been a constant reminder of the pure goodness of God’s Word, the truth that fills my heart with joy regardless of my circumstances.
… made me realize how much I was STARVING my mind and heart for a word straight from Him. He gives me strength!
... is helping me to overcome an eating disorder which has plagued me for years.
… given me Scripture to speak to bring comfort and peace in unsettling times.
… refreshed my faith and has given me a new spirit of determination and perseverance in my ministry.
… given me peace without fear in my heart that I could not have gotten from any other source
... brought me to a place of dependency on God; I NEED Him for my daily Bread (to be my personal Manna).
… helped to redirect my mind during a most difficult season.
… reminded me anew that God speaks to me personally in every nook and cranny of my life!
… helped me be more silent and listen to God.
… let me know I am never alone.
… shown me how to find victory in the weak moments of temptation!
… been refreshing, a comfort, and it’s caused me to love Him more and more.
… given me warmth and security as I felt as a child in my mother’s arms.
… been the rain this thirsty soul has needed.
… drawn me closer to His heart.

… been like a life preserver among a sea of thoughts that could have drowned me otherwise.

 How has Scripture memorization impacted your life this year?

A Prisoner of War

Since yesterday was Memorial Day, it seems fitting today to remember the story of Howard Rutledge, POW in North Vietnam.  Rutledge died several years ago, but his book, In the Presence of Mine Enemies, 1965-1973---A Prisoner of War, remains as a testimony to the resilience and resourcefulness of the human spirit when sustained by the word of God.

I encountered his story in Robert Morgan’s book, 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart.  Morgan writes that Howard was not particularly interested in spiritual things……..until he became a prisoner of war.  Then he became absolutely desperate to recall anything from his childhood relating to the Bible or church.  With the help of other American POW’s at the Hanoi Hilton, he reconstructed every Bible verse that he possibly could from the eighteen years he had spent attending Sunday School.  It was amazing that, as time went on, he could access more and more of the verses that had been deeply buried in the furthest recesses of his mind. 

Rutledge declared that he remained sane solely because of these Bible verses.  According to Morgan, “The memorized snippets of Scripture in his brain were potent. They faced down death, rallied his spirits, steeled his nerves, and tapped in the deepest strength known in the universe. They beat back the torture, stifled the despair, subdued the terrors he felt, and maintained his sanity even when he was immobilized for days in a stifling hut, chained to a metal frame, lying in his own waste, and covered with ants, flies, and biting insects.”(p. 20)

Hebrews 4:12 declares that “…the word of God is living and effective and sharper that any two-edged sword…”  Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”  “Is not my word like fire…and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” attests the Lord in Jeremiah 23:29.  In Isaiah 55:10-11, God’s word is compared to the rain and snow that water the earth, making it bud and yield seed. More precious than gold and sweeter than honey are the Lord’s ordinances, according to Psalm 9:9-10.  Jesus called the word more important than bread for mankind’s sustenance in Matthew 4:4.

 

In short, the word of God is living, effective, incredibly sharp, more precious than gold, sweeter than honey, and better than life-sustaining bread.  It’s a sword, a lamp, a light, a hammer, and life-giving precipitation as well as fire.

What God did in Howard Rutledge’s life through His word, He is willing to do for us too when we ourselves are prisoners of defeat, heartbreak, addiction, despair, destruction, and frustration, and confusion.  God uses His word to bring emotional, spiritual, and physical healing to us, if we are willing to bathe our hearts, minds, souls, and spirits in it.  

What life-giving verse are you memorizing today, my friends?

Get Into the Word and Let the Word Get Into You!

I love this message:  Get into the Word and let the Word get into you!  I heard Lysa TerKeurst of Proverbs 31 Ministries say this at a recent women’s conference, and it struck a chord with me.   

You’re probably familiar with the first half of this imperative:  Get into the Word.  Verses like 2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV), “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth,” and Hebrews 4:12 (NKJV), “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart,” are foundational verses that emphasize that the Bible is inspired and alive and powerful and worthy of reading and study.

But how do we let the Word get into us?  We let it penetrate our innermost beings by meditating on it, by savoring it, by ruminating on it, by praying it, by immersing ourselves in it, by storing it in our minds and hearts so that God can use it to speak to us.  And that is what we on this Scripture Memory Team are doing---allowing the Word of God to enter first our minds and then our spirits through memorization.

Memorizing Bible verses is not simply an intellectual exercise; it is a spiritual discipline with rewards far greater than we can imagine.  It is an activity that speaks volumes of love to the Lord, for it requires sacrifice on our part---the sacrifice of our time and energy; it is an act of obedience because He has asked us to hide his Word in our hearts so that we won’t sin against Him (Psalm 119:11).

I memorized Psalm 51:6 when I began this journey of deliberately memorizing Scripture.  In the New International Reader’s Version, it says:  “I know that You want truth to be in my heart; You teach me wisdom deep down inside me.”  I so want God’s truth and His wisdom to be “deep down inside me.”  What about you?

Has God given you a verse of truth and wisdom to memorize this month?

The Transformational Power of Scripture

Gary Smalley was a featured speaker on a Webinar to which my husband and listened recently. Gary, a well-known psychologist, is a Christian and the author or co-author of many books, including The Blessing, The DNA of Relationships, The Hidden Value of a Man, and The Key to Your Child’s Heart as well as Guard Your Child's Heart: Establish Your Child's Faith Through Scripture Memory and Meditation. 

We have 20,000 to 60,000 thoughts each day, according to Dr. Smalley, and every thought seeps into our hearts or subconscious minds.  He declared that he wants a “forest” of Christ’s thoughts in his “heart”—a forest that overshadows the thoughts of the world, which he defined as pride, pleasure, possessions, and avoidance of difficulties.

Smalley went on to say that in order to think like Christ, our thoughts have to be centered around humility, love of God, loving others, and rejoicing in difficulties.  And then he began quoting Scriptures to make his point.  I realized that here is a man who, by his own admission, has been memorizing the Word for years. 

“The more passion we put into meditating on and quoting verses during the day, the more they become part of your subconscious (heart),” said Dr. Smalley.  He looks for every opportunity to think about God because for him, “God is like unexpectedly finding a cool, natural spring in the desert---my living water, my high tower.”

Gary Smalley decided to put God to the test five years ago.  Lustful thoughts had bombarded him for years, and  he had despaired of ever getting rid of them. But he asked God to show him a new verse that would put those thoughts to rest, and God gave him Galatians 5:13-14 ( ¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. ¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” NIV). 

Gary said that he meditated and thought about these verses for two solid weeks. One day he was in a swimming pool and two bikini-clad women entered the pool enclosure.  When he realized that his first unbidden thoughts were, “I wonder if they have anyone who loves them.  I wonder if they know that God loves them,” he knew that God was answering his prayer.  He reported that God is giving him a love of people to replace the lust that had plagued him, and today he is 99.99% free of lust as he continues to fill his mind with Scripture.

This should encourage all of us to dig into the Bible and to memorize Scripture and to meditate on it. This is not just an exercise; it is one of the ways the Holy Spirit is able to transform us closer and closer into the image of Christ.

Those of you who are memorizing, are you experiencing this transformation in your lives?  II Corinthians 3:18 says that the Spirit makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image (NLT).  The New American Standard describes it as being transformed from glory to glory. I pray that each of us is finding this call to memorize a powerful tool that God is using to change us bit by bit into His likeness.

And now, let’s see your "glory" verses!

Spelling Champion---or God's Champion?

I recently heard about a spelling bee, held every year in Cheyenne, Wyoming, for contestants who are 50 years of age or older.  It piqued my interest since I was once a school spelling champion; and the fact that the first place prize is $5000 raised my eyebrows as well.  Hmmm…..I used to be fairly good at spelling, and who can’t use an extra few thousand dollars, I thought.  Maybe I should try out for this.

The current champion, a high school math and physics teacher from Tennessee, gave an interview that detailed his studying techniques. He compiled study lists of unfamiliar words from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary—8,400 words, in fact---and he reviews the words constantly.  He practices as he drives to and from school; he runs 3 miles a day, with word sheets in hand; and during the summer, he immerses himself in studying for the spelling bee up to 8 hours a day.  His daughter quizzes him, and when they get going, they can cover 400-500 words per hour.

Does that make your mind spin?  As I read those words, my initial reaction was this:  I would rather spend my time on words that make a difference, on words that speak life and hope and truth, on words that glorify God, on words that teach me about eternity, on words that have the power to transform lives.  I would rather memorize Scripture than find obscure words and practice their spelling. 

I would rather be God’s Champion, learning to know Him better day by day, than Spelling Bee Champion, with its accolades and monetary prize.  How about you?

Fellow Champions, let's see your verses!

Don't Lose Confidence--You Can Memorize!

Even though there are snowflakes in the air as I write, I am so glad to see April come because it holds the promise of spring after a long winter.

Just as April breathes promises of the earth warming and awakening to new life after a season of winter dormancy, so too the promises in the Word of God invite us to look into the future of today, tomorrow, and eternity.

I love finding those nuggets of truth that are for all of us who love and trust the Lord.  And I love committing them to memory because then they are with me wherever I go; whether I’m washing dishes at home or sitting in the emergency room of the hospital, whether it’s talking with a friend who’s going through hardships or counseling children with decisions to make, the Word is available and relevant and timely. 

Hebrews 10:35-36 tells us not to lose our confidence but to persevere so that when we have done the will of God, we will receive what He has promised us.  So don’t lose confidence when it comes to memorizing Scriptures, but persevere—keep at it, even if it is difficult---because you are doing the will of God, the same God Who tells us over and over in the Scriptures that He sets great value on His Word and that we are to do the same.  He encourages us to hide his Word in our hearts, to meditate on it, to teach it to our children, to speak of it when we lie down and when we rise up. And we know that if He tells us to do something, He also gives us the ability to follow through—it is part of His faithfulness to us.

Here are 10 suggestions for Bible memorization from the pen of Robert J. Morgan, the author of 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart.  These hints are laid out in his book on pages 43 and 43.

            1) Resolve to memorize just one verse—only one. 

            2) Go over the verse daily, making it part of a routine.  For example, work at it while folding the laundry or exercising or while getting ready for bed.  If it’s part of another routine you’ve already established,  it’s more likely you’ll remember to work on your verse.

            3) Keep your memory verse in front of your eyes, ie. on the bathroom mirror, at the kitchen sink, by the computer, on the dashboard of your car, on whatever you are apt to look at regularly.  You can use post-it notes and applications to good effect here.

            4) Say it out loud and repeat, repeat, repeat!

            5) Put the verse to music and sing it (or rap it).

            6) Read the verse in context and study its meaning.  Write it out.

            7) Learn the reference as well.

            8) Review, review, review!

            9) Try to find some mental associations for either the verse or its reference. For example, if I were memorizing I Corinthians 2:16, I would associate the reference with my birthdate (2/16).

            10) Use your verse by praying it, preaching it, or quoting it for other people.

You can start today to apply any or all of these suggestions to your new verse for April 1.  Let’s see what you are memorizing!

Preparing to Memorize

With this verse we’re finishing the first quarter of 2011!  I thought that it might be helpful to show you how I prepare to memorize the verses I have chosen. 

The very first consideration is to make sure that the verse you are planning to commit to memory is one that speaks to you, that connects with your heart, that is something on which you need or want to meditate.  Once you have found that verse, then you can examine it carefully to find little “hooks” on which to pin your memorizing. 

Let me explain.  Here are my verses for March 15:

I Peter 3:3-4

Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes.  You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.

The first thing I notice about these verses is the theme of beauty.  Specifically, verse 3 contrasts outward beauty with the beauty that comes from within in verse 4.  So I will be remembering:  outward beauty (first verse) vs. inward beauty (second verse). 

I also see that both of these verses are commands:  Don’t be concerned about……vs. You should clothe yourselves instead with…….

Verse 3 has a list:  fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, beautiful clothes.  How can I remember these in order?  If I imagine hair on the head, jewelry around the neck, clothes on the body, I’ll be putting the nouns in order from the top down.  The adjectives are in reverse alphabetical order (fancy, expensive, beautiful) so I’ll think about that, too.

The key word in these verses is beauty:  outward beauty---beauty that comes from within---unfading beauty.  And then one “beautiful” is thrown in with the word clothes. 

What does God want in me?  “A gentle and quiet spirit.”  How do I know?  [It] “is so precious to God.”

I’m also going to be remembering that the word “quiet” is translated in different versions as peaceful, meek, mild, tranquil, sweet, gracious, calm, and not anxious or wrought up so that I know it doesn’t actually refer to a specific personality type but to an attitude that God values.  And no, I am not memorizing all these adjectives—I just think it’s important to know that there are different ways to express “quiet” so that I’m not stuck in the trap of thinking that because my personality doesn’t fit into that category, my inner self is not and cannot be pleasing to God.

Because I’ve carefully examined them, I already have these verses half-memorized!  Now I need to repeat, repeat, repeat, and repeat them some more so that they will stick in my mind and migrate to my heart.

What works for you as you memorize?  Maybe you can help out one of our fellow SMTers with your suggestions.  Feel free to share your thoughts and your methods as you post your verses for March 15.

Choosing a Translation

It’s the beginning of a new month and time to concentrate on a new verse! 

Whenever I decide what I want to memorize, I try to look at several translations to find the one that is the most meaningful to me.  For me the easiest and quickest way to compare the wording of different translations is by searching online.  I have two favorite sites:  www.biblegateway.com and its passage lookup feature, and www.biblestudytools.com, which has a few versions that Bible Gateway does not have.  A third site that I have recently found is http://net.bible.org/, which showcases the New English Translation of the Bible.

If you love one translation above all others, by all means use it.  If you half-memorized a verse years ago in one translation and want to finish the task now, why go through the frustration of unlearning and then relearning the same message in different words?  But if you don’t have a preference, why not take a look at a variety of translations?  You might be surprised at the richness of interpretations and wordings that can exist in one simple verse.  And you just might find a new favorite version of the Bible for your personal study!

I’m looking forward to seeing your newest verses.  Bring them on!

Finding the Right Verse

February 15, 2011

I get pretty excited about finding just the right verse to memorize, the verse that is going to be my constant companion for the next couple of weeks, the verse that swirls around in my mind and comes to the forefront of my thoughts, the verse that is going to be part of me for life.

I don't know what that verse will be for the second half of February, but let me tell you how I found my February 1 verse.  I was watching a Lysa TerKeurst (of Proverbs 31 Ministries) webcast, and a guest on her show quoted Psalm 90:14 by saying, "Satisfy me in the morning with Your unfailing love, and I will sing for joy and be glad all my days."  Wow!  That connected with me immediately, and I quickly looked up Psalm 90:14 in my Bible.

But the verse wasn't the same; it didn't have the same appeal to me, and the "luster" was somehow gone.  I rewatched the webcast, thinking I had written down the wrong reference.  No, I had the right reference and the right verse---the difference was in the wording.  Psalm 90:14 actually says, "Satisfy us in the morning......that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days."  Lysa's guest had personalized the words, changing the pronouns to refer to herself.  And once I realized what she had done, there was the verse that had captured my attention:  "Satisfy ME in the morning with Your unfailing love.............."

My mind knows that this verse really says, "Satisfy US....." but in my heart, I can say, "Lord, satisfy ME...." and make it my personal prayer.

Blessings as you choose your verses for the end of February; if you haven't joined us yet, it's not too late--just jump in and let us hear from you!

Pulse Beat Article

February 1, 2011

I wrote this article for the February issue of the Pulse Beat, the Bemus Point United Methodist Church's newsletter, to explain the reasoning behind the formation of a team such as ours.

2011 Scripture Memory Team

If you’re looking for an investment that pays great dividends and gives eternal benefits, then consider joining the 2011 Scripture Memory Team!

Team members, who range in age from teens to seniors, are excited about memorizing two verses a month during 2011, a goal that is both doable and mind-transforming.  Each person chooses his or her own verses to memorize and then these verses are shared with the rest of the team, either online or in printed form for those without computers.

Our team exists to give accountability and encouragement as well as strategies for memorization. We’re not looking for word-for-word perfection, but we believe God will honor our efforts as we bathe our minds in His truth. 

Feel free to join us this month, or anytime in the future; all you need is a Bible, a pen, and a spiral-bound set of note cards. Contact Jan Stowell through the church office if you have questions or wish to become part of this life-changing team.

More People on Board

January 15, 2011

I'm excited that we have several more people joining us as we memorize verses this year!  We're glad to have you aboard the 2011 Scripture Memory Team.  Memorizing and meditating on the Word is a great way to take our thoughts captive to Christ---even if we don't get every word in the right order, we are still building up our spiritual arsenal against enemy attack.

We can all use a dose of encouragement along with accountability to keep us going---hence, the concept of a "team." For those of you who are new to the SMT, I suggest using today, January 15, as the starting point for your first verse; that way you won't get overwhelmed with trying to learn 2 verses at once.

I am eager to see your January 15th verse selections!

It's Time to Get Started!

January 1, 2011
 
Are you ready to memorize some Scripture?!  Today begins our new year of committing God's Word to our minds, where it can seep into our spirits and help transform our lives.  All you need is a spiral-bound set of index cards, a pen, and a Bible.

We'll each pick new verses on the first and fifteenth of each month and share them with the others on our team by writing them in the comments section of this blog.  All you need to type in are your name, verse, reference, and translation abbreviation.

Here are some hints to get you started:

    1) Choose a verse that's meaningful to you--ie. a promise to claim, a praise, a sin to avoid,  a prayer, an attribute of God, etc.  I often keep a running list of meaningful Scriptures gleaned from our Bible studies, sermons in church, or Family Life Network programs, and then I have a treasure trove of verses from which to pick.

    2) Don't try to memorize too much at once.  If you have a passage of several verses you want to memorize, just start with one at a time.  It can kill your enthusiasm and your confidence to try to do too much.  And if you have a huge verse with many clauses, feel free to memorize it in two parts--take a full month with it if you want. 

    3) Work on your verse a little each day, and you will see results.  I generally read my new verse at first, looking for parallel constructions, repeated words or phrases,  abc order or reverse order, or anything that will help me get a handle on memorizing it.  Then, as I read it over several times, I try to look away as much as possible.  Try reading your verse out loud 5 times each day, looking away when you can, and looking at it when you need to.  Before the two weeks are finished, you will have your verse committed to memory, and you'll just be cementing it further into your mind and heart.

If you are interested in signing up with Beth Moore's Siesta Scripture Memory Team as well, she'll have a blog post on the 1st and 15th of each month with her personal memory verse, and people will be entering their verses online.  You simply have to give your first name, city and state, and write out your verse, its reference and translation.  Even if you don't sign in, it is well worth it to read over the list of Scriptures---it's a blessing and a half, and you will get to see many verses that you might wish to memorize in the future.  This is her blog's URL:  http://blog.lproof.org/   Beth's ministry has designed a spiral set of 30 3x5 note cards just for this year's memorization.  Each set of cards is at cost ($3.00 + $2.00 shipping) with an attractive cover, and each card has a complementary border design. Here's the online store URL where you can see the spiral:  http://www.lproof.org/store/product.asp?itemid=2011SMTspiral

I'm looking forward to sharing this walk together.  Let's make this a Jesus year, for sure!