I have a picture of Rosie the Riveter in my kitchen...she is the factory worker from the 1940's with the caption You Can Do It. She encouraged me through the summer to keep working towards the goal of the Danskin Triathlon. Recently though, I came across Zechariah 4:6, which says "Not by might nor by power but by my Spirit, says the Lord." So, Rosie got a tattoo on her bicep with that scripture to remind me that that is how I will get things done...by the Spirit of the Lord.
Having said that, I do need to point out our responsibility to be in the Bible, to be looking for Scriptures to apply, and to put forth the effort to memorize them. For me, writing a verse on an index card and posting it in more than one place seems to work well. I say it aloud a few times, but writing it, for me, is what makes it stick. I also find that if I actually write out a grocery list, then forget it on the kitchen table, I can still remember what was on it. We are all wired differently and writing seems to sear something into my brain. For you, reading it outloud or even recording it and listening to it repeatedly may work best. If you have an ipod, you have a feature to record a message. As weird as it might feel, give it a try.
I don't have a "fancy phone", but I did see that there are downloadable apps for scripture memory. Who knew?
Here are some links that I found while researching this week's lesson. Some of them even list verses for particular situations to get you started.
- 18 Tricks to Memorize More Scripture
- John Piper shares his method here.
- Read down on this one to where he talks about why to memorize scripture...it's pretty straightforward, plus he offers tips and verses.
Even though I am not musical to the point of setting scriptures to music, there are plenty around who are...Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Third Day, Lincoln Brewster. I am always pleasantly surprised when I am reading my Bible and find song lyrics there. It is easy to sing a song knowing that you are quoting scripture, and it makes it that much easier to remember.
If you have tried some method that has worked for you, leave a comment and share with the rest of us...I am always open to a new idea.
God has given us an amazing tool of life transformation through His Word, but it won't work if we don't make it part of our lives. We have to abide in it (John 8:31-32), not just visit occasionally. To be fair though, the desire to abide begins with a visit, a gaining of trust and familiarity. You may not want to "abide" immediately, and that's ok. A journey of 1,000 steps starts with the first one, right?
Crack the binding on the Bible, say a prayer for God to direct you to what He has for you, and start reading. Make it a matter of little bites at first instead of a buffet. It's not about how long you read, but what you can take away from it. It might be one verse that really speaks to you, or it might be the whole book of Galatians.
Read expectantly, because the Word of God is living and active, (Hebrews 4:12). You may read a verse that you've seen a thousand times and it suddenly bonks you on the head in a whole new way. That is not random; that is the Spirit communicating something that God wants you to know.
Read it with curiosity...do a little cross referencing to get the full picture. There are a few sites that I regularly visit to give me insight into a verse or section that caught my eye.
Sometimes just reading a devotional type article presents a scripture in a way that speaks to me. I get the devo from Proverbs 31 delivered to my email everyday. It is all about life as a woman, whatever your status or season. There is a place at the top of the page to sign up for the email if you like this.
I could go on forever about this topic...helping women learn who they are in Christ is a passion of mine. I look forward to hearing what scriptures you found or what techniques you are trying as you grow in your faith.
I have been noticing a little pattern in my life, I am sure it has been there all along, but I think I was always too busy to notice it until now. Whenever I have an obstalce in my path I find scripture about that particular thing and that problem doesn't go away until that scripture has become burned into my memory, a little help from the Father I guess. These days I am living in the book of James I am finding something new in it everyday.
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome Kandi! I'm going to use that one! What I do (when I remember) is write the verse out then write it out again, using only the first letter of every single word. Then I say it with the help of only the first letter until I can say it without the first letter. So far, this has helped me memorize those verses that really are impactful to me and are short! :)
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