H.A.B.I.T.S. - Bible Memorization

H.A.B.I.T.S. - Bible Memorization

Psalm 119:9-11 niv
9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

How often have you ever thought to yourself, "I wish I could remember what the Bible says…"

Our third letter of the H.A.B.I.T.S. is B, Bible Memorization.

Now I will be honest and confess, I am not good at memorization. Not good at all. But I have come to value scripture that has been  taken from the printed word and planted deep in the heart. I have always been amazed and somewhat envious (in a good way) of speakers, pastors, teachers, etc. who are able to quote scripture. They can rattle off verse after verse after verse.

I have made it more of a practice to not just "know" God's word, but to KNOW God's word.

The difference? A lot of us can "know" what the Bible says in general terms. God loves. He sent Jesus to die for us. And through Christ we can have eternal life. We can know these things and think that we know what the Bible says. But that's not KNOWing the Bible.

To KNOW the Bible is to have an intimate knowledge of the Scriptures. This means that you are doing what Psalms 119 says.

So let me ask you, Are you God's word with all you heart? Are you living in obedience to His commands?

Are you hiding the word of God deep in your heart that you might not sin against God?

The word of God is some thing that we as believe should treasure. We should crave it, desiring to know it. Like what the writer of Hebrews says in chapter 5. "12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil." (Hebrews 5:12-14 esv.)

I want to encourage you to commit to this making a point to KNOW God's Word. Let me suggest a couple of ways to do that.

1. Tape IT Up. My wife has made a point of writing scripture our on construction paper and taping it up around the house. On mirrors, on the refrigerator, in bedrooms, wherever she can, God's word is taped up so it is visible and serves a constant reminder. So grab some paper and tape God's word to the wall.

2. One at a Time. One verse at a time, one week at a time. Take a week and work on memorizing a verse. Write it out. Read it over and over again. Recite it. When you get it down, get another one.

3. Get the Your School On. I remember back in grade school, when I had to memorize something I would write out flashcards. So grab a stack of 3x5 cards and start writing out some of your favorite scripture verses. On one side write the verse. On the side write the reference. Work through the stack of cards by connect the reference with the verse and the verse with the reference.

I don't know if this methods will be all that helpful for you. Perhaps you have a better way of memorizing Scripture. If you do, share it below. I'd love to read your thoughts.

I also what to encourage you to watch the video for Bible Memorization. You can see it by clicking on the still image below.

Just back in tomorrow as I catch up and talk about the letter 'I' - Involvement Within the Life of the Body. Till then, thanks for reading.

- jay 

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