http://www.greatpreachers.org/bible_memorizing.html
John Piper has a very practical article on Why we should memorize scripture and the benefits of this practice.
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TasteAndSee/ByDate/2006/1799_Why_Memorize_Scripture/
Also, here is a link to John Piper sharing on "How to Memorize scripture"
You may find this site to be of some help also:
God bless you! -Abraham
that is amzing and should be a delight for Gods people, is not Gods word our delight, this is really cool,
In Christ charlene
brother are you working on 5 year plan/ This would really neat if there was other brothers and sister in our own fellowship doing this, that one could go over verse. with. WIth Christ we could do this !!
charlene
thank you for this brother, this is amzing. I just went a brother last weekend who has memorized 6 NT books, and I wanted to get on this. the first link you sent should help me get on track with this.
God bless us to memorize His Holy Word and esteem it more than our necessary food
I wonder if there is real value in memorizing the entire NT when you could just as easily pickup a copy and read it aloud? I could see the value of memorizing many key verses and passages of the NT, including verses that have had much personal meaning/impact for you... but the entire thing? Considering some things, such as that 90% of the gospel of Mark is found in Matthew and Luke, such seems a bit redundant, dont'cha think?
With most people practising Scripture memorization that I have known, it was a mental exercise or an evangelistic prep tool at best. Some knew the verses well, they could recite them out loud and impress people who liked such stuff (or anger others), but they often had no idea what the verses quoted meant (there was no depth to their understanding), and the truth spoken was not a reality in their lives as a result. Thus, to learn or memorize God's word is not enough. We must also [i]keep it in a pure and sincere heart
With my whole heart [i]I have sought You
Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
Your word I have hidden in my heart,
That I might not sin against You! (Psalm 119:10-11)
I believe that memorizing the word of God should not be a goal in itself (because then the focus is on us and its end will be self-serving), but rather that we should hide His word in our hearts in order to KEEP it (not just to have it memorized). Then by His Spirit this word will be made flesh in us; it will be living and powerful, and easily recalled.
There is a common misapprehension in the church that knowing large portions of Scripture "by heart" is surely beneficial and constitutes some higher spirituality. There certainly could be a correlation between the two. But I believe the Lord is more concerned with the condition of the heart which holds the Word than with the quantity of verses memorized or the amount of time spent reading. Many theologians nowadays know the Bible through and through, but many of those also have not known the One of whom it testifies.
May such a heart be found in us that we may bear much fruit:
Luk 8:15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, [i]having heard the word [u]with a noble and good heart
In Christ,
Slavyan
Thanks for posting the memory information. I know many of us appreciate it. God bless!
"Considering some things, such as that 90% of the gospel of Mark is found in Matthew and Luke, such seems a bit redundant, dont'cha think?"
Mark and the Holy Spirit thought otherwise. Every scripture is inspired and, I am confident, holds value worth memorizing.
Corrie Ten Boom, author of The Hiding Place, suffered in a Nazi Death Camp for several years. In retrospect she lamented that she had not memorized more scripture, and that others had memorized none. We do not know where we may be in twenty years, or twenty days.
I have heard of whole villages in the Alps dividing and memorizing the bible from house to house, so that when the scriptures were confiscated and destroyed by the Roman Catholic Church, the villages had a mental copy to re-write from. Because five or ten people in each house would all memorize the same section, they had a way of comparing and preserving the purity of the text. Again, we do not know where we may be in twenty years, or twenty days.
Corrie Ten Boom, author of The Hiding Place, suffered in a Nazi Death Camp for several years. In retrospect she lamented that she had not memorized more scripture, and that others had memorized none. We do not know where we may be in twenty years, or twenty days.
Falling into a concentration or death camp, to use the words of the apostle Paul, would rather test not "our word" (or the verses we have memorized) but "our power" (or our character). So the issue, if God is willing to send us to such a horrible place, is whether our faith is solid. Whether in this trial we will remain faithful and [i]still keep that word
Dan 11:35 And some of those of understanding [u]shall fall[i]to refine them, purify them, and make them white
So, to respond to your quote about Corrie Ten Boom, brother Michael, I don't think that having much Scripture memorized will be of much help then. I've heard some Richard Wurmbrand testimonies of the dungeons in Romania where he was tortured and brainwashed for fourteen years without a Bible at his disposal. There [i]the reality[i]real[i]were
In Christ,
Slavyan
Thanks a lot for these links Abe_Juliot! Now, let's get to memorising!
There is a common misapprehension in the church that knowing large portions of Scripture "by heart" is surely beneficial and constitutes some higher spirituality.
Dude....Please! God gave us a brain; let's use it. I don't know how it is in Bulgaria, but here in America, as a whole, we have stopped using our brains. So, if someone wants to challenge themselves and memorize scripture then I applaud them.
notme, kingjimmy and any others. I saw this thread start on a simple non essential issue. I thought ah excellent, who can argue this.
Then a couple of "balancing"? posts enter to keep us from pride and focus on what really matters? I see your points but maybe they are not really needed.
The primary goal in SI is revival. However I see again how debate rises on simple non essential issues "straining at the gnats" as I see it.
Bottom line, good grief let people enjoy having some success in memorising Gods word.
Hi everyone,
Dear Slavyan,
"Thus, to learn or memorize God's word is not enough. We must also keep it in a pure and sincere heart."
Maybe you should consider your own admonition here?
I think there is a form of religous hatred that looks for or sees what is false under every rock.
Chris
The primary goal in SI is revival. However I see again how debate rises on simple non essential issues "straining at the gnats" as I see it.
While there may be many who are contentious on SI, I don't think any of the comments thus far have been offered in that spirit. SI's goal is to seek and to promote genuine Biblical revival, and the practices that lead to and issue from revival. It's an on-line community where from time to time there is some abrasiveness due to contrary opinions coming from precious saints at different levels of maturity. This should be something that is welcomed, even on seemingly trivial matters.
I applaud anybody who attempts to memorize the Scriptures. Indeed, failure to memorize any Scripture would be something that would be of grave concern. I for one have, at times, committed to memorizing large portions, and once, even an entire chapter of Scripture.
Personally speaking, I have received greater edification and long lasting results having simply slowly read over a passage many times and simply meditated upon it, attempting to grasp the "spirit" of the passage I was reading. Indeed, to this day I could tell you more about the argument and flow of Romans 1-11 than I could tell you about any other lengthy passages of Scripture I have memorized. Why? Because I have effectively chewed through Romans 1-11, and digested more of it, than say, James 1, which I have committed to memory.
5 years is a long time to commit to trying to memorize all of the NT. I think, perhaps, one would be better at first mastering the contents of the NT before committing it entirely to memory. Yes, one should memorize small verses and passages here and there while doing such. But, I think memorizing large chunks of Scripture would be beneficial more-so to those who are already sufficiently mature in the faith, than those who still are drinking the milk of the word.
Not saying contentious. Let's all press on in liberty and freedom in Christ!
I've memorised the first 8 chapters of Romans and I can say my understanding has definitely increased. Once you've committed large portions to memory you suddenly pick up parallels through scriptures.
I think benefits of memorisation come afterwards. It is then that your heart can start cross-referencing passages instead of using the columns in your bible ;-)
I've memorised the first 8 chapters of Romans and I can say my understanding has definitely increased. Once you've committed large portions to memory you suddenly pick up parallels through scriptures.
I think benefits of memorisation come afterwards. It is then that your heart can start cross-referencing passages instead of using the columns in your bible ;-)
I've memorised the first 8 chapters of Romans and I can say my understanding has definitely increased. Once you've committed large portions to memory you suddenly pick up parallels through scriptures.
I think benefits of memorisation come afterwards. It is then that your heart can start cross-referencing passages instead of using the columns in your bible ;-)
there are two excellent ideas from the NT memorization plan:
1) the plan which includes reading the NT once a month
2) by memorizing 4-6 verses a day from NT you can memorize it in 5 years. well even by just memorizing 2 verses per day, in 15 years that is the whole NT committed to memory. that is outstanding
Just a practical consideration: Memorizing 6 verses a day will take at least 1 hour of your time in the beginning, and compound when you factor in review of previous material. I remember when I was memorizing James 1, I was up to 2-3 hours a day reviewing previously memorized verses and learning my new verses. This is not counting personal devotional time either.
Once again, not trying to discourage anybody who feels inclined to memorize the Scriptures... just trying to share with you the costs of doing such. I'd like to memorize more myself... but working 60 hours a week makes it hard to do.
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