Memorization: August 29, 2013

TODAY’S WORD FOR THURSDAY AUGUST 29, 2013.

MEMORIZATION

DEFINITION:

The mental capacity of retaining and reviving impressions; remembrance; recollection.

SCRIPTURE:

Your Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against You. Psalm 119:11

Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalm 119:105

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE:

We both remember well the importance our parents put on us to memorize verses from the Bible. We memorized verses in our homes and when we were in Sunday school each week. We also both remember memorizing Bible verses when we went to daily vacation Bible school each summer. As a teenager Ken memorized hundreds of verses in order to participate in the Youth for Christ Bible quiz program.

One thing we can say with certainty is that we never regretted the time we spent memorizing scripture because even today many of the scriptures we memorized as kids come back to help us in specific times of need.

When our children were living at home, as we have told you before several times, we made it a practice for all of us to have dinner together every night as a family. We had very few exceptions over the more then 30 years that at least one of our children were at home. We felt as parents that this was an important need for several reasons. First, it gave us time together every day with the family. By the way, there was no TV on or text messages coming in. It was a family time without outside distractions.

Secondly, this time at dinner kept the communication line open between our children and us giving each of us the chance to talk about how our day went. Thirdly, each child had an opportunity to share their concerns and blessings with us. Fourthly, it gave us as parents a chance to listen so we could be sensitive to each child's needs and concerns and respond to them before they became major problems.

Probably the most important reason for this practice was that it gave us time every night to read the Bible together and to pray together as a family. We could share prayer needs and hear about people that needed our prayers. Each one of us had our own circle of friends with some overlapping, but hearing prayer requests from each family member broadened our world of concern. We also each week had one verse from the Bible that together as a family we would memorize. It almost became a contest at times between our children as to who could learn a specific verse the fastest. These verses have stayed with us all down through the years. Memorizing God's Word has been so important to the spiritual growth of our children and to us as well.

In the two verses we have listed above we can see the importance of memorizing God's Word. The Psalmist reminds us to hide God's Word in our heart so that we may not sin. Thus it helps us grow spiritually each day that we live. When we hide God's Word in our heart, the scriptures memorized will be a constant reminder for us to walk as Jesus wants us to walk and His Word will guide us in that walk. You will be surprised as to how some of these verses come back to you at a time when you have a special need.

We have been in parts of the world where families did not have their own Bible so they shared one Bible with another family. There also are people in certain areas of our world that have asked for just one Bible for a whole village. When they received their Bible, they tore out a page for each family. They would keep that page for a set time and then trade with another person or family. While they had their one page they would memorize these pages so that they would always have hidden in their hearts the Word of God.

Every place in our world where there are believers, memorizing verses from the Bible has become a priority. One of the reasons for this is that many believers in our world realize that at some point their Bibles could be taken away from them.

Having had this experience with our family, and seeing illustrations of what we have shared above, is the reason we felt it important to add one verse from the Bible each week to these devotionals for us all to memorize together. These verses each week are simple, short but meaningful. We hope you will join us each week in memorizing the verse we suggest under.

LEARNING:

Our memory verse for this week is found in Colossians 3:16.

Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

PRAYER:

Give our family a desire to memorize Your word. Help us to realize how blessed we are to have Your written Word so we can hide it in our hearts. Thank You for the assurance You give that by doing this it will help us not sin against You. As we, as a family, memorize Your Word allow it to make a difference in the way we live and the way we serve You.