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. . . . . . . . encourage scripture memorization?

. . . . . . . . practice sdcripture memorization as a group?

Psalm 119:11 "Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee."

Psalms 119:9 "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word."

Psalms 119:49 "Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope."

Romans 12:1-2 says we are to be transformed by the renewing of our minds that we may prove the good, acceptable and perfect will of God. Our minds need to be renewed by the B-I-B-L-E -- yes, that's the book for me!

Or do you just do it personally?

Just wondering.

We do encourage reading and knowing scripture. I think it is a vital part of a Christian's life. I also think we have to guard against a work mentality, thinking that we are earning points with God, and against a prideful attitude that we are learning so much and doing so well.

Maybe it's just something that I struggle with but I have to keep me small and Jesus large. It's easy for me to start thanking God for all he has done for me, all the while being proud that I'm not the same man I was, instead of thanking him for his sacrifice for my sins, with all the emphases on him, rather than on me.

So memorize the word to give him the glory then. It ain't works if he told you to do it, and you are obeying because you love him for what he has done! Works is "no more grace" -- Romans 11:6 "Grace is no more works" -- same passage.

I hide the word in my heart to help me get the victory God has promised, the way he promised it. It AIN'T so I can say I have XXX verses of scripture memorized. I don't memorize it anyway -- memorising is in the head. I hide it in my heart -- make it mine. It takes time, but I find it helpful to my walk with the Lord.


PS--your works mentality does not hold water, because if we do what he told us to do, we are still unprofitable servants -- Luke 17:10. You don't earn points with God if he sees your "duty" as unprofitable.

When your kids do as they are told, do you accuse them of trying to earn points with you and their mother? I certainly hope not.

I didn't say that we shouldn't memorize scripture. I said that it's just as important to guard against being prideful about it , as it is to memorize it. Only you and God get to decide if you're prideful or not.

When I attended church memorization was not mentioned. Never the less I decided to memorize Titus. It contains 46 verses. It took a lot of my Bible time so I didn't memorize any more. I merely spent hours everyday reading God's Word. It is a part of me. I think the_shootist hit the nail on the head when he said or alluded to, "Your Word I hid in my heart so I don't sin against You."

It ain't about pride. I have no idea how many verses of scripture I have tucked away in my heart, but I know they can come out sometimes at the most opportune times, during witnessing, during preaching and teaching, and just in general conversation -- NOT to be puffed up with pride, but just to give the Lord a little say in the day to day, hour to hour steps of my life.

Same as Bible reading -- hugely important part of a man's walk with his God, but a long time ago, I quit keeping track of how many times I had read through the Bible from cover to cover. I could guess, but there is no need to keep track of it. My wife reads through her Bible once a year every year for the last number of years, and she says she has no idea what the count is, nor does she care to know. Why would you?

One of my daughters who is 27 years old and the mother of three busy kids ages 5, 3, and 8 months, has read her Bible through at least once, and as often as 4 times a year since she could read much, say at 8 years old. The other daughter reads hers through about once a year as well. All three women have a good walk with God, which I attribute to the word of God and prayer.

I don't know anyone with a decent walk with the Lord that doesn't have a prayer life and spends some time in the word -- consistently. And most of the folks I know that lag in their Christian life have fallen down in the areas of prayer and Bible reading.

Just some observations that I have made in 32 years as a Christian, 13 years of Pastoring full time, and a bunch more years as an itinerent (NOT INTERNET) preacher and Sunday School teacher.

I wasn't challenging or accusing you.

The Lord Jesus Christ escaped the temptation in the wilderness by quoting scripture -- IT IS WRITTEN --three times. Seems to me he left me a pattern for escaping and bearing temptation right there. (1Cor 10:13) Hide some scripture in your heart that kicks your archenemy the devil, when it comes to your besetting sin(s).

One pitfall of scripture memorization is learning things out of context. Too often I've heard someone quote a verse out of context and totally change the meaning. Many verses can be memorized as stand alone scripture but many can't.

I quit memorizing when I realized that I couldn't remember what I had just memorized.

I had an old friend who is passed on now, but he memorized tons of scripture ..... Often whole chapters and books. He died at 96, and went out with the high praise of God in his heart and some verses of encouragement to his family and friends gathered around him. It was a large part of his life.

He was a humble a man as I have ever met, and really had the joy of the Lord.