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Recommitment to Bible Verse Memorization

By stephlewis on August 19, 2009 11:59 AM

I used to study the Fighter Verses and commit them to memory by writing little melodies to go with them, writing about them, and doing other memory tricks. I was fairly consistent when I used to maintain the fighterverse.com site (which I handed over to some fellow BBC members). But, then we hit a stretch where we were learning a long Psalm and I missed the first part of it and then kind of fell off the horse.

I was recently convicted by a few things to get back on that horse.

First, in my private devotions, I was convicted pretty deeply by a couple of verses. The first is 2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work" (ESV).

The second verse was 1 Peter 3:13, "...but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you..." (ESV). These are verses that I had read before, but they convicted me this time around that I needed to take scripture memorization more seriously so that I could recall it or at least easily locate it in my Bible.

Second, an article I read interviewed John Piper about a variety of things, including how and why he memorizes scripture. He said, "I'm not into mechanical memorizing. I'm into fighting the fight of faith. I want to memorize Scripture so that I can defeat the devil at 3 o'clock in the afternoon - that's why I memorize! It's so that I can minister to a saint in the hospital at 10 o'clock at night if I've forgotten my Bible. This is for my soul, and for the souls of others around me."

How many times have I been in a situation and my response is, "Um... er... I think the Bible says something about that. Somewhere towards the back." Lame, I know. I want it in my head, word for word, so that I do not take or add anything to it.

Last, I recently finished reading Shepherding a Child's Heart and Don't Make Me Count to Three, both books urge the reader to use scripture to teach children. I was also listening to a talk by Sally Michael titled Resources For Family Ministry (scroll to title from given link) in which she quotes the book Instructing a Child's Heart by Tedd and Margy Tripp: "We give our children big truths they will grow into, rather than light explanations they will grow out of." I was both convicted and encouraged to memorize scripture and theological truths so that I could use them to teach my children (and myself, and others as God would have me) big truths they (and we) will grow into.

Just recently Caleb tried to squish a frog and my response was not, "Be nice" but, "God made that frog. We need to care for God's animals by being gentle." It's a bigger truth that I hope will hold more weight in the future.

So, I'm going to jump back on the horse and make sure that I am committed to memorizing scripture for the long haul. I'm hoping to be able to do the weekly Fighter Verse along with my church (and small group), and also to work on a few other verses during the week that relate to my devotional reading. I am praying that God will be gracious to me and help me get started with an open heart to Him and his Word. "Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law" (Psalm 119:18 ESV).

Here are some of the verses I memorized in the past by writing a melody to go with them. The recordings are just me sitting at my kitchen table singing into my USB microphone. (I know, wouldn't it be so much better if I actually broke out my guitar or piano and polished them up? ...but alas, that would stress me out too much and then I'd never even record them in the first place. Start small, I say. That, and my only real purpose in writing them is to get them to stay in my head!)

Fighter Verses

By stephlewis on May 9, 2009 12:49 PM

I have been maintaining a site at fighterverse.com for several months now, but have decided to give up my domain to the fighterverses.com guys. Mostly it's because I'm just not able to be consistent with it, and a lack of consistency will kill a blog. Especially one that needs to be consistent. I normally wouldn't just give a domain away, but these guys go to my church and have been doing a great job with keeping their site updated with relevant and interesting commentary. (Sidenote: I'd love to see them add some testimonials to memorizing Fighter Verses, just to get out of the "heady" commentary sometimes and into real lives... but that's not really their focus. Anyway...). So, to encourage them (and to encourage your weekly memorization of scripture), please check out their site and delve into committing God's Word to memory.

That being said, I'm archiving a few of the things I wrote here on this blog just to keep them around before my old site disappears into the neverworlds.

What is a Fighter Verse?
Fighter Verses are short passages of Scripture that an individual, a small group, or a large body (such as a church) may choose to memorize each week. These verses can then be:

  • Meditated on:"This Book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." (Joshua 1:8)

  • Delighted in:"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night." (Psalm 1:1-2)

  • Trusted in: "He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it." (Titus 1:9)

  • Prayed: "But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." (Matthew 6:6-8, see in context)

  • Stored Up: "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." (Psalm 119:11)

  • Put on with the full armor of God: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle with flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm." (Ephesians 6:10-13)

  • Used in evangelism: "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17)


What Verses Should I Memorize?
Desiring God and Children Desiring God ministries have the Fighter Verses broken down into sets. Choose a set, print it out, and begin! Once you have gone through all of the sets, you will have memorized 232 Bible passages, which is over 500 verses!

Set A, Set B, Set C, Set D, and Set E


Where did Fighter Verses Start?
While I'm not sure exactly where Fighter Verses started, my story begins with being a new mom at home and wanting to deepen my relationship with Christ while doing seemingly mundane day-to-day tasks. My mother-in-law suggested memorizing Fighter Verses, something her church was doing. I googled "fighter verses" and was brought to Bethlehem Baptist Church's (BBC) Verse of the Week page; I began memorizing. While I cannot confirm this as fact at this point, I believe that people from BBC started the Fighter Verse program and have shared resources for it on their homepage, as well as through Desiring God and Children Desiring God ministries.


Why should I Memorize?
Besides the scriptural reasons I listed above, I believe that having the Word of God committed to memory allows you to call upon it during the many ups and downs in life. They have comforted me, disciplined me, taught me, and helped me minister to others. In addition to the thoughts I've written here, I strongly recommend reading John Piper's message, "Why Memorize Scripture?"


What Bible Version do you use and why?
I began memorizing using the NIV, because that was the Bible I had used for many years. I have switched, however, to the ESV Bible primarily because it is the version my church uses, but also because of some compelling thoughts from John Piper.


Resources
The following is a list of resources I have put together to help you in your quest to memorize scripture.

Resources to Read Regularly
  • FighterVerses.com - This is a site run by some fellow Bethlehem Baptist Church guys. They are pastoral apprentices there and have good things to say.
  • Desiring God Blog - Although not directly related to the memorization of scripture (they strongly advocate it), this is one of my favorite blog reads to help me understand Scripture. They also have excellent resources in the form of podcasts, videos, etc.

Resources to Download

Resources to Buy

  • Bible Memory Resources - I use the ESV Fighter Verse Pack at home and also have the CD, which has recordings of people speaking the verses. I have used the two together to listen to verses in the car, and also read and review verses. They also have a set of Foundation Verses, which I hope to start learning with my children when they are a bit older.


Articles to Read


How to Memorize Scripture
The bottom line is that you need to find the way that you memorize the best and practice regular self-discipline to memorize your verses. (Note: Memorizing with others will help keep you accountable as well!)

That being said, I usually memorize using the following steps:

Prayer and Studying Verse Context Memorizing God's word begins with prayer. I pray for God to:
  1. Give me strength to mediate on His word day and night (Joshua 1:8)
  2. Help me to delight in His law (Psalm 1:1-2)
  3. Hold firm to the trustworthiness of His Word (Titus 1:9)
  4. Bring the verse to mind when I am praying (Matthew 6:6-8)
  5. Store up His Word in my heart so that I don't sin against Him, and also that I will not forget the verses I have memorized (Psalm 119:11)
  6. Help me to stand firm in battle (Ephesians 6:10-13)
  7. Use these memorized verses when I evangelize to others (Romans 10:17)

Reciting I take a print copy of the week's verse (I use the fighter verse pack) and recite it as I go about my day - at breakfast, washing dishes, in the car, etc. I listen to my words as I say the verse out loud and also concentrate on the cadence of the language. Once I've heard the verse numerous times, it helps me to externalize the verse.

Externalizing For me, this step makes the verse more permanent in my mind and also boosts my personal reflection. I choose to turn the verse into something that will "burn it into my mind" better. This includes, but is not limited to, using the verse to do one or more of the following:

  • Compose a melody to make the verse singable
  • Learn sign language
  • Create a work of art (painting, drawing, cartoon, collage, craft, etc.)
  • Make up a dance or motions to act out the verse
  • Use digital media to make an animation, movie, slide show, etc.
  • Speak the verse to a rhythm, use clapping or other rhythm instruments
  • Learn the verse out loud with others, do a call and response, etc.

Personal Reflection
Once a verse has been rolling in my mind for awhile, I continually pray that God would make it real in my life. I trust that God, in His own time, will impress the truth of His word upon me. I try to reflect on what I am learning by discussing it with others and journaling (usually through this blog). I thank God for all that he teaches and changes in me as a result of learning His word.

Reviewing Past Verses
I go back regularly and review verses by reciting them (from my fighter verse pack and from what I have posted on this blog). I praise God for verses that stick and further review verses I don't remember.

2009 Bible Reading Plan

By stephlewis on January 4, 2009 8:58 PM | 1 Comment

Each year, I try to assess how I am doing with reading the Bible in a consistent way. I have followed several different plans in years past. Some years I have focused more on a form of study instead. Other years I have just thrown up my hands and said, "That's it! I need to read Psalms!" (Or whatever book it happened to be that day, week, or month).

I decided, however, that I needed a plan this year. Mostly because my brain is just a bit unfocused lately. I was directed toward some studies at Discipleship Journal. Zondervan also has some interesting plans that I've done before (sorry, there is a girl version and a boy version and I'm linking to the girl version because I used to work with a girls youth ministry and... yeah.) I'm sure you could find many more plans with a simple search of the interwebs.

This year, however, I am going to read along with my church's bible reading plan. It's called the Discipleship Journal One Year Plan. You basically download the bookmarks and place them in your Bible, then read one section from each bookmark each day. If you don't like the bookmarks, you can just download the monthly checklists to direct your reading.

I hope I can find some others to connect with who are also reading this plan so there can be some encouragement and discussion and whatnot. Oh, and while I'm at it, I'd like to encourage my readers to find a reading plan and get in the Word!

Holiness

By stephlewis on May 30, 2008 9:10 PM

I have been praying for God to reteach me about things that I learned when I was younger, in an effort to have a more mature grasp of what they mean. One thing I wanted to learn more about was holiness and this is what I learned in my studies.

God simply IS holy. I was struck by my Old Testament reading in Exodus, particularly Exodus 33. One of the things the LORD says to Moses is, "Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way." And in verse 5 the LORD says to Moses, "Tell the Israelites, 'You are a stiff-necked people. If I were to go with you even for a moment, I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments and I will decide what to do with you.'" (italics mine).

Whenever I read this, I'm like, "HE MIGHT DESTROY THEM!?!?!" Well, yes, because He is that holy. His holiness is so pure and perfect that He cannot even be in the presence of evil or He will destroy the unholy vessel. God chooses to withhold himself from the Israelites here because He knows how powerful His holiness is, which also sets in further motion the gospel redemption story through Christ (God wants to be with us, we are unholy & would be destroyed by God because of his holiness & justice, He sends Christ to live a sinless life and to be sacrificed as a lamb to pay for our sins, we are purchased by God through the blood of Christ, God chooses those to bring to Himself so we can return to our original purpose of glorifying and worshipping Him...something like that).

God's holiness is jealous. In Joshua 24:19, Joshua says to the people, "You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins." This struck me because I recognized that God originally made us for the purpose of glorifying and worshipping Him, in a pure and holy state. When we allow sin, no matter how seemingly small, it is like bringing a mistress or idol in between us and God. He longs to be with us, and is jealous of anything that turns our thoughts and heart away from Him. His holiness wants us fully, completely.

What does this mean for me? First, it gives me a stronger understanding of how my sin defiles my relationship with God. This then gives me a deeper longing to have no sin - to be with my God purely and wholly. Because I am unable to live a sin free life, it makes me cling to Christ even more, knowing that I cannot be good enough to free myself from the things I do even though I hate them. It pushes me to touch the robe of the one who bought me and redeemed me.

In the book I'm reading, The True Woman, there is a quote by Elizabeth Prentiss, "To love Christ more - this is the deepest need, the constant cry of my soul. Down in the bowling-alley, and out in the woods, and on my bed, and out driving, when I am happy and busy, and when I am sad and idle, the whisper keeps going up for more love, more love, more love."

This prayer and thought of Prentiss is shared by me; that my life could somehow reflect more love to Christ, more love to Christ, more love to Christ.

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