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We Are Commanded to Memorize
Scripture
Deu 6:6-9 (KJV)
And these
words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
{7} And
thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children,
and shalt talk
of them when thou sittest in thine house,
and when thou
walkest by the way,
and when thou
liest down,
and when thou
risest up.
{8} And
thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand,
and they shall
be as frontlets between thine eyes.
{9} And
thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house,
and on thy
gates. Psa 119:11(KJV)
Thy word have I hid in mine heart,
that I might not sin against
thee.
Jer 15:16
(KJV)
Thy words were found, and I did eat
them;
and thy word was unto me the joy and
rejoicing of mine heart:
for I am called by thy name, O LORD God
of hosts.
Dear Friends in
Christ,
The Word of God is so precious for so many
reasons. It is God's great communication with us, teaching us, changing our
errors into His truth. There are several passages which exhort us to "hide His
Word in our hearts" , that is , to memorize His Word. The Hebrew word for "hide"
has these various meanings and connotations, as can be found in Strong's Hebrew
Dictionary:
There are many ways to hide God's Word in
your heart. I found one quite by accident when I was preparing for
teaching a christian life and witnessing course for an evangelistic
outreach. The principle was simply to physically hand-write the scriptures
over and over, word for word. Since this was done in the "Dark Ages" before the
age of computers, there were no word processors and I was a terrible
typist. So I had to look up the passage, and hand write it out, staring at
it as I wrote each word, and if I made a mistake, I had to start over again
until I got it right.
The result was that after writing out the
verses and also looking up the meanings of the words in the Strong's Concordance
Dictionaries, these passages became embossed on my mind. I was able to
recall them easily as I taught the course, and to use them years later, word for
word.
It is only recently that I discovered that
this is actually a Biblical principle!! Check this:
Deu 17:14, 18-20a (KJV)
When thou art come unto the land which the LORD thy
God giveth thee,
and shalt possess it, and shalt dwell therein,
and shalt say, I will set a king over me, like as all
the nations that are about me;
.... {18} And it shall be, when he
sitteth upon the throne of his kingdom,
THAT HE SHALL WRITE HIM A COPY OF THIS LAW IN A
BOOK
out of that which is before the priests the
Levites:
{19} And it shall be with him,
and he shall read therein all the days of his life:
that he may learn to fear the LORD his God,
to keep all the words of this law and these statutes,
to do them:
{20} That his heart be not lifted up
above his brethren,
and that he turn not aside from the commandment,
to the right hand, or to the
left...
Notice that HE PERSONALLY was supposed to
write out and copy the book of the Law with his own hand! In this way he
was to put the Word of God into his heart. And then he was to keep this book
with him to read it and think about it all the time. Perhaps this is why King
David could say in Psalm 119:11,
Psalm 119:11 (KJV)
Thy Word
have I hid in mine heart,
that I
might not sin against thee.
In order to be able to
effectively use the Word of God in witnessing or in times of trouble, you must
first have stored the passages in your heart. Notice in the following
verse, Jesus says,
John 14:25-26 (KJV)
These things have I spoken unto
you, being yet present with you.
{26} But the Comforter,
which is the Holy Ghost,
whom the Father will send in my
name,
he shall teach you all things,
and bring all things to your
remembrance,
whatsoever I have said unto
you.
Mat 10:19-20 (KJV)
But
when they deliver you up,
take
no thought how or what ye shall speak:
for
it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.
{20} For it is not ye that speak,
but
the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in
you.
So when you are in a
circumstance of personal stress or given an oppportunity to witness, if you
have hidden the Word of God in your heart, the Holy Spirit can bring these
things to your remembrance, and thereby He can speak through
you.
He cannot bring something to your remembrance something
that is not already in your memory.
Below are some more verses
which speak about the necessity and benefits of Scripture memorization. And by
the way, don't be afraid of the concept of memorization...true it does take work
and time, but the more time and effort you invest in it, the better the results
it will yield. (Incidentally, I can still quote some long Bible passages
verbatim which I was required to memorize for confirmation class
over 50 years ago..for example Romans 2:14-15...it just wont
leave...)
God Bless you as you seek
to hide God's Precious Word in your heart.
In Christ....brother
bob.......<><
Scriptures for you to
contemplate:
Deu 11:16-23 (KJV)
Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not
deceived,
and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship
them;
{17} And then the LORD'S wrath be
kindled against you,
and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain,
and that the land yield not her fruit;
and lest ye perish quickly from off the good
land which the LORD giveth you.
{18} Therefore shall ye lay up these my words
in your heart and in your soul,
and bind them for a sign upon your hand,
that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.
{19} And ye shall teach them your children,
speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house,
and when thou walkest by the way,
when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
{20} And thou shalt write them upon the door
posts of thine house,
and upon thy gates:
{21} That your days may be multiplied, and the
days of your children,
in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to
give them,
as the days of heaven upon the earth.
{22} For if ye shall diligently keep all these
commandments
which I command you, to do them,
to love the LORD your God,
to walk in all his ways,
and to cleave unto him;
{23} Then will the LORD drive out all these
nations from before you,
and ye shall possess greater nations and mightier than
yourselves.
Josh 1:7-9
(KJV)
Only be thou strong and very courageous,
that thou mayest observe to do according to all the
law,
which Moses my servant commanded thee:
turn not from it to the right hand or to
the left,
that thou mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest.
{8} This book of the law shall not depart out
of thy mouth;
but thou shalt meditate therein day and night,
that thou mayest observe to do according to all that
is written therein:
for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous,
and then thou shalt have good success.
{9} Have not I commanded thee?
Be strong and of a good courage;
be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed:
for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever
thou goest.
Psa 37:29-34 (KJV)
The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell
therein for ever.
{30} The mouth of the righteous speaketh
wisdom,
and his tongue talketh of judgment.
{31} The law of his God is in his heart;
none of his steps shall slide.
{32} The wicked watcheth the righteous, and
seeketh to slay him.
{33} The LORD will not leave him in his hand,
nor condemn him when he is judged.
{34} Wait on the LORD, and keep his way,
and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land:
when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see
it.
Psa 119:9-16 (KJV)
BETH.
Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way?
by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
{10} With my whole heart have I sought thee:
O let me not wander from thy commandments.
{11} Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might
not sin against thee.
{12} Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy
statutes.
{13} With my lips have I declared all the
judgments of thy mouth.
{14} I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as
much as in all riches.
{15} I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect
unto thy ways.
{16} I will delight myself in thy statutes:
I will not forget thy word.
John 15:8-11
(KJV)
Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much
fruit;
so shall ye be my disciples.
{9} As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you:
continue ye in my love.
{10} If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide
in my love;
even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and
abide in his love.
{11} These things have I spoken unto you,
that my joy might remain in you,
and that your joy might be full.
IXTHEUS CHRISTIAN GROWTH DEVOTIONALS
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God Bless
You
In Christ.....brother
bob.......<><
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