Bible verses memorization is commonplace in the modern Church. It’s in Sunday School, on web services, in emails, flashcards, and probably any other place you can think to put a verse. The question is: Is it effective?

Maybe you are — or were — like me. I thought I was a bad Christian. I had lots of Bible stories floating around, even a few key verses, but I could never remember them exactly right.

I would say something like, “Present yourselves a living sacrifice, that you…eh…are acceptable to God…and…eh…prove Him worthy.” But, I’d work at it, read and study more, and I would get better at remembering the verses, but would have trouble remembering book, chapter, and verse.

Then I would say, “Oh, I know them well, I just don’t know where they live.”

At that time, I was a Christian for about 12 years. My friend, a veritable toddler in the faith (2 years,) was quoting scriptures until he was blue in the face. Honestly, I was jealous.

That’s where my heart was. I wanted to learn Bible Memory Verses just to prove I knew something, gain recognition, show I was a ‘man of God.’

Now, I haven’t arrived yet, but I have definitely left. I realized my attitude was wrong and began looking at this whole concept of memory verses. What does the Bible say? Well, it really doesn’t say much about memorizing verses. There are a few verses that can be interpreted into memorizing, but I would go a step further. We are not just to memorize verses, but to focus intently on them, think on them, rehearse them in our minds and hearts, and chew on it like a cow chewing its cud; getting every last bit of nourishment.

So, what’s the difference between memorizing and meditating? What might seem like a small matter will make a huge difference in your life.

God told the Israelites make scripture integral to their life:

image: www.freeimages.co.uk

“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” – Deut. 6:6-9 (NIV)

The first instruction on meditation occurs in Joshua 1:8. God tells Joshua that he is (we are) to meditate on the book of the law day and night. Why? “That you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (NIV) The word meditate is the Hebrew word ‘Hagah’ (Strong’s H1897) which means to mumble, mutter, utter or speak. God tells Joshua, “You want to fill Moses shoes, then think about and speak about what is written day and night. Yes, even the book of Numbers.”

Then again, David writes, “[The blessed man's] delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.” (Psalm 1:2 NIV emphasis mine)

Let me digress. I do believe that memorizing Bible verses is better than not memorizing. It can only benefit you. BUT the Bible teaches going deeper than mere memorization. In fact, it teaches us not just to memorize but to hide the Word in our heart and make it a part of who we are. Memorization involves your mind while meditation involves your heart.

A simple story sums up this point. A man held a friends and family Christmas party. As they were gathered around the fire, they decided to, in the spirit of the season, quote their favorite verses. The host, an eloquent speaker, arose and recited the 23rd Psalm (The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want….) The guests were amazed at his flair for delivery and applauded. After a few others, it was Grandma’s turn. Now Grandma had been dozing for about a half hour and had missed what was going on. The host gently woke her and asked her to recite her favorite verse. The Grandmother sat up, cleared her throat, and recited the 23rd Psalm. When she was finished, there was not a dry eye in the room.

As his guests were leaving, one friend approached him and said, “I don’t get it, what was the difference between your recitation and your Grandmother’s? They were identical.” The host smiled and simply said, “I know the Psalm. She knows the Shepherd.”

So start today. Take a favorite memory verse, or look-up popular verse, and take the first step beyond memorization. Write it on the tablet of your heart. After a month, the results may surprise you.

Read Luke 8:40-56.

“Jesus said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.’”

Much like a modern-day celebrity, Jesus comes back from casting out Legion only to find more chaos. People are crushing around him. Jarius, a prominent leader of the synagogue, drops at Jesus’ feet pleading that he come and heal his daughter.

But in transit, Jarius faces every parent’s worst fear. A messenger came out and said, “Your daughter is dead.” Can you imagine? You’ve found the one man who you believe can heal your dying daughter. Hope rushes in as he agrees to come to your home, only to be met with ‘It’s too late.’ Jarius was no doubt crushed and devastated.

But what did Jesus do? He didn’t just go, but he rebuked the fear. He knew exactly what Jarius was feeling and put a stop to it immediately: “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” The word believe, as mention in the last post, The Power of Belief, is translated from the Greek word pistis which is equal to faith. But in this tense, it is a verb (pisteu?) – it’s ACTIVE.

Don’t be afraid, but activate your faith! Just believe.

“Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” – James 2:17b (NIV)

What are you fearing in your life right now? How can you activate your faith and take steps to counter your fear?  What one small action can you take today to exercise your faith?

If I told you that you have a $100 bill taped to the bottom of your seat right now, would you look? Probably not unless I were Oprah Winfrey and you were sitting in my studio audience. Why didn’t you look? Maybe I broke into your house and did it like some sort of inverse burglar. Assuming your butt is still firmly attached to your chair, it’s because you didn’t believe me. But what if it were there? You’d never know. Like the fable of the Boy Who Cried Wolf, it doesn’t matter if somethings true if nobody believes it. Belief precipitates action. No belief equals no action regardless of truth.

Throughout the New Testament, Christ heals people. To sum up what he told most of them “Your faith has made you well.” or some variation (Matt 9:22; Mark 5:34; Mark 10:52; Luke 7:50; et al) Here’s the interesting thing. Both the words faith and belief are translated from the same Greek word pistis which in Strong’s Lexicon means “conviction of the truth of anything.”

Belief is the basis of Christianity. John 3:16, the most famous verse, says “…that whoever believes…will not perish.” Our entire salvation is hinged on belief and the power of belief is in our hands. Galatians 5:22 lists it as part of the fruit of the Spirit (i.e. the seed of faith/belief is in us.)

Jesus spoke directly to a fig tree and cursed it. When they passed it on a return journey, the disciples marveled that it was dead. Jesus told them:

“I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” – Mark 11:23-24 (NIV emphasis mine)

Now a lot has been said about this verse and whole books could be written on it. All I want to underscore is the power of belief. To illustrate this further, look at Matthew 13:58 “And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” (NIV) Did Jesus refuse to do good works? In Marks account it says, “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.” (Mark 6:5 NIV)

First, Jesus tells people that according to their faith they are healed and then tells the disciples that if they believe and don’t doubt, their prayers will be answered. This leads me to conclude that lack of faith can limit God. I’m not questioning God’s sovereignty but underscoring his integrity. God will not override our will period. To prove this point, we know that God’s will is that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9) and yet thousands die without Christ each day. He will not impose His will upon us.

God has set up belief and his power like epoxy. One will not work without the other (at least not in our life) Isn’t that incredible?!? He wants us to be part of the process. Elijah had to physically go to where the ravens would feed him. Israel’s enemies were delivered to them, but they still had to go into the battlefield. God used Moses’ obedience to deliver the Hebrews. Peter had to choose to get out of the boat. Noah had to physically build the ark.

“faith [belief] by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” James 2:17

The requirement of faith and the power faith has is one of the most awesome things God created. What do you think?

Read Luke 24:13-30

Have you ever opened your Bible in the wee hours of the morning and had all the desire, passion, and inspiration to climb back into the nice warm bed you just left?  Yet, you sit there and, bleary-eyed, force yourself to study with your trusty cup of coffee and still felt nothing. Right?  My friend, I’ve been there!

I know it’s easy to get into a routine where Bible Study becomes a to-do instead of a privilege.  When this happens to me I find it helpful to focus not on the task, but what the Bible is:  A personal message to us from God himself.

For three years the disciples witnessed Jesus perform miracles, teach in ways never seen, and testify to his identity as the Messiah: the Son of God.  Yet, in Luke 24 we find them without hope – a terrible place for any Christian – after Jesus was crucified.  While they walked, he appeared and walked with them.

Asking about their troubles, he rebuked them and “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” (v27 NIV)

When they came to Emmaus, they obviously loved everything he taught because they “urged him strongly” to stay with them.  When they finally realized who he was, he disappeared.

They were discouraged and downtrodden, but Christ used Scripture to testify who he was.  He didn’t give a new command, perform another miracle, or give them a pep-talk, he used the Bible – the Word of God – and that was enough to lift their spirits and renew their strength.  When he left, they exclaimed, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (v32 NIV emphasis mine)

When we take the time to set our hearts right and listen to the Word as a personal message for us each and every day, won’t our hearts burn within us?  This attitude makes the Word come alive for me and I hope it does for you as well.

“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV)

In Lee Strobel & Mark Mittelberg’s book “The Unexpected Adventure: Taking Everyday Risks to Talk with People about Jesus” (Zondervan 2009), Lee mentions Maggie, a lady who was attending a non-believers group he lead while at Willow Creek Church.

It’s a great illustration of who we are and the responsibility we have as Christians (aka Committed Follower’s of Christ)  As 2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” (NIV)

For me, Maggie’s poem is convicting as all the times I am less-than-Christ-like come screaming at me: impatience, pride, even social awkwardness where I come across as cold and aloof.  See if you have the same conviction:

Maggie’s Poem

Paul admonishes us to make the most of every opportunity in Ephesians 5:16.   Each minute can be used for good (develop ourselves, be productive, help others, etc.) or for evil (wasteful, idle, lacking purpose.)

Here’s a fun little tool that will show you how much time you really have in a day: http://www.studygs.net/schedule/

Meditation? Isn’t that some weird eastern thing where people shape their fingers to look like onion rings, inhumanely contort their body, and mumble incessantly like a baby Joan Rivers? No disrespect, but that’s the image a lot of us have when we think about meditation. Or we have the oh-thats-not-good-is-it? feeling because we’re not sure if it’s ‘right’ to meditate.

First things first. Yes, there are many forms of meditation and while some are definitely out of line with scripture, most are helpful and innocent.

Secondly, you already meditate. I’m not saying that you’ve gone on quests to be one with everything (which is how I order my hot-dogs.) If you’ve ever worried (and you have) then you have meditated. Meditation is focused attention on a thought or an idea. Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defines meditation as

“To dwell on any thing in thought; to contemplate; to study; to turn or revolve any subject in the mind; appropriately but not exclusively used of pious contemplation, or a consideration of the great truths of religion.”

So we’re already meditating whether it’s on scripture or an overdue mortgage payment or a sick relative.  The question is does God want us to meditate and what should be meditate on?

God instructs Joshua to meditate on the book of the law and to not let it depart his lips (Joshua 1:8) and that he would have success in doing so.  The Psalmist delighted in meditating on the Word day and night (Psalm 1:2.)

Day and night?  That’s a lot isn’t it? In Proverbs 7:3, Solomon instructs his son take his wisdom and bind it to his fingers and write it on the table of his heart. The heart is a reference to the soul and the mind – our thoughts.  Where did Jesus say our thoughts should reside?  In the book of Matthew, Christ instructs us not to THINK or WORRY about minor things.  In fact he tells us what we should mind, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Mat 6:33 KJV)

Paul tells us in Colossians 3:2 to set our minds on things above and not on things in this world and in Philippians 4:8 he teaches to focus on things that are pure, noble, right, lovely and admirable!  Wow! I know I got a long way to go.

Meditation is simply thinking.  We are doing it all the time and most of that time it’s on petty little things or wrapped up in who we are and what others think of us.  We need to put on the mind of Christ and begin paying attention to what we ARE focusing on.

Action point:  pick one verse out of the Bible you know well or like and write it on a 3×5 card.  Carry it around and, when you catch yourself thinking about less-than-good things, take it out and think about it instead.  What could happen? “…for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” Joshua 1:8b KJV.