The Discipline of Scripture Memory

“Let the word of Christ dwell in your richly …” Colossians 3:16

Most of us don’t like the word “discipline.” No, I am not talking about the kind of discipline where we are chastised for something we have done wrong. I am talking about the sense of the word where we discipline ourselves to accomplish a certain task. I know of a friend who is my age that has been disciplining his body so that he can run in a marathon. I am very proud of him.

One of the disciplines that is important in our Christian life is the discipline of Scripture memorization. The men who are residents in the Colony of Mercy have a daily assignment that is quite a challenge. Every day they are required to memorize a Bible verse. From 18 to 80 – they are expected to commit a verse to memory. At the end of their stay, they will have memorized 120 Bible verses.

When was the last time you or I memorized a Bible verse? Like most things in life, we can come up with all the excuses in the world why we can’t do something like this. “I am too old!” “I don’t have enough time.”

But think what we memorize: many of us can quote the baseball line-ups of our favorite teams. We memorize lines from movies and TV shows … but memorize a verse of Scripture?

Dr. Jerry Bridges wrote this about Scripture memory: “To influence our minds with the Word of God, there’s simply no better way than through the discipline of Scripture memorization. I know that it requires work and is sometimes discouraging when we can’t recall accurately a verse we’ve worked hard to memorize. The truth is, however, all forms of discipline require work and are often discouraging. But the person who perseveres in any discipline, despite the hard work and discouraging times, reaps the reward the discipline is intended to produce.”

At the end of each Freedom Fighter there is a section called Navigational Rules. There are two levels. One is a verse a day and the other is a longer passage. These are included for you to use in developing the discipline of Scripture memorization.

Last year a number of my staff memorized Scripture and received a nice bonus for doing so. At least five of them are in their 50’s! Now I can’t promise you a financial bonus at the end of the year for memorizing with us, but I can promise you this: This discipline will change your life. No, it will transform your life. You will be amazed at the way it will impact your life. Will you join me in the journey? – Bill Welte is President and CEO of America’s Keswick 

GPS – God’s Positioning System: Genesis 22-24; Proverbs 19;  Psalm 18:25-50

Compass Pointers: Our extremities are God’s opportunities. Charles Haddon Spurgeon

Navigational Rules: Level 1: Proverbs 3:1-2; Level 2: Proverbs 3:1-11