Sisters in Scripture Verse Twenty

Woo hoo!  You did it!  We did it!  Hallelujah!  Sisters, let's take a moment and thank our loving Father for helping us on this journey.

Father, we praise you Lord for Your love, Your care, and for Your Word.  We thank you for calling us to this challenge and walking with us on this journey.  We know it is Your equipping and Your Spirit that has kept us faithful.  We pray that all of our efforts have been to Your Glory!  We love You and pray always through Jesus.  Amen.

Sisters, it's time to celebrate!  I know that there are some of you that have been memorizing but not registering your verses on the blog each month.  That's okay - it counts too.  My hope is that you're reading this though...need to reach those Sisters somehow.  So, whether or not you've registered your verses each month or not, please plan to join us for a reception in January to commemorate this fantastic journey.  The details of that reception will be finalized in the next few weeks so come back to the blog on January 1 for an announcement with all the information.

But, wait...still need to post our 20th verse!  Here's mine.

Julie, "The Lord will protect your coming and going both now and forever." Psalm 121:8

Merry Christmas Sisters!

Sisters in Scripture Verse Nineteen

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  As we approach our goal, I have a brief article to share from Rick Warren on the importance of memorizing Scripture.  It's a convicting article that stresses this spiritual discipline as necessary for spiritual maturity.  I've included it below.

Sisters, we are so close to the finish line!  I know you've worked so hard on this thing and we can be assured that God will bless your efforts.  Give yourself a smile :)  You've done good!

Here's my 19th (wow!!!) verse:

Julie, "The Lord will protect you from all harm; He will protect your life."  Psalm 121:7

Now, it's your turn!

“Whoever looks intently into the perfect law … and continues in it — not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it — they will be blessed in what they do.” (James 1:25 NIV)

If you’re serious about being spiritually strong and mature, the greatest habit you can develop is memorizing Scripture. In fact, the Bible says in James 1:25 that it’s one of four habits that leads to a blessed life: “Whoever looks intently into the perfect law … and continues in it — not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it — they will be blessed in what they do” (NIV).

• Read your Bible. “Whoever looks intently …”
• Review the Bible. “… continues in it …”
• Remember the Bible. “… not forgetting what they have heard …”
• Respond to the Bible. “ … but doing it …”

You don’t want to be a spiritual baby anymore. It’s time to grow up and live the blessed life you’re meant to live. Hiding God’s Word in your heart is an important way to start.

You may not think you have a good memory, but you remember what’s important to you. You remember the phone numbers and dates that you care about. I’ve heard people say they can’t memorize anything, but they can quote songs from the 1960s and rattle off the statistics of their favorite baseball players.

Memory is a skill you can learn. It’s a muscle you can strengthen. In fact, memorizing Scripture will cause your brain to have a stronger memory in other areas. I guarantee it. Study after study has shown this.

Why is it important to memorize Scripture?

• You’ll always have God’s Word with you. When you’re tempted, you don’t have a Bible open or by your side. When you’re witnessing to someone who doesn’t know Jesus, is under stress, needs comfort, or is in a crisis, there’s usually not a Bible around. You need God’s Word in your mind so you can remember it and review it right when you need it.

• You can meditate on Scripture wherever you go. You can’t review God’s Word unless you remember it. If you’ve memorized Scripture, you can think about it when you get into bed at night or as you drive to an appointment. You can think about the Bible because you’ve memorized it. That’s called meditation. The only promise of prosperity and success that God gives us in the Bible says that meditating on his Word is the key (Joshua 1:8).

Start memorizing Scripture today. Pick a verse a week. In a year, you’ll have memorized 52 verses. In two years, you’ll have memorized more than 100 verses.

Talk It Over

• What changes do you need to make so that you are regularly reading and studying the Bible?
• You already know the ways you learn and memorize best. What tools, tactics, or people can help you memorize Scripture?
• How do you respond when God brings Scripture to mind in certain situations? How should you respond?