Day Eleven

Time for some more scripture memorization. I can't emphasize enough how important scripture memory is. It hides God's Word deep into our heart and mind, and makes it accessible anytime....during trying times, in the midst of temptation, when others need encouragement, etc. Almost every one of the human authors that God used to pen Scripture quoted from another place in the Bible. As you read the biographies of devotional giants and those who lived out a genuine Biblical faith for the long haul, they all practiced the discipline of memorizing scripture. We should learn something from these men and women, and build scripture memory into our lives as one of the habits of our devotions.

We've already memorized Psalm 1 in Spiritual Boot Camp. Now, we're going to take a different turn, and start memorizing individual verses, topically. The benefit of memorizing verses by topic is that when that topic/issue arises in your life, you've got a scripture ready to pull out and remind yourself of what God's Word has to say about that topic/issue. For example, if I am feeling convicted to share my faith with someone, but I feel weird and awkward about it, I might remember Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation, to the Jew first and also to the Greek". Why do I remember that verse, because I memorized it as a verse having to do with "evangelism and witnessing".

The best resource I've ever used that helps with this is the Topical Memory System, put out by Navigators. For the next week, I'd like for us to memorize a couple of verses from this system. They are from Series C, under the heading "Rely on God's Resources", and the two we will memorize deal specifically with "His Spirit". Why is that important to know? Well, we know that we will be memorizing verses that have to do with relying on God's resources instead of our own. Do you ever run out of resources? Strength, patience, faithfulness, peace, provision, etc.? Isn't it good to know that God's Word has promises about the ways in which we can lean on Him and His resources in those times. So, this week's verses deal specifically with the Holy Spirit who is in us, who helps us and ministers to us when our resources are running low.

Here are the two verses (and I'm using the NIV, but you can use whichever translation you're most comfortable with):

1 Corinthians 3:16 - Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you?

1 Corinthians 2:12 - We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.

Since you don't have the TMS yet, just write these out on 3x5 cards. Write "Rely on God's Resources - His Spirit" on one side, and the verse along with its reference location on the other. When you practice saying it, say the Series name first (Rely on God's Resources), then the topic (His Spirit), then the reference location (1 Cor. 3:16), then the verse itself, then say the reference location again (1 Cor. 3:16).

Practice these today, and everyday for the next week. In a week, these should be memorized. Don't forget to review Psalm 1. Remember, the three keys to scripture memory are review, review, and review.

Bible Reading for today: Acts 10:1-33, Joshua 7&8.

May the Lord bless you as you encounter Him!