Symota, as a kid, my mom would tell me that POWs often recalled how important hymns and memorized verses were to them while in captivity. While I don't necessarily anticipate that particular struggle, I do find that it tends to keep the word of God more regularly in mind-which is a tremendous blessing as we live and serve in the church.
onfire247, I really appreciate the desire to memorize the NT. Sadly, if I spend a year on each book, I might not have the mental capability to remember as well. Still, what a wonderful goal.
Thanks, joosep! knowing him through his word... That is wonderful and encouraging. Plus, I also really appreciate the thought of going before God with our needs and recognizing that all of our needs are met primarily through him.
John 5:39-40. I feel the contrast of those two verses is quite important to take note of. Verse 39 .... you search the scriptures .... verse 40 ... you are unwilling to come to Me, so that you may have life.
We can endlessly memorize, quote, study, and read the Bible, and yet if we do not GO to Him, if we do not actually make Him Lord in our hearts and serve Him.... the whole endeavor is pointless.
So my motivation is to know Him through His Word (because indeed, we need to know His Word in order to know Him!), and simultaneously, to pray that I could never be satisfied with a mere head knowledge of the Bible, but that I will simultaneously every morning GO to Him as the answer to and for all of my needs.
At the end of Matthew 11, He also says, Come to Me .....
Thanks, joosep! knowing him through his word... That is wonderful and encouraging. Plus, I also really appreciate the thought of going before God with our needs and recognizing that all of our needs are met primarily through him.
To answer your question The Moviegoer, I do Bible Quizzing. For Bible Quizzing we learn a passage of about 10 chapters, then we have a competition against other schools.
When I was doing my senior paper on ISIS, I found that many of the people who were the leaders of ISIS and Al Qaeda had memorized the whole Quran. That kind of blew my mind. I started doing some research online and I found that tons of people have done it. There's even a title for those who have done it (Hafiz). Yet nowhere online could I find people who had memorized the NT, which is about the same size as the Quran. Since that day, I made it my goal not only to memorize the NT, but also to make it easier for others to do so. This website is just one of many tools I am using as I develop that strategy.
For me, I would say that my main motivation for memorizing Scripture comes from my desire to know the Lord Jesus Christ more and more and from the realization that there are many admonitions in the Scriptures to know God’s Word and to have His Word abiding in us. (E.g., John 15:7, 2 Peter 1:5, and Psalm 1:2, ...)
Also, in reading biographies of believers who faced difficult situations and extended periods of imprisonment, when they had no access to a physical Bible, it was their ability to recall Scripture from memory that God used to nourish them spiritually. So in a way, another motivation for memory work is that it’s part of being spiritually armed for the difficult times ahead.
I think Joosep and Symota have said it far better than I could. In a nutshell I want to know God. Who He is and His attributes. And how I can please Him. I came across this website in a period when I was very low. I was desperate to learn how to lean on the Lord and draw my strength from Him alone. I needed to know more of His word so I could trust Him through the bad times as well as the good. I love meditating as I learn and noticing the small details. I love that feeling of Wow what a good God we have. I would miss it if I simply read scripture but I get that so much more as I slow down to learn. I’ve also heard of many folks who lose their memories in old age and yet they can recall scripture they have learnt. So I’m arming myself for that possibility. Or just lying awake at night and struggling with worries. It’s good to have those verses right there in my mind already that I need to focus on truth rather than the worrying thoughts that can threaten me and in times past might have dragged me down. I hope that helps. It’s great that we can encourage each other along on our journey.
To answer your other question The Moviegoer, it isn't the kind of quiz that you would think of. Three teams compete each other at a time. There is one quiz master who says the questions. When the quiz master says the question, the quizzers will jump when they think that they will be able to get the question right. We have pads on our chairs so that when we jump, whoever jumps first, there pad will BEEP. If a quizzers light will BEEP, they will stand up and try to answer the quiz masters question. We do Bible Quizzing with an organization called MACSA Bible Quizzing. We actually had a quizzing event today. (I hope I explained this well enough).
onfire247, I really appreciate the desire to memorize the NT. Sadly, if I spend a year on each book, I might not have the mental capability to remember as well. Still, what a wonderful goal.
Symota, as a kid, my mom would tell me that POWs often recalled how important hymns and memorized verses were to them while in captivity. While I don't necessarily anticipate that particular struggle, I do find that it tends to keep the word of God more regularly in mind-which is a tremendous blessing as we live and serve in the church.
JDJDJD, I agree. Symota did summarize things very well. One of the great benefits of going through all of this is that it makes meditating on God's word more natural. When I recite, recall, etc., there is a natural tendency to think through God's word more than if I just picked up the Bible and started reading.
Joosep, isn't it great! It is a huge encouragement to see brothers and sisters seeking, studying, and memorizing the word... AND hearing their stories!
Thanks, TheMoviegoer, and everyone else who contributed comments in this thread. You’re all so encouraging and inspiring! Blessings in your journeys as you draw nearer to God and His Word.
I thought of something else today as I was walking and thought I’d add a ps to my response. I really do want to hear that “well done thou good and faithful servant” when I meet the Lord. So if I want to know what pleases Him I have to know His word. I too enjoyed everyone’s contributions.
Excellent point, JDJDJD. Psalm 103:7 -- He made known his ways unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel. It's one thing to know His acts, but something much, much better to know His ways.
As I have thought further about memorizing, I have wondered how difficult Psalms would be as a book because of the repetition of phrases that are the same or slightly different. BTW, Joosep, it is never wrong to check!
I thought I would find Psalms easy as there is so much repetition but I find it really hard. I prefer reading the Psalms. Or listening as I fall asleep. 😊
Actually, I would think the genealogies would be a good way to get the max Ace badge. Lists are easier to memorize than you'd think. Just practice them for a couple of hours and you'd have it. Maybe faster if you link the people's names with visual stories. Then do nothing but those verses for the next week and you'd have the badge.