LOL. I am laughing for joy, that you love God's word so much. I mean it sincerely. A true love for God's word shows a true love for God. His word is his revelation of Himself to us. And so we long to know Him more and better and deeper.
Regarding Moody Bible Institute, I often watch Pastor Lutzer's sermons online (from Moody Church) and am always blessed by them. May God bless your journey into full time ministry, By Grace Alone!
Hello all. Thank you for the kind words, By Grace Alone, and it's a nice idea to share with the rest of the group our study methods and experiences. At the moment I have an overall plan of going through several books of the Bible in order. I add (usually) two verses each day from two different chapters. When I finish a chapter, then I move on to a chapter in a different book. By doing so, I will complete all these books in about 5 years. Yes, it's a very long range plan, but it has been blessing me. The books in my rotation are Romans, Daniel, Acts, Revelation, Matthew, John, and some of Paul's letters.
I echo what By Grace Alone said, that coming to this website every day is a spiritual discipline, and that the Holy Spirit greatly rewards faithfulness to keep that discipline, by giving comfort, greater understanding of God's Word, and a greater closeness to God. Plus in my own daily life, it often happens where a scripture comes to my mind that will be a blessing to someone else.
My ministry is to hopefully be an example and a vessel of Jesus Christ in my day to day "normal" activities. I'm not any kind of actual "minister in the church", although I do go to church.
It sounds good to me! By the way, I also like your way ... it's just that since I joined this site, I've used several strategies, and decided I finally had to settle on one for consistency's sake. Anyway, thanks for the link and chatting a bit :)
Yes, I've had the same difficulty with Psalm 119. Precepts, statutes, etc. It seems to me a good strategy would be to do a study of each of those words in Hebrew and to try to attach some of the original meaning to each of our English words. Each of those words must have its own "feel" in the original. Then if we try to attach it, and then think of it as we memorize.
But at the moment I'm working on Romans 3 and Daniel 2, so ... at least for me that idea is on the back burner. :)
Annette, I would just like to clarify that at this link http://learnscripture.net/review-schedule/ it says "...the gaps will keep increasing, until the verse is considered fully learnt after about 1 year, at which point it is retired and not tested any more.". So once verses are fully learnt, there's no more testing; unless I suppose one wanted to reset them and start again the learning process :)
It's nice to have a conversation with like-minded people. :) This morning, I feel very grateful to know that God is real and that He gives wisdom to those who seek Him. "There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries ....." Daniel 2:28, Daniel speaking to Nebuchadnezzar.
Hello Robinshe, it's nice to speak to you again. :) I plan to eventually work my way through all of Daniel, but it will take some time. At the moment I am adding two verses a day. I focus on two particular chapters (at the moment Daniel 2 and Romans 3), and then when I complete those, I will start two other chapters in the same way, choosing from a number of Bible books I have in rotation. So, how long it will take me to complete Daniel will depend on how often I choose Daniel from that list of Bible books. I'm using an Excel spreadsheet to keep myself organized, and at the moment it will take me until sometime in 2021 to complete the task (completing all the Bible books on my list). Some people probably think I'm crazy ... but I like the idea of mixing short term and long term goals.
I just wanted to add, what my strategy at this point is, is to add two verses per day. On any day when I don't have much to review, I'll practice my verse sets over at scripturetyper.com. This way I hope to get my memory of the verses to be more accurate. I've noticed, as have you, that when the small boxes turn into one box per row, testing is a lot harder. I also like the variety of using different kinds of testing such as the kind here as opposed to such at scripturetyper or at Memverse.
Yes. Once again it seems your experience is similar to mine. I have to strike a balance between my desire to learn and meditate on more of God's Word, and the necessity of not adding too many verses, so that the review queue does not at some point become unmanageable.
I added Daniel because I was working on Matthew 24, and in one particular verse it mentions what was spoken by the prophet Daniel; so that motivated me to start learning Daniel, and it is really blessing me. Daniel was an excellent role model for us, in every aspect of his behavior. I'm learning Revelation because ... as I'm sure it's obvious .... the times we live in motivate me to understand Revelation better.
I'm enjoying the gospel of John a lot, also. It truly helps in knowing the real Jesus better. By that I mean, understanding better who He truly is. But I'm also enjoying Daniel and Revelation, so I guess I'm enjoying "too many" if that's possible :)
I personally have found it beneficial because I don't want to focus on the same book all the time ... I need variety. Of course, as you noted Graetzmi, there's also nothing stopping me from reading ahead whenever I wish to. It's a very long term goal; but on the other hand, it involves the satisfaction of short term goals as well, such as approximately two new chapters per month, on average. I don't mind having such a long term goal because I firmly believe that He will keep me, and us, and that I will have the same beliefs about His Word in 2021 as I do now. Of course, reaching that goal will also depend on if I or we are even alive in 2021. But there's a bigger reason for knowing God's Word; and that is to know Him. His Word, I believe, is like a love letter to us. It means very little to know His Word intellectually without actually knowing HIM. Knowing Him is the whole point. Sorry, but I launched into a sermon there.
Thanks JDJDJD. I personally like rotating among those various books of the Bible rather than focusing on only one until it is completed. But to each their own. If I'm faithful to do 2 new verses per day, I will finish those books and letters sometime in 2021. God willing, of course :) I know it's been said many times, but using this website (and others that are similar) has really changed my life. God's Word, when taken seriously, changes a person's life for the better.
Thanks JDJDJD. By_Grace_Alone, this month I'm learning Romans 3 and Daniel 2, one verse a day for each. When I have enough time I add new verses (in order) from other books of the Bible: Revelation, Matthew, John, Ephesians, Galatians, and Acts. Once I've finished Romans 3 and Daniel 2, I'll shift to another book(s) of the Bible from that list, eventually (several years from now) completing all of them. That's my plan.
Thanks JDJDJD. By_Grace_Alone, this month I'm learning Romans 3 and Daniel 2, one verse a day for each. When I have enough time I add new verses (in order) from other books of the Bible: Revelation, Matthew, John, Ephesians, Galatians, and Acts. Once I've finished Romans 3 and Daniel 2, I'll shift to another book(s) of the Bible from that list, eventually (several years from now) completing all of them. That's my plan.
Thanks JDJDJD. I personally like rotating among those various books of the Bible rather than focusing on only one until it is completed. But to each their own. If I'm faithful to do 2 new verses per day, I will finish those books and letters sometime in 2021. God willing, of course :) I know it's been said many times, but using this website (and others that are similar) has really changed my life. God's Word, when taken seriously, changes a person's life for the better.
Amazing goal, joosep. You have to have the right motive to do it like that. You don't get any of the good feelings of accomplishment when you finish a whole book (at least not until a long time in the future). Having said that it would be maddeningly slow getting through a section just to hear a whole story or parable or argument. But then again maybe it would encourage you to read more (without memorising)? Very interesting.
I personally have found it beneficial because I don't want to focus on the same book all the time ... I need variety. Of course, as you noted Graetzmi, there's also nothing stopping me from reading ahead whenever I wish to. It's a very long term goal; but on the other hand, it involves the satisfaction of short term goals as well, such as approximately two new chapters per month, on average. I don't mind having such a long term goal because I firmly believe that He will keep me, and us, and that I will have the same beliefs about His Word in 2021 as I do now. Of course, reaching that goal will also depend on if I or we are even alive in 2021. But there's a bigger reason for knowing God's Word; and that is to know Him. His Word, I believe, is like a love letter to us. It means very little to know His Word intellectually without actually knowing HIM. Knowing Him is the whole point. Sorry, but I launched into a sermon there.
It depends on why people blaze through verses. If it is to prove to themselves their own self-worth, then yes it is a form of idolatry. But if they have some other reason, such as to simply meditate on God's Word as much as possible because they desire to know Him better, then the motive is good. Only God truly knows our hearts.
As we've discussed before, and I'm sure we agree, the points are "fun" but they pale in comparison to the true meaning and value of this website. :)