Thy Word

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." - Colossians 3:16

Each week I have a memory verse that I give my Sunday school kids to memorize. They are pretty young so it is not always an entire verse they are given to memorize but each week we have a verse and if they come back the next Sunday and can recite their verse to me, they get to put a sticker on their chart. Once they fill up their chart, they get a reward. Most Sunday night services, we are given an opportunity to recite memory verses and I am very happy when one of the kids from my class stands up and recites a verse word for word! Not always an easy thing to do for a 4 year old but the kids enjoy memorizing verses and mostly enjoy being rewarded for their effort.

A few weeks ago after listening to a few kids from my class recite their verses the thought hit me: 'I encourage these kids to memorize verses each week and tell them how important it is and yet, what verses have I been memorizing lately?'

Ouch.

I do try to memorize verses and so far this year I have gotten a few down but God has given me a challenge. Since I challenge my Sunday school class to memorize a verse each week, God has challenged me to memorize a verse each week. Not only that, but to recite it when given the chance. How can I expect the kids to do it if I do not lead by example?

I don't expect anyone to give me a sticker or a high-five for memorizing verses but God's word does promise rewards for it...

"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." - Psalm 119:11

It will help me sin less. Or at least empower me more to fight against temptation to sin.

"So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God." - Romans 10:17

Writing, reading, repeating and memorizing a verse hides it in my heart. When a verse is hidden in my heart, it allows God to use that verse in my life when I need it. He can bring it to mind if I am struggling with a sinful temptation or if my faith is being tested He can bring to mind verses of assurance to remind me that he is a "friend that sticketh closer than a brother."

I have yet to find a "con" for memorizing scripture, just a whole bunch of "pros". I only mentioned just a couple here but trust me, there are plenty more.

So there it is, blog readers. Before you, I admit the challenge laid before me. This is my invitation for you to keep me accountable to it. If you see me in person, feel free to ask me what my verse of the week is, (to be honest, I could use the reminder!)

But before I finish up this post, let me turn that question to you. Do you desire to do better? Know God more? Have a deeper faith in Him? If so, may I suggest making an attempt to memorize some scripture. It won't hinder you in any of these areas. If anything, I believe it would only strengthen you.

I want to "Let the word of Christ dwell in me richly." Don't you?