I’ve always wondered about people who quote scripture. You’re having a friendly discussion and without warning they become a walking, talking version of Biblical text! It’s like you suddenly accessed an audio version of the Bible on ITunes, complete with chapter and verse reference! I stand there dumbly, my mouth a gaping chasm of disbelief! How do people do that!?!
When I try to quote scripture it comes out sounding more like this, “Oh ya, that reminds me of this great scripture I read the other day. It was in Luke...um or Mark. No. Wait. John, it was definitely John. Anyway Jesus was talking about vines and branches and branches getting cut off and burnt. But the good branches have fruit on them and won’t get cut off. And abiding...ya we’re supposed to abide with God...”
Isn’t that concise and Biblically sound...NOT! It’s my reality, though. A passage of scripture comes to mind during a conversation and I’d really like to share it but all I can remember is the general thought behind it. I can’t give you any actual quotes, nor do I know exactly where to look to find what the Bible really says. (www.biblegateway.com is a God send! At least you can do a key word search!)
I wonder how credible I am in sharing the gospel story if I can’t back it up with scripture.
It’s time to take steps to change the dismal state of my scriptural memory banks. And guess what; you, as readers of my blog, get to join me! :)
In addition to my regular mid-week blog posts, each Sunday I’ll post a memory verse for the week. Those of you subscribing by RSS feed will receive it as soon as it’s posted. There’s always a delay with the email subscriptions so those subscribing by email will receive the verse Monday morning. Each verse will be tagged with the label “Scripture”. If you want to access an earlier verse you can get there by clicking the "Scripture" label at the right hand side of the blog.
We’ll have the week to incorporate the verse into our brains’ memory banks. Think about it as you’re driving to work, enter it as a note on your iPhone or Blackberry, write it on a sticky note and post it on your fridge, save it as a screen saver on your computer, post it on your Facebook page...do whatever helps you retain information.
Within a year we’ll be able to access 52 memorized verses whenever our hearts desire. What do you think God can do in your life with this much access to His word?
2 comments:
While I agree that it is a good idea to know your scripture, I have to admit that I get turned off by someone who quotes verbatim (and memory) from Scripture. I far prefer listening to someone who grasps the meaning and concept of the passage, rather than a rote quotation.
That's a good point, Lori. I agree with you, having a good understanding of scripture is far more important than exact wording. I think I'm approaching the memorizing aspect as a means of getting better knowledge and understanding of specific passages.
If we're just quoting scripture for the sake of quoting scripture, then we're really taking the "pharisee" approach in portraying the image of, "look how holy and wise I am", rather than truly feeding our hearts with it.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts.
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