Some people think I have memorized a lot of Bible verses, chapters and books, and some even call me the “memorizing queen," but I am completely pathetic.
I spent my day of solitude writing a list of all the chapters in the Bible I have memorized solid, all the chapters that I need to make a more intentional plan for reviewing and keeping fresh. I had just reviewed my highlights from a book by my memorizing mentor, Janet Pope, “His Word in My Heart.” In it she quotes from Kent Shaw, Executive Director of Harvest Bible Fellowship.
“I couldn’t live without it! Memorizing the Word is one of the best of all spiritual disciplines because it combines meditation, prayer, and the study of God’s Word...I believe actively and aggressively meditating on the Word will radically change your life....I memorize one verse a day....So far, after ten years, I have memorized the Sermon on the Mount, the Gospel of John, Romans, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Hebrews, James, and several chapters in Psalms and Proverbs. I try to give myself two hours in the morning to spend in the Word.”
I got out my Bible and my calculator to add up those chapters. Sermon on the Mount (+3), John (+21), Romans (+16), 2 Corinthians (+13), Galatians (+6), Hebrews (+13), James (+5), Psalms & Proverbs (+ unknown how many chapters he memorized).
That is 77 chapters PLUS some more from PS. and PR.!!! That’s a lot of chapters, but that is also a lot of months. More math: 10 years =120 months, so 77 chapters is 0.642 chapters a month. A little more than half a chapter per month, which could be 10-20 verses, less than a verse a day!
I recall that the first chapter I memorized was Hebrews 11 in high school. That was roughly 1997. Then I memorized the book of 1 John in 1998 (5 chapters). In college I memorized Hebrews (13 chapters).
THAT WAS 20 YEARS AGO!!!! Pathetic! Don’t get me wrong! I LOVE Hebrews, so much that I have camped out in it, reviewed and re-memorized it (see my post "How I Memorized Hebrews"), and I will never lose it again, you can be sure of that!!! I have learned my lesson!
But if Kent Shaw can memorize more than 77 chapters in 10 years, what have I memorized in the last 20 years?
I have solid today, and can quote with pretty good accuracy:Hebrews (13 chapters)
Titus (3 chapters)
1 Peter (5 chapters)
Romans 1
1 John 1-2
Psalms 1, 19, 23, 63, 73, 119.1-24, 121, 139.
That is 32 SOLID chapters. And WHAT A TREASURE, believe me!!! BUT ONLY 8 PSALMS?!?!!? I started crying and grieving when I listed the ones I used to have, the ones I have spent time memorizing that I LOST!
I once had:
Habakkuk (3 chapters)
Ephesians (6 chapters)
Colossians 3
And this list of Psalms... is what got my tears flowing: PSALMS I LOST: 3, 42, 46, 67, 86, 91, 100, 103, 117, 130, 131, 138, 143, 147, 150.
Now, I could probably sing parts of all those Psalms, I could scrape together a very good sampling of verses from those Psalms, and certainly the Holy Spirit can speak to me through them since I know they are stored in there somewhere.
But how could I LOSE so many Psalms?!!? In life and death situations I need to have these prayers on the ready! In battle I need this sword sharp. Oh, what a dull sword I’ve got collecting dust! I must clean this up and sharpen it up and get serious about this battle for my heart and soul! No more pathetic excuses!!
What was I doing all year?? It feels like I am always memorizing something, I am always carrying a scrap of paper in my purse or pocket with my coded letters on it. My brain often feels full. My brain is tired and I don’t want to do the hard work of sharpening my sword.
But I started sobbing once again when I reviewed my journals from 2018, where I keep a record on the last page of all the scripture I have reviewed or memorized.
WHAT?!?!?! January 4, 2018 “Romans 1.1-17”. I only did one chapter the whole year?!?! THAT IS LIKE LISTENING TO THE SAME SONG ON ITUNES FOR ONE WHOLE ENTIRE YEAR!!! There are tons of other songs and notes and instruments to hear in the Bible. (And yes, I often listen to the Bible on CD or Audible, and I do read it daily, but this is something different and the most rich thing I have ever done!). What is worse, I see that the whole month of January 2018 I was stuck in Romans 1.1-17. I reviewed Hebrews once. February and March, are BLANK! And then what happens in the journal in April?? Romans 1.1-17!!! How could I be stuck for so long in that one place?
I open the next journal, hoping that I have moved along. Yes, I reviewed Hebrews once more. I reviewed 1 Peter and Psalms 1 and 23.
I turn the page to May 17, 2018: “Romans 1. 1-18!” ONE NEW VERSE IN FIVE MONTHS!!! I have wasted so much time! I have not treasured and stored up more than one new verse.
You may think I am being hard on myself, but I will tell you who TOTALLY challenged me to take memorizing more seriously:
700 teenagers in communist Russia in the early 1950s.
This story, written in Nik Ripken’s book “The Insanity of God” really struck me to the core:
“At the beginning of the conference [with the 700 Russian youth], the young people were given an interesting challenge. None of them had owned a Bible. They had never had hymnbooks or songbooks or recordings of religious music. So in an off-handed way, the three pastors decided to determine how much Bible truth was present in that group of young people.
They said, ‘This will be like a game. Every day this week, we want you to gather in small groups. And we want to see how much of the four New Testament Gospels---Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John--you know and have memorized. In your groups, see how much of the Gospels you can recreate. And then do the same thing with songs and hymns. Let’s see how much of that can be reproduced by memory.’
At the end of the conference, when they compared and combined the efforts of all the different small groups, the young people had recreated all of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John with only half-dozen mistakes. They had also recreated the lyrics of more than twelve hundred songs, choruses, and hymns of faith from memory.
It became clear to me in an instant why and how the Christian faith had survived and often thrived under decades of communist oppression in the Soviet Union. I also understood what had enabled so many Russian believers to remain strong and faithful.
On the day I heard the story about that conference, I was able to visit with some young people. ....I asked the grandchildren of the men who had so proudly told me how much Scripture and how many lyrics the young people in the house churches had been able to reproduce back in the 1950’s:
‘Tell me, how much Bible do the young people in your churches know today?’
They looked at each other and rather sheepishly admitted, ‘Not much.’”
Friends, this story illustrates how people with little access to God’s Word know the value of it. They treasured it and stayed alive in suffering because of it. It also shows how with increased freedom and increased access, the Bible becomes a lost treasure.
How true for us today with all the versions we could ever want at our fingertips on a smartphone! But are we ready for battle!? Are our swords sharp! Will this Word be planted deeply in us, or will it remain in megabytes in the cloud?
What will I do with the next decade of my life???
My great regret of 2018 is that I was so lazy and made so many excuses for why I didn’t memorize the Word more. And believe me, I am in total agreement with Janet Pope: “The goal of memorizing should not be confused with the ultimate goal of knowing God and loving him (p. 27)....For me, memorizing Scripture has become an act of worship. It ushers me into God’s presence and keeps me spiritually renewed each day (p. 29).” Yes, and Amen! I agree 100%
I will receive that grace, to acknowledge that even without memorizing much in 2018, I still did walk with Jesus every day, I sang His praises and I did meditate extensively on Romans 1! (a tough chapter to swallow). But I also give myself that challenge, to be more intentional in 2019 and to repent of the ways in which I have neglected God’s Word, I have been lazy, or I have wasted time that could have been spent in fellowship and communion with Him through memorizing His Word.
I am making this raw journal-feeling post public, to keep myself accountable. You can ask me how it is going! And don’t pat me on the back for memorizing so much scripture (“Wow, you memorized the whole book of Hebrews!), or patronize me for my pathetic progress in 2018 (“It’s really not so bad, you are being hard on yourself”).
NO! PLEASE PRAY FOR ME!!!!
AND BETTER YET: JOIN ME!!!
To my readers who may be comparing themselves to me, please don’t! Compare yourself to yourself. Just ask yourself (and Jesus), "What is my capacity for meditating and memorizing God’s Word, and what challenge can I give myself for 2019?" If you memorized ZERO verses in 2018, then maybe start with Psalm 1 (6 verses; that is 1 new verse every two months for a year)! If you have memorized 1 chapter, then maybe try to memorize a book (such as Titus or Colossians)!
Let us become an army together ready for battle:
“I’ve got Hebrews and 1 Peter! I can encourage you in suffering and help you stand firm in your faith, looking to Jesus as our Cornerstone and High Priest!”
“Over here, I’ve got John and Revelation! I can remind you of the Great I AM and the power of Jesus, the Victorious Resurrected King, Coming soon to gather us and to judge the living and the dead!”
Another believer in Jesus stands sword-ready: “I have stored up Romans and Galatians! I am ready to remind us of the Gospel and to refute legalism or licentiousness. My sword is sharp on the doctrines of sin and salvation and sanctification!”
I will never memorize all 66 books of the Bible, but let me not waste the next 66 years of my life (that brings me to age 105! Haha!!).
“The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the Word of the Lord stands forever.”
1 Peter 1.24
“For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, discerning the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4.12
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