“Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee…I will meditate in Thy precepts, and have respect unto Thy ways. I will delight myself in Thy statutes; I will not forget Thy Word.” –Psalm 119:11, 15-16 (KJV).
I recently received a book entitled 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know By Heart by Robert J. Morgan. When I first became a Christian, and even before, I was taught the value of memorizing Scripture verses and applying their truths to my life. I appreciate good Sunday School teachers, parents, a caring pastor and others who early in my life taught me to love, obey and study the Word of God.
I was interested to note the 100 Bible verses noted author, teacher and pastor, Rev. Morgan, thought we should know. He gives authentic reasons for our knowing key life-verses and having them in mind to readily apply to situations we face. “It’s vital for mental and emotional health and for spiritual well-being,” he writes. “It makes the Bible portable…It allows God’s Word to sink into your brain and permeate your subconscious and even your unconscious thoughts.” (p. xiii). In addition to the 100 verses he suggests we memorize, he gives sound advice about how to memorize and argues that age is not a factor to our learning verses if we set our minds to the task.
Long before Rev. Morgan published his book on Scripture memorization in 2010 and listed the 100 verses he considers vital to knowing “by heart,” the writer of Psalm 119 declared that he had hidden God’s Word in his heart. His reason? “That I might not sin against Thee.” His resolution to hide God’s Word in his heart was further supported by his affirmation to “meditate upon Thy precepts,” to “have respect unto Thy ways.” Furthermore, the Psalmist pledged to “delight myself in Thy statutes,” and promised God, “I will not forget Thy Word.”
I recently received a book entitled 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know By Heart by Robert J. Morgan. When I first became a Christian, and even before, I was taught the value of memorizing Scripture verses and applying their truths to my life. I appreciate good Sunday School teachers, parents, a caring pastor and others who early in my life taught me to love, obey and study the Word of God.
I was interested to note the 100 Bible verses noted author, teacher and pastor, Rev. Morgan, thought we should know. He gives authentic reasons for our knowing key life-verses and having them in mind to readily apply to situations we face. “It’s vital for mental and emotional health and for spiritual well-being,” he writes. “It makes the Bible portable…It allows God’s Word to sink into your brain and permeate your subconscious and even your unconscious thoughts.” (p. xiii). In addition to the 100 verses he suggests we memorize, he gives sound advice about how to memorize and argues that age is not a factor to our learning verses if we set our minds to the task.
Long before Rev. Morgan published his book on Scripture memorization in 2010 and listed the 100 verses he considers vital to knowing “by heart,” the writer of Psalm 119 declared that he had hidden God’s Word in his heart. His reason? “That I might not sin against Thee.” His resolution to hide God’s Word in his heart was further supported by his affirmation to “meditate upon Thy precepts,” to “have respect unto Thy ways.” Furthermore, the Psalmist pledged to “delight myself in Thy statutes,” and promised God, “I will not forget Thy Word.”
Perhaps many of us memorized verses as children. I was delighted when my great grandson, Gavin, at age four, could quote and give reference for Scripture verses that begin any letter of the English alphabet. This he accomplished in a good Christian Preschool that helped him to get started early in life on the Psalmist’s resolution to hide God’s Word in his heart. As aging and responsibility ensued in our lives, we became lax in memorization of Scripture, were not urged by our Sunday School teachers and others to quote the memory verse (key verse of the lesson), and, with multiple translations of the Bible, we did not center upon which one we would memorize as we did when the King James Version was the only one available to most of us.
The best example we have of knowing the Scriptures and applying them is Jesus when He faced temptations during His forty day period in the wilderness. With each temptation Satan presented, Jesus met the challenge by quoting God’s Word. “”It is written…” What a powerful testimony to the power of the Word to help any of us who know the Word. In this New Year, may we hide more of God’s Word in our heart so it will be available to us for meditation, for inspiration, for clarity and guidance in life.
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