This Sunday I challenged our people at Trailhead Church to memorize Titus 2:11-14, our text for the four weeks of the Advent season. For some, this may be the first time they have tried to memorize scripture, so I thought I would pass along a few thoughts to help out.
First, memorization is all about repetition and familiarity. Find creative ways to keep the verse in front of you throughout the day. Write it on a 3x5 card and tape it to your bathroom mirror. Make it the background of your computer. Pull it up on your phone and review it when you have a little down time. Try to recite the verses to yourself and see what comes easily and where it still gets fuzzy. That way when you look back at the verses, you'll know where to focus attention.
Second, to truly memorize something it has to move from your short term storage to your long term memory banks. How do you make that happen? As you get the verses down, put time between your input and output - in other words, try to say the verses without reviewing or looking at them first. If you can say them without error, great. Now wait 24 or 48 hours and say them again without review. See how you do. As you do this, you will make the "sticking power" of your work much stronger for a much longer period of time.
Lastly, make your effort more about worship than achievement. Don't just fly through the verses trying to master the word order - sit in the verses and see how God wants to master you in them. Think about them carefully. Take time and pray through each sentence - what is God saying to you in this sentence? What is he showing you or pointing out to you? Often when God speaks to us in a passage, the words of that passage will get imprinted on our souls and not just remembered in our brains.
Memorizing scripture is an act of worship and a way of exercising spiritually. It focuses our minds, renews our hearts, and gives the Spirit something to encourage, exhort, or direct us with. Study well!
First, memorization is all about repetition and familiarity. Find creative ways to keep the verse in front of you throughout the day. Write it on a 3x5 card and tape it to your bathroom mirror. Make it the background of your computer. Pull it up on your phone and review it when you have a little down time. Try to recite the verses to yourself and see what comes easily and where it still gets fuzzy. That way when you look back at the verses, you'll know where to focus attention.
Second, to truly memorize something it has to move from your short term storage to your long term memory banks. How do you make that happen? As you get the verses down, put time between your input and output - in other words, try to say the verses without reviewing or looking at them first. If you can say them without error, great. Now wait 24 or 48 hours and say them again without review. See how you do. As you do this, you will make the "sticking power" of your work much stronger for a much longer period of time.
Lastly, make your effort more about worship than achievement. Don't just fly through the verses trying to master the word order - sit in the verses and see how God wants to master you in them. Think about them carefully. Take time and pray through each sentence - what is God saying to you in this sentence? What is he showing you or pointing out to you? Often when God speaks to us in a passage, the words of that passage will get imprinted on our souls and not just remembered in our brains.
Memorizing scripture is an act of worship and a way of exercising spiritually. It focuses our minds, renews our hearts, and gives the Spirit something to encourage, exhort, or direct us with. Study well!
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