I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.  Psalm 119:11

I start my sermons with the question, “Are you reading your Bible?” because the Bible is God’s primary revelation of who he is, who we are, and how we can and should relate to him. You can’t know the will of God or the ways of God unless you know the word of God.

But don’t just read the Bible, memorize it too. When you commit God’s word to memory it’s always with you. It becomes part of who you are. When you are weak, it brings strength. When you are afraid, it brings hope. When you are hurting, it brings comfort. When you are uneasy, it brings peace. When you are tempted, it provides protection. And when you are on top of the world, it brings perspective.

Some people don’t memorize scripture because they say it’s too hard. It does take time and effort, but there is no time or effort you can put into it that you will ever regret.  The return on investment from memorizing God’s word is priceless. It can’t be measured because it never stops giving.

Where to start? Memorize individual verses such as John 3:16…and John 3:17 (what a wonderful verse to know). Then try to memorize Bible passages such as Psalm 119:9-16, which focuses on the joy and benefit of knowing God’s word. If you want to memorize a whole chapter you might want to start with Psalm 117, the shortest chapter in the Bible, yet powerfully proclaiming that God’s grace extends to all nations and all people. Finally, if you want to memorize an entire book of the Bible, you might start with Jude, a one-chapter book focused on dealing with false teaching in the church.

Memorize scripture.  You’ll be blessed if you do and you’ll have no regrets about the effort it took.