Memorizing the Gospel

God instructs us in the Psalms to store up His Word in our hearts. What a beautiful picture. God wants us to tuck His promises into our hearts so that, no mater where we are or what we are doing, we can pull them out and be strengthened by their truth.

Not good at memorizing Scripture? That's OK! Keep doing it! Work at it! No one is keeping score - well God's not at least. Even if others do it quicker or better, it's worth it and I encourage you - DON'T STOP!!!

Have you heard of "strategic Scripture memory"? Good! I hadn't either! But, it is so clever. What you do is, you start memorizing things you want to memorize. So for example, as a father, you might want to remind yourself and your wife and kids about the Gospel. So you find verses about the gospel and memorize them.

I'm going to provide some verses for you that have helped me to love my Lord more and to also encourage my wife and children. But before I do let me try to show you when you want to pull these verses out. It's when you find yourself alone, or when you find yourself praying to the Lord. It can also be when you find yourself losing perspective in the midst of life's daily troubles and inconveniences. Traffic jams - after you have blew up at your wife and kids for no reason, etc... Instead of listening to yourself - preach God's Word to yourself.


2 Corinthians 5:21 - For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

If your struggling with condemnation over a sin that you've repented of and turned away from, reflect on this passage.

Romans 8:31-34 - If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died - more than that, who raised - who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

Just quickly, a couple more. Here are some great verses that speak of God's work of salvation through the cross.

Isaiah 53:3-6
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he was borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Romans 3:23-26

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Galatians 2:21

I do not nullify the grace of God, for if justification went through the law, the Christ died for no purpose.

1 Corinthians 15:3-4

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.

Oh I hope you will try doing this... It is a wonderful practice.