Nothing warms my heart like seeing my girls faith in God and love for Jesus. Their excitement in memorizing verses, such as the one listed above, learned at Kid Venture Sunday school is a proud moment for a parent. What gets to me is why I struggle with the same excitement in memorizing scripture for myself. My challenge seems to be a matter of priority and just an inability to successfully recite key passages that have meant so much to me at one time or another over the past 10 years or so. 3 verses come to mind:
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6
"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13
So why memorize scripture? Some say at the moment of temptation to do something wrong, meaningful verses will rush into your memory to correct you. The Bible says, put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. (Eph 6:11) And, the promises of God are a constant source of encouragement in a world in which we face daily challenges.
I have no doubt that I can do a better job in memorizing scripture if I just put the effort into it. I was blown away last year in Downline when Kennon Vaughan recited the entire book of Ephesians as I followed along in my Bible. It was truly inspiring, so my challenge to myself is to remember this moment, and take it as a challenge when my girls memorize verses to take them on for myself and ask them to quiz me as well.
I'll close with this picture of a verse that meant so much to me back in 2009 when I went on my first mission trip down to the Gulf Coast to repair homes damaged from Hurricane Ike. For weeks leading up to the trip I decided Joshua 24:15, "...as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.", would be my daily memory verse in my prayers preparing me for my trip. And I encountered God on that trip when one of the houses we worked on had this painted on their front door.
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