“I don’t have the time...”

When a friend suggested to me that I begin to memorize and recite a selected verse of Scripture every week, this was my spontaneous mental response. I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

I was being forced out of my comfort zone and accountability was on the horizon.

But something told me it was the thing to do. Actually, it was more than that.  I knew I had to do it. There was also something that appealed to my sense of urgency, and this time I couldn’t wait until it felt right.  I didn’t understand why committing any part of God’s word to memory was so important.

But I did it anyway. And it didn’t take long to for me to realize what a valuable tool Scripture memorization was. The more verses I retained, the more peripheral other thoughts became.

I felt like I was feeding the right dog.

I was becoming better equipped to be a witness to the good news of Christ’s redemptive work and the hope of reigning with Him when He appears. I was gaining confidence that I wouldn’t have to “shrink away from Him at His coming.” (1 Jn. 2:28)

In his second letter to the Corinthians, the apostle Paul conveys the absolute power of the Inspired word of God in gaining the edge over the power of the flesh:

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ…” (vs.. 10:3-5)

Paul’s knowledge of God was the result of a personal revelation from Christ. My knowledge of Him must come primarily from reading and retaining.  If I want to be able to “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,” I’d best have a well-functioning search engine in my head.

As a tradesman, I intuitively sensed the need for keeping all my tools sharp, knowing that good performance is based in part on the condition in which they’re kept. And performance is always recompensed, both temporally and in the age to come.

Perhaps the most convincing text supporting Scripture memory comes from the Psalmist David: 

“Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against you. ” (Ps. 119:11)

He addresses what the real problem was…and acknowledges the only real solution.