My 21 years of ministry in five countries of Latin America and
Europe gave me a new appreciation for memorizing Bible passages.
It had been valuable at home, but in a foreign culture it was
indispensable!
I learned about Bible
memorization early because my Great Uncle John Neufeld, a lay
preacher from Russia, who had memorized the whole New Testament,
recited verses for us in German! In the little rural immigrant
church in California where I grew up, each child had to learn a
verse each Sunday, and my mother made sure we children won
prizes. I remember the Sunday evening memory verse contest when
the congregation stayed until 11 PM to watch my cousin Ed and I,
both in high school, do a memory verse contest. We had both
discovered the shortest verses in the Bible, like "Jesus wept."
My favorite was Psalm 136 where all 26 verses end with the words
"for his steadfast love endures for ever!"
But I have often stopped to
thank God for getting me into a Navigators’ group, where I
learned their superb system for selecting meaningful verses, and
memorizing and retaining them. People who never could memorize
learn to enjoy it with this simple system.
One secret is not to sit down
and memorize a great many verses but to set a pace for Bible
memory and review–a pace that you can keep up regularly, so it
becomes a habit. Memorize one new one-to-three verse passage a
week. Or two or three such passages. Another secret is to learn
the reference (the address) of each verse.
But before I describe their
method for memorizing, let me explain why I consider Bible
memory important for every serious Christian, but non-negotiable
for tentmakers and missionaries, who work in other cultures.
First we must remind ourselves of the functions of the Bible in
our lives and then how its power is multiplied by memorizing.
I God’s Word in our lives
The Bible uses metaphors to
help us understand its function in our lives.
God’s Word is bread (Mt.
4:4, Lk. 4:4) that is as essential to our spirits as whole wheat
or sourdough is to our bodies–or meat, vegetables and fruit,
because the word means food. Eating well can make the
difference between spiritual health and strength for a godly
lifestyle, service and witness or an anemic Christian life. It
is milk and meat (1 Peter 2:1-3, 1 Cor. 3:1,2). It
is even dessert–read for sheer enjoyment (Psalm 119:103).
Jeremiah discovered this when the long-lost Pentateuch scrolls
(Genesis to Deuteronomy) were found in the temple as repairs
were being made. (Jer.15:16).
God's Word purposefully hidden
in our memories progressively sets us free (John 8:32-34). It is
a mirror that helps us spot sin (like a computer's spellchecker
program) and to avoid it (James 1:22-24. It protects us from sin
and cleanses us (Psalm 119:11, Eph. 5:26) and facilitates every
aspect of our spiritual growth (Acts 20:32).
It is the lamp which lights the
way to go when decisions have to be made (Psalm 119:105).
It is our armor and our sword
for spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:10-18) in this cosmic war for
control of the world, in both our personal and collective
battles with human and non-human enemies. (Eph. 6:10-18, Heb.
4:12,13).
II Personal benefits of
Bible memory
1. It multiplies the effect
of God’s Word in our lives.
It makes sense that all the
above functions of God’s Word have some effect on us if we go to
church on Sundays and listen to sermons, but more effect if we
read a portion daily in a regular quiet time. Think how its
power is enormously heightened if we then also do regular Bible
study every week. (See our paper Inductive Bible Study.)
But for maximum effect, we should enter some of the most
important passages into our memories the way we enter data into
our computer and save it there for easy retrieval.
2. It conditions our thought
life, the secret of success.
Joshua 1:8 says "This book of
the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall
meditate on it day and night, that you may be careful to
do according to all that is written in it, for then you shall
make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success."
Psalm One says that the godly person "delights in the law of the
Lord" and meditates on it "day and night," becoming like a tree
planted by waters, always green and fruitful.
Did Joshua and the psalmist
(David?) carry thick parchment scrolls around with them
everywhere? You may be sure they did not. It is the psalmist who
tells us to hide God’s word in our hearts for easy transport.
(Psalm 119: 11) It weighs less than the scrolls!
It conditions our thought life
all day. This does not mean we should think of nothing else–or
we would not be able to carry out our daily responsibilities.
But appropriate verses jog our minds and helps us think
biblically about all our activities and relationships,
facilitating our obedience to God.
Note that it is God’s Spirit
who tells us through Joshua that the Word in our hearts is a
secret of success.
3. It gives the Holy Spirit
wide access to us.
This is true in all the ways
already described above. Also, the Holy Spirit can bring a
thought to mind when we least expect it, and lead us to
spontaneous worship. Of course, he can do that with portions of
his Word which we have heard or read, but not memorized, but
think how much easier it is when we have consciously hidden
these passages in our hearts so he can surprise us with them!
Even at night, if we go to bed
with a passage in mind, we usually wake up thinking about the
same one, as though the conversation had gone on all night. How
much better that is than storing our anxieties, grudges, world
news, stock market figures, a TV sitcom, a murder mystery or an
unwholesome drama–so that these are working on our subconscious
all night! God’s Spirit guards our minds and hearts from anxiety
when we meditate on the things that please him. (Phil. 4:6,7)
Let your last thoughts be of him.
4. It keeps us alert for
spiritual battle.
Most battles do not come while
we sleep. They arise in our encounters with people, maybe with
family members or neighbors, but certainly in the workplace. The
enemy is never people, but Satan and his accomplices, who meddle
in all our lives. We may not have time to go get our Bibles when
we need them. Even if we have one with us, it will not help if
we don't know what to look up. But if we have a significant
supply of God's Word in us, the Holy Spirit recalls just the
right words to us in an instant.
5. It facilitates and
transforms our personal Bible study,
We have less need of a
concordance because cross-references come to us automatically,
aiding and confirming our interpretation and application. All
that we read is spontaneously cross-referenced and enriched with
other passages from our minds. If we need to look them up we
know where to find them. My Bible study used to be laborious
because I struggled to find the passages I wanted. Verses also
help us remember what is in a great many chapters in the Bible
because we remember the contexts of our verses. (Can you say
roughly what is in every chapter of John? Acts? Philippians?)
III Ministry value
Bible memory can transform our
ministries in the following ways.
1. It makes group worship
more meaningful.
We can only give back to God
what he gives to us. The highest worship is not singing
ourselves into a kind of trance with repetitious music (what
pagans and other non-believers do), but a purposeful response to
God’s words to us. The Holy Spirit brings verses to mind during
worship services.
Group meetings of memorizers
have a deeper quality than other meetings, because God’s Word
has a greater place in their singing, teaching, mutual
exhortation, counseling, comforting and care. We are admonished
to let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly (Col. 3:16
and context), expressly to enhance our group activities. Where
inside us should his Word dwell? In our hearts, our minds, the
center of our personality–that is, in our memories. The stored
words help us glorify God by our personal lives and
relationships, and they help us teach and admonish and counsel
and comfort each other in our Christian circles.
2. It can give spiritual
authority.
God says that if we speak his
words instead of our own we shall be as his mouth! (Jer. 15:19,
23:28,29, Col. 3:16,17). Ample use of God's Word gives us
spiritual authority. That means that people to whom we minister
sense that God speaks to them through us. Any Christian can have
spiritual authority even if he or she has no official position
in a group.
For this reason, it also gives
us more conviction in our ministry. Instead of a lot of chaff
or straw, we focus on the wheat of Scripture. The
Bible passages give me great confidence when I speak, even
though I usually paraphrase and explain them rather than quote
them directly. But I can speak them with a conviction that "Thus
says the Lord!" The Word brings conviction to listeners in a way
that my unaided words cannot. (Psalm 119:97-102)
3. It gives freedom in
teaching and preaching.
Memorized passages not only
enrich our teaching and preaching, but they give us spontaneity
and freedom. The Holy Spirit guides our advance preparation, and
it is important to prepare well. But I am amazed how often he
brings just the right additional passages to mind, while I am
teaching. Bible memory frees us to be more sensitive to our
audience and to the Holy Spirit as we speak–to forget what is
less important and include what he wants us to say. It gives me
a great sense of God’s presence as I speak. It also means that
if we are unexpectedly asked to speak, we can probably give a
rather excellent talk without prior preparation. Even without a
Bible at hand, if we are at a picnic or somewhere without one
readily available.
4. It is indispensable for
our evangelism.
Did you ever talk with a
non-believer and afterward think of all the things you wish you
had said? That happens less as you store evangelistic truths in
your memory for easy recall. I am often amazed at how the Holy
Spirit brings up passages I forgot that I knew! You need to
create interest in God–create hunger and thirst–by the integrity
of your personal life, your caring relationships, and your
appropriate words. In this casual way you fish out the seekers
at your workplace and in your neighborhood. God's Spirit can
bring to mind exactly the right thing to say–if it is in your
memory to be recalled. As you deal privately with a seeker,
faith comes by hearing–not just something–but hearing
the Word of God. The message not only informs, but convinces
the listener of its credibility. The content itself creates the
faith needed to grasp it. We are born again by God's Word (Rom.
10:14,17, James 1:18).
Apologetics (arguments for our
faith) and personal testimony are important, but no one will
find the Lord without an explanation of the core message of who
Jesus is, what he did for us, and what it means that he is alive
and accessible to us today. The way of salvation is presented in
Scripture under various images, so we can present it to any
seeker, in terms already meaningful to him or her. So new birth,
becoming God's child, being rescued or saved, being made free,
or the concepts of ransom, redemption, submission to his
lordship, and other figures can be used. If we are familiar with
the passages, we can be flexible and use the one most
appropriate for our seeker. We will not be dependent on one
passage or kind of terminology or on evangelism formulas.
In a hotel elevator in Manila,
a well-dressed Filipino man asked me about my faith. I might
have chosen any one of a dozen salvation metaphors, but he
asked, "Are you another one of those people who believe that
Jesus is the Good Shepherd?" So I stuck with his metaphor, and
said, "Yes, and are you one, too?" He said, "No, I value my
freedom too much." So I said, "Which sheep do you think has the
most freedom, the one next to the Shepherd’s rod and staff, or
the one alone in the dark with the lions and the bears?" He
said, "You have just put a new perspective on the whole
subject!" When I learned his concern was loss of liberty, I told
him Jesus says none of us is free, but that he is the only one
who can make us free, and he does that through his word (John
8:32-34).
In talking with non-believers,
even when you could quote a passage, it is often better to say,
"I'm still learning about my faith, but would you like to see
what Jesus himself said?" Then pull out a New Testament and do a
one-on-one inductive study of a small passage, asking the seeker
to find in the text the answers to the questions you ask. But
what passage will you choose? If you have memorized, you will
know exactly where to find the best passage for this person.
5. It facilitates follow-up
of new believers.
We will know exactly what
material to give them, and ideally, we can start them out on
memorizing the most basic "first-aid" verses–following our
example. It will hasten the new convert’s spiritual growth.
In conclusion, memorizing
Scripture is a matter of obedience, because God not only tells
us to do it, but gives us ample reasons in his Word for keeping
his truth not only in our Bibles, but also in our hearts for
easy recall. Persecuted Christians in countries where Bibles
were confiscated, as in China and the former U.S.S.R., were
grateful for every passage memorized! Some then wrote out all
they remembered, by hand, to share with others.
IV Bible memory for a
foreign culture
All the above benefits are
magnified when you serve in a foreign country. Plus a few
additional ones. You face a whole set of new cultural patterns
with new tests and temptations and frustrations, whether you go
as a tentmaker or a missionary. Bible passages you hardly
noticed before will become relevant in a Muslim culture, or in
China. All of what we have already said will be important. Here
are a few of the additional advantages of Bible memory for
cross-cultural ministry.
1. It speeds up
communication in your new language.
While you are learning a
language, you may not know how to communicate a truth to a
believer or non-believer, but you know where to find the right
verse, and it gives you the right vocabulary! A North American
and a Guatemalan Christian who met accidentally on a train and
recognized that each was reading from a Bible, had a whole
conversation through verses they found in each other's Bible!
The verse gives you the vocabulary and the sentence frames for
conversation. You can make excellent use of a New Testament with
English on one page and your new language on the opposite page.
(Check with the Bible Society to see if your target language is
available in this double format.)
2. It helps you pray in
public.
Praying in a foreign tongue is
usually more difficult than conversing because of the special
prayer language–grammatical constructions and different pronouns
and verbs that are not used in normal conversation. But even
before you can converse easily, you can pray in public, if you
have memorized a few worship, praise and thanksgiving verses
from the Psalms. You can also find the right sentence frames for
making requests, and then substitute your requests for those in
the verses.
3. It helps you give talks
and lead studies sooner.
You can give a talk before you
are proficient in the language, by using memorized verses, and
their vocabulary for the explanations.
When I first went to Peru, I
began leading inductive Bible study discussions before my
Spanish was adequate. I spent hours memorizing the vocabulary of
the passage, and making up the questions. But I had trouble when
the participants strayed from my vocabulary lesson! I probably
should have waited–but my new friends needed the gospel, and
some kept coming back!
So as soon as you can, begin to
learn your verses in your new language. It helps that you
already know them in English. Even verses not yet memorized in
your new language are helpful because you know where to find
them, so you can quote or paraphrase them in your new language.
VII Selecting passages
1. Choose significant
verses. The Bible, like all literature, has brick and mortar
verses. Choose bricks. It is usually better to learn verses than
whole chapters, although you may want to memorize Psalm 23,
Psalm 1, 1 Cor. 13 and a few other gems.
2. Choose what will be
helpful.
List your favorite verses, and
as you read, keep adding to the list of verses you want to
memorize.
3. Choose complete thoughts.
This may be just one verse, or it may be two or three
together, that constitute a full thought.
4. Begin with Navigator
packet. They have chosen an initial set of 36 verses and an
expanded set of 60. All of these are so basic that every
believer should them know from memory. They are about our life
in Christ and his life in us, about prayer and Bible study,
about obedience and evangelism. It is a good set to start off a
new Christian.
VIII Memorizing and
reviewing verses
1. Use the Navigators’
packet. The small vinyl packet just the right size for about
36 cards, and has a tiny window where the reference can be seen.
Recite the corresponding verse, and then pull out the card to
see if you got it right. You can add interpretive notes on the
reverse side of the cards.
2. Carry your packet with
you. Keep the packet in your pocket–or your purse. Have it
with you all the time. You can do most of the memorizing and
reviewing in odd moments during the day that might otherwise be
wasted. You can even review while making the bed, washing the
dishes or driving the car.
Someone suggested using traffic
slowdowns if you make daily commutes in a busy city. Many
people’s frenetic pace collides twice daily with traffic
jams–every morning and every evening. Most drivers chafe! Their
blood pressure rises. Tempers flare. Cell phones come out, and
radios are turned up. Instead, view these unwelcome pauses as
circuit-breakers that interrupt your busyness long enough for
matins and vespers. A perfect time to pray, and to
review your verses! Keep a memory packet attached to your car’s
sun visor. Turn annoying minutes into meditation.
3. Understand what you are
memorizing.
For years I used the back of
each card to jot notes on a 5-point outline. What is the
point of the passage? its purpose? a parallel
passage? a problem? its profit? (Lesson)
Then I changed to the seven
newspaper questions, plus three. Instead of just listing them, I
will apply them to Acts 20:32.
Who
were the main characters stated or
implied? (If they are not in the text they are in the context.)
In this case, they are Paul and the Ephesian elders.
What
was the main action? Paul tells
them how to continue caring for their churches.
Where
did it occur? On the beach at
Miletus, the port city for Ephesus.
When
did it occur? After Paul had
finished his three years in that city, and when he is on his way
to Caesarea and Jerusalem for Passover. His ship made a stopover
in Miletus and he called for the elders, probably because it was
too dangerous for him to go to the city.
How
did the main action occur? Paul
reminds them of his godly life, ministering among them
full-time, as he also fully supported himself. He had
taught them all that he knew about God–his "whole counsel." They
were to follow his example, including his self-support. He
entrusted them into the care of God and his Word.
Why
did it occur? Paul feared arrest
in Jerusalem and would probably never see the elders again–it
was an emotional meeting, and we can be sure Paul told them only
those things that he considered most important.
What were the consequences?
Paul was arrested in
Jerusalem and spent two years in prison in Caesarea, then two
years in Rome under house arrest, and then in Nero’s palace
prison. Finally, he was acquitted. But soon he was rearrested,
and held in a Roman dungeon. From there he writes Timothy, whom
he had sent to minister to the Ephesians.
How does this verse fit into
its context? This
poignant farewell contains Paul’s most serious last exhortations
for these pastors.
What is its main lesson?
That God cares for
individuals and churches primarily through his Word–the message
of his grace and love and exhortation.
What application should it
have in my life today?
To constantly study God’s Word for my personal needs, and to
make sure that in my teaching, I use it, and not just my own
ideas. Also, the most important gift I can give another person,
apart from life in Jesus Christ, is a love for God’s Word, and
knowledge of how to study and memorize it. This is true whether
I am with a new convert or with a long-time Christian. I can
entrust old friends and loved ones to God’s Word.
The questions make you focus on
the meaning of the text in its larger context, so a single verse
can help you locate a whole narrative.
Otherwise, there is danger of
misinterpreting verses–using them as mere proof-texts. For
example: "Whatever you do for one of the least of these my
brethren" (and all its parallel passages) encourage us to show
solidarity with Christians in persecution by taking risks to
identify with them and to help them. But these verses are
usually interpreted as Jesus’ commands for us to do social work.
They have nothing to do with social work. In this particular
case, no great harm is done because other passages in the Bible
do encourage social work. The biggest problem is that we are
robbed of the very important lesson these passages do have–a
loss that tentmakers, missionaries and local Christians in
hostile countries cannot afford.
4. Learn the verses
Learn the verses–prepositions and all. When I began memorizing
we had only the old King James Version–very beautiful, but
quaint. But every time we heard the verses read in church, on
the radio, or in Bible studies, it reinforced what we had
memorized. Today, with many translations, our key verses sound
different each time. You need to choose one translation for all
your memory work.
Many churches today use the
excellent NIV, but many of us prefer the RSV for study, and so
for memory.
The Bibles available today are
all great for reading, but no translation is perfect.
Translators struggle between keeping their text as close as
possible to the original words in Greek and Hebrew, or
translating larger thoughts more loosely so it will read
more smoothly. But for inductive Bible study we need to stick
close to the original, so we can note the writer’s literary
devices–the repetitions, contrasts, figures of speech, allusions
to the O.T., etc.–features which looser translations tend to
obscure. The RSV is closer to the original than any other modern
translation, so I prefer it for study and for Bible memory. I
noted recently in a magazine article, where John Stott very
positively evaluates all the new Bible translations, but he also
prefers the RSV for study, because of its closeness to
the original.
5. Review regularly.
One plan is to learn three new
passages a week. The second week, you place the first three
cards at the end of your little packet, and learn three new ones
and do daily review of the three first ones. In this way, by the
time you have learned the 36 initial verses, the first ones will
have been reviewed one or more times daily for 12 weeks. Then
put the initial three cards into a small box and start your
once-a-week review section. Keep adding your last three cards
from your packet as you add three new ones to the front of it.
Later you start moving your once-a-week review cards into your
once-a-month review section.
6. Make new cards for your
personally chosen verses.
When you have finished the
initial 60 verses from the Navigator system, write your own
choices on little cards and use them with your vinyl packet. Or
cut the verses out of a cheap New Testament from a used
bookstore and paste them onto the cards. If the passage is too
big for the card, fold it at the bottom. It is exciting to see
one’s box of cards of memorized verses grow to several hundred!
And to reap the great benefit from all the effort!
As the Holy Spirit promised to
help the Twelve recall what he had taught them orally, he helps
us to recall what he has taught us through his written Word. But
computers teach us that you cannot retrieve data which has never
been entered.
–Ruth E. Siemens
Note: GO has 20 years
experience helping Christians serve abroad as tentmakers. Ask
for a list of other G0 Papers on tentmaking, on workplace
evangelism, inductive Bible study and evangelistic Bible study.
Bibliography:
Hide God’s Word in Your
Heart: Navigators’ Topical Memory System.
A 30 week course with booklet,
vinyl verse pack and 60 verse cards. Write NavPress, P.O. Box
6000, Colorado Springs CO 80934. Or look in Christian
bookstores.
Copyright 1997 Ruth E.
Siemens |