Tips On Improving Your Devotional Life: Bible Memorization

Some of us are naturally good at Bible memorization, some of us are naturally bad at Bible memorization; and some of us just need to learn how to do it properly (or at lease ease the process). You can mix-and-match these tips, use all of them, or none at all; but hopefully they will at least inspire you to come up with a better method of memorizing scripture.

Tips for short passages:

1. Read short passage, say it as far as you can (out loud) without looking, repeat until you get it.

2. Read first line/sentence/part (whatever you want really) and do the process above. After you get the first part down, try to do the first and second part. Continue until you have all the parts down.

3. Print out the verse; and put it up in different places around the house.

4. Read the verse a couple times, every time you read the Bible. Constant exposure works wonders!

5. Memorize verses that are meaningful to you.  Let face it, they are easier to remember.

Tips for long passages (works particularly well with long chapters):


Step 1. Read as much as you have memorized of the long passage, as well as the next ten verses.

Step 2. Memorize whatever verse you are on, using whatever method you like.

Step 3. Without looking, try to recite as much of the passage as you can, including the verses you haven't memorized yet.

Step 4. Read as much as you have memorized of the long passage, as well as the next ten verses; again.

Steps 3 & 4 are the surprising key to this process.  It might not help a ton in the beginning; but once you get to those verses that you have been repeating for the past ten days, you will probably already have them memorized (and maybe be a couple verses "ahead").

Using the long passage process has been extremely helpful to me. A lot of times I can "recite" about five verses ahead of what I have officially "memorized".  I hope the process can help you too! Not only does this process take less time, and help you in long-term retention; it also helps you remember what verse comes next while reciting the passage. -I can't count how many times I have truly "known" every verse in a chapter; but was not able to simply figure out which verse comes next.  Reading large chunks often; helps remedy this problem.

If you often memorize chapters, and know what chapter you are going to do next, I suggest you start working on the next chapter when you get towards the end (last ten verses) of your current chapter.


Do you have any tips you would like to share?  Only a few of the tips have been covered, and Scripture memorization is pretty important, so there may be a part 2 of this article.  Happy memorizing!  And thank you to everyone who helped me compile these tips! :)

"I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."
~Psalm 119:11

Do You Know Theology, Or God?

Piper really gets this spot on! :D

"You can read theology 10 hours a day, 40 years long and not know God as beautiful, all satisfying and highest treasure of your life" ~John Piper

No Zeal In The Reformed?

I would agree that in the Reformed spheres, there is certainly a need for more spiritual zeal. HOWEVER, it IS there. Here are some quotes from some of the most prominent Reformers to prove it:

 Charles Spurgeon- You do not know the beginning of true zeal, for the foundation of Christian zeal lies in the heart. The heart must be heavy with grief and yet must beat high with holy ardour. The heart must be vehement in desire, panting continually for God’s glory, or else we shall never attain to anything like the zeal which God would have us know.

Charles Spurgeon- “If you want that splendid power in prayer, you must remain in loving, living, lasting, conscious, practical, abiding union with the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Jonathan Edwards- “The happiness of the creature consists of rejoicing in God, by which also God is magnified and exalted.”

Jonathan Edwards- “To go to heaven, fully to enjoy God, is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here.”

John Calvin - “There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.”

John Calvin- “The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life. It cannot be grasped by reason and memory only, but it is fully understood when it possesses the whole soul and penetrates to the inner recesses of the heart.” 

R.C. Sproul- “I was new Christian. My conversation had been sudden and dramatic, a replica for me of the Damascus Road. My life had been turned upside down,, and I was filled with zeal for the sweetness of Christ. I was consumed with a new passion. To study the Scripture. To learn how to pray. To conquer the vices that assaulted my character. To grow in grace. I wanted desperately to make my life count for Christ. My soul was singing, "Lord, I want to be a Christian.”

John Piper- “But to enjoy him we must know him. Seeing is savoring. If he remains a blurry, vague fog, we may be intrigued for a season. But we will not be stunned with joy, as when the fog clears and you find yourself on the brink of some vast precipice.”

John Piper- “Minimizing the importance of transformed feelings makes Christian conversion less supernatural and less radical. It is humanly manageable to make decisions of the will for Christ. No supernatural power is required to pray prayers, sign cards, walk aisles, or even stop sleeping around. Those are good. They just don’t prove that anything spiritual has happened. Christian conversion, on the other hand, is a supernatural, radical thing. The heart is changed. And the evidence of it is not just new decisions, but new affections, new feelings.” 

What Will Thou Do In The Valley?

“Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness,” ~2 Corinthians 9:10

“Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food”

God gives us all that we need for a spiritual relationship with Him. Simply put, Him, the Bible, and us.

“supply and multiply the seed”

He has the power, and WILL multiply what He has given us.

“you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness”

BUT, before He will “multiply the seed”; we have to put in effort. For example, we cannot expect a deep, spiritual relationship with God if we do not regularly read our Bibles, etc.  This reality is further emphasized by the following passage:

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.  For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.  And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” ~Galatians 6:7-9

To put this passage into more easy-to-understand terms:

God is not a God of the lazy, but a God of those who put in effort. If you put your effort into things that are of a sin nature, you will get results of a sin nature. But if you sow according to that which is good and comes from God you will get results that are good and come from God.  This won’t come instantly however. You may have to go quite a while of simply putting in effort before you get the results. But don’t worry, it WILL come, even if it takes a while.

If we think about this in terms of a spiritual relationship with God; we will come to realize that we need to put effort (such as reading our Bibles, prayer, etc.) into a spiritual relationship before we can expect results (spirit of wisdom, revelation in the knowledge of Himself, enlightened eyes of understanding, knowing hope, etc. See Eph. 1:17). 

In my personal opinion, I think we all go through ups and downs in our spiritual relationship with God; or at least I know I have. But one thing I have learned time and time again is that I need to SOW before I can REAP. So badly do we want to reap without sowing; but I am afraid that is not the way life works.

So I encourage you, if right now you are in a valley and not a mountain, read you Bible, pray, get in touch with you God and at the proper time you will reap a harvest if you do not give up.

Do Not Be Yourself

This whole philosophy of "being yourself" is not just in secular circles, but it Christian circles as well. Its sad to think how much we really are effected by our culture's beliefs and ideals without even realizing that it goes against the Bible! We need to be what GOD wants us to be, not be who we are. Who we are is sinful. Who we are is fallen. Who we are is depraved and in desperate need to NOT be ourselves and for someone to give us some other image.  But really, I am not just talking about what GOD wants us to be, but is there anything about yourself you have been wanting to change(as long as that thing is not a sin)? Maybe you want to loose weight, develop a new habit, exercise more, or something else. Don't "be yourself". Be who God calls you to be and secondly, only if this does not go against God's will; be who you want to be.

The Past of The Future is Now, Change Something

If you could change anything in the past, what would it be? In all likelihood, you can think of a lot of things. And if not, congratulations; you are God. But the past of the future is now, change something!  What is that one thing about your self that has always upset you?.... Change it! Something else? Change it too!

4 Things God Gives Us

It is for life, hope, happiness and home that we work for.  We can use work as an excuse to distract from God; but in truth He gives us all these things. Life.  Hope. Happiness. Home. 

His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. ~ 2 Peter 1:3(NKJV)

Life.  God is the one who gave us life; He breathed it into us.  He not only gave us an earthly life but an eternal one in His presence. 

“The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.” ~ Job 33:4(ESV)

“And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” ~ Genesis 2:7(NKJV)

Hope. God gives us so much to hope for; particularly the future blessings He will bestow on us and the inheritance of living eternally in heaven with Him.  Not only that, but the Bible says that it is in Him that we have our hope. (Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 15:13).

 ^“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.  And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.  But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” ~Hebrews 11: 13-16(NKJV)

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” ~Revelation 21:4(NKJV)

“ “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!” ~ Revelation 22:20(NKJV)

Happiness.  Nothing can make us quite as happy as communion with our maker and fellowship with our Christian brothers and sisters. And yet, our connection to Christ offers us both things.

“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” ~Philippians 4:4  (NKJV)

“Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” ~Isaiah 12:3(NKJV)

“But rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.” ~ 1 Peter 4:13(NKJV)

Home.  God is our refuge, our home. Deuteronomy 33:27 says that "The eternal God is your refuge." Pay attention to three things in that sentence; eternal, God, and refuge. Not only is our God our refuge, but He is an eternal God offering eternal life.

“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” ~ Philippians 3:20(ESV)

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—  to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” ~ Ephesians 3:17-19(NKJV)

“But Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.” ~Hebrews 3:6(NKJV)

“Home, too, is the place of our truest and purest happiness: and it is in God that our hearts find their deepest delight.  We have joy in Him which far surpasses all other joy. It is also for home that we work and labour.” – Charles Spurgeon

“In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.” - In Christ Alone, Keith and Kristyn Getty

Unity Through The Spirit

Christians have a remarkable fellowship; or at least the ability for a staggering communion.  -For we all share the same spirit!  Ephesians 2:18 says "For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father". Who can boast of so much as to be connected by the sharing of a Spirit; with even just one person?  And yet we have a whole circle of fellow believers to share the Spirit with.

The moment we receive Christ we have the resources of the Trinity in the palm of our hand; included is a unified fellowship through the Spirit. But not just communion with each other; but with the triune God.  If there is something to be thankful for, this is it.  For we belong to "the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth". God has bestowed so many blessings upon us. For "Eye has not seen nor ear heard.... the things which God has prepared for those that love Him."  We "are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God."

We have been "built together for a dwelling place of God and the Spirit". It is nice to remember the verse in 1 Corinthians 6 " Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?" But let us not forget what it says further "Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not!"  " For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

We need to remember that last verse very much. Unity through the Spirit comes with both blessings and responsibilities. We have blessings in multitude and one of them is fellowship.  And yet our responsibilities can be tied up in one simple line, probably known to you, "Glorify God and enjoy Him forever".  Therefore let us not forget to glorify Him, to do good works, and to also enjoy Him, to enjoy fellowship with both Him and our fellow believers.

So this day when you see a friend, see a brother, a sister. When you pass by a fellow Christian say to yourself "We share a spirit".

The Grand Scheme Of Things

So..... Last night I had a bit of a burst of inspiration while reading the Bible(which was probably also influenced from what I have been reading of John Piper and Charles Spurgeon) and so I wrote down everything! It mostly has to do with the relation between heaven and earth and then sort of switches points towards the end. Anyway, enjoy! :D

"The Grand Scheme of things.... Heaven, I think, is an everlasting place of worship. On earth, we have only fractional communion with God, and to further that should be our goal. But in heaven there is no sin, therefore nothing separates us from the Holy One. Only the great, ultimate communion and delight in the Lord exists. But not just that. -The delight is expressed more than ever before even thought possible here on earth. And that is worship, and that is the ultimate joy. The Holy Spirit will be "released" everywhere and in everyone. We will eat, drink, breath, and live in the Holy Spirit forever. We will have God our Father, Christ our brother(and Lord), our friends, family, and be in full communion with them all through the Holy Spirit, joined together in worship forevermore and through all eternity. 

This is heaven, and we get a taste of it here on earth. That taste is to drive us; motivate us. And the joy, that is, the taste, brings forth a love for Christ that is to inspire us to live for HIm, and be the instrument He uses to bring more into His joy.

Until we realise this(this is the part I am most not sure of) or at least to some extent, the connection between heaven, earth and a relationship with God I am not sure if we are REALLY Christians. IF this view is not enough, if the thought of worshiping God for all eternity does not sound like the best heaven but is nauseating, how can we possible be in a relationship with God? Doesn't He say "Depart from me, I never knew you" ? Granted, there are times when the seriousness of sin overwhelms us, and that sin temporarily removes us from the same joy we found once before; but this is not to be the case all the time. Both are necessary for only a person who realises he needs to be healed can be healed."

Biblical references: Hebrews 2:10-12, James 4:9-10, Psalm 51:17, Matthew 5:4, John 5:6-8, Mark 2:17, Matthew 9:12,

And also,  please comment; its what keeps me going! Why write to produce good, if no one will read it and therefore it will not produce good?