Sunday, December 26, 2010

Compiling Scripture Verses for Review

by Lois Breneman, © 2009, Heart to Heart

As I was preparing to write a list of scripture verses to review this year, another project came to mind, in combination with the original one.  I'm working on compiling favorite and meaningful scripture verses from different books of the Bible, first by listing only the references in a tablet.  They are divided into sections for various books of the Bible.  Then using the website, www.biblegateway.com, I am copying and pasting each scripture verse.  By having the verses in sections for each book of the Bible, it will help me with reviewing references, which are the most difficult for many of us.
 
After printing out scriptures for various books of the Bible, they will go into a notebook to read and review.  Using a pen, a red star will be placed in front of verses already learned, but needing more review.  After I have learned a verse completely and am able to give the reference, two red stars will be placed in front of the verse.
 
Reading through the notebook many times will help plant these meaningful scriptures into my mind and heart even more.  Many times I find myself needing to quietly wait somewhere, so I mentally go through the alphabet, quoting scriptures beginning with each letter.  They aren't always the same scriptures each time.  It becomes a special time to worship my Lord, during a few minutes when I might otherwise waste time.  Sometimes I've also done this exercise using titles of songs.  This review will help expand the number of verses from which to draw on my memory when doing the alphabet exercise.
 
Henry Blackaby once said, "Wisdom is not what you know about the world, but how well you know God .....  You, as a Christian, have access to God's wisdom.  God's Spirit is within you to guide you.  The Holy Spirit will open your eyes to the truth of the Scriptures so that you can see things from God's perspective.  Only God sees the future, so only He can accurately lead you to make correct decisions today." 
 
Today as a grandmother who learned many scripture verses as a child and adolescent, I would like to encourage mothers and grandmothers to help their children and grandchildren learn as many scripture verses as possible.  I remember at least one year working hard to learn fifty verses for a free week at our church camp.  The scriptures I leaned as a young person are the ones I know the best today, references and all!  You may decide to encourage your children by rewarding them in some way for learning scripture verses while they are young.  Young minds are like sponges, so encourage your children to fill their minds with the Word of God! 

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