Birthdays have always been special days in my life. My family made a big deal of them when I was a child, and I’ve kept that tradition with my family as well. Breakfast in bed has been a fun tradition. Special meal, cake and gifts are a part of the day as well!
It’s a great day to celebrate, but for me it’s also a great day to reflect on the past and make some good goals for the future. I probably do this more on my birthday than on New Year’s Day.
This past weekend as I celebrated another birthday, I connected my goals for the next year with what the Lord has been saying to me in my Bible reading. In
II Chronicles, I had read about Josiah uncovering the Books of the Law and lamenting that the Word had not been obeyed. He loved God’s Word and longed to follow it because He loved the Lord and sought after him.
I was convicted that my life doesn’t always show my love for the Scripture. Oh, I read it every day and it changes me, but I realized that I have gotten very lazy with Scripture memory. If I really loved it, wouldn’t I be pouring it into my heart? I read about a group of people who had been saved and their lives were radically changed. They loved God’s Word so much that it wasn’t unusual for them to memorize the entire New Testament! Do I love God’s Word so much that I want large doses of it in my mind, or am I satisfied with status quo? I was convicted and challenged!
So on my birthday, I asked the Lord to give me a greater hunger for His Word. I began that day to memorize Colossians 3. Three days later, I’ve gotten through verse 3! My goal is to memorize one verse a day, which means in 25 days, I’ll be finished with the chapter! This has been my pattern in the past, and I’m asking the Lord to help me stick with this and memorize this precious passage of His Word.
Another goal I have is to memorize Psalm 63 this year. This is the psalm for my age and there are only 11 verses! Listen to verse 8 ~
My soul followeth hard after thee; thy right hand upholdeth me.
How good is that?! I long for my soul to follow hard after the Lord this year! What a precious remembrance that His right hand upholds me! Whatever comes to my life, He holds me!
I’ll keep you updated about my Scripture memory progress as the month passes. How about you? Are you memorizing Scripture? What method do you have to hide God’s Word in your heart? Though we have so many means to have the Bible at our fingertips, we can’t always get to it. What if you’re sick? What if your phone is separated from you? We need it in our hearts!
Refresh your love for the Scrirptures!
