In this week's blog post, we'll be hearing from a dear friend of mine, Faith Anema, who will be sharing with us a little bit of her personal journey in Scripture memorization. Her hopes in writing to you is not only to share what God has done through her, but to inspire each reader to seek God for themselves through the memorization of His Word. Though this past year was her final one competing in the National Bible Bee, the words of truth that have been planted in her heart will never leave. I hope you each are encouraged by her words as much as I was. "I recently returned from competing in the National Bible Bee in which I had to memorize over 900 verses and study several chapters in Isaiah. I spent anywhere between 4 and 8 hours a day studying. Many may wonder why I would want to spend so much time memorizing Scripture. I am going to share 3 reasons why I memorize and why I think you should as well. First, the Bible tells us to memorize and internalize scripture. In Deuteronomy 6:8-9 it says, “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." God commanded the Israelites to always have the word of God before them that they would not forget all that God had done for them. We are to continually live with God's law in our mind. How are we to follow God's law, if we don't know it. That leads me to my second reason, memorizing Scripture leads to practical application. I have personally been in times of temptation and trial and had a verse come to mind to comfort and direct me. In Matthew 4, Jesus wards off Satan's temptation with Scripture. We should follow in Christ's example and respond to our everyday temptation with the Word of God that we have internalized. And finally, we should memorize Scripture to have an answer for the hope that is in us as 1 Peter 3:15-16 states: "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed." We should have the Word of God in our hearts to share with those around us. We need to know what we believe, so that we can spread the good news of the gospel. Before I participated in Bible Bee, I didn't understand why I should memorize Scripture, besides being able to show off. However, after I had memorized so much of it, it began to affect me in ways I had never imagined. The more I memorize, the more I want to continue. Bible Bee gave me the motivation to get started, and now I have a greater desire to memorize. I hope what I shared will encourage you to get involved memorizing Scripture." "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." - 2 Timothy 3:16-17 "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." - Hebrews 4:12 -Faith Anema P.s - Are you a fellow memorizer? Do you know Faith personally? Leave her a comment of encouragement on this post!
2 Comments
12/12/2022 11:06:08 pm
Thanks so much for this reminder and sharing important reasons to memorize scripture. Even though I haven't done NBB, I've watched it and have seen the commitment you all make to really know the Bible. It is so valuable and is among the best things to invest your time in, don't let people tell you otherwise!
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Mikhenna
12/18/2022 01:03:35 pm
This is an excellent post, Faith! I enjoyed reading how impactful Bible memory is.
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AuthorHello, I'm Hannah and I'm so glad you're here! I'm a twenty-year-old Jesus-loving writer, National Bible Bee Alumna, and homeschool graduate. Jesus redeemed me, and now I give my life, and this blog, to serve Him. Hebrews 3:13 reminds us to encourage each other daily, lest we be hardened by sin. I hope that reading each blog entry that I post you will be encouraged and challenged to become more like Christ daily. |