Category Archives: Spiritua Disciplines

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How to Memorize Scripture the Easy Way

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I grew up in the 80’s and 90’s and I will never forget the weekend nights that my brother and I listened to every single song in “Casey’s Top 40” – songs we mostly knew by heart.

Most of us know hundreds of songs by heart and can belt out every last lyric with only the first few measures of the song played. Songs committed to memory – for fun.

I began to think about how this could apply to Scripture memorization when a Jewish believer in Christ opened up the Torah for the first time before my eager eyes. I stood in awe as he sung – yes SUNG the words of the law according to Jewish tradition.

I was even more amazed when I learned that included in this process of cantillation there were trope marks – the equivalent of musical notes assigned to each Hebrew word – thus making the Torah a song in the heart of Jews worldwide.

I would like to propose that Scripture memorization doesn’t have to be a tedious, frustrating task. One way this is possible is to make it a song in our hearts.

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Memorizing Scripture can become a fun and relatively easy part of your daily routine. Chuck Swindoll wrote, “I know of no other single practice in the Christian life more rewarding, practically speaking, than memorizing Scripture. . . . No other single exercise pays greater spiritual dividends! Your prayer life will be strengthened. Your witnessing will be sharper and much more effective. Your attitudes and outlook will begin to change. Your mind will become alert and observant. Your confidence and assurance will be enhanced. Your faith will be solidified.”

The Bible is replete with passages that instruct us to commit God’s words to heart. Here are just a few:

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

Deuteronomy 6:6-8 “these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

Joshua 1:8 “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”

Where to start? I’m so glad you asked! Our family has been creating our own little Scripture Songs for the last year and we would like to begin to share them with you all.

If you would like to receive a passage of Scripture put to song each week for the next 12 weeks, simply sign up here.

Children of God from 3-100 can memorize God’s Word easily. Let’s start singing!

 

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How to Find Time to Pray When Life is Crazy – 6 Simple Strategies

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I will never forget the day when I heard Christian singer and songwriter Julie Meyer share from her heart about how her prayer life changed when she had  twins. “Some days,” she said, “the only prayer I uttered all day was ‘HELP ME GOD!'”

You may feel like Julie right now. Maybe you are a new mom with a demanding little one on your hands. Maybe you have just landed a new job that requires you to work longer hours than you were anticipating.

Regardless of what your responsibilities are in life, Jesus knows them all. In fact, He has called us to not only accept the responsibilities He has given to us, but to be faithful in them.

In other words, He does not expect us to quit our job or neglect our children in order to pray. Instead, He invites us to seek Him from right where we are! He wants to permeate every square inch of our sometimes crazy lives.

So how can we do this? If you are like me, often the task before you can be so engaging and consuming that you may find it difficult to pull back mentally and spiritually and enter into prayer.

BUT it is possible! Here are 6 Simple Strategies for Engaging God in Prayer even when you are facing a busy schedule:

1) Don’t Take An “All or Nothing” Approach to Quiet Times – I’ve heard many people say, “Well, I knew I couldn’t get in my hour long quiet time today so I just skipped it altogether.” What do you have? 20 minutes? 15? Set them apart for God and ask Him to meet you in those moments. He will!

2) Start Your Day with a Prayer to Be Prayerful – When you open your eyes in the morning, before you make a mental rush into your “to-do list,” take a few moments to invite Jesus into your day. Humbly ask Him to help you to engage Him in even the most mundane of activities.

3) Turn Worries into Prayers – When you find yourself worrying about your kids, your mortgage, your future, or your health, turn unhelpful worry into strengthening prayer. Philippians 4:6-7 is a great passage to reflect on for this.

4) Pray in the Fallow Moments – When you are on the metro. Walking to lunch. In between meetings. In, er, the bathroom. Pray!

5) Let People Inspire You to Pray – When you hold your children, say a prayer for them to know God’s love and learn to walk in His ways. As you kiss your spouse goodbye in the morning, ask God to bless their day.

6) End Your Day in Prayer – As you place your head on your pillow, thank God for all that He did that day. Thank Him for the blessings that He has so graciously given you. Commit all the work of your hands to Him.

These are just a few strategies I have found helpful as I seek to make prayer a priority in my life. What have you found helpful?

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Three Relationships Everyone Needs in Life

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Two men stand beside one another, loudly discussing and debating various points from Talmudic text and commentaries. They passionately analyze, debate, and defend their points of view in order to arrive at a mutual understanding of the text. 

The method of study is called Chavrusa (literally “friendship”), a traditional rabbinic approach to Talmudic study where two students are paired together to discuss and debate texts. While students could certainly learn on their own, according to William Helmreich, the chavrusa relationship is “the best way to ensure preciseness and clarity of thought.”

I love learning about Jewish tradition so it is interesting to me that rabbis have found a variety of relationships are needed in order for students to develop wisdom and gain genuine understanding regarding their faith. 

As Christians, we too need a variety of relationships in order to grow and thrive spiritually. Today I will outline three types of relationships that everyone needs:

1) Mentor/Pastor – everyone needs someone older and wiser than them to provide wisdom, guidance, and skillful teaching in areas where they are not yet experienced or learned. Paul is a great example of this in Scripture. In 1 Corinthians 4:15, he shares “For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” 

A mentor or pastoral relationship is one where we feel nurtured, taught, guided and cared for in a fatherly/motherly way or even as a big brother or big sister. These relationships are crucial to our growth in Christ.

2) Peer/Friend – this is similar to the Chavrusa relationship in Judaism. We all need a friend or two who we can be honest, vulnerable, and transparent with about our own thoughts, struggles, and questions regarding faith.

This person can be likened to a Barnabus in Scripture, whose name means “Son of Encouragement.” This is someone we can pray with regularly and discuss what we are learning in Scripture. This is also someone we know is committed to our spiritual growth and we are committed to theirs. We know we can turn to this person when we face discouragement, confusion, or failure with assurance that we will find encouragement and love from them.

3) Mentee/Disciple – If you have a younger sibling, you probably have been a mentor without even knowing it. Your younger brother or sister may have followed you around and imitated your every word and action. We all need to be willing to come alongside those who are younger in the faith in order to instruct and encourage them. 

Timothy is a great example of this in Scripture as he followed Paul’s example in all things. This is someone who looks up to you and can learn from your own life experiences and wisdom.

While our society today may not organically produce all three of these types of relationships for us, we must seek them out. We tend to live individualistic, segregated lives that may not always send the signal to others that we are looking for these relationships. 

What can you do to pursue all three of these relationships in your life? How have you benefitted from seasons when you did have these? I would love to hear your stories!

Photo Credit: Alden Jewell (Bond Car)

 

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