Scripture memory should be a part of every Christian’s regular disciplines, but it seems to have fallen out of practice with far too many believers. There are many good reasons to memorize verses from the Bible. Here are a few.
Colossians 3:1-3 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
In this passage, Christians (i.e. those who are “risen with Christ”) are told to keep their focus on heaven and not Earth. Then we read something rather strange. Paul writes, “For ye are dead…” Huh? I thought we were made “alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:11) What does it mean that we are dead!
When we read the word “dead” in the Scriptures, it needs to be understood as “separated”. Death is always a separation. Physical death is a separation of our spiritual part from our physical body. Spiritual death is the separation of a person from God. We are told in Romans 6:2 that believers are “dead to sin”, which in context means separated from its penalty, and by extension, its power. When one is dead to something, the thing in question has no power.
So in the passage above, believers are dead to the things of this world. Therefore, the things of the world should not be our focus. The life of the believer is “hid with Christ in God.” It is “hid” in the sense that it cannot be found on the Earth. It is where Christ is, and that is in heaven. Christian need to keep looking to Him.
Proverbs 11:14 Where no counsel is, the people fall : but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
This verse teaches us that it is not wise to go it alone. We are all falliable and need counsel because our own reasoning by itself will fail us. Our very nature is revealed by Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked : who can know it? Continue reading
We often refer to the Ten Commandments given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. I was recently rereading them and the two verses preceding the Commandments caught my eye. Here they are:
Exodus 20:1-2 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
I noticed three principles revealed in these verses. Continue reading
Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.
This verse informs us that a person may decide a direction to take in life and may plan how to get there, but it is the Lord Who guides his steps. This is dependence. As Jesus stated in John 15:5, “without me ye can do nothing”, we cannot prosper without divine assistance. Continue reading