Tag Archives: Hebrews 4:12

Truth for Today #4

Thursday January 27th

On Thursdays my posts will include verses that stood out in my readings from the Bible during the week. One, two, three or maybe more. If you have a verse/verses that you read during the week and would like share, leave it/them in the comments and I will add it/them to the post. Let’s dig deep in God’s Truth this year!

2 Timothy 2:22-26

 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.  Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels.  And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil,  correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth,  and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

From Vera:

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4:12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

From Patricia:

Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. 

Psalm 89:15-

Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your presence, O Lord. They rejoice in your name all day long; they exult in your righteousness. 

Memorization

Over the last several years the habit of memorizing scripture has eluded me. It was something that I put on the back burner with excuses. I let my self talk tell me that it is too hard since I’ve gotten older. Well that is a lie and I’m leaving that and other excuses behind. Dear and I decided to memorize Psalm 19: 7-9 together and that has gone well. I’ve challenged our kids to memorize Romans 12:1-2 as part of their “getting healthy” goals for the year. In the midst of this renewed effort to train my brain a dear friend suggested a group of us memorize Psalm 1 together. Can you feel the congruence of all of this?

These days I’ve shifted to the ESV (English Standard Version) Bible. In my early years of Sunday School I memorized verses in the KJV (King James Version). During the early 70’s my Bible of choice was the NASB (New American Standard Bible). It was in this version that I first memorized Psalm 1 so I had to go back to this version for this latest exercise of re-memorizing it.

The photo I posted is from the Bible that Dear gifted me as a wedding gift in December of 1974.

So onward and upward, I’m putting my brain to the test and I’m sure the results will only do me good.

Hebrews 4:12

12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Update: Some of you have asked for tips in memorizing. Our brains work differently but here are some things that work for me and some things I’ve learned from others.

Be careful what version of the Bible you choose to memorize from. The King James Version and The English Standard Version are more poetic over all. Don’t choose The Message as it is more prose and it’s hard to grasp. Some versions have more rhythm and that’s easier for the brain to grasp. I don’t recommend the NIV version either for memorization. (Thank you Julie)

I use 3×5 or 4×6 cards to write the portion of scripture I want to memorize.

Start small. Choose one verse. Think about the verse. Dissect the verse. Write it out several times on notebook paper. Take your 3×5 card with you in the car and when you have to wait anywhere pull it out and go over it.

Try writing it out from memory.

Hand the 3×5 card to somebody (friend or spouse) and then try to recite it out loud while they check to see that you’ve got it right.

When you wake up in the middle of the night go over it in your head. It’s amazing how much more clarity you have when you are awake in the night with nothing else to do.

Now you are ready to go on to a larger portion of scripture. I hope these tips help. Here’s another truth, the process is good even if it takes a long time to get it perfect.