October 8, 2018

Verses to Memorize

Filed under: Christianity - Devotions — paulthinkingoutloud @ 5:33 pm
Tags: Bible memorization, Christian living, daily devotional, God's word, important scripture verses, key Bible verses, memory verses, scripture memory

As you get older it gets increasingly difficult to memorize verses of scripture. However, recently, I decided to memorize the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount, which began haphazardly trying to remember who gets what!

…I wrote a post complaining that we are “dumbing down” church and school, and don’t require kids to learn mastery of anything anymore. I asked what we could do about it.

And I decided maybe it was time I did something, rather than just complain. And so I’ve put together this list of the 50 verses I think are most important to memorize. I know many families want to memorize verses together, but they don’t know where to start. Here you go. One a week for a year. Even if this is all you ever memorize, you will have God’s word in your heart for the most important verses, I think, in the Bible. I’m going to type the list with the verses first, and then at the end include a list of just the references, if you want those to just copy and paste.

Why not make little memory verse cards out of 3×5 cards, and keep them at the dinner table? Then every night you can go over this week’s verse. By the end of the year, you’ll have all of these memorized!

I chose these because they’re a cross-section of doctrine, promises, and comfort. You may want to add others, or to substitute. Feel free. Consider this a starting point, not anything definitive. I hope you you find it useful! All verses are from the NIV.

God

Isaiah 9:6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 40:28
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Salvation

John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

Romans 3:23
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Revelation 3:20
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

John 14:6
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.”

Ephesians 2:8,9
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.

2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

Assurance

Romans 8:28
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Isaiah 40:30-31
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Romans 8:38-39
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Matthew 11:28-30
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart ,and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Psalm 27:1
The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?

Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Lamentations 3:22-23
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Christian Life

2 Corinthians 4:18
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Psalm 37:4,5
Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust in him and he will do this.

Proverbs 3:5,7
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

James 1:22
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

Colossians 3:23
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.

1 Corinthians 15:58
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

James 4:7
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Luke 16:13
No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

1 John 4:7,8
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Prayer

1 Thessalonians 5:18
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 19:14
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Philippians 4:6,7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Scripture

2 Timothy 3:16
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.

Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

Psalm 119:11
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.

Confession/Temptation

Hebrews 4:16
Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

James 5:16
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out, so that you can stand up under it.

Mission

Micah 6:8
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Matthew 25:40
The King will reply, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”

Matthew 28:19-20
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Bigger challenges:

If you want to memorize whole chapters, here are my top 5:

Isaiah 53
Psalm 23
1 Corinthians 13
John 15
Psalm 139

These chapters are all important; I have left them out of the top 50 verses because I couldn’t choose just one or two verses from any of them. The whole thing is great. So if you’re up for a family challenge, memorize all of one of them!

Look at it this way: if you spend one year memorizing the fifty verses, and the next year reviewing those fifty and memorizing a chapter, and then go back to those fifty verses again to make sure you have them down, and then the next year go back and do a different chapter, and so on, over the course of ten years you’ll have 50 verses and 5 chapters so committed to memory there is no way anyone could ever forget it.

And I think knowing fewer verses, but knowing them inside and out, is sometimes more beneficial in the long run than trying to make yourself learn a verse a day or something.

So print this out and use it with your family!

Happy memorizing!

March 17, 2015

100 Memory Verses from Matthew

Filed under: Uncategorized — paulthinkingoutloud @ 5:30 pm
Tags: gospel of Matthew, Jesus teachings, life of Christ, memory verses

Because the scriptures have life, we print scripture verses here in green. So for St. Patrick’s Day it seemed fitting to run a post consisting entirely of scripture verses in green. The author of this piece is credited as Joe Putnam and it appeared on the blog of someone named Clark, but not the same Clarke as writes here weekly. To read this at source — where there is some additional highlighting we weren’t able to capture here — click the link below.

100 Memory Worthy Verses from the Gospel of Matthew

Every verse in the book of Matthew is worthy to be memorized.

But since that’s probably not possible for most people, what are some of the most memory worthy verses? What are some verses that every Christian should know and treasure?

To help with this, I recently read through the Gospel of Matthew over the past month and underlined the verses that really stood out to me–verses that I thought deserved to be memorized, prayed over, and treasured.

If you’d like to read this list, it’s included below. I hope these verses help you to know the Lord Jesus in a deeper and more intimate way…

Jesus’ birth and anointing

1:18 Now the origin of Jesus Christ was in this way: His mother, Mary, after she had been engaged to Joseph, before they came together, was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit

1:20-21 20 But while he pondered these things, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife, for that which has been begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.

1:23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel” (which is translated, God with us).

3:17 And behold, a voice of of the heavens, saying, This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight.

Christ’s being tested in the wilderness

4:4 But He answered and said, It is written, “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God.”

4:7 Jesus said to him, Again, it is written, “You shall not test the Lord your God.”

4:10 Then Jesus said to him, Go away, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.”

The kingdom decree

5:3-11 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens. 11 Blessed are you when they reproach and persecute you, and while speaking lies, say every evil thing against you because of Me.

5:13-14 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt has become tasteless, with what shall it be salted? It is no longer good for anything except to be cast out and trampled underfoot by men. 14 You are the light of the world. It is impossible for a city situation upon a mountain to be hidden.

5:16-17 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in the heavens. 17 Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish, but to fulfill.

5:32 But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the cause of fornication, causes her to commit adultery, and whoever marries her who has been divorced commits adultery.

5:42 To him who asks of you, give; and from him who wants to borrow from you, do not turn away.

5:44 But I say to you, Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.

6:6 But you, when you pray, enter into your private room and shut your door and pray to your Father who is in secret and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

6:8-13 8 Therefore do not be like them, for your Father knows the things that you have need of before you ask Him. 9 You then pray in this way: Our Father who is in the heavens, Your name be sanctified; 10 Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth, 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

6:19-21 19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on the earth where moth and rust consume and where thieves dig through and steal 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not dig through nor steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

6:24-25 24 No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. 25 Because of this, I say to you, Do not be anxious for your life, what you should eat or what you should drink; nor for your body, what you should put on. Is not the life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

6:31-34 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, With what shall we be clothed? 32 For all these things the Gentiles are anxiously seeking. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself; sufficient for the day is its own evil.

7:7-8 7 Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it shall be opened.

7:14 Because narrow is the gate and constricted is the way that leads to life, and few are those who find it.

7:22-23 22 Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, was it not in Your name that we prophesied, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name did many works of power? 23 And then I will declare to them; I never knew you. Depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness.

The continuation of the Lord’s ministry

8:20 And Jesus said to him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of heaven have roosts, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.

9:12-13 12 Now when He heard this, He said, Those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are ill. 13 But go and learn what this means, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice,” for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.

9:37-38 37 Then he said to His disciples, The harvest is great, but the workers few; 38 Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest that He would thrust out workers into His harvest.

10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be therefore prudent as serpents and guileless as doves.

10:19 But when they deliver you up, do not be anxious about how or what you should speak, for it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak.

10:28 And do not fear those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna

10:39 He who finds his soul-life shall lose it, and he who loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it.

11:11 Truly I say to you, Among those born of women there has not arisen one greater than John the Baptist, yet he who is least in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he.

11:12 But from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of the heavens is taken by violence, and violent men seize it.

11:28-30 28 Come to Me all who toil and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

12:8 For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath

12:29 Or how can anyone enter into the house of the strong man and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will thoroughly plunder his house.

12:36-37 36 And I say to you that every idle word which men shall speak, they will render an account concerning it in the day of judgement 37 For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.

12:50 For whoever does the will of My Father who is in the heavens, he is My brother and sister and mother.

13:23 But the one sown on the good earth, this is he who hears the word and understands, who by all means bears fruit and produces, one a hundredfold, and one sixtyfold, and one thirtyfold.

15:3 And he answered and said to them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?

16:16-19 16 And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. 17 And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in the heavens. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of the heavens, and whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in the heavens, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in the heavens.

16:24-26 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me 25 For whoever wants to save his soul-life shall lose it; and whoever loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it. 26 For what shall a man be profited if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul-life? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul-life?

17:5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud saying, This is My Son, the Beloved, in whom I have found My delight. Hear Him!

17:20 And He said to them, Because of your little faith; for truly I say to you, If you have faith like a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, Move from here to there, and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

18:3-4 3 And said, Truly I say to you, Unless you turn and become like little children, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens. 4 He therefore who will humble himself like this little child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens.

18:18-20 18 Truly I say to you, Whatever you bind on the earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth shall have been loosed in heaven. 19 Again, truly I say to you that if two of you are in harmony on earth concerning any matter for which they ask, it will be done for them from My Father who is in the heavens. 20 For where there are two or three gathered into My name, there am I in their midst.

20:26-28 It shall not be so among you; but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant, 27 And whoever wants to be first among you shall be your slave; 28 Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.

22:37-39 37 And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

Preparation for Christ’s death, resurrection, ascension, and second coming

24:4-8 4 And Jesus answered and said to them, See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for it must happen; but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom will rise up against kingdom; and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places

24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations and then the end will come.

24:27 For just as lightning comes from the east and shines to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

24:37-42 37 For just as the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as they were in those days before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day in which Noah entered into the ark, 39 And they did not know that judgement was coming until the flood came and took all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 At that time two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day our Lord comes.

25:21 His master said to Him, Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful over a few things; I will set you over many things. Enter into the joy of your master.

28:18-19 18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 Teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you all the days until the consummation of the age.

Note: All of the verses in this post were taken from the Recovery Version translation of the Bible.

October 17, 2012

50 Verses To Memorize

Filed under: Uncategorized — paulthinkingoutloud @ 5:33 pm
Tags: Bible memorization, Christian living, daily devotional, God's word, important scripture verses, key Bible verses, memory verses, scripture memory

Sheila Wray-Gregoire is a Canadian author and blogger who writes about marriage, family life and parenting and probably counts women among the sizeable majority of her audience. Her blog is called, To Love Honor and Vacuum. Really. Her name came up in conversation yesterday and that led me to look beyond her recent blog posts for something that would fit here, and I found this one from nearly two years ago.

Last week I wrote a post complaining that we are “dumbing down” church and school, and don’t require kids to learn mastery of anything anymore. I asked what we could do about it.