Saturday, June 29, 2019

Sharpening Your SWORD


   This week I was at Camp YoliJwa (YOuth LIving Jesus WAy). Their theme this year is SWORD. In Hebrews 4: 12 it says: “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
   At Camp we talked about how important it is to know the Word of God. One activity we did really hit home for me. Each year we have a different memory verses to memorize. There are usually 5 to memorize (5 days in the work week). However, some people pointed out that usually after we memorize them we forget them quickly so it’s not really memorization.
   One of the teachers there said she doesn’t call it memorizing, she calls it a heart verse. Many people don’t try to memorize the Bible because they think they will always have it. However, I have been in multiple situations already where I didn’t have my phone or a Bible and I was trying to think of a verse that was applicable. It’s not easy to do, especially if you are under pressure. Also, people don’t memorize scripture because the references are so confusing, and I’m kinda with you on that one.
   This teacher said she doesn’t try to memorize she keeps these verses in her heart. If she doesn’t get the whole thing right word for word that’s okay (as long as she doesn’t add or take away from the meaning of scripture). I thought even that may be tricky and I’ve grown up in the church my whole life.
   On Friday, we did an activity where we had a list of situations. Each situation was different and evoked different emotions. We were challenged to not use the Bible but instead our memory to put scripture we could use in each situation on the page. It wasn’t easy but it wasn’t terribly hard either. I was honestly shocked that I knew many verses for the situations. I may not have known the reference but I knew the gist of the verse. It was a good activity because now I know some verses to use if I ever get into those situations and I will not feel pressured.
   What about you? Do you know the Bible well enough that if someone had a list of situations you could put a verse to that situation? If you do not, I encourage you to try to spend more time in the word. Try to put certain verses in your heart so you will have them when you face trials. If you are not good at memorizing, that’s okay. Just spend some time meditating on those verses you find. Ask God to show you some verses you need to see in situations you are in now.
   Hebrews 4:12, Matthew 4:4, 2 Timothy 3:16
   Image from here.

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