James and Something New

For several years, I have done Beth Moore Bible studies with a group of wonderful women.   When Beth's new study James, Mercy Triumphs was due to come out, I kept debating over doing it on my own or inviting other women to a group study.   Still undecided, I finally just asked for the workbook for Christmas and I would download the videos on my own.

After starting the study, I realized that this time around I needed to have this be just between me and the Lord.     And I'm okay with that.

One of the challenges in the book is to memorize the entire book of James in 5 months.  I have wanted to memorize large chunks of scripture, but somehow never pushed myself to follow through.  Now I had the motivation.  

Doing the study and memorizing the scriptures at the same time has made it so much easier.  I have something to draw from and relate to as I go. Not to mention, that God clearly had a lot of work to do on me in just the first seven verses.    Have mercy!

About the same time that I was getting ready to tackle James, I came across this link  about memorizing Colossians on MoneySavingMom.com.   Suddenly I didn't feel so 'alone' in my efforts and desire to memorize whole books of the Bible.    Even if I was doing a different book over a different time frame, I could still apply many of these ideas to my own memory work.

If you think memorizing scripture is too daunting or that you just aren't good at memorizing things, I still encourage you to give it a try.   I am always amazed at how quickly God starts working in my life and on my soul when I commit to memorizing His word.  It truly is alive and active and will purify us and transform our thinking when we meditate on it throughout the day and night.

God will never allow us to put that much effort into His word only to leave us the same as when we started. What have you got to lose?   Try it - you just might like it!