For the past couple of months, the Lord has impressed upon me the importance of memorizing Scripture. To say that I have been lax in this area would sadly be an understatement. While I read the Bible daily, I'm ashamed to admit that it has been a long time since I've made an effort to commit a verse to memory. Over the past few weeks, I've been deliberating where to begin in my Scripture memorization. Should I highlight some of my favorite verses? Should I concentrate on memorizing entire chapters? Where, oh where to begin?

Then, it hit me. For me, Scripture memorization is about storing God's promises and directions in my heart so I can refer to them at any time. It's about having "go-to scripts" with me day in and day out. That being the case, I can think of no better place to begin my Scripture memorization journey than with I Corinthians 13.

I know that may sound odd to you. After all, I Corinthians 13 is the love chapter, so surely, there would be more appropriate passages to memorize. But this is the way I see it. God is love. We are supposed to be like God; therefore, we are expected to be love. But how can we be love if we don't truly understand it? My goal is to get I Corinthians 13 in my heart and mind to the point that I can run all of my actions through its filter and determine whether or not I am acting like Christ. In short, I can think of no better how to guide for the Christian then I Corinthians 13. Thus, my memorization has begun.

How about you? How long has it been since you memorized Scripture? Do you have a favorite verse or go-to passage that you would like to hide in your heart?

I realize that as we get older, our memories are not what they used to be, but the only way to keep them strong is to keep stretching them. It only takes a few minutes per day to read and reread the verses we want to memorize. While these things may not come as quickly to us as they did when we were young, they are still possible if we will put forth the time and effort to do them.

God's word is precious, and I want to carry it with me wherever I go. How about you?

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. - Psalm 119:11