“How
can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh,
let me not wander from Your commandments.
Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against
You.” (Psalm 119:9-11).
One of the first things I
started doing when I became a Christian was memorizing Bible verses, and it is
a practice that I still continue to this day, many years later. Why? It was
because I discovered the truth of Psalm 119:9-11 very early on in my walk of
faith. I discovered that sin was something that came very easily to me, and
that the only way I could resist temptation, and live a pure and holy life, was
to avail myself of the weapons that God had given to me. The most important
weapon God has given us in the battle against temptation is HIS WORD.
The
FIRST KEY is to read the Bible.
If we don’t read the Bible,
then we can’t obey the Bible, because we won’t know what it says. So the
starting point must be to READ THE BIBLE. There’s an old Sunday school song
that says, “Read your Bibles, pray every day, and you’ll GROW, GROW, GROW.” How
do we grow spiritually, and become more like Jesus? Through praying and reading
the Bible.
The
SECOND KEY is to seek God with our whole heart.
We MUST be diligent in our
pursuit of God, and our pursuit of purity. Holiness doesn’t happen by accident.
Jesus said, “Watch and pray, lest you
enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is
weak.” (Mark 14:38)
The
THIRD KEY is to hide God’s Word in our heart.
This means to meditate on and
memorize Bible verses. Why? So that we might not sin against God. There are two
ways that memorizing Bible verses helps to keep us from sinning against God.
The Bible says, “Don't copy the
behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person
by changing the way you think. Then you
will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and
perfect his will really is.” (Romans 12:2). When we read God’s Word, God
begins to renew our minds, and cause we learn what is right and wrong. The
second thing that happens when we memorize Bible verses is that it strengthens
our faith. Romans 10:17 says, “faith
comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Hiding God’s Word in
our heart teaches us what is right and wrong, and also gives us the spiritual
strength to choose to do the right thing. Jesus is our example in this in
Matthew chapter four. When Jesus was tempted by the devil, every time the devil
tried to tempt Him, Jesus responded by quoting Scripture, “It is written.” The
Word is our Sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6:17).
Let me leave you with one
final Scripture. This is one of the first Bible verses I ever memorized, and it
is a great strength and comfort to me whenever I am tempted. It’s First
Corinthians 10:13: “But remember that
the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others
experience. And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so
strong that you can't stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show
you a way out so that you will not give in to it.” If you’ve never
memorized a Bible verse before, that’s a good one to start with.
Psalm 119:1-2: “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, Who
walk in the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who
seek Him with the whole heart.”
Pastor Chris Jordan
Church: www.beausejourchurch.ca
Books: www.chrisjordanpublications.ca
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