Ernest Smith

A few weeks back, I started a blog series on how to grow your spiritual life.  Being a pastor, I have always been asked what I do to grow myself spiritually.  I think it is just part of the job and it is one aspect that I love.  Any time I am asked how I grow spiritually, it not only reminds me to stay focused spiritually, but it shows me there are many people out there who desire God’s best in their relationship with Him.

I have already given a few suggestions on how to grow spiritually and if you want to check those out follow these thinks.  (Suggestion one, two, three, four).

A fifth suggestion for spiritual growth is to memorize Scripture.  Knowing Scripture is critical in knowing what God says and believing Him.  Without knowledge of God’s Word, there is a greater chance of falling into sin and further away from God.  God’s Word is essential to spiritual growth.

When Jesus was fasting in the desert for 40 days, Satan came to him to tempt Him to sin.  He presented three different ways for Jesus to fall into sin, three different ways for Jesus to rebel against God.  In his attempt to cause Jesus to stumble, he misquoted Scripture.  He purposefully did this in hopes of Jesus not knowing the Word and eventually succumbing to the temptation.

What Satan didn’t count on was the fact that Jesus knows the Word of God greater than anyone else.  So whenever Satan presented him with a temptation, Jesus would deny the temptation by quoting Scripture at the enemy.

Jesus didn’t say, “I’m God, so leave me alone.”  He didn’t say, “Get away Satan, I know your tactics.”  He simply quoted Scripture at Satan, forcing the ultimate liar to leave because truth was presented.

The same can be true for us.  If we want to grow spiritually, then we need to know God’s Word.  God’s Word guides us (Proverbs 4:5-6).  God’s Word convicts us and reveals our true heart (Hebrews 4:12).  God’s Word helps us not to sin (Psalm 119:11).  God’s Word is our weapon to defeat the enemy (Ephesians 6:17).

God’s Word is the truth that we can build our lives upon.  Without memorizing God’s Word, we will find ourselves being tempted with no sword to protect us and no light to guide us.  Memorizing God’s Word is essential for spiritual growth.

Suggestions for Memorizing God’s Word:

1. Start Small –don’t think that you need to memorize the entire Bible, start with simple passages.
2. Start with Relevant Passages – pick passages that are relevant for what you are going through.
3. Don’t give up – you will want to give up, not seeing the result at first, don’t give up…in due time you will reap the reward.

Suggested Verses to Memorize:

Psalm 119:11, Proverbs 3:5-6, Jeremiah 29:11; John 3:16; Romans 8:1; Romans 8:28; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 6:13-17; James 1:2; James 5:16; 1 John 4:7; Revelation 3:20