“Never let loyalty and kindness leave you!
Tie them around your neck as a reminder.
Write them deep within your heart.”
Proverbs 3:3 (NLT)
How do you write scripture onto your heart?
How are we able to commit things into our hearts?
How do we make it available at any time?
Worship music is incredible in the way that it helps us remember scripture. Since it is based on Scripture, we remember the lyrics because of the melody that helps us understand the scriptures on which it was based. It’s an interesting process that we’ve seen the advertising world use to keep their products encased in our minds.
I’ve always struggled with actually enjoying the lyrics of songs. I just always tend to focus on the music underneath it all. I’ve spent so much time in my life learning guitar parts that it is all that I can hear when I listen to music. This makes it that much more difficult for me to actually hear the actual message of the song.
In the same way, I have a wonderful and terrible gift of reading quickly. I’ve been able to read large passages of anything while still retaining a general idea. But here’s the problem with that: Scriptures are MADE to be studied and meditated on. We are supposed to be spending time letting the words sink in and change us. There is no cramming process like so many of us have used the night before a large exam.
It works similarly as marinating meat. You let the meat sit in some sort of marinade to let the flavors of the marinade seep into the meat itself. Marinades are also affected by the combination of the ingredients, the state of the meat as the marinade is set, and the temperature and amount of time that the marinade sets into the meat.
Accordingly, the effect of Scripture on our mind is affected by how long we meditate, when we meditate, and our effectual state of mind when we study the Word. We have to be deliberate when setting up the marinade. We can have the meat of the Word just how it is or we help savor its flavor by adjusting our behaviors in study.
The Word needs time to seep in, but it also needs constant marination into our hearts and minds throughout life. This is where journaling and daily meditation come in. We should find a way to continue to look at the Scripture itself throughout the day and let the various circumstances of the day complete a new work in our hearts. We can truly open the door for God to write something completely different in our core, and it may even change the way we look at those passages for the rest of our lives.
It’s not enough to just read scripture in the morning or even to just read it ten times a day. We have to sit and let it marinate our hearts. Then, we are able to find a deeper meaning in our lives through the scripture. Whether it’s actually writing out the scripture or just spending time on each line and thinking of ways to apply it. We must be students of the word.
“My child, never forget the things that I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying. Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:1-6 (NLT)
Tie them around your neck as a reminder.
Write them deep within your heart.”
Proverbs 3:3 (NLT)
How do you write scripture onto your heart?
How are we able to commit things into our hearts?
How do we make it available at any time?
Worship music is incredible in the way that it helps us remember scripture. Since it is based on Scripture, we remember the lyrics because of the melody that helps us understand the scriptures on which it was based. It’s an interesting process that we’ve seen the advertising world use to keep their products encased in our minds.
I’ve always struggled with actually enjoying the lyrics of songs. I just always tend to focus on the music underneath it all. I’ve spent so much time in my life learning guitar parts that it is all that I can hear when I listen to music. This makes it that much more difficult for me to actually hear the actual message of the song.
In the same way, I have a wonderful and terrible gift of reading quickly. I’ve been able to read large passages of anything while still retaining a general idea. But here’s the problem with that: Scriptures are MADE to be studied and meditated on. We are supposed to be spending time letting the words sink in and change us. There is no cramming process like so many of us have used the night before a large exam.
It works similarly as marinating meat. You let the meat sit in some sort of marinade to let the flavors of the marinade seep into the meat itself. Marinades are also affected by the combination of the ingredients, the state of the meat as the marinade is set, and the temperature and amount of time that the marinade sets into the meat.
Accordingly, the effect of Scripture on our mind is affected by how long we meditate, when we meditate, and our effectual state of mind when we study the Word. We have to be deliberate when setting up the marinade. We can have the meat of the Word just how it is or we help savor its flavor by adjusting our behaviors in study.
The Word needs time to seep in, but it also needs constant marination into our hearts and minds throughout life. This is where journaling and daily meditation come in. We should find a way to continue to look at the Scripture itself throughout the day and let the various circumstances of the day complete a new work in our hearts. We can truly open the door for God to write something completely different in our core, and it may even change the way we look at those passages for the rest of our lives.
It’s not enough to just read scripture in the morning or even to just read it ten times a day. We have to sit and let it marinate our hearts. Then, we are able to find a deeper meaning in our lives through the scripture. Whether it’s actually writing out the scripture or just spending time on each line and thinking of ways to apply it. We must be students of the word.
“My child, never forget the things that I have taught you. Store my commands in your heart. If you do this, you will live many years, and your life will be satisfying. Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation. Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:1-6 (NLT)
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Jordan Sermon is the director of the Pentecostal Student Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana and is the leader of The Switch, the young adult ministry based out of Livingway Pentecostal Church. Jordan also works as a visiting lecturer in Mathematics at McNeese State University and as a curriculum writer for standardized testing. His true passion is to assist people as they make transitions in their lives physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Jordan spends his days with his wife, Haley, and their many children (the students that consider the PSC their home and the Switch their family).
RSS Feed
