Every Tuesday, we get our verse of the week to meditate and memorize. I want to encourage you to keep trying to focus on just one verse for the week. If you stay determined, the Word will take root in your heart. If you have failed with some of the previous verses, don’t get discouraged and quit, but continue to press on. This spiritual discipline is worth pressing through our failure! So free yourself of guilt and let’s go!
By Shirley Mitchell
“For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.”
Colossians 2:4
Paul was no longer with the people of Colossi. God had led him to other lands. Although he was absent from them, he still cared deeply for them. He said, “I am present with you in spirit.” These people had his heart. If it were possible to be in many places simultaneously, he would be with them.
He delighted to see how they were so disciplined. The people had put their lives in an orderly condition. This Greek word for “disciplined” tells us that they had arranged their lives well. Their character was the finest. With the fixed time that they had, they lived every moment for God and pleased Him in all that they did.
Their faith was firm, solid. This Greek word implies that something is as firm as the firmament or the sky. These people’s faith was so secure that it was as stable as the sky that is seen every day. They knew that Jesus was God’s Son, the Savior of the world, the Jewish Messiah, and Redeemer of mankind. They were convicted that God alone had the answers to all situations in life. What firm faith!
Beloved, how firm is your faith? Does your daily life reflect an active pursuit of God? Does your daily life give evidence to His greatness and power? Does your daily life show that you believe that He the only One worthy of worship? These are tough questions. These Colossians lived this way. They were not discouraged and immobilized by obstacles and difficult circumstances. They believed God. Their faith was so evident that they earned praise from one tough apostle who didn’t give that many compliments. Their faith was the real deal and could not be shaken.
Join me on a pursuit to have the real deal faith, to have a firm faith no matter what happens. Carry this verse with you wherever you go this week – be it an index card or in your heart. Study it, pulverize it, and memorize it!
Memorization Reminders:
Please join me in memorizing these verses and implanting God’s thoughts into our minds. I’m expecting for God to radically change our lives if we do this. Redeem your time to make room for memorizing God’s Word. Take this verse with you wherever you go. Meditate on it, and pulverize it.
We are blessed to live in a time where we can have the Bible at our fingertips even through the internet or an actual Bible in our hands. Yet, this blessing can become a curse if we do not treat the Bible with such honor to savor every word of it as those through the centuries who have longed to have His Word so much. They had to memorize every Scripture they had ever been given because their own copy of the Scripture was not possible.
Most of us probably don’t memorize Scripture because we think that we do not have the time. However, our minds have a lot of wasted space that can be given to God. We have to redeem the time. For women, we can use the time while putting on our make-up or blow drying our hair. For men, use the time while shaving. For both genders, we can use the time while we shower, stop at red lights, do the laundry, wash the dishes, and mow the lawn. Let’s face it: our minds are thinking about something during this time. Instead of being focused on our obsessions, worries, cares, to-do’s, and problems, give this time to God.
Take your verse(s) with you wherever you go. You can type your verse out and put it on beautiful sheets of your choice. You can write it out on index cards. Many people prefer index cards spiral bound to keep them together. For iphone users, I’m sure there is an app. You can write it on your iphone notepad or record your voice speaking it and replay it throughout the day.
Now that we have the verse and we have found the time, let’s focus on the method. We don’t just memorize it by saying it over and over; we meditate on it. We spend time thinking about what each word means and what it doesn’t mean.
Then one of my favorite techniques as taught by Waylon Moore is to pulverize the verse. Say the verse over and over each time focusing on a different word in the verse to emphasize. For example, say Colossians 2:4 (today’s verse) aloud and say with more umph the underlined and bolded word:
“For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.”
Colossians 2:4
“For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.”
Colossians 2:4
“For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.”
Colossians 2:4
After meditating and pulverizing the verse continuously for a week, the seed planted in our hearts will begin to germinate. You and I will no longer be merely short-term memorizing, but the Word will dwell within us. When God’s Word dwells within us, something miraculous happens. Our minds are renewed and transformed into the mind of Christ. We worry and fret less. We are armed for the attacks of the enemy. Our lips will be full of praise for our God. My friend, I’m ready for that kind of transformation!
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