Chris gave you some great advice. Repetition is the key. But you have to stick with it. I used to have a lot of scripture memorized to where I could quote verses and tell you what book, chapter, and verse it was I was quoting. All that from memory. But I've lost a lot of that. I still have a lot of scripture stuck in my brain but it's the memorizing of the book, chapter, and verse that I've lost a lot of.
I think it's from leaving off of the word for a while to where I became dull of hearing. The apostle Paul used a lot of language in his letters that described what an athlete would have to do to keep in good physical condition, and it was through physical exercise. When a person does not get enough physical exercise, their muscles become weak.
Paul used that as a means of telling us how to remain spiritually strong, and mentally aware of the things of the Lord. It's the same thing with God's word. If we are not in it continuously, we become weak spiritually, or as the scripture says, we become dull of hearing.
As Chris has said, and I fully agree, it takes repetition and faithfulness on our part to remain in the word. Always approach the scripture in prayer, asking the Lord to teach you and to impress upon your heart the things he would have you to know and understand. Always be satisfied with what He gives you!
Hello Ella. The old adage: "Repetition is the mother of learning" is useful here. But to be specific, Repetition can be very much the tool for memorization.
I don't know whether you have specific verses that you want to memorize, or you are reading through the Bible & want to pick up on certain verses that speak to you & can be useful to you or others later. In either case, you would want to with God's Help (i.e. with prayer) commit that verse to your mind & heart & continue to repeat it. Then through the day & into the succeeding days continue to recall that verse, with its reference, so it becomes established in your heart. Some people have memorized whole chapters, even Bible books, but start off in a small way first & concentrate on some meaningful verses to you, or what your Pastor/Elder has preached about. The Word of God is a living Word, i.e. the Scriptures we hold in our hands are "God-breathed", or inspired & energized by God for our instruction & observance ( 2 Timothy 3:16), so you can rest assured that God's Spirit will enable you to not only memorize the Scriptures but to apply them to your life. May the Lord bless you in your study & plan for Scripture memorization.
God loves you, even if you don't currently feel it, can I ask you a favor to just pause, take a deep breath and not take any emotionally fueled action until you at least try 3 things? Will you accept my challenge?
1. Pray to God and ask for help. I don't just mean a 1 minute prayer. I mean take an afternoon, drive out of town to a place in solitude and kneel down plan to spend at least an hour to deeply, genuinely tell God absolutely every feeling and problem you have and lay it all out bare for Him. Pour yourself out to Him. Beg God for help, for His divine intervention and healing in your life. No problem is too big for him to fix. He CAN lighten your load. Things CAN change. I know this from experience, as so so many others. Make it a very big deal, because it is. Even fast if you need to. Seek God with all your heart.
2. Psalms 23:4 read this verse, and read testimonies on this site who have gone through the deep valley just like you're in right now and come out the other side with a fresh new perspective. When you're in the valley, you feel trapped, blinded, see no way out, see no possible solution to fix it, and are ready to give up all hope. Many people on this site including myself have experienced this, but even though can't see any possibly way through it, decide to take just 1 tiny step. Just one step is all you need to do and sometimes that 1 action is all that is needed for a shift in perspective. Sometimes the valley is much shorter than you even realized, but you would not have known this if you hadn't taken that first tiny step, then another and another. Link
3. Help someone else. Huh? That's right. People often feel 'unqualified' to help others, especially when the feel down, or they feel embarrassed, or vulnerable. This is when you need to help others the most. Do something unexpected for a friend, or neighbor, help elderly, volunteer for a charity, or church. There are so many unmet needs, everyone who helps others is greatly valued!
Hi Douglas Grahame ,ive not heard of the book of mary however , i believe that the only person who could have told Luke all the details about Jesus birth and early life would have been Mary , who else would have been able to tell Luke so many little details ?
does the bible name whom the others were who was casting out demons (In the name of Jesus)? The disciples made a complaint to jesus in ( Mark 9:38 and luke 9:49)? Is there a more informative reference to this scripture? Thank you and have a blessed day.
I love Psalm 23 it is a Psalm my mother would recite this all through the day it was her favorite psalm, she taught it to me had me recite, taught me the true word of what this meant to the saved children of Christ. I now today read first before each bible study meditate upon it, and apply to every situation in my life. I may even find my self reciting through the day as well. Just wanted to share that,
Richard, may CHRIST IN US grace us with HIS wisdom and HIS knowledge.
HEAVEN
Flesh sees everything as natural. Heaven to natural eyes is out there somewhere. In Revelation where new Jerusalem is described; flesh sees this as a literal city with literal mansions and literal streets and literal trees and literal rivers. Bodies that have been glorified don't need houses or streets or walls or gates. We are the houses (mansions) of God, we are the streets of gold, we are the foundations of the city, we are NEW JERUSALEM. Revelation describes the foundation as twelve precious and costly stones. We are those (living) ( 1 Peter 2:4) stones that make up the city of new Jerusalem. We are the gates made of one pearl ( Psalms 23:9). Revelation represents something that is not LITERAL (which shall disappears)
Hebrews 12:27 And this word, Yet once more, SIGNIFIETH the REMOVING of those things that are shaken, as of things that are MADE, that those things WHICH CANNOT BE SHAKEN REMAIN.
This is why you don't see prophecies of heaven; WE ARE HEAVEN, WHERE GOD DWELLS.
Luke 21:26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven (you) shall be SHAKEN.
Job 38:13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the WICKED might be SHAKEN out of it?
Mark 13:25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
We are the stars of heaven (God's promise to Abraham that his seed would be as the stars of heaven)
The powers (of Satan that rules by natural flesh) in heaven (US) shall be SHAKEN (flesh will be destroyed and replaced by Spirit)
Revelation is all about the removing of the LITERAL and replacing with the SPIRIT.
Praying in the spirit happens. If you've ever been praying for the nation, or someone you know needs prayer, financial rescue, etc.
And you bend over and groan, maybe rock a little, your mind is unable to grab scriptures; you ARE praying in the spirit.
The Holy Spirit is with us, helping us to pray in the spirit, that thing that we can't vocalize. Later He's going to show you a scripture or passage that will help our understanding.
There is set way that this happens. It happens in prayer. If our prayer life is lacking, we don't notice it so much. If I'm sitting in the closet in the floor, praying, asking the Holy Spirit to help me pray;
Praying in the spirit happens. You feel great when you return to the world after. No better feeling than knowing that prayer got through to Jesus. Who ever lives to make intercession for the Saints. That's us! And that's them that we were praying for.
Prophesying in a Church service is a Corporate prayer function of the Holy Spirit. There will be 2 or three people who are gifted by the Holy Spirit to interpret. If no interpreter is there: in my experience, the prophesy falls.
1 Corinthians 12, 13, 14, clearly tells us what the gifts are. We are told to covet the best gifts. Well, if we don't know what the gifts are and what they're for: it's not helpful to the body of Christ (that's us).
If the Holy Spirit was a beautiful Colorado Spruce tree decorated with the GIFTS of the Spirit hanging on it (free to whosoever); there would be a mob. Jesus displayed ALL gifts of the Holy Spirit.
On the day of Pentecost, Jesus presented believers, with the Holy Spirit. The 3rd person of the Godhead. Who co-created everything we know about creation. He's gentle and waits on us to DESIRE HIM. He alone chooses our Gift(s)
Now go find out what the Gifts are. Do a study. Some people vocalize; others don't. Same Holy Spirit. Look for a teaching on Google.
Thank you for your reply. I have another question and this is in reference of Romans 8:26-27.
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
I knew there were verses that explain how we don't always know what or how to pray or what to pray for or sometimes not knowing how to pray. People know a lot of words but sometimes there are no words.
God seen to this with the Holy Spirit. The spirit prays for us in its own special code we don't understand but God does.
Aint that Amazing?
We must always pray without ceasing but know our Holy Spirit is also speaking to God for us as well.
Susan, you are pretty much on point, The Lord is our Shepherd and we are his sheep. Sheep knows its shepherd's voice. You can put several flocks of actual sheep together in one field and the shepherd can call his sheep and they will come to him. They trust he will keep them safe from the wolves in this world. We can put all our faith in our Shepherd, Jesus Christ, and have rest and peace we are saved in our salvation even if we face death, we are safe in eternity with Him.
Psalm 23:5 "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over."
Bev, you are quite right to question the meaning of words, seemingly innocuous in the Bible. Many words are used symbolically to protect their meaning from mistranslation, modernising or misunderstanding.
The 'table' as used in the Psalm describes a clear level-of-consciousness. John in his Revelation calls it: "a sea of glass, clear as crystal" -- which is safe from trespass and misuse. Oil is a symbol of love, and the 'cup' is our 'capacity-of-consciousness', not to be confused with the 'content-of-consciousness', which has been stuffed with images and superstitious beliefs that hinder, or block, the spontaneous flow of truth, which the mind is designed to process.
We have the same table-symbol, used in the Temple-of-the-Lord scene, in which the money-lenders were abusing the purpose-of-life. By, 'turning the tables', Jesus was not having a human-nature fit of self-righteousness, but clearing the tables of false values. The Temple, our triune human capacity, is designed to focus our earthly interface with God's heavenly truth-of-love.
I trust this helps; I've enjoyed the meditation, Peter.
Its about Jesus ,there are tons of references to Jesus in the old testament ,its a real joy to read them and discover how the old and new testaments are linked .
Thank you, so much! I was worried that there might be some meaning about which I know nothing. I've only been Yahvah's true child for about 6 years (and I'm OLD), so I am Young in the Word. I keep digging and loving it more and more the deeper I dig! Thank you for sharing! He IS amazing!! --Bev
Your understanding of this verse is quite correct. The whole Psalm by David is a recollection of his earlier life as a shepherd when he once cared rigorously for his sheep, but now he sees himself as that sheep being cared for by his Great Shepherd.
So, I see verse 5 as a probable continuation of verse 4: when by even walking through those valleys in life that give him no light, no joy, a sense of despair & hopelessness, with even the fear of death pervading in its shadows, the Lord, his Shepherd, had not left him. Even if his enemies surrounded him or entrapped him in that valley of hopelessness & fear, God would still provide bountifully for him in every way (in such abundance, that he likened this to a feast at a celebration, where the table was full of food, he would be anointed or refreshed, as a special guest in those days would be, & there would be no shortage in food or drink). Such was David's God & his utter reliance upon Him to sustain him & deliver him, no matter the circumstance.
And to think, that David's God is our God as well & God hasn't changed or diminished in His Love. And even more so, we as His blood-bought children, made heirs of His Kingdom, enjoying the fruits of our salvation & all that Heaven provides us, both now & into eternity.
I just want a bit of insight regarding Psalms 23: 5---the table part. ("Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies"). I assume that it means that God even "feeds us" when there is danger about? BUT...I'm not sure.
Chris gave you some great advice. Repetition is the key. But you have to stick with it. I used to have a lot of scripture memorized to where I could quote verses and tell you what book, chapter, and verse it was I was quoting. All that from memory. But I've lost a lot of that. I still have a lot of scripture stuck in my brain but it's the memorizing of the book, chapter, and verse that I've lost a lot of.
I think it's from leaving off of the word for a while to where I became dull of hearing. The apostle Paul used a lot of language in his letters that described what an athlete would have to do to keep in good physical condition, and it was through physical exercise. When a person does not get enough physical exercise, their muscles become weak.
Paul used that as a means of telling us how to remain spiritually strong, and mentally aware of the things of the Lord. It's the same thing with God's word. If we are not in it continuously, we become weak spiritually, or as the scripture says, we become dull of hearing.
As Chris has said, and I fully agree, it takes repetition and faithfulness on our part to remain in the word. Always approach the scripture in prayer, asking the Lord to teach you and to impress upon your heart the things he would have you to know and understand. Always be satisfied with what He gives you!
I don't know whether you have specific verses that you want to memorize, or you are reading through the Bible & want to pick up on certain verses that speak to you & can be useful to you or others later. In either case, you would want to with God's Help (i.e. with prayer) commit that verse to your mind & heart & continue to repeat it. Then through the day & into the succeeding days continue to recall that verse, with its reference, so it becomes established in your heart. Some people have memorized whole chapters, even Bible books, but start off in a small way first & concentrate on some meaningful verses to you, or what your Pastor/Elder has preached about. The Word of God is a living Word, i.e. the Scriptures we hold in our hands are "God-breathed", or inspired & energized by God for our instruction & observance ( 2 Timothy 3:16), so you can rest assured that God's Spirit will enable you to not only memorize the Scriptures but to apply them to your life. May the Lord bless you in your study & plan for Scripture memorization.
God loves you, even if you don't currently feel it, can I ask you a favor to just pause, take a deep breath and not take any emotionally fueled action until you at least try 3 things? Will you accept my challenge?
1. Pray to God and ask for help. I don't just mean a 1 minute prayer. I mean take an afternoon, drive out of town to a place in solitude and kneel down plan to spend at least an hour to deeply, genuinely tell God absolutely every feeling and problem you have and lay it all out bare for Him. Pour yourself out to Him. Beg God for help, for His divine intervention and healing in your life. No problem is too big for him to fix. He CAN lighten your load. Things CAN change. I know this from experience, as so so many others. Make it a very big deal, because it is. Even fast if you need to. Seek God with all your heart.
2. Psalms 23:4 read this verse, and read testimonies on this site who have gone through the deep valley just like you're in right now and come out the other side with a fresh new perspective. When you're in the valley, you feel trapped, blinded, see no way out, see no possible solution to fix it, and are ready to give up all hope. Many people on this site including myself have experienced this, but even though can't see any possibly way through it, decide to take just 1 tiny step. Just one step is all you need to do and sometimes that 1 action is all that is needed for a shift in perspective. Sometimes the valley is much shorter than you even realized, but you would not have known this if you hadn't taken that first tiny step, then another and another. Link
3. Help someone else. Huh? That's right. People often feel 'unqualified' to help others, especially when the feel down, or they feel embarrassed, or vulnerable. This is when you need to help others the most. Do something unexpected for a friend, or neighbor, help elderly, volunteer for a charity, or church. There are so many unmet needs, everyone who helps others is greatly valued!
Forever Be Blessed All
HEAVEN
Flesh sees everything as natural. Heaven to natural eyes is out there somewhere. In Revelation where new Jerusalem is described; flesh sees this as a literal city with literal mansions and literal streets and literal trees and literal rivers. Bodies that have been glorified don't need houses or streets or walls or gates. We are the houses (mansions) of God, we are the streets of gold, we are the foundations of the city, we are NEW JERUSALEM. Revelation describes the foundation as twelve precious and costly stones. We are those (living) ( 1 Peter 2:4) stones that make up the city of new Jerusalem. We are the gates made of one pearl ( Psalms 23:9). Revelation represents something that is not LITERAL (which shall disappears)
Hebrews 12:27 And this word, Yet once more, SIGNIFIETH the REMOVING of those things that are shaken, as of things that are MADE, that those things WHICH CANNOT BE SHAKEN REMAIN.
This is why you don't see prophecies of heaven; WE ARE HEAVEN, WHERE GOD DWELLS.
Luke 21:26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven (you) shall be SHAKEN.
Job 38:13 That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, that the WICKED might be SHAKEN out of it?
Mark 13:25 And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.
We are the stars of heaven (God's promise to Abraham that his seed would be as the stars of heaven)
The powers (of Satan that rules by natural flesh) in heaven (US) shall be SHAKEN (flesh will be destroyed and replaced by Spirit)
Revelation is all about the removing of the LITERAL and replacing with the SPIRIT.
A new heaven a new earth.
Praying in the spirit happens. If you've ever been praying for the nation, or someone you know needs prayer, financial rescue, etc.
And you bend over and groan, maybe rock a little, your mind is unable to grab scriptures; you ARE praying in the spirit.
The Holy Spirit is with us, helping us to pray in the spirit, that thing that we can't vocalize. Later He's going to show you a scripture or passage that will help our understanding.
There is set way that this happens. It happens in prayer. If our prayer life is lacking, we don't notice it so much. If I'm sitting in the closet in the floor, praying, asking the Holy Spirit to help me pray;
Praying in the spirit happens. You feel great when you return to the world after. No better feeling than knowing that prayer got through to Jesus. Who ever lives to make intercession for the Saints. That's us! And that's them that we were praying for.
Prophesying in a Church service is a Corporate prayer function of the Holy Spirit. There will be 2 or three people who are gifted by the Holy Spirit to interpret. If no interpreter is there: in my experience, the prophesy falls.
1 Corinthians 12, 13, 14, clearly tells us what the gifts are. We are told to covet the best gifts. Well, if we don't know what the gifts are and what they're for: it's not helpful to the body of Christ (that's us).
If the Holy Spirit was a beautiful Colorado Spruce tree decorated with the GIFTS of the Spirit hanging on it (free to whosoever); there would be a mob. Jesus displayed ALL gifts of the Holy Spirit.
On the day of Pentecost, Jesus presented believers, with the Holy Spirit. The 3rd person of the Godhead. Who co-created everything we know about creation. He's gentle and waits on us to DESIRE HIM. He alone chooses our Gift(s)
Now go find out what the Gifts are. Do a study. Some people vocalize; others don't. Same Holy Spirit. Look for a teaching on Google.
Mishael
Thank you for your reply. I have another question and this is in reference of Romans 8:26-27.
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
I knew there were verses that explain how we don't always know what or how to pray or what to pray for or sometimes not knowing how to pray. People know a lot of words but sometimes there are no words.
God seen to this with the Holy Spirit. The spirit prays for us in its own special code we don't understand but God does.
Aint that Amazing?
We must always pray without ceasing but know our Holy Spirit is also speaking to God for us as well.
What a comforting feeling!!
God bless, Ron
Bev, you are quite right to question the meaning of words, seemingly innocuous in the Bible. Many words are used symbolically to protect their meaning from mistranslation, modernising or misunderstanding.
The 'table' as used in the Psalm describes a clear level-of-consciousness. John in his Revelation calls it: "a sea of glass, clear as crystal" -- which is safe from trespass and misuse. Oil is a symbol of love, and the 'cup' is our 'capacity-of-consciousness', not to be confused with the 'content-of-consciousness', which has been stuffed with images and superstitious beliefs that hinder, or block, the spontaneous flow of truth, which the mind is designed to process.
We have the same table-symbol, used in the Temple-of-the-Lord scene, in which the money-lenders were abusing the purpose-of-life. By, 'turning the tables', Jesus was not having a human-nature fit of self-righteousness, but clearing the tables of false values. The Temple, our triune human capacity, is designed to focus our earthly interface with God's heavenly truth-of-love.
I trust this helps; I've enjoyed the meditation, Peter.
So, I see verse 5 as a probable continuation of verse 4: when by even walking through those valleys in life that give him no light, no joy, a sense of despair & hopelessness, with even the fear of death pervading in its shadows, the Lord, his Shepherd, had not left him. Even if his enemies surrounded him or entrapped him in that valley of hopelessness & fear, God would still provide bountifully for him in every way (in such abundance, that he likened this to a feast at a celebration, where the table was full of food, he would be anointed or refreshed, as a special guest in those days would be, & there would be no shortage in food or drink). Such was David's God & his utter reliance upon Him to sustain him & deliver him, no matter the circumstance.
And to think, that David's God is our God as well & God hasn't changed or diminished in His Love. And even more so, we as His blood-bought children, made heirs of His Kingdom, enjoying the fruits of our salvation & all that Heaven provides us, both now & into eternity.
Thank you!
Bev
WELL SAID: You put a smile on my face, may God continue to bless you