The Memory Text: 1 Corinthians 1:9

1Corinthians 1:9  God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

I grew up learning texts from the Bible. We were taught them at Sunday School, at Church youth camps and from slips of paper in boxes that contained daily texts. At the time this was an adventure in memorization, and useful for winning Bible quiz competitions.

It was only much later that I have discovered another dimension to learning texts. This has nothing to do with ‘being clever’, or knowing more than other people. Instead, this connects me to the many, many people of faith who have gone before me. Learning texts introduces me to the lives of those who wrote the Bible; these are texts that remind me of those who have encountered these same words through thousands of years; texts that move me into a larger faith community; and texts that allow me to borrow courage from the “great cloud of witnesses” that have used them, and continue to use them.

This is not an unthinking “lifting’ of a text from its context. We still need to do the work of understanding where the words originated, and how they have helped people of faith during the passing of time. Memorizing a text serves as a trigger for the rest of the teaching associated with the text, and becomes an opportunity to be refreshed by ancient wisdom.

If you have not done so before: begin by memorizing the above text.      

"The best book to read is the Bible/ The best book to read is the Bible/ If you read it every day/It will help you on your way/ The best book to read is the Bible."

Ordinary 17

39 God, Our Source of Hope

The Scripture passage for the day is drawn from Reuben Job and Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and other Servants, (Nashville, The Upper Room 1983), 243.
This reflection is from my own devotional exercises for the day.