Monday, July 28, 2008

Scripture Memory - Week 4

It's time again for another memory verse and this week I chose a verse from a sermon I heard that really convicted me. The sermon was about how when we sin the underlying issue is not the sin we think we are committing; the issue is idolatry. Let me explain: let's imagine that you have an issue with worrying about money and as a result you loose sleep, or you become a work-a-holic, or you steal, or... you get the picture. In each of these cases the issue is not the sin of worry, or working too much, or stealing (yes those things are sins), the underlying issue in all of these is idolatry. You have taken God off of His rightful throne and made money your god. This is just one example (and probably a bad one at that) but this same scenario could be played out with lust, or greed, or anger, or anything that you might struggle with. The issue is not that sin, that sin is just the result. The real issue, at its very core, is idolatry.

So what we must do then is to make a choice; are we going to worship God, or are we going to worship the god that we have put in His place? That is what this week's memory verses are all about. As Joshua addressed the children of Israel right before his death he told them that they were going to have to make a choice as to what they were going to worship: either the gods of their fathers, the gods of the land where they were now living, or the one true God. This is a choice that each of us will have to make as well.

Here is this week's verse:
Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Joshua 24:14-15

And don't forget the verses we have already memorized:

Psalm 119:11
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Hebrews 1:1-2
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Scripture Stickies stickable Bible verses are a great way to memorize and meditate on God's Word.

www.scripturestickies.com

Anonymous said...

There is an Iphone App that help people to memorize scripture: BibleGizmoLite. It has an intelligent testing system where it ask you more often if you don't remember the verse and less often if you already remember the verse. (www.algizmo.com)