I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:11, NIV

Bible memorization played an important role in my life as a kid. It was woven into Sunday school, midweek kids’ and youth programs, summer camp, and our neighborhood Good News Club. Not only did we have the encouragement of our church and parachurch leaders, Mom modeled it at home. She kept her Bible close by and, when she was cooking or ironing (time-consuming activities when you have five kids) she opened it and memorized another section of Scripture.

We knew that Bible memorization was an important practice because God’s Word tells us that hiding it in our hearts will help us avoid sinning (Ps 119:11). In Dt 6:4-9 Moses instructed the Israelites that God’s commandments “are to be upon your hearts,” and he gave them several ways they could do that. And when Joshua was commissioned to lead Israel, the Lord told him to meditate on the Book of the Law day and night “so that you may be careful to do everything written in it” (Js 1:8).

Meet Julia Mae Webber, a children’s evangelist who traveled to churches throughout the denomination for week-long special meetings. She had a ventriloquist dummy named Freddie who traveled with her. There was a lot of excitement when Freddy finally got to come out of his suitcase.

Freddy was just the warm-up act! We sang, of course we sang. And Julia Mae told Bible stories and “fun object lessons to help us understand deep spiritual subjects. She really understood children,” a friend remembers.

I must have been 10 when I painted this. It was a prize for memorizing Scripture.

The major emphasis of the week was Scripture memory. At the beginning of the week we painted plaster of paris plaques. The plaques were assigned a value in points, as were the verses and longer passages we could choose to memorize. (The list was long; my brother and I tackled the Sermon on the Mount. Others who went to her meetings said they learned Isaiah 53, Proverbs 3:1-15, and the 23rd Psalm.) With the points we received for our memorization we could buy the plaques of—you guessed it—Bible truths! It was a great challenge, and many of the passages I memorized that week so long ago are with me still.

I mentioned Julia Mae in a Facebook group and got some great responses.  One person talked of his son memorizing John 3:16 when he was just a year-and-a-half old; another commented that Julia Mae played a role in her spiritual development; a mom whose kids attended the meetings said, “Oh, she was used of the Lord to lead many children and families to love Jesus as Savior and Lord!”

Then there was the James family. Of their nine children, my friend Sharon was right in the middle. Though I only saw them at Family Camp, they were indelibly in my mind as I was impressed with both their musical abilities and their Scripture memorization. I recently talked to Sharon, who told me that after supper their dad would work with them memorizing God’s Word, phrase by phrase, until they had learned a passage.  Sharon remembers about 15 chapters or partial chapters that she learned with her family.

I was in awe when some of the James kids recited Hebrews 11 one summer.

When Sharon and her husband Kevin raised their eight children, they carried on the practice of Scripture memorization, and now their four married kids are passing on this gift to their kids.

Perhaps you are wondering what this has to do with us Salt & Pepper folks. Our memories are past their prime, and these days our ability to memorize is non-existent!

I think there are things we still can do to help us hide God’s Word in our hearts. In Part 2 we’ll look at age-appropriate Bible memorization! We’ll probably not be able to join a Bible quiz team after the next post, but I trust we’ll all be encouraged that Scripture can find its way deeper into us than we had thought.

Feel free to leave a comment or email me (on the Contact page) if you have memories of Bible memorization as a kid or as an adult, or other thoughts on Hiding God’s Word in Our Hearts!

And if you want to follow the Salt & Pepper blog, you can do that on the Contact page too!

Ginger

Thanks to all in the Growing Up Free Methodist Facebook page who read/responded to my posts about Julia Mae Webber. What fun conversations those were!

And thanks to Sharon James Casson and your family for the day-by-day diligence of filling your hearts and minds with Scripture. I enjoyed our recent conversation about this, Sharon. May the heritage your grandchildren are now receiving continue through generations to come.