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

Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. – Psalms119:11 (KJV)

Theme: God’s Word and Why We Study It

What better way to kickoff the 52 week challenge than to ask ourselves:  why are we doing this in the first place? Memorizing 52 verses in 52 weeks is a significant amount of effort…so why do it? What’s the benefit of studying and memorizing God’s Word?

Psalms 119:11 offers us a critical part of the answer to those questions:  knowing God’s Word helps us avoid sin. Think about it. How can we avoid sin if we don’t know what constitutes sin in God’s eyes? How can we follow God’s commands if we don’t know what those commands are? How can we apply His teachings to our lives if we haven’t studied those teachings? The answer is simple….we can’t.

Jesus himself turned to God’s Scriptures when he was tempted by Satan. Recall that Satan repeatedly tried to convince Jesus to sin against God, even asking Jesus to bow down to him, and each time Jesus resisted with Scripture verses (see Satan’s temptation of Jesus). Note that nowhere in the accounts of these events does it say that Jesus grabbed a scroll and looked up the verses. Nope. Jesus KNEW the Scriptures. They were hidden in his heart…and they helped him avoid sin.

If verses from God’s Word guided Jesus in his battle against sin, they can certainly help us in that battle as well. This year let’s fill our hearts and minds with God’s wisdom and direction. 52 verses in 52 weeks…the reward is eternal!

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