During 2025, Peachtree Church is focusing on the Book of Psalms with a series called Dwell, through which we seek to deepen our conversation with God and open ourselves to hearing his response. The practice of praying three times each day will unite the voices of our hearts and souls as we seek the day when we will see the full realization of the Kingdom of God, promised in Revelation 21:3: “…Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”
We will email devotionals twice weekly with Monday’s providing an overview of the Psalm as a whole, and Wednesday’s focused on that week’s Daily Dwell.
“I treasure your word in my heart, so that I may not sin against you… I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have given me life.”
Psalm 119:105
Devotional
Shortly before I moved back to Atlanta, I saw a video of Pastor Rich providing the morning reflection for the Georgia State government. I was both proud and amazed that Pastor Rich quoted so much of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount from memory.
Memorizing something, whether it is a passage of Scripture or our family members’ Social Security numbers for future reference, is an easy task, right? Why is it we can remember the scores of music lyrics from hit radio from our youth, but we can’t remember where we parked our car?
Even more importantly, how can we commit to memory essential ideas of our faith to equip us for our journey with God?
Psalm 119, as we’ve seen this week, is the longest in the Psalter, and it includes passages about memorizing God’s word. In verse 11, the psalmist “treasures” (some translations say “hides”) God’s word in their heart to stay pure before God. Later, the Psalmist vows not to forget God’s precepts. For fans of the US version of “The Office,” this is like Jim and Pam Halpert taking pictures of the tender moments during their wedding weekend. When we don’t want to forget something, we try to use all that we can to prevent it from vanishing from our minds like a vapor.
I read a great book on memorization called Walking on the Moon with Einstein by Joshua Foer. He shares an ancient memorization tactic from the Greeks called loci, or constructing a “memory palace” of things we’d like to memorize. In short, organize what you’d like to learn into small parts and place those parts in rooms of your childhood home. Therefore, the memory recall is as easy as taking a guest on a tour of your childhood home.
Of course, there’s more to it than that, but it’s at least an objective way to commit something we treasure to memory.
If you’d like to hear about the latest memory palace I’ve been building, tap me on the shoulder in the Williams Center on Sunday, and I’ll fill you in.
Until then, know that we all can hide God’s words and teachings in our hearts. The hope of remembering all that we’d like to can be overwhelming, so we should start the process with small steps. As James Clear conveyed in his excellent book Atomic Habits, getting 1% better each day adds up in the long run.
For Reflection
- If there was one chapter from the Bible that you know would be helpful to memorize and to remember for the rest of your life, what would it be?
- When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11), He recalled three Scripture passages to resist caving into temptation. What are some other ways memorizing and remembering Scripture can aid our spiritual journey?
- New habits are best developed in a community. Who would be a suitable friend to join you in a memorization challenge?
Prayer
Holy Father, You spoke the world into being—speak now into my heart.
Lord Jesus, You are the Word made flesh—shape my life by Your truth.
Holy Spirit, You inspired the Scriptures—ignite in me a hunger to understand.
Triune God, lead me deeper into Your Word, that I may know You more and live in Your light.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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