Hide Thy Word in My Heart

Memorizing Scripture is essential to the Christian life. Often Christians become overwhelmed at where to begin in the process of memorization. I would suggest beginning with the Westminster Shorter Catechism proof texts. These are a great place to begin because you can have a broad range of verses from systematic theology hidden in your heart.

Another place to begin is with the Navigator's Topical Memory System (TMS). These are 60 verses to aid in ministering to people. They teach the essentials of Christ as well as give a broad range of verses to use in evangelism. I prefer the TMS verses over the 'packaged gospel' of Evangelism Explosion (in which I am certified thanks to my strenuous and intellectual undergraduate education). Here is a printable TMS. It is a good place to begin.

Once you have begun memorizing God's Word you should pray that the Lord bring you opportunity to evangelize. This will be liberating to you who have not shared your faith to another. We are all commanded to preach the Gospel. Our English translations have

'preach' used for two different Greek words. One is the preaching that a minister is ordained by God to do. The other is the preaching, or 'gossiping' the Gospel, that all who are true Christians are commanded to do. If the church was equipped to share the Gospel; the Lord would have a mighty army. Imagine, a bunch of Calvinists sharing the Gospel!

A certain degree of religious knowledge , beyond doubt, is of vast importance. Ignorance is certainly not the mother of true devotion and helps nobody towards heaven. An 'unknown god' can never be the object of reasonable worship. Happy indeed would it be for Christians if they all knew the Scriptures as well as the Jews seem to have done when our Lord was on earth!

-JC Ryle