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Table of Contents
How to Memorize the Bible Fast and Easy
How to Memorize the Entire Bible in No Time Flat
How to Get the Most from Reading Your Bible
Memorize The Bible! 88 Verses Every Christian Should
Know And Understand To Increase Their Faith

How To Memorize The Bible Fast And Easy

How To Memorize The Bible Fast And Easy™
Copyright © 2013 by Adam Houge
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By Adam Houge Scripture taken from the New King
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How To Memorize the Bible Fast and Easy

Table of Contents
Introduction
The Basics
Know Your Bible
The Best Method
What Is God’s Suggestion for Expanding Memory?
Applying the Method
Final Thoughts

Introduction
Welcome to the life changing rewards of Scripture memorization! After this
challenging course, you’ll be changed down to the core because you will
understand your Bible like never before. When you increase your understanding
of God’s word, it changes how you think, act, walk, and breathe. His word
dictates how He wants us to live, and the more we understand how to apply our
Bibles, the more like Jesus we become. But prepare yourself for the work that
lies ahead. There is always work associated with memorizing, but the rewards of
knowing God’s word are infinite.
I believe that every Christian should know the word of God by heart. How can
you practice the word unless it’s locked in your heart? How can you lock the
Scriptures in your heart unless you memorize them? This is not a call to be
vainly religious by impressing people with a bunch of Scriptures. This is a call to
know your Bible for your own personal walk.
I have personally memorized many books in the Bible word for word. I am
convinced that any Christian can memorize dozens of books and recall them
word for word flawlessly, just as I have. In this book, I will be teaching you the
method that I have used to memorize so much Scripture.
It is an easy-to-follow formula that does require a little elbow grease. But after
you’re done, your sword will be sharper that you ever thought possible.

The Basics
We know that God commands us to apply His word and be found faithfully
walking in it. How can we apply it unless it’s locked in our hearts? Thus we
know that God also commands us to retain His word in our hearts. It is necessary
for each of us to memorize. But how do we know God wants us to memorize His
Bible? Does He truly command us to memorize? I believe He does, which is
why it is written,
“How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your
word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your
commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin
against You. Blessed are You, O LORD! Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I
have declared All the judgments of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of
Your testimonies, As much as in all riches. I will meditate on Your precepts, And
contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget
Your word.” Psalm 119:9–16
It’s clear that God calls us not to forget His word. How can we remember unless
we memorize? What is sin? To depart from the ways of God. How shall we keep
from going off course if His word, which establishes His will, isn’t bound in our
hearts? Hence we are also called to meditate on the Scriptures always. As it is
also written,
“Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in
the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the
law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a
tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose
leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.” Psalm 1:1–3
We must meditate day and night on the Lord’s word—both what His Holy Spirit
speaks into our hearts and the Scriptures. But that God wants us to bind His
word in our hearts is evident. For we read,
“My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let
them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;” Proverbs
4:20–21
“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire,
and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much
fruit; so you will be My disciples.” John 15:7–8
In order to bear the fruit of God, His words must abide in us. How can they
abide unless we memorize them and meditate on them continually? The word
“abide” in this Scripture is “meno” in the original Greek. Meno means to abide,
to dwell, or to continue in the presence or concept of. Thus is it more than
obvious that God is calling us to both dwell in and continue in His word daily.
But does God really want His word to dwell in us? As it is written,
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and
admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with
grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Colossians 3:16
Let His word dwell in you. Be established in it, and meditate upon it that you can
rightly apply it. Even as it is also written,
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to
be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
We must rightly divide the Scriptures and know His doctrine perfectly so that we
will know how to apply it. Yet we could never apply His word unless we
remember it for application, which is why it is also written,
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if
anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his
natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately
forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty
and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one
will be blessed in what he does.” James 1:22–25
Don’t merely read God’s word. Study it, know it, meditate on it, and memorize it
so you can practice it. Even as God commanded Joshua, so He commands each
of us. As we read,
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate
in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in
it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good
success.” Joshua 1:8
The book of the law was the only written word of God in Joshua’s time. Now we
have the law of liberty, which is the law of Christ. We know that we fulfill this
law through the Holy Spirit as we practice God’s love. But we still are required
to meditate on and memorize His word that we can know what the love of God
looks like. How can we apply something if we don’t know how it works? If a
person doesn’t know how to operate a factory machine, how can they
manufacture anything? Likewise, if we don’t know the word of God, we cannot
produce the fruit of righteousness. Faith may not always require knowledge, but
it always requires understanding. We don’t always know how a circumstance
will turn out when we put our faith in God, but if we understand the character
and nature of His love, we will understand that He will work everything together
for good.
Now, some may argue that it is not necessary to memorize so much Scripture.
But we cannot practice God’s will unless we understand it perfectly. There’s
nothing wrong with memorizing this amount of Scripture if you intend to use it
for your own personal walk. But if anyone wants to use the Scripture to show off
and impress others, then they’ll vainly puff themselves up. Even as it is written,
“…Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” 1 Corinthians 8:1
If we love one another, we will edify each other with the word of God. There is
nothing wrong with understanding the Scriptures in the deepest sense and using
that knowledge to edify the brethren. In the days of Paul, Bibles were not as
abundant as they are now. Many Christians had to memorize entire books so that
they could carry the words with them in their heart. It began with the oral
tradition of the Pharisees, who believed that the fathers before Moses passed
down the traditions orally. These were the traditions that Moses wrote about. So
it became a part of the Jewish tradition to both read and orally share the word of
God. Today Christians have become so dependent on their Bibles that many
could not discern Scripture without having a Bible in hand.
Imagine going to a foreign country to share the word of God where a Bible is not
permitted. How can you teach anyone from the Scriptures unless you smuggle a
Bible in? It sounds noble to smuggle Bibles, but there’s nothing wrong with
smuggling it in through having it bound in your heart. Those that live in hostile
countries tend to memorize more Scripture because a Bible is hard to find. So it
means more to them than it does to us. But God’s word should mean everything
to us!
It is impossible to study a vast amount of Scripture without having the right
heart. It is easy to be complacent and ask such questions as “Why do I need to
memorize so much? Where can I find time to do that? How is it even possible to
memorize so much?”
Now let’s answer these questions one by one. We have already addressed why
we need to memorize so much. How can we find time? Simple. If we love the
Lord, we will make time to put Him first. Even as it is written,
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things
shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33
Seek God’s kingdom first, and worry about the rest later. Make time for God
because He’s more important. If you don’t have time, then make the time and be
diligent to study your Bible. Memorize it faithfully. You will never memorize it
unless you make a commitment to do it. This commitment requires a disciplined
heart. You must be self-disciplined and force yourself to do it. It’s easy to
become complacent with all the distractions around us. It’s easy to desire
entertainment over education. But let each of us be educated in the things of
Christ and simpleminded in the fleshly entertainment and sin of this world.
Yes, there is nothing wrong with being entertained. But if it gets in the way of a
relationship with God, then it has to be set aside. If one cannot set it aside, then
they have an idol. Most people would have at least an extra hour or two per day
if they put aside entertainment. Consider yourself. How much time can you
make for God? Doesn’t He deserve the time from you? Be diligent to memorize
His word today.
If you need to, make an agreement with yourself and your family. Write it up on
a piece of paper and sign it if you need to, but ask your family to keep you
accountable. If they see you being idle, they can encourage you to seek the Lord.
I have heard one memory expert tell Christians to make a covenant with God on
paper and sign it. In the covenant, they claim that a person should come up with
a date on which you guarantee God that you will completely memorize the
particular book. This person says that it makes a person very serious about
memorizing the word of God and keeping to it. While we must take memorizing
His word seriously, I question the expert who said that. This man claimed to
have memorized dozens of books from the Bible word for word, including the
book of Matthew. If he truly memorized so much, then how did he miss the
scripture that says,
“But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the
great King. Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair
white or black. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is
more than these is from the evil one.” Matthew 5:34–37
God makes it clear to never make an oath. God makes the covenants, and we are
called to believe them. Let your yes be yes and no be no. Show your fervent
heart by being committed but only within a biblical context. It doesn’t do anyone
any good to memorize a mess of scriptures and then end up having no idea how
to apply them, which was the case for that memory expert.
Nevertheless, we should be committed to seeking the Lord and understanding
His word. God is pleased by those who diligently seek Him. Even as we read,
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must
believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
Hebrews 11:6
Knowing this, be found faithfully seeking God. Diligence is best defined as
faithfully doing something when it is least convenient. If it is difficult for you to
memorize Scripture due to a time constraint, then consider when you are most
mentally alert and make time during that part of the day. God deserves our time.
So let each of us prioritize accordingly that we can become more intimately
attuned with His word.
It is easier to memorize God’s word when you’re mentally prepared for it. This
preparation simply comes through being awake to the Holy Spirit. First you need
to be alert in your mind but more so in the Spirit. To prepare for memorization, it
is good to worship or pray for a good period of time first. Continue to do so until
you feel the Spirit; that way you can memorize through the Spirit—a technique
that we will discuss later.
Know Your Bible
It is worthless to memorize something you don’t understand. Take the time to
study the Scriptures, then memorize the things that the Spirit has explained the
context to and the meaning of to you. That way, when you understand the
meaning, it will have real life application. It’s hard to retain scripture that doesn’t
have any purpose for your life. This is true to anything. Consider your days in
high school. There are many things that you learned that you haven’t applied for
years, and how much of that has been retained? However, the things you have
applied you still remember to this day. But the things you haven’t applied, you
need to brush up on.
It is the same with the word of God. Whatever Scripture you intend to apply in
your life should be memorized. Then as you apply it and meditate on it, your
mind will be able to retain it longer.
If you understand something, it is easy to remember it. If it is useless to you, you
won’t retain it. For example a nonsense phrase is difficult to remember. Try
memorizing this: fa na sa pa la na ba da fa pa ga sa ya la da pa na fa.
This may seem ridiculous, but it has a point, so stop reading and try to memorize
it. It will be very difficult even though it has fewer letters when compared to
most verses. In fact, it’s easier to memorize a longer verse such as John 3:16
than that. Anything that has real life application means more to your mind and is
retained longer. It is held together by passion, and that passion is centered on
your love for Christ. When you intend to fervently apply the word of God
through love, you will retain it more effectively. The things that are applied are
held onto longer, but you must have the love, the passion, and the zeal to apply
what you’re going to memorize.
If there is no purpose for the scripture that you’re going to memorize, then there
is no point to memorize it. It will only be for prideful reasons. But if you have a
purpose for it and a use for it, then it will benefit you.
Also, unless you are very serious in your attempt to memorize, it will be very
difficult to memorize more than one verse. First you must diligently seek the
Lord. Then He blesses those that diligently seek Him. How does He bless them?
He helps them retain it. Hence we read,
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will
teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to
you.” John 14:26
It is more than evident that we can find wisdom through faith in Christ. And we
know that God wants us to understand our Bibles. How can we apply His word
with an ounce of discernment unless we take the time to know and understand
the Scriptures?
We must allow room for critical thinking that life application can take place. If
we memorize a vast amount of Scripture without knowing its meaning, then
we’ll only have useless information. What’s the point to remembering something
you won’t use? It is better to memorize that information only after having gained
insight as to how it is practical for your life. Then by using the scripture daily, it
will be retained longer. It is more useful for memory to use a scripture once a
day for 55 days than it is to repeat it to yourself 55 times a day without knowing
how to use it.
There are some Christians that want to memorize Scripture without actually
knowing its meaning. They feel it has some sort of underlying purpose that will
aid them in the end. Some feel it will make them look good as Christians. But in
truth, while such a person may accurately recite the scripture to another, they
will wrongly apply it. So the end result makes the person look unwise rather than
spiritual or godly.

The Best Method
There is really only one method that has worked for thousands of years. Rote. By
this method, billions of people throughout time have memorized whole books,
sacred texts, musical symphonies, mathematical laws, and countless documents.
Even today it is the preferred method of memorization for children in schools.
Children with mental disabilities memorize best through variations of rote. It is
and always has been the preferred and perfected method of memorization for
every individual on the planet. If a child with a mental disability can use it and
remember much, then why can’t anyone else? It is the most basic and simplistic
method that employs the best method for retaining a memory.
Various methods of rote use all three methods of learning to establish a long-
term memory: kinesthetic, auditory, and visual. It does use much repetition,
which some people like to avoid. The reason why repetition is superior is that
our minds are programed by God to remember things we encounter frequently. If
we frequently encounter a difficult circumstance, for example, God created us to
think creatively to overcome it.
But if we experience an obstacle only once, we may not remember how to
overcome it. In as much as some would prefer to avoid memorizing by
repetition, it is actually better for them. But by and large, it is much easier to
remember something we encounter every day for a month than 30 times in a day.
It isn’t about how much we repeat things to ourselves but how often we use them
on a daily basis. Remember the “use it or lose it” mentality? It certainly applies
with memory. If we meditate on the word of God daily, we are more likely to
retain it for the long term.
There are two things that stick out in the memory: a repeated experience or an
extremely emotionally elevated experience. I bet you can remember a terrible
nightmare you had as a child but can’t remember what you dreamt one month
ago today. Extremely heightened states of fear, joy, anger, and all other emotions
open the mind to retain a memory. This is why some experts claim you should
create strange mental images to remember scripture or other texts—because it
incites emotions of intrigue or laughter.
Yet no context can be retained by this method. This is where knowledge deviates
from wisdom. Wisdom is the ability to accurately apply knowledge, whereas
knowledge is merely stored information. While there are many tactics that can
help you store information, relatively few help you to accurately apply what you
retained. Rather than using useless methods to retain worthless material, we need
to focus on the things that help us to retain the Scriptures for proper application.
As we said before, so now I say again: what good is it to remember the Bible if
we don’t understand how to properly apply it?
We can’t retain the word of God unless it is held through daily use. So the best
method is to repeat the Scriptures to ourselves and apply them daily. None of us
will have heightened states of emotion with each verse, so it is best instead to
just be diligent and memorize the Bible through self-discipline and age-old
tactics that work.
There are many Bible scholars and memory experts who have memorized entire
books of the Bible word for word using the rote method or variations of it
—myself included. I teach a variation of rote that is built on the power of faith in
the Holy Spirit.
The rote method was developed thousands of years ago before print was known
to exist. Seeing that people couldn’t write down the information they needed for
later reference, they would memorize it. Even the ancient Jews, especially the
Levites and scribes, would memorize whole texts word for word using rote.
Due to the results this method produces, it has been employed by billions of
people for thousands of years. This method works so well for any individual that
all major religions have employed it. For example, in Buddhism, the Buddhist
monks use rote memorization to memorize their sacred texts. They are required
to memorize several pages of an entire topic as little children before they can
even discuss its meaning. (We as Christian’s should meditate on the meaning
before we memorize and during memorization.) By the time a monk
“graduates,” their level of understanding of their faith is about the same as a
Christian who has their doctorate. This goes for every Buddhist monk because of
the way they go about studying their faith.
It is known that they are a very self-disciplined and determined people. A
Buddhist monk is a Kung Fu monk, known to be one of the most self-disciplined
people in the world. They have employed rote along with self-discipline to
memorize sometimes hundreds if not thousands of pages of religious text word
for word. Unlike a Buddhist monk, self-discipline and consistency are the things
that many (but not all) Christians lack today. If we employ more self-discipline
and remain consistent with it, it doesn’t take long to memorize entire books and
epistles from the Bible.
But it is true that some Buddhist monks memorize thousands of pages. The
Guinness Book of World Records of 1985 had listed a Buddhist monk by the
name of Bhaddanta Vicittabi Vumsa as recalling the most text by memory. In
one circumstance in 1954 he recited 16,000 pages of their religious text, which
he knew by heart, word for word with no errors, in front of an audience. He had
memorized all 20,000 pages of their sacred texts and all of their commentaries as
well, whereas there are only 1,200 pages in the standard Bible. Yes, there may be
different amounts depending upon the size and translation, but it generally
amounts to less than 2,000 total pages. If then a Buddhist can memorize 20,000
pages, why can’t we memorize 2,000?
But Buddhists aren’t the only ones that use this method. There are some
Muslims, for example, who have memorized the entire Koran word for word.
Such individuals are called “Hafiz,” which literally means “guardian.” They are
called this because the Muslim faith considers such people as guardians of the
faith. So quite literally, there are enough Muslims that memorized the entire
Koran word for word that they gave them a name for their achievement. Their
Koran has 114 chapters comprised of 6,236 verses. This is over 80,000 words,
which they know word for word by heart. Both Muslims and Buddhists use rote
memorization to memorize these vast amounts of verses.
If then a Buddhist or Muslim that does not have God can memorize their entire
volume of sacred texts, why do so many Christians that have the Holy Spirit
struggle with memorizing a few verses of the Bible? For both the Buddhist and
the Muslim, it comes down to self-discipline and persistence. But many
Christians struggle with understanding how to remember the word of God. If we
believe that we are saved through faith and faith comes by the word of God, then
why don’t we take it more seriously to be self-disciplined to remember the
Scriptures word for word? Why don’t we become “guardians of the word,” so to
speak, by guarding the word in our hearts through memorization? If we don’t
apply self-discipline and persistence to know the Lord more then how can we
claim to treasure His word? If we treasure it, our actions will prove it. Let each
of us be diligent to memorize His word, taking it to heart and growing in the
discernment of it.
But some find it very difficult to memorize a few verses. This doesn’t have to be
the case seeing that we have God. It is a matter of understanding that God wants
to help us at a one-on-one level and being self-discipline enough to seek it. Other
religions memorize what they do through the power of the flesh, so how much
more can we do so through the power of the Spirit? But God is always faithful to
bless those that seek Him. Remember that it is written,
Hebrews 11:6
Knowing this, be firm with yourself and make time for God. Let each of us
awake to righteousness and seek Him. Memorize your Bible so you can apply it
faithfully. How can you apply something if you don’t remember it? Stand firm,
and be self-disciplined!

What Is God’s Suggestion for Expanding Memory?
What is God’s suggested method for expanding our memory? Surely if the Lord
has something to say, it would be perfect. So what do we read?
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and
without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no
doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the
wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” James 1:5–8
“For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and
understanding;” Proverbs 2:6
you.” John 14:26
God shows us through the word that He is the source of wisdom, and the Holy
Spirit helps bring it to remembrance. So the secret for a truly deep memory is
understanding how to tap into the Spirit. Is God incapable of helping you retain
His word? If He expects you to apply it and offers help through the Spirit to
assist you in its application, then certainly the Spirit will help you retain His
word.
So before we do any memorizing, we need to prepare our hearts in the Spirit. We
will discuss this more in depth later.

Applying the Method
Rote memorization is an age old tactic. We often desire to read about new
tactics, but sometimes the oldest ones are best. Why? Because they’ve had
thousands of years to be perfected, while the new idea is from the office of a
quirky professor’s that made a single discovery. Those tricks that professor
employed have only been studied by him or a team of his colleagues. What good
is it to apply something that hasn’t worked for anyone outside of a lab
experiment?
How does rote work, and how can it be applied to the Bible? Simple. Pick a
chapter in the Bible you’d like to memorize and divide it out by the number of
verses it contains by the number of days you’d like to take to memorize it. So for
example, let’s say you wanted to memorize the book of James in two weeks.
There are 108 verses in James and 14 days in two weeks. So 108/14=7.7
If you memorized eight verses a day it would take you 13.5 days, which is 14
days seeing that the half day would be the fourteenth day.
With the rote method, you would then memorize each verse out loud on the
selected days. For example,
1st Day) While speaking out loud and in your mind, memorize the first verse and
recite it at least five times. Then move on to verse two; memorize it and recite it
from memory five times without flaw. After you have memorized verse two,
recite verse one and two together five times without flaw. Move onto three and
memorize it, and recite it five times out loud without making a mistake. Then
recite all three verses together five times without making a mistake. Continue
this process until you have memorized all eight verses. You’re done for the day.
2nd Day) First try to recite yesterday’s eight verses without flaw once. If you
can, then proceed to finish reciting it all five times. If you fail, then rememorize
the portion you forgot and then recite it all together five times out loud.
Afterward move on to verses 9–16, and memorize verse nine repeating it out
loud five times. Then move on to ten, repeating that five times. Now when you
have ten down, don’t recite 1–8. You did that yesterday and were only brushing
up today. Instead, you need to recite 9 and 10 together five times. Then work on
11 and recite five times then 9–11 five times until you’ve memorized 9–16 and
recited that five times without failure as well. After you’re finished with 9–16
then, recite 1–8 and 9–16 together, then all 16 verses. When you’ve done this
five times without fail, you’re done for the day.
3rd day) Recite 1–16 five times without fail. When accomplished, move on to
verses 17–24. Repeat the same method from yesterday and every consecutive
day until all 108 verses are memorized in 14 days.
When you’re doing this method, you’re also supposed to walk back and forth or
sit on the edge of your chair for mental alertness. If you recline or sit back, it
tells your brain that it’s time to shut down and rest. So take it seriously, and sit
forward in your chair.
Now, there are some problems with this method, which is why I have personally
augmented it. The first is that we are commanded to approach God through faith.
We are to surrender to His work that works in us that He may work through us,
as we read,
“To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me
mightily.” Colossians 1:29
Let each of us strive according to His working. It is easy to figure it out in our
flesh saying, “If I memorize eight verses per day every day, I’ll memorize such
and such amount of books by next year.” It sounds very appealing, but through
faith in God, I have personally memorized whole books in one day. God doesn’t
need our logic; He can do anything if we have faith. If we strive according to the
inner working of the Holy Spirit, the resulting knowledge is greater than using
human logic. If we memorize in the power of the flesh, we will retain much but
won’t always retain the meaning. When we memorize through the Spirit, we
always retain the meaning of the word for daily application.
We are not justified by our works. It is God who is supposed to work in us and
through us. Hence we are justified by faith because God operates through our
faith. By using rote without augmenting it, such a person is operating in the
power of the flesh and not the power of faith. They are memorizing their Bible
by their own effort, little by little, rather than through the ability the Spirit
supplies. Remember that we established through Jesus that the Spirit will bring
to remembrance His words. As it is written,
you.” John 14:26
Let the Holy Spirit bring the word of God to your remembrance. Have faith in
Him that He intends to do so according to God’s promise. It is the promise of
God, and if you’re willing to seek it, you shall obtain it according to the measure
of your faith. If you’re passionate about His word, then pursue the help and
power of the Holy Spirit to understand and know your Bible. Don’t rely on your
own heart or own mental ability. Yes, God gave you a brain to use it, but He also
gave you the Holy Spirit, and you should learn to utilize His strength as well.
Now, there are MANY Bible scholars who have memorized whole books of the
Bible using the rote method. They swear by it and would teach everyone else to
do it as well. But they are doing it in the flesh and not through Christ according
to His method, which we outlined. Yes, they may pray for help before they start,
but they don’t let God direct and lead the process. Rather, they pick a book they
like, divide it out, and apply the rote method.
But God calls us to be led by the Spirit in the things we say and do. As we read,
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” Romans
8:14
How can we be led by God in this? Simple. First we pray and ask the Lord to
speak to us through the Scriptures. We need to pray that He would show us the
things He wants us to apply and memorize.
After doing this, read the Scriptures, and whatever sticks out to you is the Spirit
speaking. So when the words of the Bible jump out at you, memorize them. Find
the entire portion that speaks to you, even if it is a whole book, and memorize it.
Now, those Bible scholars who memorize using the rote memorize six to ten
verses per day, and it takes them over a month to memorize an entire book. But
using the method I’m outlining, I have personally memorized entire books in a
day. It’s very draining and hard work, but it only takes a few hours.
I don’t consider myself to be any more intelligent than the next person; the only
difference is that I do it through faith and strive according to God’s work in me. I
have learned that the more faith I have and the more self-discipline I have, the
more I can memorize. Again, I don’t consider myself to be any more intelligent
than another person. God doesn’t operate through my strength. Rather, He
operates through my weakness. As it is written,
“And He said to me, “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made
perfect in weakness…’” 2 Corinthians 12:9
Before I memorized through faith, I could hardly memorize a single verse. It was
extremely hard for me to even do five verses per day. But as soon as I
acknowledged my weakness and handed it over to God, He worked through me
to memorize whole books and chapters. I know for a fact that everyone that has
the Holy Spirit can memorize as much as I have if they choose faith and apply
self-discipline. If God would bless me to do it in a day, why wouldn’t He bless
you? I’m no better than you in any way! And what do we read?
“But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no
difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who
seemed to be something added nothing to me.” Galatians 2:6
God doesn’t favor anyone but gives the Spirit without measure. Listen to the
voice of the Spirit through the Scriptures, and let Him guide you to the things He
wants you to memorize. The scriptures He speaks out to you are the scriptures
that He will help you with. As for the others, He won’t help you with them until
His timing.
While ALL Scripture is profitable, only some directly apply to our current life
circumstances. God is our teacher, and He chooses the lessons and leads us
through the course book (which is the Bible). So read along with the lesson God
has at hand for you, and don’t go off on a tangent. Let God teach you and build
you in wisdom. For we must all be taught by God and not ourselves. As it is
written,
“It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore
everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” John 6:45
By memorizing what He speaks out to you, He will lead you through the
Scriptures His way. In a very short time, He will guide you through all Scripture
and help you memorize dozens of entire books as He has done for me.
So beginning with the things God wants you to memorize, break them down and
memorize and recap similar to before. But first we pray and read to find the
verses God wants us to memorize. After reading, let’s say God really spoke out
to us in the entire book of James. So we would memorize the book like this:
1) Read the book, and make sure you understand it. What good is
it to memorize a ton of scriptures that you don’t know how to
apply? After knowing the meaning and being sure that it is what
God wants you to do, pray and ask the Lord to open your mind to
help you retain the word and bind it in your heart. Pray for
wisdom, and have all faith He will give it to you. Then memorize
the first verse.
Don’t recite it multiple times. Just move to the next after it
is memorized, having faith that God will help you retain it.
2) After finishing the second verse, recite one and two together.
After you have done it well, move on to verse three.
3) After three is memorized, recite verse one through three
together. Then move on to four.
4) Keep doing this until the chapter is finished. Recite the whole
chapter without failure. If you make a mistake, brush up in that
one spot then try reciting the chapter again.
5) After you’ve recited it, you’re done with that chapter until the
end of the book. Move on to chapter two.
6) Memorize chapter two the same way you did the last chapter
then you’re done with chapter two until the end.
7) Move on to chapter three, and memorize each chapter
individually until all five chapters in the book of James are done.
8) Afterward recite them all together without failure. If you make
a mistake, brush up then recite it. After you recite the whole book
without looking at the pages, you’re done.
I do everything in fives as it makes it easier. Every five verses, recap on all five.
With large books, stop every five chapters and recite them all together: chapters
1–5 then 6–10 then 11–15 then recite them all together, 1–15, as a whole. After
you’ve done this, congratulations! You’ve memorized the entire book. When
memorizing, there is nothing wrong with looking at the page. After it’s
memorized, though, don’t try reciting it by peeking at your Bible for a reminder.
If you have to look at the page, then it’s not memorized.
There are some supposed experts on Scripture memorization who claim that
there is no shame in looking at the pages for a reminder. But in truth, if you’re
looking at the pages, then you don’t have it memorized. In the next few weeks,
you’ll completely lose those scriptures that you had to open your Bible for. But
if you can recite it without looking at the page, then you’ll retain it longer.
Besides, you can’t always carry your Bible with you, and it would be good to
remember every verse you memorized word for word when you don’t have it on
your person. Those supposed Bible memory experts who say it’s okay to peek
claim they memorized many books. But if they are looking at the pages, then the
truth is they are reading the Bible and not memorizing it. The books I have
memorized I can recite without a Bible in hand. Anyone can do this through the
power of the Spirit. By doing it through the Spirit, it is glory to God and not
ourselves. If we do it through our own strength, then we glorify ourselves. While
there are many helpful tricks to memorize a verse, nothing could help you more
for memorizing entire books than applying the rote method through faith in
Christ.
You will no longer need to look at the page, but you will need to brush up. Don’t
listen to the Bible readers who call themselves memory experts. They need a
Bible in hand to teach because they don’t have the whole book retained.
I have held scores of Bible studies examining the Scriptures word for word
without holding a Bible. I don’t do this to impress anyone but to encourage
others that it is possible for anyone to memorize the Bible in its entirety. By
knowing my Bible, it has also opened the door to have impromptu Bible studies
in all kinds of unimaginable places and at unexpected times. I have had them at
gas stations when filling up the gas, in hotels, in the lobby, next to the pool, at
grocery stores, in aisles, while standing in line, in parking lots, and while
walking through city parks. God’s word comes up all the time, and it’s good to
be able to study it with others at irregular times when we normally wouldn’t
have a Bible handy.
Know your Bible, and it will change your life! Be serious about it. Don’t
memorize it to impress others, but have a humble heart and you’ll become a
blessing to those around you.
Now, if you’re struggling with putting two verses together, it can be helpful to
chunk them. We use the chunk method in many areas of life already. Think of
numbers for example. 18165559471 is hard to memorize, but if we break it into
chunks like a telephone number, 1(818)555-9471, it is much easier.
When memorizing large portions of Scripture, break each verse into smaller
chunks. After memorizing each chunk, put them together as one full verse. After
this, you can go on to memorize the next verse. Try to memorize paragraphs
three to five verses at a time. Take each chunk one at a time and each verse one
at a time. Work on the first verse then when you have it down, work on the
second verse then the third; go back and test yourself by trying to recall all three
in order.
Try to say all three verses in order without any mistakes. If you make a mistake,
go back and brush up. If you’re having a hard time remembering which verse
comes next, create a chunk between the two verses.
For example, consider these two verses:
“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart
that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:10
If you have both of them memorized but can’t recall them in order, then take
something in between the two verses, such as: “you will be saved. For with the
heart one believes.”
Then after you have that chunk memorized, go back and recall them both in
order. It will be much easier to do so at this point. You can do this at every break
in Scripture—anywhere that you’re having a hard time remembering what comes
next. If you’re struggling with a single large verse, then do the same thing.
Also, confidence helps tremendously. Sometimes when we memorize a verse, we
have it down correctly but keep questioning ourselves in regard to accuracy.
When you have established that it is accurately memorized, be confident, or
you’ll forget it more quickly. When you question yourself, it’s hard to retain
because your mind rejects it as bad information that needs correction. But if you
have memorized it well, then have confidence and move on. It may sound overly
simple, but it really makes a tremendous difference compared to constantly
questioning if you have it right. If you’ve memorized the verse accurately, then
be confident through faith when reciting it. If you’re not, you’ll feel as if you’re
going to mess up then want to look at the page. Make sure that you have the
verse memorized correctly, though. It is easier to memorize a verse correctly the
first time than to try to fix a verse that was memorized incorrectly due to
laziness.
Faith is the essence of everything. After having prayed and having asked God to
help you memorize and retain the Scriptures, then you need to memorize by
faith. When I first started this method nearly a decade ago, I struggled. I read
James 1:5–8, which told me that God will grant me wisdom if I had faith.
So I sat down to memorize that verse through faith. It was the first verse that I
ever memorized through faith. Later I memorized the entire book and moved on
to other books. But when I first started on verse 5, I struggled. I always had a
hard time getting a single verse down, and I couldn’t handle more than eight
verses per day. It took me a of couple hours to get those eight verses too!
But as I struggled, I came to the conclusion that I couldn’t memorize it. When I
was about to give up, the Lord reminded me of two verses:
“Jesus said to him, ‘If You can believe, all things are possible to him who
believes.’” Mark 9:23
And
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
Then I realized that I couldn’t memorize it, but God can. In fact, He already
knows all the Scripture by heart, seeing that it is HIS word after all. So I put my
trust in Him that He would give me the wisdom to memorize. I didn’t know how
He would do it; I just trusted that He would and that it would be His work.
Afterward I finished verses 5–8 in two minutes tops.
As time went on, I began to realize that the more faith I had, the more I could
memorize. I found it hard to memorize whole paragraphs, but I realized through
my journey that it was merely an issue of faith. When I considered memorizing a
whole book, I gulped. “How can I possibly do that!?” I thought. But then I
remembered not to trust myself. So I put my faith in Christ that He can do
anything. Then I stepped out on the water, so to speak, and He blessed it. After
that, I memorized around 50 different chapters and nearly a dozen books in
about two months.
So I laugh at the teacher that tells you to memorize five to eight verses a day for
a month and a half and then you’ll have a whole book memorized. I memorized
and retained a book per day on several occasions during those two months. I
could hardly memorize a single verse then suddenly through the Holy Spirit, by
faith in Christ, I memorized a vast amount of Scripture. I have now, over the
years, memorized many more books and chapters and have retained much of
what I memorized.
Do I forget things through this method? Obviously. I have to go back and brush
up like everyone else. But I’ve found that brushing up is infinitely easier than
memorizing, mainly because the scripture is still there in my head. It’s just
lingering around in a hidden memory bank, and I have to find it again. I retain
each book for about a month to two months before I need a brush up. Otherwise,
I can recite it word for word without a Bible in hand.
I believe with all my heart that anyone that has received the Spirit of God can do
this too. The only thing that you need is faith.
But you have to take it very seriously and be disciplined. As we said before, self-
discipline is something lacking in the church today. If your mind drifts off, then
wrangle your thought back in and focus hard on what you’re memorizing. Be
serious, and take it seriously through faith.
God opens your mind for a greater wisdom through faith. It is not obtained
through fleshly practice or trial and error but only by faith. While many people
have memorized and retained huge portions of text, they did so with a great
struggle. I’ve only needed diligence, and God did the rest. That’s all He requires
from you. If a person finds it hard to believe that they can memorize more
through faith, then that’s exactly why they’ve been struggling in the first place.
Remember that we approach God and practice His word through faith. Why
wouldn’t we retain it that way either? This isn’t a method that works for a few
people but for everyone that has the Holy Spirit. As it is written,
you.” John 14:26
The Holy Spirit will bring to remembrance the word of God to the children of
the Lord. All you need to do is believe. God did it for me, and He will do it for
you. Take it to heart. Don’t try this method; do this method.
We never try to have faith. Anyone who tries to have faith doesn’t actually have
faith. Anyone who has faith does what they need to and operates in the Spirit of
God. There is no “try”; there is only “do.” If you “try” this method, it won’t
work for you. Trying implies a level of uncertainty. You have seen the Scriptures
in which God promises to give you wisdom.
God has promised and intends to help those that have His Holy Spirit. The only
way it can’t work for a person is if they don’t have the Spirit of God or don’t
have faith. Faith is God’s method, not mine. His method works for everyone.
Consider the benefits of knowing His word intimately. Have faith in His power
to help you then apply this simple but age-old memorization technique. Now,
one may ask, “Did anyone from the Apostles’ days memorize the word of God in
its entirety?” We see that Paul memorized much Scripture. But our greatest
evidence is actually Luke. He wrote both the book of Acts and the book of Luke.
He never actually walked with Jesus personally, so the book of Luke was the
testimony from the apostles he heard. But he remembered it in extremely vivid
detail. By this it is obvious that he memorized the entire gospel narrative. Also,
we believe that the Holy Spirit wrote the bible. So if the Holy Spirit wrote
through Luke, then it is more than obvious that the Spirit helped him retain the
memory of the book of Luke so he could write it and it could be added to the
Bible.
When Jeremiah had his scrolls destroyed by King Jehoiakim, the Lord
commanded him to rewrite them. As we read,
“Now after the king had burned the scroll with the words which Baruch had
written at the instruction of Jeremiah, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah,
saying: “Take yet another scroll, and write on it all the former words that were in
the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned.” Jeremiah 36:27–
28
Was it a lengthy scroll? Quite obviously. Hence we read,
“And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, that the king cut
it with the scribe’s knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all
the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.” Jeremiah 36:23
This scroll had columns of text, and Jeremiah remembered it all. It was obvious
that He had them all put to memory since he was told by God to rewrite it.
Again, we believe that the Spirit wrote the word of God. So it is evident that the
Holy Spirit helped Jeremiah retain that information to write it again. And as we
stated before,
you.” John 14:26
As the Holy Spirit brought the words of the scroll to Jeremiah’s remembrance, so
He will do for you as you memorize the word of God.
God’s method works. Have faith in His power, and be very serious about
memorizing His word. He will help you on your journey and make your burden
easy and your yoke light.

Final Thoughts
Memorizing God’s word is critical for every believer. By locking His word in
our hearts, we can carry it with us for daily practice. This is why it is vital to
meditate on His word after it has been memorized.
After you have the book or section in question fully memorized, come back to it
a few days later to meditate on it. Do not merely recite the scripture to yourself,
but slowly mediate verse by verse. Take the time to consider and absorb the
meaning of each verse. As you listen to the Spirit, He will give you revelation
upon revelation in regard to how each verse fits together with verses from other
books to create a bigger picture. Even as we read,
“These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but
which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” 1
Corinthians 2:13
As you meditate on the verses, the Spirit will compare each verse with other
verses and teach you the doctrine behind the scripture. You’ll begin to realize
how the words fit together more appropriately in ways you’ve never realized
before. In some cases, it will be as if the Spirit opened your eyes to a hidden
meaning for the first time.
This is why I teach that it is best to meditate on the meaning of the verse as you
memorize. That way you can carry the appropriate doctrine with you as well as
understand perfectly how to apply it in your life. It is better to know how to
apply the scripture personally than to know how to recite it to others. We should
sharpen our own swords in Christ before we sharpen another’s.
Some get carried away with trying to memorize the reference numbers with the
verse. It is better to memorize the passage as a whole in order to meditate on the
meaning first rather than to try to memorize the exact numerical location at the
first. After you have meditated on the passage, then consider what verses you’d
be most likely to use; you can then memorize the corresponding reference
numbers. You certainly can memorize all the reference numbers at the first, but I
have personally learned that it is difficult to meditate on the meaning of the verse
when a person is struggling to retain where it is numerically located. Besides
this, if you do not frequently use the verse, the first thing you’ll forget is where it
is located, leading to an endless cycle of rememorizing the locations.
It can be difficult to press ahead with new material to meditate on and grow in if
you’re constantly brushing up and focusing on the old. If you don’t intend to
recite every little verse according to its number to another person, then it would
be best to remember what book and chapter it comes from and focus on the
meaning of the scripture to rightly apply it in your own life.
Some try to give an appearance of being spiritual through reciting much
Scripture. But it is better to BE spiritual by applying the Scripture personally
through understanding how to use it rather than trying to look spiritual without
knowing how to properly use it.
Part of learning how to wield a sword requires the fighter to know how to
properly use it. There are some that enjoy spouting off scriptures but don’t know
how to use them. They know where they are located and have them memorized
but have no idea what they mean. It is like a man in the market strutting his stuff
while showing off his sword: “See, I have a sword!” Or it is like the man that
wants to look cool by carrying a gun in a holster but has no idea how to shoot it
straight.
Such a person is no intimidation to a thief or murderer. But the swordsman that
knows how to fight like a warrior is the dread of any thief. A criminal does not
often take a poke at a marksman. Even so, Satan takes advantage of those that
memorize for prideful reasons. For he puffs them up with pride to make them
stumble. As it is written,
“…Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.” 1 Corinthians 8:1
And also,
“Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs
16:18
Knowledge is merely stored information, while wisdom is the ability to properly
use that information. If you only memorize your Bible to look spiritual and share
much information with others rather than edifying yourself, then you’re doing it
for prideful reasons. But if you are doing it for edification, then consider the
wisdom of meditating on each passage while listening to the Holy Spirit’s
explanation. I just cannot emphasize it enough; it is that important! Do not only
memorize your Bible but take the time to meditate on its meaning to rightly
apply it in your own life. Take it verse by verse to absorb the meaning that you
may rightly apply it in your own life!
Do not let the devil take advantage of you. Seek the truth behind the scripture,
and take the time to meditate on it for your own personal use. Let each of us
memorize our Bibles to grow in understanding and applying them and not to
look showy or flashy in what we know.
But one cannot be wise without knowledge. For wisdom determines how we
apply knowledge. So if we don’t increase in knowledge, we won’t increase in
wisdom. Knowledge stored for love does not puff up but rather edifies. If you
memorize to be nearer to the Lord out of love for Him, then you will be edified.
But if we do not listen to the Spirit, we will not be led to truth. For it is written,
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all
truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will
speak; and He will tell you things to come.” John 16:13
The Holy Spirit teaches us as individuals and leads us into all truth. We must be
taught by God and take the time to sincerely listen to the Spirit and grow in His
word. Be intentional about seeking Him fervently and continually throughout the
day, and it will make a dramatic difference in your life. If we don’t take the time
to bind the truth in our hearts, then how will we remember it later for appropriate
use? And it is the Holy Spirit who gives us that truth, so we must be faithful to
seek Him for it.
When you come across a situation in life where you need to apply it, He will
remind you of the verse that you took the time to memorize. All you need to do
is grow in listening to the voice of the Spirit, and then all things will be easier to
apply with wisdom.
“For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and

How To Memorize The Entire Bible In No Time Flat

How to Memorize the Entire Bible in No Time Flat™
Published by Living Tree Publishing in Harrisonburg, VA
notice: How to Memorize the Entire Bible in No Time
Flat™ by Adam Houge Scripture taken from the New
King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas
Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents
Introduction
God Is Reaching for You—Grab His Hand!
Chapter 1
Finding Strength to Stand
Chapter 2
God Is Reaching for You
Chapter 3
Faith Makes You Wise
Chapter 4
Faith Gives You Power
Chapter 5
God Will Give You What You Pray For

Introduction
Before we were believers, we were taught by the world
that the material mind is the only source of wisdom. The
world claims that the brain controls all conscious thought,
rather than being a conduit between the spiritual and
physical. Due to this teaching, many people in the church
believe that in order to memorize verses you need to
apply physical practices, such as tools and tricks
employed by psychology.
Physical practices, however, are for people of this world
and are not for the children of God. All that people of this
world know are physical things because they are of the
flesh and operate in the flesh.
We know, as Christians, that we have two natures.
Drawing on this understanding, we will discuss more
appropriate methods, which employ the power of the
Spirit. As we already know, the nature of the flesh has
conscious thought within the brain, and the nature of the
Spirit uses the brain to implant wisdom, knowledge, and
understanding.
Our new nature, the nature of the Spirit, has the mind of
Christ. The mind of Christ is transferred to us through the
Holy Spirit. Even as Jesus said,
“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will
send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring
to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John
14:26
And in regard to having the mind of Christ, we read,
“For ‘who has known the mind of the LORD that he may
instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” 1
Corinthians 2:16
Therefore, why should we seek instruction from the
world? Doesn’t Christ know all things since He is God?
On whom should we rely, then, for finding wisdom? Who
is wisest?
As we read,
“Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and
the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see
your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to
the flesh…are called.” 1 Corinthians 1:25–26
This scripture tells us that not many people who are wise
by the world’s standards are called into salvation. And
why does He call the foolish over the wise? Just as the
scripture goes on to explain,
“…that no flesh should glory in His presence.” 1
Corinthians 1:29
So it is easy for us to understand that the wisdom of God
does not come from the wisdom of the flesh, but from the
power of God. As it is written,
“That your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but
in the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:5
Before you had Christ, whether you were wise or foolish
made no difference for salvation. Wisdom cannot earn it,
yet it is necessary to have wisdom in salvation. In fact,
we know that nothing can earn salvation; instead, in order
for things to be fair for everyone, Christ extends the free
gift of salvation to all.
If, then, you are mentally handicapped, does this mean
you will never find the wisdom of God? According to the
world, yes, because the world claims that wisdom is
found through carnal means. But according to Jesus
Christ, no! The Lord declares that anyone from any walk
of life, with any ability or disability, can find the wisdom
of God through Jesus Christ our Savior.
Remember that all spiritual things are a gift from God. If,
then, it is a gift, why do we act as if it isn’t and boast as if
it were our own accomplishment? Wisdom also is a gift
from God. Although we need to seek it, it is still a gift
from God. As it is written;
“For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come
knowledge and understanding…” Proverbs 2:6
And if the Lord is the giver of wisdom, why do we turn to
tips and tricks from men in order to train the flesh to
memorize? We know that the wisdom of this world is
foolishness before the sight of God.
When the Scriptures ask us, “Where is the wise?” (1
Corinthians 1:20), they are not suggesting that there are
no wise men in the world. In fact, there were many
incredibly brilliant people at that time, as there are now.
So what this verse is actually asking us is, “Where are the
wise spiritually?”—because in their wisdom they were
never able to be saved. As it is written,
“For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through
wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the
foolishness of the message preached to save those who
believe.” 1 Corinthians 1:21
So the wisdom of the world is foolishness to God!
Therefore, if you want to know the word of God in a
deeper and more intimate way, you cannot find this
through training the flesh. You will be able to memorize a
few things here and there, but memorizing whole books
will still seem insurmountable and difficult.
God does not call us to rely on the flesh, but rather to put
our faith in Him. As we put our faith in Him, we find the
strength we need for all things. This is why Paul exhorted
us to find strength for all things in Christ Jesus. Like
Paul, we can find the strength we need through the Holy
Spirit.
I know from experience that there is truly only one way
to memorize the word of God. I used to struggle to
memorize a single verse. I tried all kinds of tips and
tricks, but nothing seemed to work. Even with those
techniques that seemed to work, there was always
someone who knew more Scripture than I did.
I tried so hard because I really wanted to love Jesus. I
wanted to know Him more fully! But why wasn’t He
answering my prayers to memorize more? Why couldn’t I
draw close to Him through His word as others did? It was
as if they enjoyed some extra benefit that I never had. It
seemed like they had some kind of unfair advantage.
But God wants all of us to be wise. The word of God,
being the gospel, is the foundation for salvation. If we
cannot perfectly know our foundation, how can we find
security in our salvation?
Do we find it by faith? Well, faith comes from the word
of God. So if you do not know the word of God, how do
you know where to place your faith? If you don’t know
where to put your faith, how can you be saved? As it is
written:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith…”
Ephesians 2:8
And again,
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word
of God.” Romans 10:17
By these two scriptures, it is easy to deduce that we are
saved by the word of God and faith in it.
So again I ask: How can you be saved if you don’t know
the word of God so as to live by it? Growing in the word
of God is a means to draw near to God Himself. We all
know this, and at the time I struggled, I understood it.
That’s why I wanted to know the word of God better and
was trying so hard to memorize it. I also knew that God
shows personal favoritism to no one. So why did other
people seem to be able to memorize more than I could?
They had an unfair advantage in their flesh while I felt
kicked to the curb.
But, then I began to realize it really is all about faith. As
it is written,
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who
gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be
given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting,
for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and
tossed by the wind.” James 1:5–6
Having faith and walking in faith are two separate things.
Just because you have faith that God will do something
doesn’t mean that you’re stepping out in faith to do it in
Christ. Knowledge and wisdom come from God, and we
obtain it by asking Him, by seeking Him, and by
knocking on His door.
As I began to realize this concept and the method behind
it, I started memorizing whole paragraphs the very same
day. Seeing God answer my prayers turned my appetite
for His word into a ravenous hunger. I sought Him as
often as I could and soaked up every little drop of milk I
could, like a hungry little sponge.
As time went on, those paragraphs turned into
chapters, and within a couple months the chapters turned
into entire books. But there was a method behind it. I
couldn’t just sit down and start memorizing. It had to be
something specific, something special—something
spoken to me by God. Through careful observation,
diligence, and persistence, I found the answer I was
looking for. Now, many years later I’m a preacher, and I
am called by God to share my secret with you.
The question is, do you want to be able to memorize
whole books of the Bible in no time flat? Are you willing
to set forth the time, effort, patience, and persistence
necessary? If you’re reading this book, I believe you have
all the faith necessary. It only takes faith the size of a
mustard seed to move a mountain—and Beloved, this is
no mountain to move.
This is a very simple method, though it takes persistence.
You will find it to be easy because the Lord will make the
yoke easy. You will find it to be light work because God
will make the burden light.
All we need to do is follow the method of faith. Faith in
motion is righteousness, and God will always answer the
prayer of the righteous. God’s ears are always open to
them, and His heart’s affection is for them.

Yes, Beloved, God’s affection is for you! He desires to be
near to you. He wants to be close to you. You’ve been on
His mind for thousands of years, since before creation.
Now, in this time of your salvation, He can finally have
you; now He can finally love you. Finally, He can know
you! He has waited thousands of years for you, to cherish
and hold you. What passion He must have now that He
finally has you!
Yes, God has always known you, but there is a difference
between knowing things about someone and having a
relationship with that person. This is the kind of
knowledge that the Old Testament is talking about; to
‘know God’ is to have an intimate relationship with Him.
And that’s all God wants—to be intimate with you! His
hands are reaching for you—but Beloved, it’s up to you
to reach back.
Yet you wouldn’t be reading this book if you didn’t desire
to reach back to Him. God knows this, and that’s why He
inclined me to write this to you: so that by learning this,
you may have a greater relationship with Him through
your knowledge of the word of God.
I want to invite you to this—to a deeper and more
fulfilling walk with God. This is easy to find and very
easy to practice. All you need to do is lean on the Holy
Spirit.
In this short book I’ll explain to you exactly how to lean
on Him to gain wisdom and memorize faster. I will show
you how the spiritual can bless the physical in order for
you to know your Bible better. The only thing you need
to do is to put forward the necessary faith.

Chapter 1
In Christ we find the strength to stand—to stand in trials,
to stand in faith, and to rise up in joy. We find strength to
commit ourselves to Him and the ability to obey Him.
Without the Holy Spirit we have no such strength.
Becoming a wise or a strong Christian isn’t dictated by
our ability to resist wickedness. Nor does it come from
our own strengths. Rather, to be a strong Christian means
to be a weak person and have the humility to admit it.
Our world has been turned upside-down by the lies of the
devil. We seem to think we know which way is up, but
we don’t. When we find Christ, He turns our world right-
side-up, and everything we understand He turns upside-
down. Everything we ever thought to be true—everything
we ever thought to be right or honest—is completely
redefined. When we come to Christ, He refines our
knowledge through the fire of the Holy Spirit, that we
may know greater truth.
When we were in the world, we thought that strength
came from within us—from whatever ability we supplied.
Some people had more strength, and some people had
less. But what effort we put forward can never amount to
anything if it’s done of ourselves and not through Christ
working in us.
Strong Christians are determined by their ability to lean
on Christ in their weaknesses. They must be humble so
that they can confess their weaknesses, in order to find
strength from Christ therein. Strength begins with
humility, and power begins with the small things.
Wisdom is given to those who have none. The foolish
need wisdom, and the wise just need to walk in what they
already know. So then, to obtain wisdom requires us to
admit that we don’t have it. It requires humility of us. It
requires us to confess that we are small things and that
the God who is in us is all that matters.
Strong Christians are only strong because they make God
their strength. Therefore, they appear to be strong when
they are weak because God is their strength. Yes, strong
Christians are as strong as God Himself! They have the
power of God and the might of Jesus Christ by the Holy
Spirit. They have this might to overcome, to accomplish,
and to obey and please the Lord. That way Jesus Christ
may be glorified in all things.
This is the basic concept of salvation. We all know this,
but somewhere along the line we seem to forget it in our
attempt to practice holiness. Seeking God as our strength
is the method for overcoming and conquering every
aspect of life. This is the means to what we desire. This
is, and always has been, the only answer for growth in
Christ.

Chapter 2
God knows your frame and everything about you. There
is nothing about you that He doesn’t know. He knows
how many times you will sin, yet still loves you anyway.
He has seen your every broken moment and has been
waiting all this time to hold you through them all.
His ears are always open to your prayers. His heart is
always open to answer. Therefore, all you have to do is
ask of Him and He will give it to you. The only thing He
asks of you is submission.
Some things are in His will while other things are not.
Some things were always His will, so you never had to
pray, “Your will be done.” Salvation is one of these
things; so are being filled in the Spirit and having
wisdom. There are many things God wants you to have
that He is just waiting for you to request.
But if God already knows our needs, why does He wait
for us to ask? Because He’s an intimate God. A friendship
isn’t a friendship unless two people are being friends
together. God knows you and wants your friendship.
However, this relationship can’t exist unless you’re being
a friend back.
Only when Abraham was found righteous was he was
called a friend of God. The same goes for all of us. God
has been reaching for you since before creation. You’re
one of the reasons why He made the heavens and the
earth. He made them to know you, to love you, to cherish
you, and to call you His own. Yes, He made them for His
glory, but He also made them for you—to have places to
connect with you, His new friend.
But something got in the way of that—and as we know, it
was our sin. Yet in all of our transgressions, God has still
loved us, even while we were yet sinners. He couldn’t
stand the thought of living without us—without you—so
He came down to this earth to suffer as a man.
By everything He’s done, He has shown us that He would
rather have been homeless, beaten, mocked, tortured,
stripped naked, and crucified than spend another moment
of eternity without you. You are everything to Him, and
you always will be! Nothing in heaven or earth can ever
get between you and His love. God’s love is forever. It
will never end, because God never ends. For as long as
God is alive, He will always love you. Heaven and earth
will pass away, but His love for you will never pass away.
Sometimes in our desire to please Him, we forget these
things and make it about ourselves. To us it becomes
about how we can please Him by our own efforts, not
how He can be pleased in us through our surrender. We
work hard to make Him smile but tend to forget that it’s
about Him working in us. In the end, our works are about
what we are doing, not what Jesus is doing. Whether
intended or not, this leads to self-righteousness, and God
is not at all pleased with that.
We forget to wait for faith, and we step out in our own
desire, pressing hard to fulfill it. But we need to be called
by God first! I don’t know why we think the Lord would
be pleased by this, as if our works could compare to His.
It is more important for us to let God work through us,
that all men may see Christ in us.
God is pleased by our surrender, not by our hard work.
It’s not about what we can do for Him, but what He can
do through us. As if God would be impressed and thank
us for everything we do for Him! Even Jesus told us,
“Does he thank that servant because he did the things that
were commanded him? I think not.” Luke 17:9
And again, that God isn’t impressed by our hard
sacrificial work is evident:
“So Samuel said: ‘Has the LORD as great delight in burnt
offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the
LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to
heed than the fat of rams.’” 1 Samuel 15:22
All God requires of you is submission to His direction.
He is the leader and master, and is leading the way. We
need to be diligent to follow Him.
God knows that we love Him and are just trying to make
Him happy. But that doesn’t make Him pleased.
Surrender and submission are that all He wants. We know
that He was always reaching for us, but when we seek to
please Him, we tend to forget to lay hold of His hands
and instead try to forge our own way.
There are so many areas in which God’s hands are
already reaching for you. There are many things that God
wants you to have, but in which He is waiting for you to
respond first. Take the time to respond to Him now in
finding wisdom. This is His will for you—to submit to
His working hands in you and stop forging your own way
in memorizing His word.

Chapter 3
When seeking to memorize Scripture, do not look for
good verses. Do not look for things that are helpful.
Don’t look for anything at all. To start, we need to use a
different method.
First, look for a place in the Bible in which you feel and
hear God speaking to you. You may well know what I’m
talking about already; but for those who don’t, I’m not
talking about just reading God’s word. What I’m talking
about is finding where His word reads to you—the places
where you feel God grabbing you and speaking to you.
Sometimes we read His word and it doesn’t make any
sense; it doesn’t speak to us. However, sometimes when
we read, it seems active, alive, and pertinent to our
current circumstances in life. Look for the places that are
speaking to you like this, and let them be your starting
points for memorization. At these times, God’s word
itself isn’t speaking to you. Rather, it is the Holy Spirit
who is speaking to you.
As an important side note: Every time you feel the
Scriptures speaking to you, write down what you’re
hearing. Write everything. When you write, you
remember better what you read. Also, you’re showing
God that you’re taking Him seriously and are interested
in what He has to say.
When you write, you begin remembering the lessons you
learned a lot better. So always write what God is saying
to you in the Scriptures. Whether you write it in a
notebook or in your Bible is up to you. I write it in my
Bible because then, the next time I read, I will certainly
remember it—since it’s right there on the pages. So in
effect, writing what God speaks to you makes a good
reference point for later reading.
Now, you might ask, “What does writing have to do with
memorization?” When you write what you hear God
speaking to you, you are attuning your spiritual ears to
God. You are learning how to discern His voice by
actively practicing listening. Furthermore, faith comes by
hearing His voice, so the more attuned your ears are to
His mouth, the more righteous you will become.
By practicing writing what God speaks to you, you will
grow in discernment. You will understand more easily
when God is speaking to you in other aspects of life as
well. So it really goes a long way, and I can’t encourage
you enough to do it!
Ultimately, writing what God says to you through
Scripture teaches you to attune your ear to God in His
word, which is crucial to memorization. When you hear
God speaking, He is telling you what He wants you to
know. The things He wants you to know are the things
you should be memorizing. Seeing that these are
scriptures He wants you to be practicing in your walk, it
makes sense to memorize them for later use. Just think
about it: How can you put the Scriptures to practice if
you don’t remember them from day to day?

Chapter 4
Now I want you to imagine being in Peter’s shoes when
Jesus was on the sea and calling out to him, saying,
“Come to Me!”
Very few of us are going to be able to hop down on that
water and walk as if it’s nothing. Imagine yourself
closing your eyes and taking your first step on the water
to be where Jesus is. Imagine the faith you need as you
take your first step.
Fears of plunging in will arise in your mind. But how do
you push out those fears? By focusing on your faith in the
Lord as you keep your eyes on the prize.
But now the wind comes, taking you by surprise. That
wind is the devil, trying to knock you off your stance.
Satan hates you. He hates you with a passion. In his eyes
you are the most horrible thing that could ever come
across his path other than God Himself.
Therefore, he will do whatever he can to destroy you and
to cast doubt in your mind, that you may never draw near
to God. He knows that if you draw near to God, you will
have strength to overcome his devices. So do you think
he’s just going to let that happen? Of course not!
In the very moment you step out in faith, he’s going to
step out to stop you. He will cast doubt in your mind that
you can even memorize by faith. He tends to do this as
soon as you begin, and also as you’re making progress.
As you listen to him, you will notice that it gets hard to
memorize, as if it’s not working. But that’s only because
you’re listening to the devil. Now you need to push him
out of your mind.
This is why I asked you to imagine yourself walking out
on the water. As you begin to walk closer to Jesus, you
realize that you have nothing to fear; you’re not going to
fall in. But if you listen to Satan, you will fall in and
won’t be able to memorize. The hardest step is always the
first step. The second and third are still hard, but not as
hard as the first. Then your last few steps are very easy
because you know that everything is going to be okay.
Every single time you sit down to memorize, the devil is
going to show up. This method will build in you
everything you need for overcoming Satan, and because
of that, he’s going to do all he can to stop you. I just want
to warn you about this in advance so that you will not
give power to doubt.
In this case, the question is: How do we resist the devil?
Hint: yelling out rebukes isn’t the answer. When you’re
yelling out rebukes, you’re not memorizing, and Satan is
smart enough to know that. As soon as he goes away, he
will come back a little later so that you will rebuke him
again and stop memorizing.
The best way to resist the devil is to sit in the presence of
God. He’s afraid of God. Who wouldn’t be? God is
terrifying. He is huge and all-powerful. Satan is God’s
enemy, so the devil has everything to fear in the presence
of God.
While you do this, you need to take the time to focus on
sitting at Jesus’ feet. Focus on His presence and just keep
meditating. Anytime you sit in the presence of God, the
devil is going to try to distract you. He doesn’t want you
to hear from God because faith comes by hearing the
word of God. Faith in God is our victory over all things.
So when you begin to memorize, it’s very likely that the
devil will try to stop you. Just ignore him and stay
persistent by faith. If you blow him off, before long he’ll
lose power. Count him as the wind that caused Peter to
fear and fall in the water. If Peter had ignored the wind
and focused on Jesus, he never would have fallen in.
Neither will you if you ignore the devil.

Chapter 5
After you have found the appropriate scriptures, but
before you begin memorizing, pray, “Lord, give me what
I need to memorize this. Please give me wisdom. I put
my faith in You.”
Then empty your mind of all things. Empty your mind
and just focus on the presence of the Lord. Focus your
thoughts toward Him and begin memorizing, having faith
that He will help you memorize it. All you have to do
now is begin memorizing as usual. The only difference is
that now you will have faith in God as you memorize it.
And by faith Christ will produce the power in you to
memorize a bunch of scriptures like crazy. All you have
to do is believe.
The more your faith grows, the faster and easier it will
become to memorize. As you see God answer you, let
your faith grow. Some days things will be harder;
sometimes things will be easier. If you’re tired, it’s going
to be hard to remember anything. If you’re alert and
awake, it will be easy—so long as you don’t have
anything else on your mind.
If you’re distracted in your thoughts, it’s going to be hard
no matter what. This is why we need to empty our minds
of all other things and just focus on the Lord in faith—
much as in meditation. We can call this “godly
meditation.”
After you get a few verses down, stop and review what
you memorized. Test yourself, and if you miss a single
word, memorize that part until you get it down. Once you
have total confidence that you know exactly what it says,
move on. You’ll begin to realize that when you have
complete confidence, the verses will stick in your
memory banks longer. Because of that, you will be
practicing it a lot more and will start growing in the Lord
like a weed.
That’s really all there is to it. Memorize what God is
speaking to you, have faith, and know what to expect
when you sit down to open His word. As you follow this
simple concept, the only boundaries you have will be
your own faith.
I learned that as my faith grew, I was able to memorize
more in one sitting. Soon I was able to memorize entire
books in one sitting. As your faith grows, you’ll find the
same thing happening to you. Paragraphs will turn into
chapters, and chapters will turn into books.
One problem you will run into is that through stress and
daily grind, you’ll begin to forget much of what you
memorized. This happens to me all the time. Books I
could recite off the top of my head become a little bit
scrambled through the stress of work, life, and trials.
Don’t be discouraged by this, though; God permits this
for your good. It doesn’t seem like it’s good in the
beginning, but it requires you to sit down and be alone
with Jesus and meditate a little bit longer. In the end, it all
has to do with drawing near to God in a relationship.
Our minds are flawed, but the mind of Christ is flawless.
As you memorize, His mind will be in yours and your
mind will become like His. This trains us to be Christ-
minded at all times.
It can take much work, much devotion, and much
dedication to memorize a lot of Scripture. But this is for
the sake of eternal life, so it’s worth it to spend some time
to honor the Lord. We can all find time to grow. There is
always somewhere to take our time from.
For many of us, if we stop watching TV or playing
games, we’ll find that we have a lot more time during the
day to spend with the Lord. It’s so much more important
to spend your time with God, who has loved you with His
life, than to spend your time in idleness. In fact, we are to
spend most of our time with our God.
When we give our life to Christ, we give our time to Him.
How you spend that time in a relationship determines
how good that relationship is. It is more important to
spend time building and growing a relationship with the
Lord than with things of the flesh. We need to set aside
the pleasures of this life to put God first. Yes, there are a
time and a place for some entertainment, but we aren’t
called to it all day, every day.
If we always entertain ourselves, we’re indulging in the
flesh. As we indulge in the flesh, the beast of our flesh
grows. If we feed it with its desires, therefore, it will
grow and make it more difficult to growin in Christ.
Feeding “the beast,” as I call it, gives strength to the
flesh, making it easier to succumb to temptation and fall
into a pattern of sin and bondage.
However, spending our time in memorization, prayer,
meditation, and the presence of the Spirit will grow the
new creation in us. It will secure our walks and make us
pleasing to God in all things. I would like to encourage
you to be pleasing to God in all things, continuing to seek
the Lord and memorize His word.


How to Get the Most from Reading Your Bible™
notice: How to Get the Most from Reading Your Bible™
by Adam Houge Scripture taken from the New King
James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson,
Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Introduction
The Bible is the greatest and most influential book in all
of human history. People have fought for it, bled for it,
been tortured for it, lived for it, and died for it. It is the
most powerful and influential book that has ever existed.
There is no greater book in the world that men must live
by because contained within it are the words of salvation
found in Christ Jesus. There is no other Name under
heaven by which men must be saved than Jesus Christ.
And there is no other word than the word of God that can
deliver a soul. This book is the gospel of salvation, and
apart from the knowledge of it, no man can be saved. The
closer we get to the Scriptures, and the more we grow in
practicing them daily, the closer we are to the Lord.
Knowing this, we must realize that the need for
understanding the Bible is of infinite importance. We
need to seek God on a daily basis in His word. Personal
Bible study time with God in the secret place should be a
daily practice. But when we read the word, some things
help us get more out of it than others. Therefore, it is
necessary to understand what will help us get the most
from reading the Bible.

Pray and Let God Speak to You
When we read the word, there are times when the words
speak out to us and there are times when it doesn’t. Many
people suggest that you should read until the word speaks
out to you. But there are a few things that need to be
understood before doing this.
For example, why does the word speak to us? Should we
read when it doesn’t speak to us or when it speaks to us?
Does it even matter?
When the word reads to you and you feel connected with
the pages, this is the Holy Spirit making the Scriptures
come alive. He is speaking to you due to certain issues or
lessons that need to be addressed in your life. He is your
Counselor and Guide sent by the Father. He will speak to
you in the word and interpret the meaning of the
Scriptures. He will bring understanding to you because in
Christ He is your source of wisdom. You have the mind
of Christ because the Holy Spirit is the mind of Christ in
you.
In order for us to become more connected with the word,
we need to become more connected with the Holy Spirit.
Faith comes from the word of God, and salvation comes
by faith. Yet the Scriptures tell us that faith comes
through hearing. As it is written,
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word
of God.” Romans 10:17
But how do we “hear” the word when we read it? We
hear it when the Holy Spirit speaks it to us inwardly as
we read. When we understand this, it becomes important
that the word would speak out to us. It needs to speak out
to you about the areas of your walk in which God is
teaching you. And we must all be taught by God. As
Jesus said,
“It is written in the prophets, ‘and they shall all be taught
by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned
from the Father comes to Me.” John 6:45
In order to come to Jesus, you need to be hearing from
and taught by God. So, then, the question remains, “Why
do we have to read the word for a while before it starts to
speak to us?” When you’ve been busy throughout the day
and haven’t allowed your thoughts to dwell on the Lord,
it can be difficult to feel His presence. But when we focus
on Him and His word suddenly, we sense Him again and
are able to hear from Him.
The reason why you hear the Lord after reading for a
while is because you haven’t been listening to Him
throughout the day. Then, when you sit down to incline
your ear to Him, you start hearing Him again. Otherwise,
you should be able to sit down and hear God immediately
when you read.
If your ear is continuously inclined to Him as soon as you
open the pages, they will speak out to you. But if you
haven’t been paying attention to Him as you should, then
it becomes difficult to hear. This is why we worship
before Sunday sermon rather than afterward: It wakes us
up both physically and spiritually. Then, with our
spiritual minds more circumspect, we are able to hear the
Lord more clearly during the sermon. Similarly, it is good
to sit in the presence of the Lord first before reading. Set
some time aside before you read to pray and worship.
When you then feel the Lord with you, focus on His
presence and open up the word. Wherever God wants you
to read, you will feel the pages speaking out to you.
There is a second reason, however, that will keep you
from hearing until you’ve read awhile. Perhaps God isn’t
speaking out to you on what you’re reading. Then, after
you’ve read awhile, you finally make it to the section of
the text that God wants to speak to you. Although it’s
always good to read the word, it is better to hear the word
—spiritually speaking. It is better to read what God is
speaking to you. If God is speaking to you on an entire
book, then dive headfirst into it. He will often do that
since the Bible is your textbook.
God is your teacher, and He is guiding you through the
textbook. Your homework is real-life practice, and your
tests are real-life experiences. Understanding this, realize
that it is most important to pray before you read. Ask the
Lord to give you wisdom and help you understand the
Scriptures. Pray for discernment and open ears to hear.
Then, when God speaks, pay attention to what He is
saying to you.
Incline Your Ear
Write and Meditate on What God Says
God speaks with the still, small voice. His voice is much
like a whisper. Consider the nature of a whisper for
moment. It’s quiet and difficult to hear. But a whisper is
spoken between two intimately attuned people. They
whisper to each other to keep the conversation private.
God is relational, and He is keeping His conversation
with you intimate and private.
His quiet voice is a reflection of His relationship with us.
He often whispers because He’s speaking intimately to
you from His heart. It’s important to understand that
everything He says to you is from His heart and for the
sake of your eternal life. There could be nothing more
important than the words He gives you. His words are for
your deliverance and your salvation. Without His word,
we cannot be saved.
Understanding this we need to sit forward in our
relationship with God and incline our ears to hear Him.
He speaks quietly not only for intimate reasons but also
that we might listen up. He allows opportunity for free
will because we now have a choice to brush off His voice
or to listen to it. But if God were always loud, then we
would be more likely to listen to His voice, due to fear.
By gentleness, however, He offers a chance for free will
and perfect love. Those who love freely love perfectly.
When He speaks quietly, it requires you to care about
what He’s saying. If you love the Lord your God with
everything you are, then you will care about what He has
to say to you.
The words He speaks inwardly are infinitely important,
infinitely wise, and eternally impactful. Therefore,
Beloved, incline the ears of your heart and listen carefully
to the gentle whispers of God. Make yourself more
sensitive to His voice and incline your ears to Him. In
this, you will hear God frequently and grow to understand
His voice better. The more you incline your ear to Him,
the more you will grow in discernment of His will.
A little child learns to speak from his or her parents.
Young children cannot learn unless they care about what
their parents are saying. When they do care, they can
catch on quickly to the human language. Likewise, you
need to sit forward on the edge of your seat in your
relationship with your Father and care about what He has
to say. In doing this, you will quickly learn the language
of God.
It will become easier for you to understand what He’s
saying, and His will is going to be clearer for you
throughout life. Not that it will always be clear all the
time, but it will be easier to discern His will a majority of
the time. But it is evident that God calls us to incline our
ears for salvation’s sake. As it is written,
“Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul
shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with
you—the sure mercies of David.” Isaiah 55:3
When you pray that the Lord will speak to you in the
Scriptures, the next thing to do is to find where you hear
Him speaking. Read there and absorb the meaning; do not
breeze through it. Whenever you feel as if God is sharing
something with you, write it down. Always write what
God gives you. If He is interpreting certain scriptures or
comparing them to life, write down everything that He
speaks to you.
Writing everything down helps you remember it longer,
and your notes will be available to you for later reference.
I use a New King James wide-margin Bible for that
purpose. That way I can write my notes in the Bible but
not over the words. But whatever you choose to do is up
to you. Your Bible is a study book, and although the
words are sacred, they’re most sacred not when they’re
written on paper but when they’re inscribed on your
heart. Therefore, Beloved, write down what you’re
learning. If you choose to write it on a piece of paper,
then shuffle it into the pages where it corresponds with
the Scripture. Leave it in your Bible for later reference.
That way, every time you open the word, it will be right
there for you.
Also, this gives you opportunity to take notes on Sunday.
Then, by writing what you heard God speaking through
the sermon, you can add it to the corresponding scripture
that God may have spoken to you at another point in
time. It can help bring a fuller picture of the word of God
to you, and thus it will enhance your understanding of the
Scriptures.
In school, the teacher always wants you taking notes.
These notes will be useful for later tests and homework.
Likewise, taking notes can help you in life practice and in
the trials and tests of life. I can’t number the times I was
in the middle of a trial when I came across a sheet of
paper filled with notes that I had written pertaining to the
situation. When I read the notes, which the Lord had
spoken to me months prior to my situation, I heard God
and it encouraged me. Why would we hear God from our
own writing? Because we are writing what God is saying
to us and not what is in our own heart. When we do this,
it gives us an opportunity for encouragement later in life
when we need it.
By taking notes, you are also showing God that you’re
serious about what He’s teaching you and about your
relationship with Him. The more you take notes, the more
you will hear God speaking to you in the Scriptures. This
happens for several reasons. The first is that God sees
you’re serious and He will talk to someone who’s
listening. Would you talk to someone who doesn’t listen
to you? Neither does God talk to us very often if we’re
not listening. But when we incline our ears to Him, He
increases His speech.
Furthermore, by writing when God speaks to you, you’re
training yourself to listen for the voice of the Lord. You
are learning to discern the difference between words of
your own heart and the words of God spoken to you by
the Holy Spirit. When you can make this distinction, it
becomes easier to follow God and not be led astray by
your own heart. When you write, you’re practicing
communication with God. Practice makes perfect, and the
more you write the words He speaks to you, the more you
will understand Him.
After God has spoken to you, it’s good to meditate on the
Scripture He’s giving you. Go back over your notes and
meditate on them. Meditate on the Scripture itself and
take some time to sit in the Lord’s presence. As you focus
on His presence and turn your ears to Him, it will be
easier to hear Him. Then, as you meditate, you receive
the opportunity to grow even more in the Lord. Godly
Christian meditation is a necessity in our walks. But what
does this meditation look like?
The practice of medical meditation requires you to empty
your mind of all thoughts and to relax perfectly, breathing
deeply and rhythmically. This meditation is for the
purpose of deep relaxation, which is good for many
health benefits. Many other religions practice this kind of
meditation and bring a spiritual twist to it.
But how do we as Christians meditate in Christ?
Sometimes it is good to find a place of peace—a secret
place with God. Then, in the secret place, you need to
empty your mind of all things as you relax and rest in the
presence of the Holy Spirit. As you sit in His presence,
you need to listen to the Lord when He speaks to you. In
this, you are mediating on the word of the Holy Spirit and
thus can grow in understanding the voice of God.
Meditate on His presence and focus your mind on it.
Listen intently with your spiritual ears, both inwardly and
outwardly; then you will begin to hear the voice of God.
Take the time to hear from God on a more frequent basis.
You will thereby grow in sensitivity to His voice, and
you’ll hear Him speaking to you all day, every day—
nonstop. You will know what His will is for you every
moment of the day. In the end, there will prove to be very
few times when you won’t understand His will for you.
Then, when you don’t understand, all you have to do is
pray, seek Him, and wait for Him to speak. Because you
perfectly understand His voice from having practiced
continuously, it will be easy for you to know His will the
moment He answers your prayers.
When we write what He speaks, it helps us to discern His
voice. This is good for later meditation on His presence
and His goodness. When we meditate on His goodness
and His love, it causes our hearts to bubble over with an
inexpressible joy that results in never-ending worship.
Therefore, beloved, meditate on the words He speaks to
you and practice them daily. Meditate on them by
example and practice them. Incline your ear to Him and
listen carefully to His inward voice. Grow in
discernment, and you will have a more fulfilling
experience when you read the Bible.

Memorize the Words He Speaks in the Bible and Not
Just Any Scripture
When God speaks to us, the words He gives us are for
real-life practice. It can be difficult, however, to practice
what we learned unless we remember those words from
day to day. It should go without saying that we need to
memorize the scriptures God speaks to us.
Many of us go about memorizing the word by picking
verses we like or those that sound good. But it is better to
memorize what God is speaking out to you in the
Scriptures. As we said before, God will lead you through
the Scriptures and teach you what you need to know to
walk with Him uprightly.
He is our teacher, and seeing that this is the case, we
should focus on the lessons at hand and master them. A
good student puts to memory the key points from a
teacher’s lessons and from the textbook. Then, when it’s
time for a test, the student already has everything that he
or she needs to know memorized. The student passes the
tests and ends up being not only an A student but also an
honor student. If you, being the student of God, want to
be honorable, then you must put to memory the lessons
He’s giving you. As it is written,
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a
worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15
Any scripture that pops out to you and seems alive is
something God wants you to memorize. If it’s an entire
book, then sit down and be devoted to memorizing it.
Many of the believers in the early church had the
Scriptures memorized. They weren’t all able to carry
scrolls with them, and as a result they had to put to
memory everything they could. Look at Stephen’s
testimony just before he was martyred. He skillfully and
accurately paraphrased the Scriptures before His
persecutors killed him. It was obvious that he had much
Scripture memorized for daily practice.
If you find it difficult to memorize, I speak in great detail
on this subject in my books How to Memorize the Bible
Quick and Easy in 5 Simple Steps and How to Memorize
the Entire Bible in No Time Flat. Being a preacher, I need
to know the Scriptures like the back of my hand. I’m
always running into opportunities to share the Lord and,
so, need to have as much Scripture as possible
memorized. Through much prayer and meditation, I have
memorized several books of the Bible word-for-word. I
believe that any Christian can do this by following the
methods I outline in my books, if he or she puts forth the
effort. Sometimes Bible studies will come up in places
you don’t expect, when you don’t have a Bible handy. In
such cases, it’s good to have memorized the entire book
that you want to study with a colleague.
Memorizing large portions of Scripture is surprisingly
easy. However, it takes considerable work and dedication.
But, in short, if we first begin with the scriptures God
gives us, the process gets easier. From there, we should
choose our memorization method of choice. I personally
use the chunk method for memorizing. In the chunk
method, we simply take the scripture and break it down
into pieces that are easier to memorize. Then, after those
pieces are memorized, we put them together and
memorize them as one whole unit.
After you have decided which method works best for
you, pray for wisdom before you start. Ask the Lord to be
your help when memorizing and then, having faith, lean
on Him for strength. Even as the Scriptures say,
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who
gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be
given to him.” James 1:5
Only, you must ask in faith. It is God’s will for you to
have wisdom. He will not withhold it from you, nor do
you have to say, “Your will be done.” It’s already God’s
will, and He’ll give you what you pray for if you pray in
faith. As the scripture goes on to say,
“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who
doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the
wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive
anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man,
unstable in all his ways.” James 1:6–8
God wants you to be wise. He wants you to walk in Him
uprightly, and He will give you every tool you need to do
so. He will not leave you without help, but even as He
said, He will send you the Helper, who is the Holy Spirit:
“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another
Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of
truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither
sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He
dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you
orphans; I will come to you.” John 14:16–18
The Spirit is your help in time of need. When we need to
memorize and grow in wisdom, He will be our strength in
our weaknesses. He is the infinitely wise mind of Jesus in
us. He will aid us in every way possible to sustain us in
the Lord. He, being the very beating heart of Christ, will
never leave you helpless, only you must have faith in
Him and be willing to lean on Him.
Can you have faith that the Holy Spirit will help you
memorize? Are you willing to press hard into God by
faith while you memorize? You must meditate on His
presence and be strengthened by Him; then, soon enough,
you will see that it is easy to memorize entire books of
the Bible in no time flat.

Carry the Words with You
When we read the word, we try to carry the words with
us and seek to practice them daily. But the best words to
practice are, as we said before, the ones God gives to us
as we read. Whatever speaks out to us, we should be
practicing daily.
It is always good to read before you start your day. Find a
spot in the Scriptures that speaks out to you and meditate
on it. Mark it and memorize it later. But immediately
after your morning devotion, continue to practice what
you learn. Go forward with your lessons and be careful to
practice them. If you’re having a devotion before work,
take the words with you to work and practice them there.
If you practice the Scriptures everywhere you go in life,
you will conduct yourself in godliness 24/7.
Be diligent to practice the lessons you’ve learned on a
day-to-day basis. Make it your aim to grow in the Lord
continuously. Push hard into Him and try to grow daily.
God is willing to teach you; only be willing to commit
yourself to walking in Him daily.
Make an effort to practice what you learned and to be an
example of Christ to all those around you. This should go
without saying, but sometimes when we get caught up
with a busy life, we forget to carry Christ with us in our
actions, especially to the workplace. It can be easy to
blend in with the crowd at our jobs, but God calls us to be
separate. We have been sanctified by the Lord. When a
tool of the temple is sanctified, it is spiritually cleansed
and set apart for the service of God. We, like these tools,
have been cleansed in Christ and set apart for His
purpose. Therefore, Beloved, remember to remain
sanctified and to come out from those around you.
Others find Christ in us through His love at work in us.
They do not find Him through us becoming like the world
but by us being different from the world. The love of
Jesus is what separates us from them. There is much
brokenness associated with the world. If unbelievers see
that your life is the same as theirs, they have no reason to
believe that you have anything better than them.
We should not “be like the world to let the world in.” But
rather, by sanctification, we should show the world how
far the east is from the west—through conduct that is not
only holy conduct but loving as well. The love of the
world is cold and conditional. However, when others see
the unconditional love of God at work through us, toward
them, they are drawn to the message we speak. Therefore,
Beloved, make it your aim in everything to carry the
words from God with you and practice them daily.
Remember to be a light always and to show kindness to
all men—those who are kind to you as well as those who
hurt you. In this kindness, they will find Christ.
When you carry with you the words that God gives you,
you can be an example to all men, the believer and the
unbeliever alike. You can encourage your brothers and
sisters, lifting them up in the Spirit of God. And you can
lead the unsaved to Christ.
The point is not merely to preach the word, but to live it.
Yet some have a custom of living the love of God without
preaching it. We must be doing both always. God saves
us by His word, and faith comes through hearing it. If we
don’t preach it, then no one will get saved.
Remember to memorize the word and carry the Scriptures
with you. When you write what God speaks to you,
you’re making your heart more sensitive to His speech.
Then, when you’re called to witness, for example, you
will be more sensitive to exactly what God wants you to
say. You will be accustomed to listening inwardly to the
voice of the Holy Spirit and so give the message of God
to the people. The unsaved find Christ because they are
drawn by the Father. As it is written,
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me
draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is
written in the prophets, ‘and they shall all be taught by
God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned
from the Father comes to Me.” John 6:44–45
Seeing that this is the case, we need to give them what
God gives to us. They need to hear and learn from the
Father. Let Him speak to you what you should say. He
knows exactly what they need to hear because He’s been
drawing them their entire lives.
Speak the word and live the word. We are called to let our
speech be seasoned with salt. Christ is that salt, so speak
of His word always with others. With the brethren,
constantly discuss the goodness of the Lord. With the
unsaved, share the truth of His gospel and love. The
world always speaks idly, so turn those conversations
around and into a witnessing opportunity. No matter what
you’re doing, turn all time spent with the brethren back
into real, sincere, and meaty fellowship.
Fellowship is more than time spent together in friendship;
rather, it occurs over a certain topic or common interest.
True fellowship can be defined as a group of people
meeting together for a shared interest or aim. Let not that
interest or aim be idle activities. True biblical fellowship
is that which occurs in Christ. He should be our shared
interest, and our common aim should be to become well-
pleasing to Him as family in Christ.
Share the Lord with one another and so be edified by one
another. Be the example of Christ to your friends. If they
aren’t bringing everything back to Jesus, then you be the
first to do so. Bring every conversation back to the Lord
and let your words be seasoned with salt always. Even as
it is written,
“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with
salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each
one.” Colossians 4:6
Edify one another and keep your tongue seasoned with
the salt of Christ. If you’re reading often and always
memorizing, there will be much to share. God will lay
things on your heart often because you have His word on
the tip of your tongue always and you have grown
sensitive to His voice. You should strive in such a way
that your brethren will say of you that you have edified
them every time they visited you. Before long, brethren
will begin noticing the grace of God in you and will look
up to you because of your wisdom. However, true
wisdom is not contained in the head but, rather, in the
heart. True wisdom is found in conduct and not in word
only.
Even as we read,
“My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue,
but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:18
Make it your daily striving to grow in the Scriptures.
Share what you’ve learned with others. And if someone
needs help understanding something, and God is inclining
your heart thus, step forward and let the Lord speak
through you. Say what God gives to you and be an
encouragement always. As it is also written,
“...be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in
love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12
When you walk in the Spirit like this, your conduct will
always be characterized by love, holiness, and purity. We
should always walk in purity before all men. We ought to
walk in love and share it unfailingly. Live the word and
walk in its wisdom at all times. In so doing, you will be
an example of the love and goodness of God, as a good
ambassador of Christ to the unbeliever. Even as it is
written,
“Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside,
redeeming the time.” Colossians 4:5
Share Christ with them, that they may find Him. God will
lead you in the way you should evangelize. But it all
begins with the time you spend reading the Word. Read
the Scriptures often and grow in sensitivity to His voice.
By doing those two things, you will see a dramatic
difference in your walk. Hence, you will get the most out
of reading your Bible.
Read Often and Be Devoted
Before reading, it’s always good to pray and to ask the
Lord to lead you. If you’re in between books and don’t
know where to start, ask the Lord to guide your fingers
and flip open the pages. Sometimes He will, and you will
find that the first thing your eyes meet is speaking to you.
Even though this is a good way to read, it is better to stick
to a given book. If God is speaking to you in a particular
book, keep going back to it day after day until you read it
in its entirety. Highlight the passages that God spoke to
you and memorize them if necessary. When you
memorize a lot of passages, it becomes easier to notice
where scriptures are saying the same thing. Then you can
cross-reference them more easily and efficiently. But
make an effort to stay in a book. It can be good to flip
through the pages for encouragement, but also keep in a
book and sit in it until it’s done.
Remain committed to reading the word. Seek the Lord in
the Scriptures daily and spend at least an hour a day
reading. It is best to spend an hour all at once and not to
break it up throughout the day. There is nothing wrong
with a 10-minute devotion in the morning or before going
to bed, but if you want to get more from the Bible, you
need to spend more time reading it.
A relationship with God is like any relationship. How
much time you spend trying to make it better will
determine how good it will be. God created human
relationships for us to understand better how we relate to
Him and how He relates to us. For example, in marriage,
if you want to be closer to your spouse, spend time
studying him or her. You need to study your spouse, learn
his or her likes and dislikes, and have a serious heart to
please him or her. If you do these things, any relationship
will be blessed.
Likewise, we need to be serious about our relationship
with God. We need to have a heart to please Him—to
learn His likes and dislikes so that we can follow His will
—and we need to study Him diligently. The better we
understand God, the closer to Him we are. The closer to
Him we are, the easier it is to hear and discern His voice.
And the easier it is to hear and discern His voice, the
easier it is to follow Him and please Him by remaining
committed to His will.
It is His will for us to grow in His word. It is by His word
that we find salvation. Without His word, there would be
no gospel. Therefore, beloved, make it your aim to be
well-pleasing to God in all things. If you grow in
understanding and in practicing His word, you will grow
in Him. This is how we grow in Christ: by growing in the
word.
Babies grow very quickly. By the time a child is two, he
or she has grown to be half of his or her total adult height.
A person experiences as much growth in the first two
years of childhood as in the last 16 years.
But how do babies grow so much? It’s through mama’s
milk and the substances found in the milk. Likewise, the
word is our milk, and we, as infants in Christ, should
devour as much of it as possible. The more you grow in
the word, the stronger you’ll become in Christ. The Holy
Spirit interprets the word to us and shows how to practice
it daily. But even as it is written,
“As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that
you may grow thereby...” 1 Peter 2:2
Let your love for the Lord guide you, and may you desire
to grow in His word. Hunger and thirst for it.
Understanding the word of God is as necessary for your
soul as food is for your body.
If you want to get more out of the Bible, you need to
desire it and read it on a daily basis. The faithful and
committed servant strives to please the master. If, then,
you would strive to please the Lord, strive to grow in His
word.
20 Tips and Tricks for a More Fulfilling Reading
Experience
A few points in this chapter will summarize what we
previously mentioned; however, there are many other
valuable tips worth mentioning. Some of the best ways to
get the most out of your reading experience are as
follows:

Revere the word of God.
Always assume, in every passage, that the Scriptures are
the word of God, not the word of the author. Imagine that
Jesus is speaking directly to you, especially in the books
that exhort you, such as the epistles and letters. Even with
the Old Testament, picture Jesus speaking the words to
you; then, suddenly, many scriptures will appear in a new
light.
Books that contain an abrupt revelation include all the
letters of Paul, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Psalms, and
Proverbs, among others. When the Proverbs say, “my
son,” do not imagine David talking to Solomon or
Solomon talking to you, but instead imagine Jesus
speaking. Or, for example, if you imagine 2 John as Jesus
speaking, those scriptures take on a new meaning.
Imagine this as Jesus talking to you through the Holy
Spirit:
“Having many things to write to you, I did not wish to do
so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and
speak face to face, that our joy may be full.” 2 John 1:12
Suddenly you see the eagerness of the Lord to send the
Holy Spirit upon you, right here, right now. Also,
incidentally, 2 John is one of the last books of the Bible.
It is as if God is saying, “I am about to finish penning the
Bible. Then, when it’s done, I’m going to meet with you
face-to-face through My Holy Spirit.”
The convictions and words of the Bible are
communicated to us through the inward abiding of the
Holy Spirit. The Jews of old didn’t have this luxury, so
they were dependent upon the written word until the
Messiah would come. Now that He has come, He has
poured His spirit on us. The Spirit gives us the word of
God directly now whereas the Bible serves as the
foundation. The Spirit speaks to us, but the written word
is the confirmation and solidification of what the Holy
Spirit is saying. By the Scriptures, we can confirm
anything to be the active leading of God for our lives.
God does not contradict Himself, so if anything doesn’t
line up with the Scripture, then it’s not the Holy Spirit
speaking to you.

Let God read the pages and guide you
through them.
God is your teacher, so let Him teach you in the word. Be
a good and attentive student and faithful to listen. The
Holy Spirit will interpret the word to you if you listen to
Him while you read.

Worship and pray before you read.
This will cause you to be more focused on the Holy
Spirit. Thus, you will hear from Him more clearly and
effectively.

Pray for the Lord to open your
understanding.
Before you even read, pray and ask the Lord to guide you
through the pages and to open your understanding.

Memorize what God is teaching you.
Put to memory the things God is speaking to you in the
Scriptures. Don’t memorize just any scriptures but, rather,
the ones God is speaking. This is the best way to
memorize the scriptures that are most relevant to your life
in the here and now.
Make it your life’s aim to practice the word
of God.
Anything you recently learned is best retained by day-to-
day practice. Therefore, be diligent to live out the
Scriptures daily.

Seek truth.
Don’t be satisfied with just any explanation to the
Scriptures. Seek the truth behind them—the real
meaning. There are many doctrines today and many
variations of “the true doctrine.” What an oxymoron!
There is only one way to heaven, so why do so many
people think they can practice the word however suits
them best? The Scriptures state that many will have
itching ears in the last days, and that is the case now. So
be wary of those around you who appear to have itchy
ears and do not be influenced by them. Seek the exact
meaning of the Scriptures.
We are saved by the word of God, so it’s infinitely
important to understand the exact message God is trying
to tell you. You mustn’t walk according to your own
interpretation but according to God’s one truth. Be
diligent to find it and to pray often for God to lead you to
it. Wait on Him to answer as you read, and be led by His
Spirit in all things.

Be devoted.
Seek God in the morning, at night, and throughout the
day, but be sure to seek Him in His word daily. Set aside
a special place and make it your “secret place.” Then set
aside some time every day to meet with Him there. Be
devoted and read the word daily. There is no greater
devotional than the word of God itself.
Remove all distractions.
When reading the Scriptures, remove all distractions. If
you have children, ask your spouse to help you keep them
quiet. Turn off the TV, music, and your phone. One phone
call can lead to a long distraction. Don’t let Satan distract
you from reading the word of God! While you’re reading,
the devil may stir up your heart to desire something else.
Do not listen to temptation but resist the devil and
continue reading.
Also, do not sit in a room that has many distractions. If
there are paintings, posters, or pictures on the walls that
you tend to look at rather than read, then take them down
or choose a new room. Remove all distractions and be
alone with God. This is the best way to work on your
relationship with Him and to hear from Him clearly and
effectively.

Make reading a time of joy.
You will often hear me say that we need to sit forward in
our seats to hear from the Lord. This, however, is
speaking in a spiritual sense, not in a physical sense. It’s
best to read in the manner you enjoy most. Sit in a
comfortable chair and wrap yourself in a warm blanket.
Have a cup of hot chocolate, coffee, or other favorite
beverage.
When you treat reading the word like studying
schoolbooks, it can cause your thoughts to drift. But if
you sit down and make it an enjoyable experience, as you
would with a relaxing book, then you will associate the
word with an enjoyable read. When you enjoy the word,
you’ll want to read it more often.

Understand the Scriptures.
Do not just breeze through the Scriptures as you read.
Read them while listening intently to the Spirit and be
deliberate about your reading. Try to understand every
element of a given scripture.

Pick the right time to read.
If at all possible, it’s best to have a morning devotion to
get your day started right. If this can’t be done, then set
aside some time every single day when it’s most
appropriate for you. Be dedicated to meet with God at
that time. If you can’t read in the mornings, be sure to
pray and worship and meditate on His Spirit.
Pick an appropriate amount of time for
reading.
To get the most from the word, you should be reading at
least an hour a day. If it’s impossible to put forth this
much time in the morning, then pick a more appropriate
time to sit down and be devoted to God. It is good to read
in the mornings, and there is nothing wrong with a 10-
minute devotion. It can be uplifting and enlightening.
However, it is good to set aside at least an hour every day
to sit down, be devoted, and work on your relationship
with Jesus. If you take your relationship with Him
seriously, then seek to grow in His presence and His word
daily.

Meditate on the word of God.
Take the time to sit in God’s presence and meditate on
Him. Hear from Him and what He has to say. Let the
meaning of scriptures sink down at this time. When we
read too quickly, it can be difficult to absorb the
significance of what we read. However, if we slow down
a bit, it will help us to absorb the meaning.
Strive to grow in the word.
Strive to understand the Scriptures. Read them
frequently; read for long periods of time; memorize them;
and come to a full knowledge of God’s word. Learn to
divide the Scriptures rightly. This is best accomplished by
praying for wisdom and seeking it from the Holy Spirit
while you read. When we grow in the word, including in
practicing it, we grow in the Lord. Make it your aim to
grow in the word daily.
Compare yourself with the word, having an
honest heart.
Consider how your walk lines up with the Scriptures.
Compare yourself to the word often. When you compare
yourself to it, you’re opening your heart up for growth. If
you’re willing to admit your weaknesses, then God will
meet with you in the place of humility. Even as it is
written, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty
hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time...” 1
Peter 5:6

Choose the right version to read from.
Not every translation is created equal. Not every Bible
says the same thing. In fact, there are many
mistranslations and missing texts from a wide variety of
versions.
There are many disputes over which of the various
versions should be read. Being an experienced preacher
committed to the truth, I have found that certain
translations do not help a Christian whatsoever. Question
your current translation. If you think it’s accurate because
others have told you so, that doesn’t mean it’s true.
Your walk with Jesus is a personal one, so make certain
you are personally looking into the best version. Look up
the flaws or faults that might be associated with a given
translation. Certain versions are missing between 20,000
and 80,000 words scattered throughout the Scriptures.
There are so many words in the Bible that, in some cases,
these omissions only appear as a subtle difference when
you read. However, when that many verses are compiled
together, they are equal to eight whole books of the Bible.
The New International Version (NIV), for example,
claims that its scriptures are translated from the original
Alexandrian Greek. This isn’t completely true, however.
In 1881 two gentlemen by the names of Brooke Foss
Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort created their
own version of the Greek, based off of the Alexandrian
Greek. Their version is called the Westcott and Hort
Greek.
The issue is that these men were not Christian at all. For
example, they were major figures in the foundation of the
“Ghostly Guild” of Cambridge University. This is a
paranormal research group that hunts for ghosts and
partakes in many other paranormal activities; it is not a
Christian society. When creating their Greek, they
removed from the Bible various scriptures that they felt
didn’t fit. Some people may brush this off as a nonsense
conspiracy theory, but if you look it up for yourself, you
will find the truth relatively quickly.
As a result of these altered texts, the Westcott and Hort
Greek is the same Greek that the Jehovah’s Witnesses use
to translate their Bible. To make matters worse, the NIV
is missing the exact same scriptures as the Jehovah’s
Witness Bible. They claim that Jesus Christ is Michael
the Archangel incarnate and can justify it with their
Bible, and they can do likewise with an NIV in their
hands. How much more easily, then, can they make a
convert out of someone carrying an NIV or similarly
translated version?
Many of these versions of the Scriptures take away from
the deity of Jesus, among other things. Again, so many
scriptures are missing that they could equal nearly eight
of the smaller books of the Bible. Some people try to
defend the NIV, claiming that scribal errors were made
when translating the literal translations and that certain
elements were added by the scribes. This, however, isn’t
true. Those 20,000 to 80,000 words were not added by
scribes but, rather, subtracted by Westcott and Hort—and
by the translators of the various versions that are missing
text, such as the NIV. If, then, you feel that the Jehovah’s
Witness Bible is a proper translation for you, the NIV is
right up your alley. Otherwise, I would not recommend it.
When I was a new believer, I used the NIV. I didn’t start
growing in my walk, however, until I changed to a more
literal translation. There are many literal translations, and
each of them has some issues as well.
Although there is nothing wrong with the word of God,
from time to time mistakes are made by those who
translate it. Therefore, it is best to use a literal translation
and compare it to the original Greek and Hebrew.
When you read the word, make your reading time into
Bible study time with Jesus. Keep a Greek and Hebrew
lexicon on you, and if ever anything is in question, refer
back to it to broaden your understanding of the word of
God. If you’re often referring back to the Greek and
Hebrew, you will see which scriptures a translation is
missing or has translated poorly. If you find that the
version you’re reading is poorly translated or missing a
lot of Scripture, throw it out and buy a different Bible.
The word of God is a serious thing and must be taken
seriously. It cannot be applied accurately unless it is
accurately conveyed to you. It cannot be fully applied
unless it’s being given to you in its entirety. Therefore,
Beloved, make it your aim to find the most accurate
translation possible that is true to the original Greek and
Hebrew. Refer to a lexicon or dictionary of definitions
often.
I’m not going to suggest any particular version. There are
many translations other than the NIV that exhibit such
issues. The NIV, however, appears to be the most popular,
hence my mentioning it. My intent is not to single out the
faults of that particular version but, rather, to encourage
you to demonstrate due diligence in finding the most
accurate translation.
If you do this and pray for truth, God will lead you to
what He wants you to read. I do, however, suggest a
literal translation. I prefer modern English because I
understand it better. But you need to use what works best
for you and can be most accurately applied. Find the right
version that accurately conveys the truth in its entirety.
Then, when you have found it, stick with it and refer back
to the original Greek and Hebrew.
Once you have an accurate version, it is good to use that
as your main version from which to memorize. If you
memorize from several different Bibles, it will be
difficult to retain any of the scriptures. Next time you try
to read the word, you’ll say, “Doesn’t it say this?” And
how can you repeat paragraphs of Scripture that you
learned over time back to yourself unless they all speak
the same truth?

Choose the right tools.
Every time you read, it should be a Bible study. We learn
from studying and meditating on the word, not just from
reading it. Knowing this, realize that it is necessary to
have the right tools to study the word.
I recommend having a concordance, a dictionary of Bible
definitions, and a Greek and Hebrew lexicon. When
studying, I also read from several translations when
necessary. By using several literal translations and Greek
and Hebrew definitions of the Bible, you can come to a
more complete understanding of the Scriptures. I do this
with anything that’s in doubt. I refer back to the original
Greek or Hebrew, and if I doubt how it was translated, I
read other translations to see how they translated it and
why.
In such a case, some literal translations may have issues
with contextual meanings. For example, in modern
language, we use slang to communicate with one another.
This was the case with the ancient languages as well.
There are a few times when literal words are used
metaphorically because it was common speech at the
time. For example, the exact same word for
“childbearing” in the New Testament is also used
metaphorically for raising children and for child rearing.
The equivalent modern-day translation would be “child
labor” or “bearing children.” Although some people may
want to compare raising children with child labor, it is not
a typical figure of speech used today.
Thus, it is good to see how other translations render the
words in question. It helps to broaden your understanding
and give you a more complete picture of the word of
God. I also recommend having a Bible atlas on hand.
When you are reading through the stories (e.g., the
ministry of Jesus or the life of David), it can help bring a
better understanding of where events took place.
There is a free tool for all of these. For those of you who
may not have heard of it, “e-Sword” is free Bible
software for studying the word of God. It is a free
download for your computer with no strings attached.
There are a few things that you can buy from them if you
want, but you don’t have to. There are plenty of free
downloads that can help you during your study time. You
can download free Bible maps, free concordances, free
Bible dictionaries, and free Greek and Hebrew
dictionaries and lexicons, among many other resources.
So, for those of you who are tight on money, this is an
indispensable resource.
It also has a search function for the Bibles and
concordances, making it infinitely easier than flipping
through pages to find a particular passage. Just type in the
basic phrase and let the search function do the rest. If
there’s an issue with finding anything using this feature, I
recommend using a search engine online. There are so
many believers across the world who’ve made wonderful
websites dedicated to the word of God. If you can’t find a
scripture in a concordance, you can type it into a search
bar and find it relatively easily online.

Write in your Bible.
I use a wide-margin Bible and write my notes directly in
it. They’re there for me for later reference whenever I
open the word. Your Bible is your study book and should
be treated as such. Write in it, study it, learn from it, and
grow in it.
Document what God is speaking to you, and it will be
there for later referencing.

Write topical headings in the front of your
Bible.
Some Bibles have blank pages in the front of them.
Usually these are used for dedications or notes for those
giving a Bible as a gift. If your pages are blank, it’s better
to use them for topical notes.
Make a topical heading and then write the verse
references underneath it. For example:
Walking in the Holy Spirit
Romans 8:1–9; Romans 8:14; Galatians 5:16; Galatians
5:25; Ezekiel 36:27, etc.
Every time you find a new scripture that’s directly
pertinent to the topic heading, write the reference number
under the heading, as in the above example. Later, when
you’re having a Bible study, a discussion, or a dispute on
doctrine, you will have all of your references put together
under one simple heading—right there in the front of
your Bible.

Conclusion
If you follow these basic tips and tricks, you will get
considerably more from reading your Bible. You’ll be
able to acquire a greater understanding of the Scriptures
and gain more of a handle on the word. You’ll grow in
wisdom and in your walk with Christ. In this, you will
become more pleasing to the Lord and have a firm
foundation in your salvation.


Memorize The Bible! 88 Verses Every Christian Should Know And Understand
To Increase Their Faith™

notice: Memorize The Bible! 88 Verses Every Christian Should Know And
Understand To Increase Their Faith™ by Adam Houge Scripture
taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright ©
1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All
rights reserved.

Table of Contents
Understanding And Life Application
New Testament
Matthew
Mark
Luke
Romans
First Corinthians
Second Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Colossians
First Timothy
Second Timothy
Hebrews
James
Second Peter
First John
Jude
Old Testament
Genesis
Deuteronomy
Psalms
Proverbs
Jeremiah
Memorizing
New Testament
Matthew
Mark
Luke
Romans
First Corinthians
Second Corinthians
Galatians
Ephesians
Colossians
First Timothy
Second Timothy
Hebrews
James
Second Peter
First John
Jude
Old Testament
Genesis
Deuteronomy
Psalms
Proverbs
Jeremiah

Understanding And Life Application
What is faith? We all know what it is in a general sense, but what exactly is God
looking for from us? Understanding what God desires and how He gives us
opportunities for faith helps us to increase our faith in indescribable ways. How
would you like to have greater faith? How would you like to enter, go through,
and exit the trials of life with a smile on your face? How can this be done?
Through knowing what God is doing, what His heart is for you, and where your
faith needs to be placed.
While blind faith is the best type of faith, the grey areas of life can become the
greatest deterrents to perfect faith. It all depends on how we respond to our
circumstances. When we don’t know or understand what God is doing, we are
forced to come up against the things we can’t see. But how you respond to the
pressures of life determines the outcome of your faith—whether it will increase
or not.
This is similar to weight training. We grow stronger when we come up against
resistance. Even so, our faith grows exponentially when we must have blind
faith. Yet blind faith isn’t entirely without knowledge. Blind faith isn’t putting
our trust in God while not knowing whether He will help us or not. Blind faith is
trusting in God when we don’t know the outcome but know that God will work it
together for good.
Blind faith requires the belief that God does all things through perfect love and
that His every intention is to grow and deliver us even when it doesn’t appear
that way. Some have a difficult time discerning this. When facing trials, they
claim, “I trust God will help me!” But it isn’t a question of whether God will
help us or not. It is about relying on Him while He carries us through even if we
don’t know how He will.
God will always work our circumstances together for good no matter what. His
love for us compels Him to do so. Remember that even if a trial ends in our
death, He has still worked it together for good. How so? Because in such a case,
we’ll go home to Him and have continual, perfect joy and peace.
Even as it is written,
“The righteous perishes, And no man takes it to heart; Merciful men are taken
away, While no one considers That the righteous is taken away from evil.” Isaiah
57:1
The nature of faith isn’t perfectly blind at any time, ever. For we know that God
will work all things together for good, even though we can’t see how. Therefore
we must rest in the knowledge that God is good and does all things through love.
Now, the manner we choose to have faith dictates the result of our faith. Think of
it like weight training again. If we don’t have good form in our exercises, the
muscles won’t build right, and doing this can result in injury. Likewise, if we
don’t have proper faith, it could result in an otherwise avoidable trial. Our faith
will not build from circumstances if we lack understanding in how to properly
apply faith in each circumstance.
Some people put themselves in dangerous situations physically, spiritually,
emotionally, or financially and say, “I trust God will take care of me.” Such a
situation may be a financial sacrifice to honor God that God never called them to
do. But they, in their own works, tried to honor God and of their own accord
made a sacrifice.
Every manner of sacrifice since the Old Testament has been laid out by God in
what He wants and how He wants it performed. There are many Christians that
believe that if they pour their whole life out like a drink offering, God will bless
them with a reward in heaven. Yet in all His details, God has never said that we
should hurt ourselves without His leading. There is a difference between
carrying our crosses and crucifying ourselves. But if we submit to His word and
His leading, we know that we have carried our cross, and God will deliver us
from all harm. Even as God led us into the valley of suffering so He will lead us
onto the mountain of praise. But if we aren’t listening to and obeying His Spirit,
then we are not being led by Him. God rewards those that obey Him. For we
read,
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans
10:17
This we knew since we came to salvation. We believe and proclaim that one
cannot be saved apart from Jesus Christ and faith in Him. Then somewhere
down the road, some believers forget this age old truth and try to gain God’s
favor through their own hard work again. If this never worked for salvation
before, why would it now?
As we discern from Romans 10:17, faith comes by God’s word. We know that
the Bible is His word, but sometimes we forget that anything God speaks is His
word. Any time God opens His mouth our natural response must always be with
faith. Remember that God spoke to Abraham and gave Him the promises
verbally. Then Abraham, having believed, was considered righteous. We have
the word written, but Abraham had it orally spoken to him by God. Abraham
believed God and obeyed His leading and thus was called the friend of God.
Similarly, we must be careful in how we choose to have faith. God has shown us
how He wants us to apply faith in every situation and how to honor Him in our
works of faith.
Putting ourselves in dangerous situations and saying “God will honor me and
take care of me” is foolish if the Lord hasn’t specifically called us to it. God
doesn’t honor those that don’t believe and obey His voice. Nowhere has God
said anywhere in the Bible, “If you go about hurting yourself in this life, I will
be pleased.” God doesn’t need our sacrifices or our works. He doesn’t need
anything from us at all. But if God calls us to have faith, then we need to have it.
What works, then, does He require? Merely that of obedience. We need to spend
more time listening to the Holy Spirit than trying to figure out on our own how
to make Him happy. His answers to how we can please Him are right there on
the tip of His tongue. All we need to do is listen better and obey more fervently.
Thus we must approach every situation of life with soberness. God tests us to see
how we will act and whether or not we will wait for faith or act without Him and
try to justify our actions. Some jump the gun without waiting for the Spirit to
speak and lead them. It isn’t a leap of faith unless God has told us to do it. Faith
comes from His word, not our own hearts. We are not justified unless God
justifies us. And how are we justified? What do we read?
“But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘the just
shall live by faith.’” Galatians 3:11
But where did we say faith comes from? By the word of God. Thus God justifies
those that believe and obey His Holy Spirit’s voice. Consider the Spirit for a
moment. In what manner has He ever been wrong, led us astray, or led us to a
less perfect thing? Seeing, then, that God never leads us astray but guides us in
righteousness, love, justice, and perfection, we must submit to His Spirit. Lest
any of us think that we know better than God, we all must surrender to and obey
His Spirit’s conviction and voice.
If you enter a situation of life and feel pressed to make a decision, pray first for
God’s wisdom. If God doesn’t seem to be answering you and you are pressed,
then Satan is likely pressing you and God is testing you to see if you will wait
for faith or act without the Lord. Remember that it is written,
“Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!” Psalm 27:14
And also,
“Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who
prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.”
Psalm 37:7
David was a man accustomed to great persecution and well acquainted with
trials. The dew covered his head at night while he was homeless in the
wilderness for years, running for his life from his enemy. But God sustained him
the entire time, and after having tested him, he was approved and was given the
kingdom. Even though David suffered without a home and was constantly in
hiding for fear of his enemy, he, knowing that God works everything together for
good, believed God would save him if he submitted to the leading and voice of
God. Hence David often inquired of the Lord, and we ought to as well. Then
because of David’s faith and persistence to obey the Spirit, he was led from
homelessness to a mansion, from fear to peace, from poverty to becoming a
king. God uses the evil circumstances of life to establish our hearts for a greater
purpose—a purpose that can even be felt in this life.
Even as David was found approved through obedience and faith, we also must
be found approved, and in due and proper time, God will raise us up to perfect
victory. Yet being sustained doesn’t always mean comfortability. It just means
that we’re being taken care of. While God intends to bless us even in this life, it
doesn’t mean that we will always experience that blessing. Neither should we
live for the blessings of this life nor pursue them of our own accord. But God
will lead us to these things in His own way and time. Therefore we must learn to
submit to the voice of the Spirit in everything that we may always be led by
faith.
Now, if we jump the gun and don’t wait for God’s voice, then we aren’t walking
in faith. Unless God leads us daily and we are listening to His word through His
Spirit and obeying it, we aren’t living a life of faith. The Bible is half of our faith
and the Spirit is the other half. It is He who wrote the Bible through men and
who interprets the word to us, explaining to us how to live it out and apply it
daily. So on the one hand, Jesus authored our faith when He issued forth the
Scriptures through the Spirit in men, and on the other hand, He finishes our faith
through the Spirit’s voice. Thus Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith, and
we must submit to His word, both written and spoken by the Spirit. If anyone
does not obey the voice of the Spirit, no matter how small and subtle, then he or
she does not obey God. For the Spirit is God, and if we love the Lord, then we
must obey His voice.
It is the Spirit Who conveys the active word of God to us on a daily basis. We
must listen to Him and wait for His leading in everything. Yet waiting can be
hard. We have a real enemy, who loves to push us to make decisions without the
Lord. If we decide to step out in faith without God’s direction, then we aren’t
walking in faith at all.
There are many Christian’s who do this, then after they suffer a trial, they claim
God has a blessing in store for them in heaven. But the reality is that they just
made themselves suffer and need to live according to His word, waiting for the
leading of the Spirit of God. But that we must be led is evident. For it is written,
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God these are the sons of God.” Romans
8:14
Knowing this, we must learn to be led in everything. If we are led by the Spirit
in everything, we will be justified in everything. Why? Because God has worked
through us in all our works.
Some struggle with understanding how works apply to faith. The works of the
law and the works of faith are two different things. The confusion some people
have regarding these two comes from the belief that the Bible is the only word of
God. If we try to apply the principles of the Bible without the guidance of the
Spirit, then we are practicing a life of legalism. But if we read our Bibles and
apply them through God’s directing voice, then we truly walk by faith, fulfilling
the law of God by nature.
If we remember that every word God speaks is His word, we begin to understand
the difference between legalistic works and works of faith. For faith comes by
hearing, and the just live by faith. The legalistic works of the law are still
practiced by some Christians today. They apply the New Testament in the similar
manner as the Jews without even realizing it. They read the New Testament
principles and try to practice them religiously and legally in their lives. For
whatever reason, there seems to be two extremes in the Christian faith regarding
works. One doctrine says, “Works are perfect faith,” and the other doctrine says,
“Works are not necessary at any time; they just happen out of nature.” So the one
group does good deeds, trying hard to be good people and claiming that it
justifies their faith, while the other group just believes that they’re justified by
faith only and don’t need to do any works.
The problem with both of these is that their argument comes from a legal
examination of the Scripture. Works of faith are not applying the principles of
the Bible in the manner we think Jesus would call us to. Works of faith come by
hearing God and obeying Him. We work out faith when we feel God’s pull in
life, step out in faith, and obey. Faith isn’t attempting to please God through
trying to apply the principles of the Bible while not really knowing how to apply
them. We should never try to figure out and apply the Scriptures on our own, like
the phrase “What Would Jesus Do?” We should just ask Jesus through prayer as
to what He wants us to do, and His Holy Spirit will specifically tell us. Then, as
we obey God, we will walk by faith, hence we are justified because it is God
who works in us. As it is written,
“for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
Philippians 2:13
We should never hope or have faith that God is pleased. We should know He is
pleased. Ask yourself that question now. “Is God pleased with me?” If you don’t
know, then you need to examine your understanding of faith and walking with
Him. God is pleased when we listen to His voice, obey His conviction, and
pursue His heart. If you do these things, then you will know for certain that He is
pleased. We must live for His will, but how can we do so unless we understand
His voice? God conveys His will to us through the Spirit on a moment-by-
moment basis. Thus to truly surrender to Christ as your Lord requires you to
surrender to His Spirit.
Have you ever wondered why blaspheming the Spirit is unforgivable? Because it
is He who creates new life in us daily. It is He who leads us in God’s perfect
will. It is He who justifies us through love. It is He who gives us opportunity for
faith then justifies us through it. It is He who is our helper, who conveys the will
of the Father to us and increases us in everything that saves us as He grows us. It
is He who secures our salvation through Jesus Christ, and without Him, no man
is saved. Knowing this, we ought to plunge deeper into Him. We ought to dive
head first into the Spirit, meditating on His presence always, and growing to
perfectly discern His voice. For by His voice faith comes, and by faith we are
saved and justified. But that we are saved by faith is evident for we read,
“For by grace you have been saved through faith…” Ephesians 2:8
Faith saves us, and the Spirit increases our faith as we walk in Him. He is the
untouchable God. It is He who dwelt in the holiest of all, behind the veil. Then,
by the rending of our Savior and through the outpouring of His blood, we have
been given the right to step into the Most Holy Place. That is to say that we are
now given the Holy Spirit, who makes us holy. For the word “holy” comes from
the root word “whole.” Thus holy in a literal sense means “to make whole.” The
Holy Spirit was sent to make us whole in Christ Jesus. It is He who makes us
perfect and complete in our Lord. Therefore submit to Him and obey His voice.
Listen to His conviction, and do not brush Him off.
In order to increase in faith, we need to increase our relationship with the Holy
Spirit through continually abiding and meditating on Him. Practice meditating
on His presence that you may hear His voice more clearly and obey Him more
fervently. But what are the best ways to do practice meditating on His presence?
Continual prayer and constant worship. Pray without ceasing. Talk to God and
toward His presence constantly. If your thoughts trail off, then wrangle them in
and learn to be self-disciplined in the place of your mind.
Pray also in the Spirit by listening to Him while you pray. Then whatever He
lays on your heart, pray that and you’ll be praying in the Spirit. Worship in the
Spirit likewise. Aim your praise directly at God, and do not merely sing about
Him. There are many good Christian songs out there, but true worship is
something we sing directly to God. Singing “God is holy, God is holy” isn’t true
worship. Worship happens when we’re intimate with our Lord. True worship
would be singing toward God’s presence and to His face “God, You are holy!
You are holy!” Just this simple change in your worship will dramatically change
the level of intimacy you experience in worship. You will experience His heart in
a greater way and be worshipping in the Spirit as your heart attunes to His. By
attuning your heart to His, you’ll feel the Spirit’s words bubble up from your
heart and out from your mouth. The result will be a spiritual song of love—an
intelligible, heartfelt, incredible song laid on your heart from God to God.
By doing these things continually, you’ll be meditating on Him as you should.
Do not pray or worship merely a few times a week or a couple times a day. Do it
in your heart all day every day. Constantly talk to God, and you will constantly
hear God. Practice these things, and it will change your life. Faith comes by
hearing, so the more you hear God, the more faith you will have, and thus by the
nature of it, your faith will increase dramatically.
New Testament
Matthew
1) “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and
to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among
you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he
asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil,
know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more
will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who
ask Him!” Matthew 7:8–11
This is not the entire portion we will memorize. But for the purpose of
understanding context, we have included the entire Scripture. Our lives are
limited by our choices. If we align our hearts with the Father’s, then the more we
ask, the more we will receive. Even if it is a little thing, God may grant it to you
just to be intimate with you. Why? Because His will is already laid up in your
heart through your surrender. Are you willing to accept this? Are you willing to
believe? Then ask and you will receive according to His will and your faith.
2) “When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who

followed, “Assuredly, I say to you, I have not found such great
faith, not even in Israel!” Matthew 8:10
The original Greek word for marvel is thaumazō. This word more or less means
to admire. Another way of saying it is to leave someone “awestruck.” We always
stand in awe of God, but nearly never do you see God marveling or awestruck
over humanity. The only times you see Jesus marvel in the New Testament are
when a person has great faith. By this it is more than obvious that faith pleases
God. So if you want to have God awestruck over the beauty He sees in you, then
increase in your faith constantly. Make a point of it every day. He loves you, and
all He wants is for you to trust Him. Love and trust are the foundations of any
relationship. Likewise, God wants us to trust Him and His love. If you want God
to be awestruck with joy over you, then pray right now and continually that He
would increase your faith.
3) “But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little

faith?” Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and
there was a great calm.” Matthew 8:26
No matter where we’re at or what we’re going through, God is always faithful.
Even if we do not have faith, God cannot forsake His own heart. He loves us and
will deliver us. Yes, we will suffer more without faith, but that won’t change the
character and nature of God. Therefore, Beloved, be found faithful in His sight,
and trust in Him. The only person you’re hurting by fretting is yourself. When a
storm of life arises, remember that God is in control. Even if it takes you by
surprise, God is still in control. Just because we lose control doesn’t mean God
has. The best thing that could happen to us is that we lose control of life. That
way God may have the control, and He is always faithful to save.
4) “So Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you,

if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was
done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, “Be
removed and be cast into the sea,” it will be done.’” Matthew
21:21
Pray for miracles, and trust in God. Do you want to see His power at work in
your life? Then first of all, believe that He works in power then ask for your
request with faith. If it is the Father’s will, it shall come to pass. The worst that
could happen is that He says no because it wasn’t His will. Knowing this, don’t
put your faith in God merely doing what you want and ask. Rather, have faith
that if He is willing He is able. For we read,
“And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, ‘Lord, if You are willing,
You can make me clean.’ Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying,
‘I am willing; be cleansed.’ Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.” Matthew
8:2–3
God still heals us. God still works miracles and power among us. But if you
want the works of the early church in your life, then seek the Lord for it and
have all faith. When we do not have, it may be because we have not asked.
5) “So Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your unbelief; for

assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you
will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will
move; and nothing will be impossible for you.’” Matthew 17:20
The limits of possibility are defined by the boundaries of our faith. For it is
written,
“Jesus said to him, ‘If You can believe, all things are possible to him who
believes.’” Mark 9:23
And again,
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
Mark
1) “So Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Have faith in God. For
assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be
removed and be cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart,
but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have
whatever he says. Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask
when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have
them.’” Mark 11:22–24
God wants to be intimate with you. Are you willing to believe? Ask Him in
faith, for your Father knows your needs and intends to give them to you. He is
willing to move mountains, split seas, and cast aside all things that get in the
way of you and Him. At a moment’s notice, He would pass through heaven and
earth just to spend a little time with you. You’re so precious in His sight!
What can keep you from the depths of His intimacy? Your own faith. Grow in
faith, and you will be blessed. For what father would give their little child a
scorpion if they asked for food? Even so, God gives to us if we take the time to
be intimate with Him and ask. Ask God, have faith, and watch it change your
life!
Luke
1) “So the Lord said, ‘If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can
say to this mulberry tree, “Be pulled up by the roots and be planted
in the sea,” and it would obey you.’” Luke 17:6
A mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds on earth, but it grows into a
tremendous plant. If you have a little faith, great things can be accomplished.
What then can we expect to see if we have great faith? Therefore, Beloved, do
not be satisfied with a little faith, but let that mustard seed grow into a tree that
shades the entire field.
2) “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has
made you well.’” Luke 18:42
Our faith is our sight. For we walk by faith and not by sight.
Romans
1) “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the
power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew
first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is
revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by
faith.’” Romans 1:16–17
The Scriptures are the foundation of our faith. If we live according to them as
God instructs, then the righteousness of God will be at work in us.
2) “For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the
faithfulness of God without effect?” Romans 3:3
God is faithful even when we are not.
3) “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart

from the deeds of the law.” Romans 3:28
There are two types of works: the works of faith and of the law. We are justified
by faith, not the application of the word in legalistic practice. Faith comes by
hearing God. Therefore obedience to the word and voice of God through faith
justifies us over all things. Knowing this, let God teach you how to apply His
word through His Holy Spirit.
4) “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not!
On the contrary, we establish the law.” Romans 3:31
While we are not required to work out the law, we fulfill the law by nature when
we walk by faith. For those who listen to the Holy Spirit’s voice and obey Him
fulfill the law by nature.
5) “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of

God.” Romans 10:17
God created faith when He opened His mouth. Whenever God speaks, whether
by the written word or by the oral leading of the Holy Spirit, we are required to
have faith.
First Corinthians
1) “And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive
words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in
the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:4–5
There are many churches today have longwinded, heady sermons. They are
eloquent, beautiful, and seemingly practical. But not even the Apostle Paul came
speaking in the wisdom of men. Rather, he allowed the Spirit to speak freely
through him and work through him. That way all would see God’s power and
believe that the Lord’s word was with him as well as believe in the power of the
Gospel to resurrect the dead.
We likewise should let the Spirit speak through us to others. We also should be
looking for the voice of God through our brethren. Faith comes by hearing God.
Therefore if any man does not speak through Christ, do not believe his words.
But those whose mouths are well seasoned with salt will guide you rightly. Seek
to live and be led by the power of God in your own life, which will increase your
faith in the resurrection of the dead.
Second Corinthians
1) “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7
Our faith is our sight. For God leads us, and when we listen to Him, we walk
down the path without stumbling. But when we try to figure things out on our
own or act hastily, we transgress.
Galatians
1) “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision
avails anything, but faith working through love.” Galatians 5:6
What is the first fruit of the Spirit? Is it not love? If we are obeying God and
following Him, love will become a natural action. Therefore let your faith be
worked out through love. Believe that God loves you and will do all things for
your good. Love others also, meeting needs and cherishing as God leads you.
That way your faith will literally be operating through the loving-kindness of
Christ at work in you.
Ephesians
1) “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not
of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone
should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should
walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8–10
We are not saved by our own works but by the operation of faith. For one
scripture says faith without works is dead, and another says that faith is not of
works. Seeing that there is no contradiction in the word, it is therefore evident
that the Scriptures are talking about two different types of works. For other
scriptures condemn legalistic works, while others command works of faith or,
that is to say, works of obedience to the Spirit of God. For we are justified by
obedience to the faith, which are a type of works. Yet these are not works that we
commit to doing as we read the Scriptures and try to apply on our own, but these
are the works that God has planned and leads us to and in which we must have
faith.
Must we practice and obey the Gospel? Yes, of course! But we must do so with
regard to the Holy Spirit’s leading as He teaches us how to apply the word on a
moment-by-moment basis. Thereby our works are no longer that of ourselves but
rather of faith. Thus we see the scripture fulfilled that says,
“for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
Philippians 2:13
Colossians
1) “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind
by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His
flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above
reproach in His sight—if indeed you continue in the faith,
grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of
the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature
under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.” Colossians
1:21–23
We must continue to walk in the faith by obeying God, not being moved away
from the hope of the gospel. For in urgency of need, the enemy tempts us to trust
in our own resources, but those that wait on the Lord to walk in faith will be
empowered beyond comprehension. Therefore, Beloved, continue in the most
holy faith, being rooted and grounded in Christ Jesus. Though life may be hard,
trust in God, and He will save you from every evil thing that comes your way.
Then when you have seen it and your eyes have laid hold of the goodness of
God’s mighty power, your faith will increase exponentially. For then you will
know that God works all things together for good even if you don’t see the end
of your trials in sight.
First Timothy
1) “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will
depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and
doctrines of demons,” 1 Timothy 4:1
Satan loves to deter our faith through false doctrine. Our doctrine dictates what
we put our faith in and the technics of how it operates. If we put our faith in a
fish, would we be saved? Obviously not. What about a false image of Jesus?
Some would argue that God has grace, but why then doesn’t He have grace on a
cult? Let not Satan twist His doctrine even in the slightest way. A false doctrine
doesn’t need to be a cultish doctrine to be wrong in the eyes of God. Remember
that He is so pure that even the slightest sin is wrong in His eyes. Likewise, the
slightest false doctrine is sin, being a lie about His nature, character, and gospel.
For we are saved through faith, and doctrine dictates to us how to accurately
apply faith. Therefore the truth is of the utmost priority for the believer. If we
place our faith in a lie, will it save us?
If lying doctrines do nothing for us, then why don’t we take to heart our own
doctrine? We must be passionate about the truth of Christ, seeking it with all our
hearts. It is not our doctrine or the doctrine of churches that we should put our
trust in but rather the doctrine of Christ as the Holy Spirit teaches us.
If we are complacent, then we will believe in a lie. Lies don’t empower; they
weaken. How can we grow in our faith if we’re putting our faith in the subtle lies
of the devil? But if we love the Lord, we will love Him for who He is. Therefore,
Beloved, let your faith grow in the Lord by pursuing the perfect and complete
truth of His doctrine. Don’t believe something just because it appeals to your
heart or how you envision God to be. Deny your heart, and seek truth out of
perfect love. Those that love the Lord will seek Him for who He is that they may
know Him intimately in truth. Even as one desires to know his or her spouse
perfectly, so we ought also to know the Lord for who He is and the things that
please Him in truth perfectly.
2) “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding

the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely
called knowledge—” 1 Timothy 6:20
As we said before so now we say again: lies do nothing for us. False doctrine
abounds and is in every single church in the world through one person or
another. Grow in your doctrine, and you will grow in your faith. For God only
answers us in the truth. Therefore put your faith in the truth, and you will see
God work more powerfully in your life. Seek the truth, and cling to it. Be
passionate for it even as Christ was passionate for you. Jesus is truth, and to be
passionate for His truth is to be passionate for Him.
Listen to the Holy Spirit as you read your Bible. Discern the difference between
His voice and your heart. He will interpret the Scriptures to you and make you
understand them perfectly. Then, when you have perfect understanding, shun the
doctrines that contradict. And as it is also written,
“that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with
every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of
deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into
Him who is the head—Christ—” Ephesians 4:14–15
Second Timothy
1) “Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard
from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy
1:13
Again, this Scripture tells us to seek the soundness of true doctrine.
2) “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny
Himself.” (2 Timothy 2:13, NKJV)
God is always faithful with or without us. So why not believe that He will work
it all together for good and walk accordingly?
3) “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the

time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I
have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid
up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only
but also to all who have loved His appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:6–8
Beloved, keep your faith. For in so doing, you will have the confidence and
peace Paul had in the last days of His life. We all say, “I know where I’m going.”
But God truly gave Paul perfect peace at the time of his death. If you keep your
faith, you will have that same peace from God. Not the peace we generate
through hoping and trusting. Rather, it will be God’s actual peace, which He
gives you as He shows you His will for you through faith.
Hebrews
1) “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of
things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1
This is the true, biblical definition of the word “faith.”
2) “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who

comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of
those who diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6
If you want to please God, then have faith. If you want to increase your faith,
then diligently seek Him daily. The best definition of diligence is to do
something faithfully even when it isn’t convenient. So think of the most
inconvenient times to seek God, and be sure you are still seeking Him at those
times through prayer and worship.
3) “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud

of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so
easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is
set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the
throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1–2
In all that you do, whether good or evil, remember that you’re being watched.
You are constantly watched both by God and innumerable angels. If you
wouldn’t sin among men but would rather fear, then why don’t you fear that
angels and God are standing in the room watching and documenting your deeds
in the Book of Life?
Therefore be found increasing in faith, walking in love, and enduring in holiness.
For Jesus began our faith, and He will be faithful to finish it even unto the Day
of the Lord.
James
1) “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let
patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and
complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:2–4
Trials destroy the world, for they have nothing to look forward to in them. But
those that are Christ’s are built up and edified in them for eternal life. Therefore
be patient when you suffer, for the Lord your God is seeking to bless you with
something eternally better.
2) “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to
all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But
let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a
wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man
suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a
double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” James 1:5–8
God helps us retain the word. Remember that Jesus is the author and finisher of
our faith. He is before and after and everything in between. God wants you to
apply His word, and you can’t unless it’s locked in your heart. Seeing then that
you can’t walk by faith unless you know His word, He will help you to retain it.
Therefore pray for wisdom in ALL faith. God has determined to give it to you if
you ask Him. Yet know that you may have to pursue it hard. For God, being
relational, wants you to reach out to Him. He is always reaching out to you, but
you are called to reach back. It takes two people to make an intimate
relationship. It isn’t intimate unless you’re being intimate back! Thus He calls
you to seek His wisdom with all your heart. Then, after you have pursued it
through faith for a while, He will begin to bless you with it. Even as we read,
“My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you, So
that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding; Yes,
if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding, If you
seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will
understand the fear of the LORD, And find the knowledge of God. For the
LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding;”
Proverbs 2:1–6
3) “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But
someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me
your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my
works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the
demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O
foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham
our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the
altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works,
and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was
fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was
accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend
of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by
faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by
works when she received the messengers and sent them out
another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith
without works is dead also.” James 2:17–26
Faith is perfected by obedience. This must not be confused with the works of the
law. For the works of faith are found in believing the Spirit and doing what He
says. If you have faith, it means nothing unless you do something with it.
Righteousness is best defined as faith in motion.
4) “You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot
obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not
ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you
may spend it on your pleasures.” James 4:2–3
If there is anything that we desire through the flesh, God will not grant it (unless
it is a need of the flesh). But if our will aligns with God’s and we ask out of a
pure heart, we know that He will grant us our requests. But we will not have
anything if we don’t ask at all. Some don’t ask because they don’t believe God
will give them the things they want or need, especially when it pertains to
miracles. But God created all things. He made food to fill the needs of the
stomach and made joy to fill the heart. He is capable of all things and will grant
you your requests if you have a willing and open heart to believe and ask. Only,
Beloved, know that your God cares for you.
He will grant you your requests if you ask with a pure heart. But if you don’t ask
at all, you will never receive. Open your heart up to a greater faith, and
continually ask the Lord to work in your life. Sometimes He will answer, and
sometimes He won’t. If He doesn’t answer, then keep asking. Sometimes He’ll
bless one that prays fervently. Think of Elijah, who prayed fervently that it
would rain. God didn’t answer until the seventh time he bowed down to pray.
What would have happened if he gave up praying on the sixth time? Don’t lose
heart, but seek the Lord diligently.
Now, sometimes we may pray without ceasing for something but God won’t
answer because it isn’t in His will. We also need to learn to accept that even if
we don’t understand why. We won’t always understand the ways of God, but we
should trust Him no matter what. So if it is not His will, then move on to pray
about the next thing. The more you ask from Him, the more you will receive and
experience. Keep this in your heart, and constantly pursue the Lord.
5) “And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will
raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”
James 5:15
God intends to heal us of our infirmities and even raise the dead, not only in the
resurrection but here in this life. For this atheistic nation teaches that none come
back from the dead but have rather had a “near death” experience. Even though
all their vitals are gone for days, and even though some have clearly had rigor
mortis set in, they, in their insanity, still suggest that such a person never died.
These are obvious signs of death, yet this atheistic nation can’t give glory to God
and would seek to deceive you. Now are near death experiences real? Most of
them are fabricated because none of them are consistent with one another. But
that the dead still rise is evident.
Put your trust in God, and if He is willing, He is able to restore to you those
whom you lose prematurely. Consider that we all die at an old age, but
sometimes things happen that may not be in God’s desire: things such as a tragic
illness that leads to death or an accident that kills a young child. Consider that
Tabitha was raised through the prayer of Peter. This wasn’t merely because he
was an apostle. Even as Peter himself said when he healed a man who couldn’t
walk from birth,
“So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: ‘Men of Israel, why do you
marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or
godliness we had made this man walk?’” Acts 3:12
Peter then goes on to glorify Jesus and His power. As we read,
“’And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom
you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this
perfect soundness in the presence of you all.’” Acts 3:16
Faith made the man strong. Why? Because in our weaknesses, Jesus Christ is our
strength. Therefore seek the power of God that the Lord may work in your life
and through you for His glory and your edification.
God shows personal favoritism to no one and is willing to work through each of
us according to His gift and blessing. Therefore, have faith. God intends to heal
the sick and raise the dead even to this day. Not all will be healed, and not all
will be raised, for God uses these things to grow us individually and lead others
to salvation. Indeed, Christ calls us to bear our crosses. But why do we see fewer
of these things today? A lack of faith among the many due to worldly teachings
and doctrines. But if our faith is in truth, then we will see God work more
powerfully among each of us. If you desire that intimacy with God, then have
faith and seek His truth.
Second Peter
1) “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your
faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to
self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness
brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these
things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who
lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has
forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. Therefore,
brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election
sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an
entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting
kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:5–11
Always add to your faith and increase in it. Grow in your walk with God
according to these scriptures, and be diligent to make your call and election sure
through them. For if you do these things, you are secure in both your faith and
your salvation. Do you want the peace that security brings? Then honor God,
and grow in your relationship with Him always.
First John
1) “For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is
the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” 1 John 5:4
Our faith gives us victory in every circumstance because all things are possible
through Jesus who strengthens us. Therefore if there is anything that you
struggle in, whether sin or trial, remember this scripture, and it will increase your
faith.
Jude
1) “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy
faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of
God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal
life.” Jude 20–21
Keep yourself in His love always. Likewise, always be building your faith and
growing in it. By continuing in prayer, you will continue in His Spirit for we
pray in the Spirit. Then by continuing in the Spirit and by being sensitive to His
voice, you will hear Him more abundantly to grow in faith.

Old Testament
Genesis
1) “And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, ‘This
one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own
body shall be your heir.’ Then He brought him outside and said,
‘Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to
number them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’
And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for
righteousness.” Genesis 15:4–6
How does God marvel? As we said before, He marvels at our faith. Who are
God’s friends? Those who walk by faith even as Abraham did. First Abraham
exercised faith then He was called God’s friend. Notice also that Abraham
believed the voice of God. For God’s voice is His word, and before there was the
written word, there was the voice of God. Even so, we must take it to heart to be
growing in and exercising our muscles of faith while taking the Spirit’s voice to
heart.
Deuteronomy
1) “And when the LORD saw it, He spurned them, Because of the
provocation of His sons and His daughters. And He said: ‘I will
hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be, For they
are a perverse generation, Children in whom is no faith.’”
Deuteronomy 32:19–20
Let us not be children without faith as Israel was. But let us grow in faith and
honor God in all we do.
Psalms
1) “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who
put their trust in Him.” Psalm 2:12
Revere Jesus, and continue in His word. Remember that He will judge this world
both for the good we do and the evil we do. We always see Him as a kind, gentle
person. But we need to remember that it is He who executes the full wrath of
God. Therefore let us be found acting as His friends even as Abraham did,
through our continual faith.
2) “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them
ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who
love Your name Be joyful in You.” Psalm 5:11
Rejoice in the Lord no matter what! God is always faithful, and nothing will ever
stop Him from saving you from everything in your life. Let your faith be with
joy; then as you increase in faith, you will increase in joy. By this, God will be
glorified not only in your conduct but also in your words. For those who rejoice
in the Lord can’t help but spontaneously worship Him.
3) “As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is
proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” Psalm 18:30
God’s word is the source of our faith. It is sound, trustworthy, and reliable. Let
us be founded in it and also read our Bibles daily. Know your Scriptures, and
you will know your doctrine. By knowing your doctrine, you’ll know how to
rightly apply faith. Then, by believing correctly, you will see God work more
abundantly in your life, and your faith will be increased.
4) “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see
the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13
No matter what you go through, remember that God intends to deliver you yet in
this life. Now, some burdens may be given to you for the purpose of your
growth. But if not for your growth, then He will save you from it. If you have
already grown in it, then maybe He will release you from it. Have all faith, and
seek Him in prayer always. Yet we should always have the heart that whether we
suffer or abound, we ought always to praise the Lord our God, giving thanks to
Him always.
5) “Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed
on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He
shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the
LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. He shall
bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the
noonday. Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not
fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man
who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and
forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm.” Psalm 37:3–8
Rely on God for everything. Let Him decide how you shall be taken care of. Let
Him even choose your workplace and source of providence. Let Him guide you
down the paths of life. Remember that He has a plan for you and has promised to
take care of you. Let Him provide for your needs through leading you to the
things that fill them.
God created the stomach to have need and created food to fill the need. If you
have been burdened with a need, won’t God save you from it? Sometimes you
will be burdened when you follow His leading. Wasn’t a cross laid on our
Savior’s shoulders? You also bear the burden of your cross, which you WILL
suffer following the Lord. Nevertheless, He will save you. Wasn’t our Lord
raised after being crucified? Even so, there will be times that you think carrying
your cross couldn’t get any worse. But then you will be crucified, which is much
worse. Yet after these things, you shall be saved. God will raise you up from the
ashes of pain to the stronghold of praise. Only have faith.
For God allows needs to fall on you when you follow Him because He is testing
you to see if you will be faithful to wait for Him. After you have been found
faithful, He will speedily save you. Therefore, Beloved, rest in God, and let His
peace comfort you in life. Do not fear those who bring harm on you, for God
will save you from their hand in due and proper time. Even if they oppress you
and cause you to fall into need, God will save you. Then, in His perfect time, He
will reward you for your faithfulness and your enemy for their wickedness.
6) “It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in

man.” Psalm 118:8
God is our source of faith and must always be our provider. Let us not trust in
ourselves, our own knowledge, or even in that of others. But let God lead you to
the perfect outcome. Let Him lead you in everything: the doctors you visit, the
places you live, and the places you work. Trust God in everything, and let Him
deliver you from all things. While it may take longer than you want to see His
deliverance, God will give it to you after you have grown from your
circumstances and give you perfect peace: a peace that can only be experienced
from God’s saving power. It is a peace that no man could ever bring you.
Proverbs
1) “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your
own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He
shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5–6
As we said before, so now we say again: Trust God, and let Him lead you in
everything. He has your life mapped out for you. He knows the way to the
buried treasures of heaven, so let Him guide you to the things you seek.
2) “The simple believes every word, But the prudent considers

well his steps.” Proverbs 14:15
There is much false doctrine. Even our friends or those we trust may have it and
not realize it. Therefore we must consider the Bereans and become more like
them. Test the words of others’ mouths, and learn your doctrine. Don’t believe
everything you hear, but learn the Scriptures perfectly and compare others’
words and teachings with the Bible in its full context. Even as it is written,
“For the ear tests words as the palate tastes food. Let us choose justice for
ourselves; Let us know among ourselves what is good.” Job 34:3–4
Therefore know His good doctrine to walk thereby. Even as it is also written,
“For I give you good doctrine: Do not forsake my law.” Proverbs 4:2
And as Jesus said,
“Jesus answered them and said, ‘My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.
If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it
is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. He who speaks from
himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent
Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.’” John 7:16–18
Seek the glory of the one who sends you through pursuing His doctrine. For our
doctrine must be of the Father even as Jesus’ doctrine was. There are many
churches that would say their doctrine is the Father’s doctrine. But why then are
there so many different beliefs and versions of the truth? Yet still more will say,
“God’s church isn’t perfect. If you find a perfect church, don’t go there, or it
won’t be perfect anymore!” This may be a true statement, but it is also is a
mockery of everything Jesus stood for. He commanded us to strive for
perfection, not to sit complacently in imperfection. Even so, He has also said that
we can know ALL TRUTH and Jesus, being God, doesn’t lie. For He Himself
said,
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into ALL
TRUTH...” John 16:13
Knowing then that all truth can be obtained in this life, be diligent to pursue it.
For if you love the Lord, you will search for it in Him with all your heart.
Remember that He is the way, the TRUTH, and the life.
3) “The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the

LORD shall be safe.” Proverbs 29:25
Satan tempts us to fear those around us that can harm us. An example would be
our bosses. They can fire us, and because of this, we get tempted through the
fear of man to man-please rather than pursuing the Lord to see what would
please Him. If God calls you to do one thing and your boss threatens you to do
another, trust God, for He intends to save you. As for your boss who does this,
they have their reward coming…
4) “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put

their trust in Him.” Proverbs 30:5
Have faith in the Lord, and He will deliver you from every evil person and evil
event in your life. He will shield you from wickedness and hold you in His hand.
Nothing in heaven or earth will ever be able to separate you from His love. And
by His love, He will take care of you. Therefore have faith, and rest in God.
His word is perfect, both what He has written and everything He speaks.
Therefore listen to Him and obey Him in everything. As the scripture says,
“every word of God is pure.”
Jeremiah
1) “Thus says the LORD: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man
And makes flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the
LORD.’” Jeremiah 17:5
If we fear and man–please, fret in trials rather than waiting for God, and put our
trust in people, then we fail. While God may use the people around us, if we fret,
we won’t walk by faith. If God uses our brethren, He will do so in a way that
assists our faith. But if we fret, we will dash for anyone except God and seek
help from them. Wait on the Lord and His faithfulness. Pray before doing
anything.
Yes, you should tell your brethren, who all love you, about your burdens in life.
That way they can be inclined by God to help you. If any are faithful, they will
help you so long as they are able. For these are the tools of God. Nevertheless, it
is God who saves you through them because of the work of Christ in them.
Therefore pray first and let God lead you to the help you need. Do not merely
start begging for salvation from every person you meet, but beg God and let Him
lead you to His tool to save you. If you need help in anything, then test the open
doors, and God will make it apparent which door to step through. But do not
force a door open that God didn’t open for you. Be discerning, and recognize the
open doors around you; they may be of God already.
But if we trust in the help of men, then we depart from faith. How can we
increase in faith if we depart from it? Abstain from the things that cause you to
depart from faith, and cling to the things that build your faith. For in this, you
will please the Lord.

Memorizing
This next section was written purely for your reference. If you prefer to
memorize from this book, the scriptures will be written verse by verse for you to
do so here. Now, some of the above verses were written lengthily for your
understanding. Seeing that we now know the reason to these verses, it would be
more practical to memorize the few that pertain to us.
So refer to this section for the actual verses to memorize. If you use another
translation of the Bible, then use this portion to know which verse to memorize,
and then do so from your Bible. It is always good to stick to one translation and
memorize from that. It is also better to use a literal translation as the other
versions tend to lose the true meaning of the Scripture in their translation. Literal
translations tell us what God really meant when He spoke the Scripture into
existence versus other versions that are interpretation-translations. They are
translated according to the doctrine and interpretation of those who translated
those Bibles. But literal translations tell you exactly what the Bible says and not
the things those who translate them say.
By choosing literal translations, we can understand the doctrine more clearly for
the perfect application of faith. If the verses are too hard to memorize, then, as a
tip, try breaking them down into smaller chunks. Try the chunk method;
memorize smaller bits then put them together as a whole. Test yourself, and
make sure you have it exactly as written. If you don’t, then you’ll always
remember it the wrong way. It’s easier to memorize it right the first time versus
trying to fix an incorrectly memorized verse. Make sure you can recite the verse
without looking at the page. If you need to look at the page, then those are the
bits that are not going to be retained, and you should keep practicing.
Ultimately, use whatever method works best for you, but always memorize
through faith. Pray before you do so, and ask the Lord to help you retain the
Scriptures. Then have full faith that He will. As you pursue Him in faith, you
will begin memorizing more Scripture than you ever thought possible.
Remember that we said,
without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no
doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the
wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” James 1:5–8
Ask God to give you wisdom and He will help you retain His word through His
Holy Spirit. For He promised that the Spirit would call to mind His words. As
we also read,
you.” John 14:26
Therefore, Beloved, have faith in God, and He will help you memorize His
word. The more faith you have, the more you will memorize. Trust me; I have
memorized multiple books from the Bible word for word and know for a fact
that you can as well no matter where you’re at. God can and will help you do it.
It is not about your capability; it is about His capability. And do you believe that
God is capable of memorizing the entire Bible?
It is good to memorize large amounts of Scripture, not to impress others through
reciting a bunch of things, but to assist your understanding of the gospel. I have
learned that the more you have memorized, the greater you will understand the
doctrine and gospel. By memorizing much, it will help you to retain the word of
God and keep it in full context. Those who don’t have much memorized may
easily be swayed to believe an incorrect thing by ignorance. Also, if His word is
not locked in your heart, how can you practice it on a daily basis?
But do not allow the amount of Scripture you have locked away to puff you up.
Be still and humble in your heart. For knowledge can puff up, but love edifies.
So recite the scriptures you know only to build others up in Christ through love
and to practice the true doctrine in your own walk. If you struggle with
memorizing the Bible, I talk about it more in depth in my other book, How to
Memorize the Bible Quick and Easy in 5 Simple Steps.
New Testament
Matthew
“’Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be
opened to you.’” Matthew 7:7
“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who
knocks it will be opened.” Matthew 7:8
“When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who followed, ‘Assuredly,
I say to you, I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!’” Matthew
8:10
“But He said to them, ‘Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?’ Then He arose
and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.” Matthew 8:26
“So Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith
and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if
you say to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” it will be
done.’” Matthew 21:21
“So Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if
you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from
here to there,” and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.’”
Matthew 17:20
Mark
“For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be
cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things
he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” Mark 11:23
“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that
you receive them, and you will have them.” Mark 11:24
Luke
“So the Lord said, ‘If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this
mulberry tree, “Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,” and it would
obey you.’” Luke 17:6
“Then Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has made you well.’”
Luke 18:42
Romans
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to
salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
Romans 1:16
“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written,
‘The just shall live by faith.’” Romans 1:17
“For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of
God without effect?” Romans 3:3
“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of
the law.” Romans 3:28
“Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we
establish the law.” Romans 3:31
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans
10:17
First Corinthians
“And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,” 1 Corinthians 2:4
“that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” 1
Corinthians 2:5
Second Corinthians
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7
Galatians
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but
faith working through love.” Galatians 5:6
Ephesians
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is
the gift of God,” Ephesians 2:8
“not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:9
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which
God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10
Colossians
“And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works,
yet now He has reconciled” Colossians 1:21
“in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and
above reproach in His sight—” Colossians 1:22
“if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved
away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every
creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.” Colossians 1:23
First Timothy
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the
faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,” 1 Timothy 4:1
“O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and
idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—” 1
Timothy 6:20
Second Timothy
“Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith
and love which are in Christ Jesus.” 2 Timothy 1:13
“If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” 2 Timothy
2:13
“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my
departure is at hand.” 2 Timothy 4:6
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2
Timothy 4:7
“Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all
who have loved His appearing.” 2 Timothy 4:8
Hebrews
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1
Hebrews 11:6
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let
us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run
with endurance the race that is set before us,” Hebrews 12:1
“looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was
set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the
right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2
James
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,” James 1:2
“knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” James 1:3
“But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking nothing.” James 1:4
without reproach, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5
“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of
the sea driven and tossed by the wind.” James 1:6
“For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;”
James 1:7
“he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” James 1:8
“Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” James 2:17
“But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith
without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” James 2:18
“You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and
tremble!” James 2:19
“But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?”
James 2:20
“Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son
on the altar?” James 2:21
“Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith
was made perfect?” James 2:22
“And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was
accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God.”
James 2:23
“You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” James
2:24
“Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received
the messengers and sent them out another way?” James 2:25
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”
James 2:26
“You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight
and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask.” James 4:2
“You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on
your pleasures.” James 4:3
“And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if
he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.” James 5:15
Second Peter
“But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to
virtue knowledge,” 2 Peter 1:5
“to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance
godliness,” 2 Peter 1:6
“to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.” 2 Peter 1:7
“For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:8
“For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has
forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.” 2 Peter 1:9
“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure,
for if you do these things you will never stumble;” 2 Peter 1:10
“for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting
kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:11
First John
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that
has overcome the world—our faith.” 1 John 5:4
Jude
“But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in
the Holy Spirit,” Jude 20
“keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus
Christ unto eternal life.” Jude 21

Old Testament
Genesis
“And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.”
Genesis 15:6
Deuteronomy
““And when the LORD saw it, He spurned them, Because of the provocation of
His sons and His daughters.” Deuteronomy 32:19
“And He said: ‘I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end will be,
For they are a perverse generation, Children in whom is no faith.’” Deuteronomy
32:20
Psalms
“Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is
kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.” Psalm 2:12
“But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy,
because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.”
Psalm 5:11
“As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield
to all who trust in Him.” Psalm 18:30
“I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of
the LORD In the land of the living.” Psalm 27:13
“Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His
faithfulness.” Psalm 37:3
“Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your
heart.” Psalm 37:4
“Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to
pass.” Psalm 37:5
“He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the
noonday.” Psalm 37:6
“Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who
prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.”
Psalm 37:7
“Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm.” Psalm
37:8
“It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in man.” Psalm 118:8
Proverbs
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own
“In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs
3:6
“The simple believes every word, But the prudent considers well his steps.”
Proverbs 14:15
“For I give you good doctrine: Do not forsake my law.” Proverbs 4:2
“The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.”
Proverbs 29:25
“Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.”
Proverbs 30:5
Jeremiah
“Thus says the LORD: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh
his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD.’” Jeremiah 17:5

Table of Contents
How to Memorize the Bible Fast and Easy

How to Memorize the Entire Bible in No Time Flat
Introduction. 1
The Basics. 1
Know Your Bible. 1
The Best Method. 1
What Is God’s Suggestion for Expanding Memory?. 1
Applying the Method. 1
Final Thoughts. 1
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Understanding And Life Application.
New Testament.
Matthew..
Mark.
Luke.
Romans.
First Corinthians.
Second Corinthians.
Galatians.
Ephesians.
Colossians.
First Timothy.
Second Timothy.
Hebrews.
James.
Second Peter.
First John.
Jude.
Old Testament.
Genesis.
Deuteronomy.
Psalms.
Proverbs.
Jeremiah.
Memorizing.

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How To Memorize The Entire Bible In No Time Flat

How to Get the Most from Reading Your Bible

Memorize The Bible! 88 Verses Every Christian Should

Copyright © 2013 by Adam Houge

2) “When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said to those who

3) “But He said to them, “Why are you fearful, O you of little

4) “So Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you,

5) “So Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your unbelief; for

3) “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart

5) “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of

2) “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding

3) “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the

2) “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who

3) “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud

6) “It is better to trust in the LORD Than to put confidence in

2) “The simple believes every word, But the prudent considers

3) “The fear of man brings a snare, But whoever trusts in the

4) “Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put

How to Memorize the Bible Fast and Easy

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