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Scripture by Heart: Devotional Practices for Memorizing God's Word
Why memorize the Bible? In our information-saturated society, with so many details to take in, the idea of memorizing Scripture can seem overwhelming—like one more task on a checklist. But pastor Joshua Choonmin Kang has discovered what happens when we do spend time memorizing God's we grasp a larger, truer picture of God. We more closely and more often imitate Christ. We worship God "in Spirit and in truth." We're better able to fulfill God's mission. However, Pastor Kang also knows that memorizing Scripture isn't easy. The process itself, like the transformation it brings, doesn't happen overnight. Scripture by Heart is therefore his help for your growth in this important practice. He offers here
30 short devotional readings that motivate you to memorize God's Wordspiritual practices interspersed throughout that teach you how to memorizespecific help for persevering when you feel stuck or overwhelmeda step-by-step approach that roots Scripture in your mind and heartThere is no substitute for God's Word and no shortcut to having it dwell in us. But there is help here for the journey. Pastor Kang's words and wisdom can guide you into a new relationship with the living Word, and the God it reveals.
30 short devotional readings that motivate you to memorize God's Wordspiritual practices interspersed throughout that teach you how to memorizespecific help for persevering when you feel stuck or overwhelmeda step-by-step approach that roots Scripture in your mind and heartThere is no substitute for God's Word and no shortcut to having it dwell in us. But there is help here for the journey. Pastor Kang's words and wisdom can guide you into a new relationship with the living Word, and the God it reveals.
167 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 8, 2010
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116 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 11, 2021
Many of Kang's arguments for memorizing Scripture could have just as easily been used as reasons for studying the Bible. He writes, for example, "Psalm 1 is the key that opens all the doors of wisdom. Understanding Psalm 1 leads to understanding all wisdom. When we memorize Psalm 1, we encounter heavenly delights." I would argue that you could enjoy the riches of that Psalm even if you never memorize it.
Still, there were some good nuggets:
"Each word of Scripture is a seed. Plant each word in your interior garden and you will bear much fruit."
"In order to have victory over temptation, we shouldn't just fight carnal thoughts; we should reinforce our spiritual thoughts by memorizing the Word of God."
"Memorization of Scripture is one way of taking charge of the contents of our conscious thoughts, and of the feeling, beliefs and actions that depend on them."
The book that is a bit clearer on why and how to memorize Scripture is Andrew Davis' An Approach to Extended Memorization of Scripture.
Still, there were some good nuggets:
"Each word of Scripture is a seed. Plant each word in your interior garden and you will bear much fruit."
"In order to have victory over temptation, we shouldn't just fight carnal thoughts; we should reinforce our spiritual thoughts by memorizing the Word of God."
"Memorization of Scripture is one way of taking charge of the contents of our conscious thoughts, and of the feeling, beliefs and actions that depend on them."
The book that is a bit clearer on why and how to memorize Scripture is Andrew Davis' An Approach to Extended Memorization of Scripture.
February 23, 2021
“That 3-hour meeting could have been an email.” There is so much repetition, pages and pages of unnecessary words. Just no.
October 25, 2011
I found this book while searching on Amazon for stuff by Dallas Willard. I was puzzled when that search brought up something by Joshua Choonmin Kang, who I'd never heard of, but then saw that Dr. Willard had written the forward. I have to say: what a helpful search feature for Amazon to have! It's not a jump to suppose that a buyer would be interested in books that their favorite authors approve of. And in this case, I was very interested indeed, because I've been trying for some time to make scripture memorization a bigger part of my life.
Upon receiving this book, I found that it's half instructional manual and half devotional: some of the chapters teach you how to memorize scripture and some of them inspire you with reasons to memorize. Most of them are a mix of the two, both encouraging and equipping you at the same time. Though I read most of this book on retreat, I think it's perfectly suited for a nightstand: it's the sort of book that will give you the push you need to keep going when you're halfway through the long slog of memorizing a chapter or a book of the Bible. Most of the chapters are only a few pages long, but densely packed with jewels like this:
"Memorized Scripture verses make it just that much easier for the Holy Spirit to communicate with us, to guide and instruct us."
"Please note, when the bible uses the word success, it refers to accomplishing something God has entrusted to us."
"Receiving the Word of God is tantamount to welcoming Jesus into our heart."
Pastor Kang's words have been immensely helpful to me in my quest to memorize scripture because he doesn't just urge you to do it, he tells you why you should, and his reasons are compelling. He says, "Love and learning have always been relative to each other." In other words, when we love someone, we want to know him. So, loving God implies that we will learn about him.
In the end though, it's that first quotation that seems to me to be the heart of the book: "Memorized Scripture verses make it just that much easier for the Holy Spirit to communicate with us". I want my mind to be shaped by God's words, so that when he has something to say to me, it will be easy for me to receive it. In the words of the old Arch Bible story book The Seeds that Grew to Be a Hundred:
Now, some people listen, but others don't.
So the meaning of the story is clear.
Don't be like ground where seeds can't grow.
Open your ears and hear.
This is the message of Pastor Kang's book: hide God's word in your heart and that word will shape your heart. It will shape it so that it is like Jesus'.
I highly recommend this book.
Upon receiving this book, I found that it's half instructional manual and half devotional: some of the chapters teach you how to memorize scripture and some of them inspire you with reasons to memorize. Most of them are a mix of the two, both encouraging and equipping you at the same time. Though I read most of this book on retreat, I think it's perfectly suited for a nightstand: it's the sort of book that will give you the push you need to keep going when you're halfway through the long slog of memorizing a chapter or a book of the Bible. Most of the chapters are only a few pages long, but densely packed with jewels like this:
"Memorized Scripture verses make it just that much easier for the Holy Spirit to communicate with us, to guide and instruct us."
"Please note, when the bible uses the word success, it refers to accomplishing something God has entrusted to us."
"Receiving the Word of God is tantamount to welcoming Jesus into our heart."
Pastor Kang's words have been immensely helpful to me in my quest to memorize scripture because he doesn't just urge you to do it, he tells you why you should, and his reasons are compelling. He says, "Love and learning have always been relative to each other." In other words, when we love someone, we want to know him. So, loving God implies that we will learn about him.
In the end though, it's that first quotation that seems to me to be the heart of the book: "Memorized Scripture verses make it just that much easier for the Holy Spirit to communicate with us". I want my mind to be shaped by God's words, so that when he has something to say to me, it will be easy for me to receive it. In the words of the old Arch Bible story book The Seeds that Grew to Be a Hundred:
Now, some people listen, but others don't.
So the meaning of the story is clear.
Don't be like ground where seeds can't grow.
Open your ears and hear.
This is the message of Pastor Kang's book: hide God's word in your heart and that word will shape your heart. It will shape it so that it is like Jesus'.
I highly recommend this book.
August 26, 2024
Reading this book was transforming for me. I had never enjoyed or even desired to memorize anything. Oh yes, I have memorized some common scripture verses that have been quoted much, think John 3:16. I can recite the 23rd Psalm and a few other well read and quoted passages. But now I have a whole arsenal of verses and passages committed to memory. But more importantly, I now take time to meditate on them. Even in the middle of the night when I cannot sleep, I recite encouraging scripture. It is so much better than recalling the evil I have gotten so upset with in the past. Then I fall asleep in peace with the rest that only comes from the well-being found in the Word richly embedded in my heart.
This book is set up to be read in short chapters, daily. I have found something new each day to help me spiritually. I will start over and read though it again in the days to come. It is that good. And I want to stop here and thank Nceba Mbangula for recommending this book!
Now the best I can do to give you a picture of the riches I found is to give you a series of quotes I pulled from reading from “Scripture By Heart”:
“Beyond believing in the Lord, a true disciple will come to know him. Beyond knowing him, each disciple will come to love him.”
“It must be remembered that digesting the Word is more important than ingesting it; food itself is of no use to us until it’s converted into energy. Digested food supplies the needs of the body through blood, and thud may be said to provide life itself. Memorizing the Word is like ingesting food, while meditating is digesting the food.”
“A person who has tasted the Word just once will have a lifelong craving. David developed a sweet tooth…”
“Values reveal the character of a person. They identify our treasures, our loves…
To discover our own values, all we have to do is ask a series of questions. What delighted us last week? What did we think about? What did we do? Who did we spend time with? What did we spend our money on?” (And for today I might add: What did we look at on the internet? What media did we watch?)
“Scripture…helps us examine the true focus of our hearts and enables us to see our true selves…Scripture helps putting greater value on the heavenly than the earthly, the eternal rather than the temporal, the invisible rather than the visible.”
“Many people think they don’t have a good memory, but this isn’t quite true. Many people simply aren’t interested in memorizing anything…The same is true of memorizing scripture. While many have a mild interest in doing so, few actually resolve to do it, no matter what the obstacles…When we are convinced of the necessity and consciously exert major effort, we can remember just about anything. We rehearse what we want to remember, and reflect on what we’ve memorized. Scripture memorization succeeds only to the degree we want to.”
Joshua Choonmin Kang in his devotional, “Scripture by Heart” gives insights on “Sharpening the Mind”
“We feel and act upon knowledge because our thoughts affect our feelings. The mind also influences the will because our choices depend on our knowledge…When I (the author) refer to the mind, therefore, I mean more than mere possession of knowledge. It includes a variety of powers. Consciousness. Vigilance. Concentration. Perception. Spiritual sensitivity. An excellent mind can see through the ‘window’ of the soul.”
Then the author gives his view on the transformation of the mind as expressed in Romans 12:2, follow his reasoning step-by-step:
1. Learning Scripture by heart develops perception to both mind and soul
2. Cultivation of the mind requires habitual training of the thought process
3. As our perceiving skills are developed, our mind increases in sensitivity so that all things are seen in new light and greater depth
4. A cultivated mind can see the universe in a falling leaf, an orchard in a seed, an ocean in a drop of water, eternity in a grain of sand
5. We cannot create our own world. And yet we can create our own worldview…When our minds are cultivated by the Word of God through Scripture memorization, we see the world that was created by God in the way that God sees it
6. …learning Scripture by heart expands our imagination while at the same time sharpening our capacity to think
“God poured his mind into the Word so that we might receive it in written form. We pour our mind over Scripture so that we might learn the mind of God.”
“Memorizing Scripture invites the blessings of peace into your heart. Anxiety, on the other hand, disinvites the peace of God. It divides the mind, it chokes the very life out if us, and it produces insecurity and fear. The Word of God in the heart, on the other hand, drives away this darkness and replaces it with peace.”
From Chapter 19: Dialogue Well:
1. “’It’s not enough to know what to say but it is also necessary to know how to say it.’ (Aristotle) The difference between right and wrong use of language is comparable to a soothing balm and an irritating rash.”
2. “…engage in a conversation with all possible courtesy toward the other person and his or her issues, whether you like them or not.”
3. “There is no conversation so agreeable as that of the man of integrity, who hears without any intention to betray, and speaks without any intention to deceive. Pretentious words will never move a human heart. Love expressed or implied in truthful words will move mountains.”
4. “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—‘tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”
5. —Mark Twain in Mark Twain’s Religion
6. “…the ultimate goal in an important one-on-one conversation is to relate to another human being at a deeper level than we have in the past. The exchange may be intellectual, but may take an emotional turn at any time.”
Asking questions is a good thing. Joshua Kang quotes Rudyard Kipling from his poem, “The Elephant’s Child,” to give a good perspective:
I keep six honest serving-men:
(They taught me all I know)
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who
“According to the principles laid out in Scripture, God’s people ought to succeed in life. Please note, when the Bible uses the word success, it refers to accomplishing something God has entrusted to us.
• David prayed that Solomon would be successful…
• Nehemiah too prayed for success as he rebuilt the broken walls of Jerusalem…
• Joseph is a wonderful example: ‘The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man’ (Genesis 39:2)
• The same is true for Joshua; ‘So the Lord was with Joshua; and his fame was in all the land’ (Joshua 6:27)”
“A faithful person doesn’t despair or give up in the face of failures. Instead, he or she presses on, refuses discouragement, completes the marathon; at the end comes the inevitable smile of victory. This is the secret behind all faithful people who attain their goal.”
“Living the truth deepens our knowledge of the truth, but only if we can remember it, and remembrance takes practice. According to some experts we remember approximately 20 percent of what we read, 30 percent of what we hear, 40 percent of what we see, 50 percent of what we say, 60 percent of what we do, and 90 percent of what we see, hear, say, and do. Yes, practice makes perfect.”
This book is set up to be read in short chapters, daily. I have found something new each day to help me spiritually. I will start over and read though it again in the days to come. It is that good. And I want to stop here and thank Nceba Mbangula for recommending this book!
Now the best I can do to give you a picture of the riches I found is to give you a series of quotes I pulled from reading from “Scripture By Heart”:
“Beyond believing in the Lord, a true disciple will come to know him. Beyond knowing him, each disciple will come to love him.”
“It must be remembered that digesting the Word is more important than ingesting it; food itself is of no use to us until it’s converted into energy. Digested food supplies the needs of the body through blood, and thud may be said to provide life itself. Memorizing the Word is like ingesting food, while meditating is digesting the food.”
“A person who has tasted the Word just once will have a lifelong craving. David developed a sweet tooth…”
“Values reveal the character of a person. They identify our treasures, our loves…
To discover our own values, all we have to do is ask a series of questions. What delighted us last week? What did we think about? What did we do? Who did we spend time with? What did we spend our money on?” (And for today I might add: What did we look at on the internet? What media did we watch?)
“Scripture…helps us examine the true focus of our hearts and enables us to see our true selves…Scripture helps putting greater value on the heavenly than the earthly, the eternal rather than the temporal, the invisible rather than the visible.”
“Many people think they don’t have a good memory, but this isn’t quite true. Many people simply aren’t interested in memorizing anything…The same is true of memorizing scripture. While many have a mild interest in doing so, few actually resolve to do it, no matter what the obstacles…When we are convinced of the necessity and consciously exert major effort, we can remember just about anything. We rehearse what we want to remember, and reflect on what we’ve memorized. Scripture memorization succeeds only to the degree we want to.”
Joshua Choonmin Kang in his devotional, “Scripture by Heart” gives insights on “Sharpening the Mind”
“We feel and act upon knowledge because our thoughts affect our feelings. The mind also influences the will because our choices depend on our knowledge…When I (the author) refer to the mind, therefore, I mean more than mere possession of knowledge. It includes a variety of powers. Consciousness. Vigilance. Concentration. Perception. Spiritual sensitivity. An excellent mind can see through the ‘window’ of the soul.”
Then the author gives his view on the transformation of the mind as expressed in Romans 12:2, follow his reasoning step-by-step:
1. Learning Scripture by heart develops perception to both mind and soul
2. Cultivation of the mind requires habitual training of the thought process
3. As our perceiving skills are developed, our mind increases in sensitivity so that all things are seen in new light and greater depth
4. A cultivated mind can see the universe in a falling leaf, an orchard in a seed, an ocean in a drop of water, eternity in a grain of sand
5. We cannot create our own world. And yet we can create our own worldview…When our minds are cultivated by the Word of God through Scripture memorization, we see the world that was created by God in the way that God sees it
6. …learning Scripture by heart expands our imagination while at the same time sharpening our capacity to think
“God poured his mind into the Word so that we might receive it in written form. We pour our mind over Scripture so that we might learn the mind of God.”
“Memorizing Scripture invites the blessings of peace into your heart. Anxiety, on the other hand, disinvites the peace of God. It divides the mind, it chokes the very life out if us, and it produces insecurity and fear. The Word of God in the heart, on the other hand, drives away this darkness and replaces it with peace.”
From Chapter 19: Dialogue Well:
1. “’It’s not enough to know what to say but it is also necessary to know how to say it.’ (Aristotle) The difference between right and wrong use of language is comparable to a soothing balm and an irritating rash.”
2. “…engage in a conversation with all possible courtesy toward the other person and his or her issues, whether you like them or not.”
3. “There is no conversation so agreeable as that of the man of integrity, who hears without any intention to betray, and speaks without any intention to deceive. Pretentious words will never move a human heart. Love expressed or implied in truthful words will move mountains.”
4. “The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—‘tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”
5. —Mark Twain in Mark Twain’s Religion
6. “…the ultimate goal in an important one-on-one conversation is to relate to another human being at a deeper level than we have in the past. The exchange may be intellectual, but may take an emotional turn at any time.”
Asking questions is a good thing. Joshua Kang quotes Rudyard Kipling from his poem, “The Elephant’s Child,” to give a good perspective:
I keep six honest serving-men:
(They taught me all I know)
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who
“According to the principles laid out in Scripture, God’s people ought to succeed in life. Please note, when the Bible uses the word success, it refers to accomplishing something God has entrusted to us.
• David prayed that Solomon would be successful…
• Nehemiah too prayed for success as he rebuilt the broken walls of Jerusalem…
• Joseph is a wonderful example: ‘The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man’ (Genesis 39:2)
• The same is true for Joshua; ‘So the Lord was with Joshua; and his fame was in all the land’ (Joshua 6:27)”
“A faithful person doesn’t despair or give up in the face of failures. Instead, he or she presses on, refuses discouragement, completes the marathon; at the end comes the inevitable smile of victory. This is the secret behind all faithful people who attain their goal.”
“Living the truth deepens our knowledge of the truth, but only if we can remember it, and remembrance takes practice. According to some experts we remember approximately 20 percent of what we read, 30 percent of what we hear, 40 percent of what we see, 50 percent of what we say, 60 percent of what we do, and 90 percent of what we see, hear, say, and do. Yes, practice makes perfect.”
October 11, 2018
This was the second book released by Kang and it, along with Robert J. Morgan's work on Scripture memorization, is my favorite on the topic. Kang gently leads the reader along first to let you know why Scripture memorization is important but then, to guide you in a system to help you write the Words of the Bible onto your heart.
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
Read
October 3, 2019Joshua Choonmin Kang presents a convincing devotional for memorizing scripture in Scripture by Heart. He strongly encourages the need to memorize the Bible presenting devotional readings interspersed with practices which help press home the importance of storing God’s word for daily nourishment. Kang’s teachings come from his own training and experiences and his additional personal anecdotes help reinforce his teachings.
Kang‘s short and powerful book is not a quick course on how to memorize scripture; it is instead, an inspiring instructional expounding upon the reasons for the daily renewal and transformation which come from intimately knowing God‘s word. Kang has the ability to present his insights in a friendly and convincing way, recognizing memorization is not easy, believing it is an ongoing process. Each short chapter begins with a selected scripture which introduces the chapter‘s topic. The book ends with an appendix of Kang‘s favorite passages for memorization. An inspiring resource, one which would be beneficial for individual and school instruction.
Kang‘s short and powerful book is not a quick course on how to memorize scripture; it is instead, an inspiring instructional expounding upon the reasons for the daily renewal and transformation which come from intimately knowing God‘s word. Kang has the ability to present his insights in a friendly and convincing way, recognizing memorization is not easy, believing it is an ongoing process. Each short chapter begins with a selected scripture which introduces the chapter‘s topic. The book ends with an appendix of Kang‘s favorite passages for memorization. An inspiring resource, one which would be beneficial for individual and school instruction.
May 8, 2011
What a fascinating pietistic devotional work. Part of me is appalled at the way he pulls Scripture apart, making it almost a consumer object to be taken like medicine. The rest of me is convicted by the call to discipline and to knowing God deeply through the word.
September 8, 2013
Inspiring and encouraging reasons to memorize scripture as well as excellent practical tips and guidelines as well
June 13, 2016
I can tell that Pastor Joshua practices what he is preaching. This book is full of revelation and love for the scriptures.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews