Treasure In Our Hearts

With a treasure map and four boys in this house you might thing this post is going to be about pirates. Normally you'd be dead on accurate. Not today though. Today I'm thinking about God's Word.

This week in Her Hands we are learning about the value of scripture.

Proverbs 2:1-6 (Amplified Version)
MY SON, if you will receive my words and treasure up my commandments within you, Making your ear attentive to skillful and godly Wisdom and inclining and directing your heart and mind to understanding [applying all your powers to the quest for it]; Yes, if you cry out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, If you seek [Wisdom] as for silver and search for skillful and godly Wisdom as for hidden treasures, Then you will understand the reverent and worshipful fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of [our omniscient] God. For the Lord gives skillful and godly Wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Quest

Treasure

Those are words God uses to describe the wisdom found in His Word.

All of us involved in the study this semester are asking ourselves a hard question this week...

"What am I pursuing in life? What am I on a quest for?"

God desires for us to pursue wisdom. In other verses God says that growing in wisdom should be seen as a principal goal in our lives.

God also is clear...we can't grow in wisdom apart from loving, cherishing and treasuring His Word.

I'm so proud of many of the college women in our class and in our church. They have signed up for the 5 a.m. club on the Girl Talk Blog. These girls are committing to get up bright and early to spend time with the Lord praying and studying His Word.

Only good can come of growing in this discipline for these precious college women!

The Lord has blessed me with the discipline to get up every morning and read His Word. Believe me, this is not a me thing. I love sleep, and God had a lot of work to do in my soul about giving it up to meet with Him. However, I confessed to Cameron yesterday (a girl in my life group that I have the pleasure of getting to know better and better) that I totally stink it up in the area of scripture memorization.

My kids know way more scripture than I do.

While getting ready for class this week I found some great articles from John Piper about the value and importance of scripture memorization. Here are my favorite parts:

Scripture Memorization Gives us Daily Triumph Over Sin

“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. . . . I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:9, 11). Paul said that we must “by the Spirit . . . put to death the [sinful] deeds of the body” (Romans 8:13). The one piece of armor used to kill is the “sword of the Spirit” which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:17). As sin lures the body into sinful action, we call to mind a Christ-revealing word of Scripture and slay the temptation with the superior worth and beauty of Christ over what sin offers. "

Another great nugget about scripture memorization...Piper asks this question:

"If I offered you $1,000 for every verse you memorized in the next week, how many do you think you could memorize? Yet God says of his word in Psalm 19:10-11, "They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Thy servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward." The real value of the word is far greater than $1,000 a verse. The question is, Do you believe this? Believing this will be the crucial motivation you need."

Hot dang John Piper. That's some good stuff. (No one tell John Piper I said, "Hot Dang.")

You better believe I would be a memorizing fool if someone offered me $1000 for every verse I memorized. Shoot...I'd be a memorizing fool if I only got paid $50 a verse. If money was involved at all suddenly I would not be able to come up with any excuses for not hiding God's Word in my heart. And yet...God's Word is way more valuable than money.

I firmly believe that our lack of scripture memorization and our lack of discipline in reading the Bible always comes back to a faith issue. We don't need guilt. We don't need condemnation. We need our faith to be grown. Good thing we can ask God to increase our faith (Luke 17:5).

Do we believe that God's Word is the only hope for wisdom?

Do we believe that God's Word is where we encounter our Savior, and learn who God is and how He thinks?

Do we believe that God's Word is useful for teaching us and training us, equipping us for every good work?

Do we believe that there is power in the the written Word of God (Hebrews 4:12)?

Do we believe that it is by wisdom a house is built (Proverbs 24:3) and that foolish women destroy their homes with their own hands (Proverbs 14:1)?

Do we desire to be women who speaks with wisdom, who have faithful instruction on our tongues (Proverbs 31:26)?

Do we believe that God's Word is a gift to us so that all of God's best can be brought about in our lives?

Do we believe that becoming like Jesus is only possible as we behold Him, set our eyes on Him and grow in our understanding of who He is?

If we don't believe those things and desire them, then we won't read the Bible, and we won't hide God's Word in our heart.

Great articles from John Piper:

Thy Word I Have Treasured In My Heart

Why Memorize Scripture?

Great article from an older mom to a younger mom:

Help! Mommydom leaves me no time for God!

Piper mentioned in one of his articles that their church participated in a challenge where they memorized 52 verses (one per week for the year).

They call them "fighter verses." I think they just mean these are great ones to memorize and meditate upon throughout our day....good for fighting sin and reminding us of truths found in scripture.

Last night Cameron found the verses Piper's church used in their year long quest for scripture memorization. Here's a link to the verses if God is tugging at your soul to hide more of His Word in your heart.

Fighter Verses

I want to be on a quest for God-inspired wisdom and knowledge, pursuing it as the principal thing in my life. I also want God to give me a hunger to hide his Word in my heart and mind.

I also want to be found faithfully encouraging and spurring on the women around me to do the same.

Consider yourself encouraged and spurred on today!