Today in my Scripture reading, I read Colossians 3:1-17 and realized immediately that I needed to memorize these verses. They are powerful, and convicting, and hopeful. I want to know them deep in my soul. As I read these verses aloud several times, these are the phrases that I circled or underlined with my pencil, the ones that jumped off the page or cut me just a little:

“Think about the things of heaven…” (v. 2)

“[Y]our real life is hidden with Christ in God.” (v. 3)

“lurking within you…” (v. 5)

“Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.” (v. 10)

“he lives in all of us.” (v. 11)

“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you.” (v. 13)

“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.” (v. 15)

“And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.” (v. 17)

I’ll need to take in this Scripture in chunks. Here’s how I’ll do it with the first four verses and then will follow the same pattern for the remaining 13 verses:

I’m reading verses 1-4 aloud three times today and tomorrow. Reading Scripture aloud helps me take it in and not skip over any words. It helps me identify which words trip me up and allows me to hear what words I naturally stress based on the sentence structure. One of the times I read it aloud, I will personalize it (“Since I have been raised to new life with Christ, set my sights on the realities of heaven…”) to feel its import on my life.

I’m asking questions. Each sentence in these verses is full of meaning and there are several phrases that I don’t necessarily understand. For example, the first sentence includes, “the realities of heaven,” and the second sentence refers to “the things of heaven.” To set my eyes and thoughts on these “things” I need to understand what they are. So, I’m turning back to Jesus’ words about what the “kingdom of heaven” is like, looking through Scripture for other references to “heaven,” and reading some commentaries to see what others have said.

I’m praying. I am asking God to show me what he wants me to understand about him from this passage and how I can apply it on a daily basis as I walk in the world.

I’m writing down each verse on one of my memory cards. I carry around these colorful cards on a ring and write down Scripture I want to know or memorize. I’ll start with the first four verses, one sentence per card. I will read through them as I notice them throughout my day and practice repeating them by memory.

What does your week look like?

Is there a particular passage of Scripture you could memorize this week? How will you do it?