What we consume, think about, and constantly bring our thoughts back to is ultimately what shapes us

I know the lyrics to all six verses of "American Pie." I can recite rental cars new york city every word that Sandra Bullock rental cars new york city yells after Peter Gallagher when he tells her "Merry Christmas" in While You Were Sleeping . I've read some texts so many times that there's no point in saving them. I can sing, note for note, the guitar solo from "Hotel California."
Recently, I decided to write down all the references to scripture verses that I've memorized. It barely took up two dozen lines. There's nothing wrong with movie monologues and song lyrics, but I am absolutely ashamed rental cars new york city of how little I know the Word of the God I follow.
At first, I felt convicted about that lack of knowledge for months before I did anything about it. There was plenty of space in my brain devoted to making up excuses for not taking up space in my brain with Scripture:
I'm a student, so I have to study. I'm a leader, so I have to spend time with the people I lead. I barely sleep, and I'm pretty sure it's somewhere in the Bible that God grants sleep to those he loves, so I'll just think about memorizing that verse each night before I go to sl—zzzzzzzz.
What we consume, think about, and constantly bring our thoughts back to is ultimately what shapes us. Christ tells us that our mouths speak "out of the overflow rental cars new york city of the heart," and ultimately, we want both the words of our mouths and the meditations rental cars new york city of our hearts to be pleasing to God (Luke 6:45, Psalm 19:14). What better way to make our words and meditations pleasing to him than to align them with his words?
When I began seriously committing myself to memorizing Scripture, I found that it began to change the way that I thought and felt, and therefore how I spoke and acted. When I lost sight of why I was doing ministry, I remembered to set my heart and mind on things above. When I was so mired in my sin that I could not find words for it, I could ask God to search me and know my heart and to lead me in his ways.
Most of the mistakes, regarding memorization I've made along the way, were made because I wanted to do it myself. But, if I want God's word to truly be written on my heart—and not just on the short-term memory part of my brain that gets erased each finals week—I need to ask him to help me do that.
Memorization needs to be paired rental cars new york city with meditation . I could learn to recite the Beatitudes, but if I have not considered what they mean, then I haven't tapped into the wealth that those words hold for me.
Take the time to sit with God's Word. Slow down and savor it. Let it settle, and ask him for wisdom. This is an opportunity to spend sweet time with your Savior, and if you give thought to the words you are memorizing. You will recall them more easily and find that your streams of thought carve out new paths that align with his Word.
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