Steven, that's a very worthy desire you have towards God's Word. One can do no better than to store God's Word in one's heart. By it your spirit will be refreshed as you meditate on it wherever you find yourself, & by it God's Spirit can minister His Word when sin prods or difficulties arise. You may not always recall the Bible by chapter & verse, especially as age starts to diminish the memory, but hiding the Word in your heart will bring to mind the needed verse. Psalm 119:11.
The only way I know to memorize Scriptures is to select one & repeat it over again until you absorb it. Then continue to recall it over the succeeding days. Which Scriptures to memorize? Start with those that are most meaningful to you as you read the Bible. I think most of us started off with John 3:16, but in time you can begin to memorize more of that chapter. Then each day pick a new verse or verses to memorize.
To understand Scripture, you are wholly cast upon God's Spirit to reveal not only the meaning of the verse, but to apply it to your understanding & life. Of course, there will always be Bible portions that are hard to understand. Firstly, one must know the setting, the people, the era, God's Covenant & His requirements, even the history of the land to properly understand why verses are written the way they are. There are Bible encyclopedias, on Jewish history, even the Web that can provide you valuable information. You will learn over time which web sites consistently provide proper truthful information. Other helps are, Dictionaries, Concordances, Commentaries, Lexicons, Interlinear Bibles, Atlases/maps, & a good Study Bible is very useful as they often have some of the above helps in a condensed format. For sake of space, I can't give more descriptions of the above Bible Tools. I use a Ryrie Study Bible, but there are many great ones available. Visiting a Christian bookshop & discussing your needs with the staff there will certainly bring a good result. Every blessing.
The only way I know to memorize Scriptures is to select one & repeat it over again until you absorb it. Then continue to recall it over the succeeding days. Which Scriptures to memorize? Start with those that are most meaningful to you as you read the Bible. I think most of us started off with John 3:16, but in time you can begin to memorize more of that chapter. Then each day pick a new verse or verses to memorize.
To understand Scripture, you are wholly cast upon God's Spirit to reveal not only the meaning of the verse, but to apply it to your understanding & life. Of course, there will always be Bible portions that are hard to understand. Firstly, one must know the setting, the people, the era, God's Covenant & His requirements, even the history of the land to properly understand why verses are written the way they are. There are Bible encyclopedias, on Jewish history, even the Web that can provide you valuable information. You will learn over time which web sites consistently provide proper truthful information. Other helps are, Dictionaries, Concordances, Commentaries, Lexicons, Interlinear Bibles, Atlases/maps, & a good Study Bible is very useful as they often have some of the above helps in a condensed format. For sake of space, I can't give more descriptions of the above Bible Tools. I use a Ryrie Study Bible, but there are many great ones available. Visiting a Christian bookshop & discussing your needs with the staff there will certainly bring a good result. Every blessing.
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