The Memorization Study Bible

Filled with helpful tips of how to keep scripture on the tip of your tongue. Vital in this time when so much of the world goes against Gods word. I knew I wanted to get better/more effective at memorizing scripture for myself and to teach my now school age children. Happy I purchased this book and I'm sure I will look back at it many times in the future.

When my kids were younger, we memorized Scripture using songs. But after they outgrew cute songs, I never implemented a systematic approach to memorizing Scripture. Until now. My kids have been challenged by their youth pastor this year to memorize, and they've challenged me to memorize along with them. So we're using The Memorization Bible. Committing to a proven method is really helping.

I debated whether or not to purchase this, but grateful I did. I have not utilized it much yet, but it has helped with the couple verses I have wanted to memorize since receiving this Bible (and I struggle with memorization). Great tool to add to Bible study time.

I hesitated to buy this Bible. We have Bibles and I didn't know if I could justify purchasing another one...but I am glad I did. I am applying the techniques to our used version of HIs word.

I have been memorizing Bible verses since I was a toddler. Typically, I would just read and say the verse over and over. Sometimes they stuck and sometimes they didn't. I never came across this method before. I really appreciate the thought and experience represented in this resource. I won a copy in a giveaway and was really surprised that there is a relatively simple, formulaic method to memorization. The author's suggestions are easy to follow and replicate. I plan to apply the method learned to the NASB version, which is what we use in our home and church for Bible study.

REVIEW: The Memorization Study Bible

There is no denying the importance of Scripture memorization for Spiritual health, wellness and growth of the individual. But greater still is the richness of Scriptures when it is not only committed to heart but spoken daily in conversation, in meditation. Master Books has published a new study Bible with the intention of making memorization easier for the individual. When I was given the opportunity to review this Bible I jumped at the chance. I am always looking for new ways to introduce Scripture memorization to my children and myself and to incorporate it into our daily home school work. I have to begin this review by stressing that memorization is absolutely important - Scripture is like water to a thirsty soul, it is comfort when we are in turmoil, it is an anchor when the world turns upside down or the storms of life rage. Scripture is the lighthouse in the darkest night, it guides us in the valley of shadows, it covers us when the enemy attacks, it is a stronghold and a shield. But too often it is relegated to reading alone, and at the most quiet internal memorization. But God intended for more. He intended that Scripture be conversational. I loved the fact that in Appendix A this was addressed when the author stated that "God did not write to Moses; He spoke to him." There is such unequivocal power in the spoken word. In fact Scripture admonishes that there is the power of life and death in the tongue. So, if the spoken word is powerful how much more powerful the spoken WORD is (the Word of God). The author goes on to state "the sense of the spoken word as divine power is especially vivid in the foundational accounts of diverse peoples, ancient and modern, in all parts of the world". The Word, the spoken Word of God. Rhema is the Greek word meaning "God's spoken Word". We named our 7th daughter Rhema as a reminder of God's spoken Word and the power of it. We pray that she will embrace the Word and speak the Word and by doing so impact the world with the love of God through his Word. But then, this is our prayer for each of our children. We wish for them to speak the Word in everyday situations, in everyday conversations, as natural as other forms of speech. In the end it is well pointed out by the author that "putting words down permanently in writing places them outside the heart, while the seat of emotions is in the heart. The greater part of ancient literature was intended for the ears more than the eyes". These thoughts are echoed in Romans 10:17 when it is written that "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God". On any given morning you will hear over the spray of the shower my husband reciting scripture to himself as he gets ready. Later you will hear the recitation of Scripture through out the house. At night we gather to read through the Bible and study the Scripture. My husband told someone that the person who needs to hear the Scripture most is his own ears so he reads it aloud when he is studying, he writes it out and reads it again. This practice has led to him memorizing whole passages of Scripture by the time he preaches each Sunday. One person once asked how he could preach without notes his reply, "I spend time reading and writing the Scripture and I listen closely to the Lord". This Bible is amazing. It offers a unique tool to aid in memorization. I have really enjoyed reading it and studying it. For the purpose of this review I printed out a portion of the Bible - this is because I am better with a book in hand. I loved the fact that there was room in the margin to journal as I love to do artwork and doodles as I read and study. I began in the book of 2 Peter as we are going through this book at church. The Bible is layed out in a way that makes it easy to memorize by smaller parts, each line has the number of words out to the side. For me the layout made it easy to put the verse to a rhythm, to see words (especially repeating) and to see breaks in the text. For instance in the first chapter of 2 Peter almost each line begins with "and". In addition to the unique layout there are little boxes with highlighted Scriptures. In the appendices there are short Scriptures, Popular chapters, Important New Testament verses to help jumpstart the memorization. If you are looking for an encouraging way to learn Scripture this is it. Instead of selected verses this is set up for entire chapters or the entire Bible. I like that the reader can decide what to memorize and in what order; unlike other memorization tools that select certain verses and chapters or books. I highly recommend this resource for every home. I will be purchasing it for Graduation gifts and Christmas gifts. I do wish it were offered in another translation as well as the KJV. I have done most of the Psalms and Proverbs in KJV because it is lyrical, however for the purpose of a New Testament I usually prefer the ESV or a more modern translation. I think that some words that are archaic or out of use in the KJV sometimes hinder the new believer who is unfamiliar with the words. However, I still stand by the fact that God's Word is living and powerful and no matter the translation the Holy Spirit still moves and the Word never returns without results. For more great products visit www.masterbooks.com

*This review was originally posted, with pictures, on my blog at martinwvickers.wordpress.com

I love various study Bibles. I also love memorizing the word and looking at different techniques and methods people use. When I found out that fellow Wordsower Tom Meyer was releasing a Bible that could help guide people through methods on memorizing God’s word, I was excited for an opportunity to review it.

Tom Meyer is a great person to put together a "Memorization Study Bible," as he has personally memorized over 20 books of the Bible. He has also studied memorization techniques used over Jewish and Christian history.

Meyer establishes his techniques on what he calls the “three pillars of memorization”: Seeing the text in 8 words or less, reading out loud/hearing, and writing the text down. He has explained that one can use any or all of those pillars, though he personally uses all three as he commits Scripture to memory.

"The Memorization Study Bible" is a (King James Version) KJV New Testament, but it has a unique layout, which I will discuss later in the review.

There are notes from the author before the Bible text. These notes include the following (all information in parentheses is mine): Memorization Matters (quotes from other Christians about memorization); a Quick Start guide; Timely Tips; A Word of Encouragement; The Memorization Method; Why It Can Make a Difference; The Process (a breakdown of how the Memorization Study Bible is set up); and Simple Science of Memorization — You Can Do This! This initial section is very encouraging to read and builds the memorizer’s confidence.

The books of the Bible are next, followed by 7 appendices (all information in parentheses is mine): Seven Short Scriptures (to memorize); Sin to Salvation in Ten Verses; Popular New Testament Chapters (to consider memorizing); Important New Testament Verses; Historical Development of Bible Memorization; Techniques Used to Memorize in Judaism; Techniques Used to Memorize in Christianity.

Each book of the Bible has an introduction that includes a breakdown of how many chapters and verses are in the book, some basic background to the book, specific aspects of how the book contributes to our understanding of the Bible, and a few quotes from others (such as commentaries) about the book.

The key difference between this Bible and others is its layout. This Bible is double columned (like most Bibles, although some are single-column Bible now). Most Bibles, however, either have a verse-by-verse format (each verse is its own paragraph) or a paragraphed layout. This Bible, in keeping with the author’s goals, breaks verses down into lines of 8 or fewer words. Each new line attempts to begin with a preposition or conjunction. Numbers mentioned in the Bible stand alone as their own line. The goal is to present the Scripture in more memorable lines, lines short enough that the eye can take them in quickly and the mind can retain them.

These lines are what Tom Meyer encourages people to focus on when memorizing; one small bit at a time. He encourages memorizers to read the line, copy it by hand, and say it out loud repeatedly until they have it, then move on to the next line.

I think "The Memorization Study Bible" is a great tool to help people memorize Scriptures. It will be especially useful to those who read the King James Version of the Bible. Those who use another translation, however, have a few options if they would like this Bible: They can memorize the KJV, even though they do not read that version; they can use this Bible for the intro, book information, and appendices only; or they can use the ideas in this Bible to try to divide up the version they prefer so they can apply these ideas in order to memorize it. I have not personally tried dividing up another version this way, but it seems like it would work as long as you keep the number rule in mind and try to find prepositions or conjunctions to use to divide the verses up.

"The Memorization Study Bible" retails for $19.99, and I think it is definitely worth the price. I, for one, am glad to have another tool to recommend to other believers when they ask me for tips on committing more Scripture to memory. If you want to be encouraged to memorize more and if you are looking for some techniques that have been tried and successfully used, look no further than this Bible!

*Note: I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called: Mercy unto you, and peace, and love be multiplied. Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained, to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ.

The scripture text above is from the book of Jude, verses one through four. I started working to memorize these verses nine days before I wrote this blog. I spent about 10-15 minutes in the morning with the goal of memorizing a verse by the third morning. By Monday morning, which was one week later from when I started, I was able to memorize the four verses above. That was not utilizing Saturday or Sunday either. So in five days, I memorized 4 verses and on the 6th day I started memorizing the fifth verse of the book of Jude. This is significant for me since by the grace of God I was able to memorize the scriptures faster than I had planned (instead of one verse in three days, I was able to memorize 4 verses in 5 days essentially memorizing one verse each day). The book of Jude is only one chapter and twenty-five verses, so essentially I have memorized twenty percent of the book of Jude in just five to six days (including verse five that I am working on now).

Scripture memorization has always been a challenge for me. I have memorized random scriptures throughout the years and I have even memorized some verses with my children regarding the armor of God (Ephesians 6)  and the love of God (I Corinthians 13), but those were memorized over long periods of time with hand motions (which is another way to memorize as well). I also have memorized 26 scriptures for every letter of the alphabet with my children years ago by simply repeating them over and over for about a year. However I have never tried memorizing scripture via the method this book, The Memorization Bible, by Thomas Meyer, outlines.

There are three pillars the author utilizes to help one memorize the scriptures (New Testament, King James Version).

1. The first pillar is seeing the scripture in 8 words or less. As the author describes, "Our short-term memory, also called our working memory, can only remember around seven things at a time.In psychology, it is known as The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two. My memorization technique’s limit of 8 words per line of verse falls within that formula." 

2. The second pillar is reading out loud or hearing. The objective is to "leverage your sight and sound in making a lasting memory. Retaining words better by saying them aloud has been called the production effect by researchers.

3. The third pillar is writing the text down. The instructions are to write the verse over and over while speaking it out loud until it is memorized. The claim is by seeing, hearing and writing the scriptures in this way, the brain will memorize it more thoroughly.

I followed exactly what the author said to do except for one pillar: writing. In an effort to save paper and for convenience, I typed the scripture in a word processor instead of writing them. So far it seems to be working even though I am typing. Perhaps if I decide to write I will learn better or faster, but for now I will continue to type primarily for convenience and also to save on paper.

The book provides quick tips on how to memorize, provides engaging appendices for further study on memorizing the Bible, provides quick references to key scriptures to memorize, a one page summary for each chapter of the New Testament with interesting facts about the book and overall the book is uniquely laid out (for the purposes of memorization which the book explains).

I believe this Bible is a great resource to have in your home library. So far I have had a very positive experience with this Bible and I am thankful for the opportunity to learn a new way to implant the Word of God into my heart and mind so I can more readily glorify Him with the life He has granted me!

Let me start by saying, I have an absolutely terrible memory. Terrible. One thing that I have always wanted to do is memorize scripture. But, for someone who frequently forgets why she walked into a room...memorizing scripture has never been something that came very easy for me. The Memorization Bible has a fairly simple method, a plan that makes it less overwhelming to begin to memorize scripture. Verse by verse. The whole bible is designed in a way to aid better memorization. Memorization is still a lot of work, but for me, using the methods in this memorization Bible, I am actually retaining the verses and memorizing them much faster than in the past. My 8-year-old daughter is also using the Bible and is memorizing scripture, as well. This is a fantastic resource for anyone wanting to memorize scripture.
"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Psalms 119:105

Lately it’s been on my heart to begin memorizing full chapters of Scripture, so I jumped at the opportunity to review this new Memorization Study Bible. My translation preference is not the KJV, so I debated about whether to consider this Bible. If you love the KJV I highly recommend this! If, like me, you have another favorite translation, this may not be much help. Although, I have to say, I’m so impressed with this Bible, I may decide to memorize from the KJV for the New Testament.

Memorization is still a lot of work, even with a special Bible! The author (who has memorized 20+ full books of the Bible without having a photographic memory!) suggests repetition in speaking and writing one verse at a time, while isolating it on the page. What makes this Bible unique is its special format. Words are specifically aligned on the page in a way that aids the memory process, and numbers are used to specify how many words per each line. This arrangement would be difficult to self-replicate with another version of the Bible unless you understood the pattern and had extra energy toward custom formatting.

I also appreciate that popular Scriptures are highlighted throughout, and enjoyed reading the appendices, which includes lists of short memory verses, sin to salvation verses, significant verses, popular NT chapters, memorizing techniques in Judaism and Christianity, and (my favorite) a fascinating summary of the historical development of Bible memorization, depicting the practices of many believers and scholars throughout history who memorized large portions of Scriptures.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Master Books.