Join Me In My New Project!

By Tim Gamble

All my links: https://linktr.ee/timgamble

I do what I do in large part because of my beliefs. I want to live my life to please my God, and care little about pleasing the World. I am in no way perfect at it, but that the goal I am striving towards. To me, spiritual preparedness is as important as physical preparedness.

My new project for spiritual preparedness is to get serious about memorizing Scripture. I will pick a few verses each week to memorize. Please join me, if you feel so inclined. I'll post my picks for memorization each week.

A note on translations: Please feel free to use your favorite translation. The Bible wasn't originally written in English, of course. There are hundreds of translations available. Many are dreadful. There is no prefect translation. But there are good translations: The King James Version (KJV) is probably the gold standard of accurate translations, but it is an archaic style of English which many people find off-putting and difficult. The New King James Version (NKJV) is almost as good, and is written in a more familiar modern English. The Scriptures is an excellent new literal translation which restores many original names (examples: YHWH = the Lord; Elohim = God; Yeshua = Jesus; Mosheh = Moses), which some folks might find confusing. Those three are my favorites. 

How to memorize scripture: As with all things, prayerfully. Ask for His help. Then use whatever method works best for you. I make flashcards, which I read through several times a day. 

Verses for Week One

Deuteronomy 6:4-5:  Hear, O Israel: YHWH our Elohim, YHWH is one! You shall love YHWH your Elohim with all your heart, with all your being, and with all your might.

John 10:30: “I and My Father are one.” (Jesus speaking)

Matthew 22:36-40:  “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” He [Jesus] said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” – 

Deuteronomy 6:5:  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 

Leviticus 19:18: You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. 

Proverbs 22:3: A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.

[Edit 11-15-2023:  Yes. Deut. 6:5 is on this lest twice, in two different versions. This is intentional. Deut. 6:4,5 is a prayer known as the Shema, an d is considered one of the holiest prayers of the Old Testament. I want to memorize this as a prayer, and have chosen the version from The Scriptures translation.

Duet. 6:5 is also quoted by Jesus in Matthew 22:36-40. I want to memorize Duet. 6:5 as a supporting verse for Matthew 22:36:40. I choose to memorize it in the NKJV because that is the same version as Matthew 22:36-40 in this list.]

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Two of my favorite and most often used Bibles: 

The NKJV, American Patriot's Bible, The Word of God and the Shaping of America - One of my favorites, the New King James Version is literal, accurate, and easy-to-read for most modern folks. The American Patriot's Bible "shows how the history of the United States connects the people and events of the Bible to our lives in a modern world. The story of the United States is wonderfully woven into the teachings of the Bible." Lot's of articles and study notes showing the importance of God and the Bible to our nation's founding and subsequent history. Available on Amazon. 

The Scriptures - This new English translation includes Genesis through Revelation, and restores the Name of our Creator to the text in each place it occurs. This new version in English is a literal translation by Institute for Scripture Research, overseen by Dr. Chris Koster. New in this 2009 edition: Improvements to the text - seeking a yet closer equivalent to the literal meaning of the original language. Quotations / Allusions from the Old Testament are in bold type in the New Testament, and are accompanied by the text references - aiding your understanding of the original contexts, and how they influence the writers drawing upon them.  Available on Amazon.