Every day, we will say something or do something that we know is wrong. As a result, we hurt others and ourselves. After performing that wrong action, we would wish that we had not done this or that. Worse still, we are almost certain to repeat such mistakes. The “I” in the letter to the Romans expresses our frustration: “For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing” (Rom 7:18-19). The consequences of sin is devastating: “For the wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). It destroys our relationship with God, and causes us to suffer the discipline of God. Sin brings misery. We grieve God, hurt ourselves and others.

But we thank God: “I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You” (Psa 119:11). The word of God, by the help of the Holy Spirit that lives in every Christian (Rom 8:1-4), enables a child of God to have victory over sin. Thank God for giving us this most precious treasure, the Bible—it can keep us away from sin. But for God’s Word to guard you against sin and its destructive effects, you must store, and store accuratedly inside your heart God’s Word.

The reasoning is obvious. If you put garbage inside a computer’s memory, it will produce garbage for you. Jesus puts it more clearly: “A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of” (Luke 6:43-45).

If you store God’s Word in your heart, how you speak and do things, and how you react to crises, will be guided and restrained by God’s holy Word. If, however, you do not store in your heart God’s Word, how will you respond to crises? You will respond according to what is in you: your old sinful nature. In other words, if God’s Word is not in you richly, you will definitely sin against God.

For that reason, you must not only read the Bible daily. You should also memorise God’s Word. It is critical for holy living. We thank God that we have completed several series of Scripture memory. In fact we have memorised each series twice. The church will not be going over them again. But I hope you will not as a result loose them. You will need to revise them regularly. Please do. It is my desire that you will become a larger and larger storehouse of scriptures.

Starting September, we will begin a new series of scripture memory. I urge you to make a new resolution, that you want to be a storehouse of Scripture. Set a resolution for yourself: I must increase my store of scriptures by ten every half yearly.

I feel that the church has been very kind as to make memory cards for you: we “pamper” you by printing and even packaging them for you. We will distribute these new memory cards in September. You can get them free. But please make good use of them: memorise and revise them.

May you store God’s holy and life giving Word in you, that you may live a life that is holy and that glorifies your Lord’s Name. You will be blessed. Work hard. Memorise and revise.