“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom and as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.’ (Colossians 3:16)
Memorising Scripture was encouraged in past generations. Today this has slipped from our focus. There may be many reasons for this. One may be that we have such immediate access to our phones that it hardly seems necessary. Another might be that there are now so many different translations, perhaps over 70, that it may seem pointless to remember one version when different people use others
The truth is that we are all very much the poorer for our ignorance of Scripture. Here are couple of ways you might use your phones to address this:
a) Through music –
The musician Ian White some years ago undertook a project of committing the Psalms in NIV version into songs. The result is great music, beautifully and clearly sung which sticks close to the text.
It is a wonderful way to listen to the Psalms and perhaps redeem the time in a car journey by absorbing them!
There are six volumes that are available on most streaming music platforms (Apple Music or Spotify) or in two downloads, which you can buy.
b) Through a daily verse of Scripture
With an appropriate app a different verse of Scripture may be displayed on your phone every time you use it, giving you an opportunity to pause and to memorise it.
Here is how to download the app, find the right ‘widget’ and adjust your screen
Here is how to download the app, find the right ‘widget’ and adjust your screen:
First Download the YouVersion app.
On iOS (iPhone/iPad):
Open the app and download your preferred Bible translation so you can access it offline. You do this by pressing the Bible icon at the foot of the page and then the version option at the top right. A list of available translations will give you the option to download the version or versions of your choice.
On your Home Screen, move the cursor to a blank area, press and hold. Once the apps start to ‘jiggle’, press the ‘+’ sign at the top left of the screen. This will bring up a widgets screen. Scroll down till you get to the Bible App option. You will have several options that you could choose by sliding right. Select one and press the ‘Add widget’ button at the bottom of the screen. This will add the widget to your home screen. You might want to try the others till you find the one you are happy with.
On Android:
Open the app and download your preferred Bible translation so that you can access it offline. You do this by pressing the Bible icon at the foot of the page and then the version option at the top right. A list of available translations will give you the option to download the version or versions of your choice.
NB it may be necessary to slide the verse across to your ‘Home Screen’, as often the widget displays on a separate screen.
Hearing the word 