Whether you think you can, or whether you think you cannot, either way you are right

Whether you think you can, or whether you can’t you can’t, either way you are right.[1]

If you think you can change bad habits, you can change bad habits.

If you think you can have a consistent daily Quiet Time, you can have a consistent daily Quiet Time.

If you believe you can worry less than you do, you can worry less than you do.

Napoleon Hill  said, “Whatever the mind of man can believe, it can achieve.”

Jesus said, “It will be done for you according to your faith.” (Matthew 9.29)

Faith is not the only thing that causes the change. There is more to it than belief. We are transformed by the renewing of our mind. We are transformed in community. We transformed by worship; we become what we behold. There is more to transformation than faith. There is more, but never less. You will never be transformed any more than you think you will be transformed.

So, try really hard to believe.

I mean that last sentence tongue-in-cheek. You can’t try really hard to believe. You can’t strengthen your faith by trying hard to believe something you really don’t think is true. Faith comes by hearing. (Romans 10.17)

Faith comes by hearing

Faith comes through exposure to the Word of God.

Faith grows as we memorize God’s Word.

Faith grows as we read God’s Word.

Faith grows as we meditate on God’s Word.

Faith grows as we hear God’s Word.

The greatest of these is memorizing God’s Word.

There is an app for that

I am a little bit addicted to the Scripture Typer app. https://scripturetyper.com/

It is a based on sound educational theory:

• Memories are created when you struggle to remember. Just as muscles grow when you try to lift heavy weights, so memories grow when you put yourself in a situation where you struggle to recall.
• Memories are created through repeated and variegated exposure. By seeing, hearing, struggling, recalling, waiting a few days, and doing the whole process again, we memorize.

Scripture Typer is cross-platform. You can use it on your PC or mac. You can use it on your IPhone or IPad. You can use it on your android. You can use in on your Kindle Fire.

You start by typing the verse while looking at it. The browser version has you type the whole thing. The app version has you type the first letter of each word.

Once you have this down, you move to the second level. Now you can see every other word. By seeing every other word, you are forced to struggle a bit. It is in the struggling that memories are made.

Once you have it down, you type the whole thing without being able to see the verse. If you get it right, it goes into the review pile.

Tomorrow it will come up for review, and again the next day. If you get it right a few days in a row, ScriptureTyper will spread the reviews to every other day, then every third day and so forth. If you feel you need more review, you can reset it to review every day.

You can also record the verses you are working on and listen to them as you drive or exercise. I do this when I walk.

How well does it work? I started about 2 months ago and I now have 430 verses “current.” (“Current is Scripture \Typer lingo for being up to date on your review.) Now, these verse are a long way from having down cold. But, I am working on them and I am where I should be with them.

Of course, the real point is not to say that you can quote so many verses. The point is to use Scripture Memory as a means to meditation. The real point is to be transformed by the renewing of you mind. The real point is to strengthen you faith by hearing, learning, and meditating on God’s Word.

If you are not in the habit of Scripture Memory, I highly recommend ScriptureTyper as an aid to Scripture Memory. It is the best thing that has happened to me spiritually in a long, long time.