I agree that memoring Scripture is so important. But also meditating on those verses.
”1 How blessed is the one who does not follow the advice of the wicked,
or stand in the pathway with sinners,
or sit in the assembly of scoffers!
2 Instead he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands;
he meditates on his commands day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by flowing streams;
it yields its fruit at the proper time,
and its leaves never fall off.
He succeeds in everything he attempts.” Psalm 1:1-3[FONT="]
How do you meditate? Well, after you have memorized a verse, sit in a quiet place, and prepare your heart before God. Then, prayerfully recite the verse. (Not as the pagans do!). Ask God to guide and lead you. Ask him to heal you of your fears about losing your salvation. And this is not eastern meditation, where you empty yourself of everything. (This is Christian meditation, where you fill your heart and mind with God’s Word, and therefore, allow God to take over your life. You let God FILL you with more of Him, rather than emptying yourself!)
At one point in my life, I started with simple verses like
“[/FONT]My peace I leave you.”[FONT="] This is part of a whole verse.
“[/FONT][FONT="][/FONT]Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; I do not give it to you as the world does. Do not let your hearts be distressed or lacking in courage.” John 14:7
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You can do a word, part of a verse, the whole verse, or add other contextual verses. For me, beginning I just wanted a few words. I became more peaceful, as I realized that God has not lied. He has given me peace.
Then I went onto other verses. The following verses I mediated on for 2 solid years, first thing in the morning. Sometimes, for weeks, I would stop on one word. “Trust” took me a long time. I realized that although I had paid lip service to God for many years about trusting him, in fact, deep in my heart, I was protecting myself, putting my own thoughts and understandings first. Certainly not trusting him with all my heart!
”[/FONT]Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding
In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Prov. 3:5-6[FONT="]
Or, the last part, in more modern English “and he will direct your paths.” After I studied Hebrew, I translated these verses to better understand the various translations, In the end, I switched to the more formal version, which I could do because I understood the more modern version. After 2 years, I totally trusted in God. And 10 years later, God still brings these verses to mind, and reminds me to trust him, especially in the fire and the flood.
[/FONT]“43 Now, this is what the Lord says,
the one who created you, O Jacob,
and formed you, O Israel:
“Don’t be afraid, for I will protect you.
I call you by name, you are mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I am with you;
when you pass through the streams, they will not overwhelm you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned;
the flames will not harm you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your deliverer.” Isa. 43:1-3a[FONT="]
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Now of course, God is talking to Israel, but I think it can be applied to us as individual believers. Because, in Isaiah’s time, Israel WAS God’s people. (And if someone wants to argue the point, start another thread. I get the context! No lecture required!)
And also, memorize some key verses like this one:
”[/FONT]For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil 1:6[FONT="]
When I was going to Arminian churches, who believe you can lose your salvation through your works (not doing things, or sinning!), God gave me this Scripture, told me to memorize it. It gave me incredible hope, that God was working on me, and someday, when he returns, he will perfect me. But please note, no one told me about which verses to memorize. I was diligently reading my Bible daily, 3 chapters of the OT, and 1 of the NT. And God just kept showing me verses. (Yes, I know, context with Phil. 1:6! My point is God showed me what he wanted me to know, long before I understood theology, hermeneutics, etc! He gave me verses from his Word that I need to know.) So, if you are not reading the Bible daily, this is an important habit you need to cultivate and follow it the rest of your life. Not as a work, but to know God and his revealed written Word, better!
Finally, find a church that is loving, that believes in eternal security. My husband only knew the Arminian view, that he could lose his salvation. I don’t think he hardly ever “felt” saved. But, he was following Jesus with all his heart and it showed. How sad to live for God, yet think he has or will cast you out! The last 13 years we have been in Baptist denominations in Canada, that preach you can’t lose your salvation. Lately, I think he is believing it. He is no longer concerned with earning his salvation, but rather, loving Jesus and following him. The bad thoughts have mostly gone away. So, a good Church is essential, to hear the Word of God preached, and exegeted properly. Bad doctrine can led to bad thoughts!
Which brings me to my last verse, for now!
”[/FONT]For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 it is not from works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.” Eph. 2:8-10
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This is so important to memorize! Because we are not saved by our works (nor do we lose our salvation if we sin!) But by the grace of God. You might want to go to Biblegateway.com, and put the word “grace” into the search function. Then read those verses, look up the context. Pray and let God lead you to some verses that will help you overcome these bad and wrong thoughts.
Wow, so many more verses I would love to show you. Maybe another post later? God bless!
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