Becoming Like Jesus: Scripture MemorizationSample

What’s Stopping You?

Pray…

Heavenly Father, thank you for being so loving and patient with me. Help me to be patient with myself as you change me to become more like you today. I trust your Holy Spirit and I submit to the process. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Read…

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Philippians 3:12-14 NLT

Consider…

Here, Paul is encouraging us to have a growth mindset. What is a growth mindset? It’s not thinking about how much we suck (insecurity) or thinking we know it all (arrogance). It’s focusing on what lies ahead, being patient with ourselves in the process, and trusting that it is God who works in us to change us. And He doesn’t fail.

But are we actually willing to be changed? Experiencing transformation requires us to trust God enough to let go of our old way of life and allow Him to make us new.

That can be scary. See, sin is aggressive. It wants to take over by rewiring our desires, our thoughts, our actions, and our reactions. It’s like when you’re injured and you have to figure out a different way to do something in order to avoid using that injured body part.

The Holy Spirit wants to bring healing to all the places in us that have been damaged by sin and make us whole again. He wants to help us unlearn all the janky ways of thinking, believing, and living and show us a better way.

So, are you willing to be changed? Do you want to be made whole? What is stopping you from submitting to the healing process?

Practice…

Having Scripture visible in places we look often helps us memorize it. One of those places we look all the time is our phones. Try taking a screenshot of the memory verse for this week and making it your lock screen. Whenever you raise your phone, read the verse and ask God to speak to you.

Listen…

Set a timer for 5 minutes.

Quiet your mind and still your body by taking 7 deep breaths.

Ask God to speak to you about anything and everything that is holding you back from trusting Him to change you.

Jot down any thoughts that come to your mind. Don’t filter them. Just write down the first things you think. You can process them with Jesus throughout the rest of the day and week.

When you get distracted, read your memory verse out loud to refocus on what God might want to show you.