The animal kingdom has been something that has fascinated me since I was a young boy. When I was very young, 3 maybe, I could tell you more about animals than anything else. I was obsessed to say the least. I knew more about animals than most adults and I soaked up all the information I could. Everything in my life revolved around animals. Everywhere I went I gathered knowledge about animals.

Recently I reflected on what I learned about animals as a child, most of the things I learned are gone now but not all them (I didn't work to maintain that knowledge). One thing I noticed during this period of reflection is that God placed a great deal of wisdom in his creation. For example many animals gather during the summer months to store up for the winter (bears, squirrels, ants). We could learn from the animal kingdom in this way. Like animals we need to learn to store up what is important for when it really matters.

However there is one major difference between what we should store up and what animals store up; we should store up things in our hearts and animals store physical things. In Psalm 119:11 the psalmist states "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." And in Psalm 1:1-3 "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers."

Memorizing scripture has been a long held practice of the church; prior to the printing press in 1440 most people did not have their own bible so it required that they memorize scripture to keep it with them all the time. This is a practice we should continue to keep even if we have bibles on our phones. When we memorize scripture the Holy Spirit can recall it to our memory at any moment in any place.

If you would like helpful tips on how to memorize scripture go to Navigators Scripture Memorization Tips.

If you would like to grow deeper in your faith check out the Spiritual Growth Center.