Paul McKenzie

Memory Verse, Wednesday, December 10, 2 Corinthians 5

"Handed New Bodies and Handed Reconciliation"

Many months ago I was contemplating this chapter. I remember reciting the whole chapter in bed at the time, but recently I came back to it and realized that I had forgotten a lot of it. I still know the content pretty well, but the word-for-word left me.

This was one of those books that I put to music maybe 40 years ago but never memorized. It was in the KJV, and now I am memorizing more often in the ESV. For me, this is a great example of how "rote memory" often doesn't quite leave the "front door" of my brain and penetrate into the deep creases. So, I'll be making little songs in the ESV to help me remember. If I can find them, I'll dig up the cassettes of the old KJV and maybe steal some of the melodies.

I find that there is no getting away from rote memory at the "front door", so to speak. And with all the memory tricks I use, it helps me trigger those verses to make the "rote" easier. But for me, singing them gives me multiple pathways that seem to "stick" better. In a melody, you have these tones and meters that just have to have some word to fit in them properly, which separates it from the conglomeration and makes each word unique. Kind of like a musical "jigsaw puzzle." Then, it's just the "the's", "a's", "which's", "that's" and the like that I need to concentrate on more heavily. All the others flow well.

Admittedly, the KJV works best, because it has all those "ee's" and "eths" that make rhyming much easier. But, I find that many words have become archaic, like using "charity" for "agape" love; and "damned" for judged, etc.

After years of studying with the KJV, I get it, but I'm not the only reason for memorizing Scripture. It is the Word of God that speaks to those lost in sin, and we are the mouthpieces, as we will see again in 2 Corinthians 5. So, "If therefore, I so speaketh with texts foreign in tongue to them which are lost and needeth sure remedy through the Savior", I need to "translate the translation" before I can communicate.

Now, most of the time, if I am in costume and presenting a book word-for-word, I will replace many of the archaic plural "eths" with "s" to make it more understandable to the audience. For example in 1 John 2:9: "he that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother…" I'll say, "he that says he is in the light and hates his brother."

Well, that was a rabbit trail, wasn't it? All that to tell you that I'm making my second pass at 2 Corinthians 5, to see if I can get it more permanently etched into my mind. And personally, I will put it to music again as well as firming the verses in my mind through a verse-by-verse contemplation. The rote to open the door, and the music to bring it permanently inside. At least I've found that this works best for me.

And there is nothing elaborate about it. I simply read it out loud over and over until find a nice rhythm to the verse. Then put tones to the beats and sing it to my phone's voice recorder, usually a few words at a time so I don't forget the melody. Most songs tend to be complete with the main thought instead of cut-up verses, so I may need more than one verse for each "song". But I'll concentrate on the daily verse each day, coupled with the other memory techniques to learn it.

And since I've passed this way once before, the verses will return rapidly. In this way I learn the most important words this earth has ever seen: God's Words. And they are worth going over and over again. Verse 1 tomorrow.

Today, memorize the simple title outline, and read or listen through the chapter a few times. Maybe listen to a few teachings on it by teachers you trust. This way you will be prepared to start committing it to memory in the coming weeks.

Today if you hear His voice, harden not your heart.

*ESV used unless noted*

Memory Helps:

Chapter 5: "Handed New Bodies and Handed Reconciliation"

This is a title you can give this chapter to help you remember the contents of chapter 5. I use "Handed" because I often use a "5-fingered" hand as my Chapter symbol. Including it in the chapter helps make the contents "unforgettable".

Since we are on 2 Corinthians, I use "Two Corinthian Pillars" to represent that letter. I would use just one to remember 1 Corinthians. For me, I'll hand a sign with the title on it in between two pillars, so I know it is 2 Corinthians 5. Maybe more than you need, especially if you are familiar with the letter already. (link below to get an idea of what Corinthian pillars look like).

But I always start there as much as I can, so I know the basic content of each chapter. To me, "outline memorization" is just as important, maybe more than verse-by-verse, since the content always remains the same, and we all work from different translations, so they may not be as "recognizable" to some as the content itself.