Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written. (Mal. 3:16)
A MNEMONIC DEVICE is a memory technique to help the brain record and recall information. It is like a shortcut for the mind, associating important data with an image or a word. You have probably used some of these. An acronym is one such device. Music students are taught that Every Good Boy Does Fine to remember the line notes of the treble clef: E, G, B, D, and F. Rhyme is another mnemonic device. You may have learned in school that “In fourteen hundred ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue” as a way of remembering the date of the European landing in the “New World.”
In response to the preaching of the prophet Malachi, the people resorted to another device for remembering important information: the written Word. They created a “scroll of remembrance” so they would not again neglect to obey the Word of God. Left to ourselves, we often forget even the most important things. It is vital that we cause ourselves to remember.
We have the Word of God written for us in Scripture. This “memory aid” contains poetry, history, stories, sermons, letters, and more. Reading it, studying it, reflecting on it, and reciting it remind us of who we are and who God is. Read your Bible today, and remember what Jesus Christ has done for us.
Memorize today’s key verse.
Lawrence W. Wilson is the author of A Different Kind of Crazy (WPH), coauthor of The Long Road Home (WPH), and lives near Indianapolis, Indiana.