The Joshua Code: 52 Scripture Verses Every Believer Should Know
by O. S. Hawkins
Have you ever felt like you should have more Bible verses committed to memory than you already have? That thought was the impetus for me to purchase and read this book. The goal is to memorize one verse each week. At first that seemed doable, but as life brought some ups and downs, I found myself unable to remember, over the long haul, all the Scripture references that went with each verse. So, about half way through the book, I switched to using it solely as a devotional and that worked well for me in that season.
My first reaction to The Joshua Code was to question the author’s choice of Scriptures. Many of my “favorites” were not included, and I wasn’t sure I saw the importance of those that were selected. As I stayed with it for a few weeks, I began to understand the process. With each verse there is a devotional, a short homily. As I read each chapter I could see why the verse was important. Since then, I have been surprised at how these verses come up in various contexts and provide an “Ah, ha” moment or a “God wink,” a term used by some for seeming “coincidences.”
According to the author, the title Joshua Code refers to Joshua 1:8 and is a “challenge to keep God’s Word in our mouths through memorization and keep it in our hearts through meditation ‘day and night.’ ” In the Introduction, Hawkins gives his practical method for committing verses to memory. He also explains what meditation is for Christians and how valuable meditation can be when applied to these verses.
I recommend this book for Christians and also for those seeking a relationship with Jesus. This book will show readers how to find Jesus in the Scriptures despite the chaos of daily life and digital content that constantly bombards us.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, Nonfiction
Notes: 1. 52 Scriptures and devotionals to encourage memorization
2. A note at the end of the book states that all of the author’s royalties and any other proceeds from the book go to Mission Dignity which “enables thousands of retired ministers (and, in most cases, their widows) who are living below the poverty level, to live out their days with dignity and security.” Small churches are often unable to contribute to a pastor’s retirement, and Hawkins is using his book to financially fill that need.
Publication: 2012—Thomas Nelson
education pathways 
Sounds like a great book, Linda! A practical method for getting those verses in your head would be helpful. A friend and I started doing Scripture memory together several years ago. It really does allow you to meditate on the Scripture and gives you many “aha” moments.
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Having a partner to do Scripture memorization with sounds like a good idea. Kind of like having an exercise partner to motivate each other.
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The pace of a-verse-per-week might be challenging to keep up, but stretching the exercise to two years, and taking two weeks for each verse might work. Time must be allowed for review also, to move the memorized verses from short-term to long-term memory. What a delight though when the goal is reached, to have fifty-two more verses “on file” in the brain!
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I think it is important to memorize Scripture, but getting the Scripture reference is tough for me. I did review the verses each day, but getting them to “stick” in my memory was hard. Your suggestion of two years instead of one sounds like a good one. Tim Tebow’s mom used to put verses to song to help her kids memorize them. I think that is another good idea, but I am “musically challenged.” 🤣
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This sounds like a book that would benefit me for sure. Thanks for sharing it, Linda. I like that you chose the best way for this book to work for you.
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Memorizing Scripture is a worthy goal and I won’t give up, but I now realize it is not easy or not as easy as when I was younger🤷♀️. I think in some ways it would be easier to memorize a whole chapter (not a long one) or a group of verses. For example, many people know Psalm 23. The advantages would be lots of context and you wouldn’t need to have a Scripture reference for each verse.😉
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I would love this book as I have a hard time remembering verses. Gosh, I think about the days when I was young in VBS or Sunday School and all the verses we had to recite each week. They have left my hard drive (brain)!
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Yes, Nancy, I think it truly was easier to memorize those verses when we were young. We just have too much information on our “hard drives” now that we are old(er).🤪
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