Hey, my wonderful Word-memorizing Siestas! I am so excited about your response to our celebration event next January! We got some great enthusiasm back from you. I’m looking as forward to it as anything on my entire year’s calendar. (If you aren’t up to speed on it, see the March 15th post.) Amanda and I met up the other day to leave one of our cars in a parking lot and ride together to evening church. Since Annabeth is too young to be exposed to that many people and hadn’t yet had her first round of shots, I’ve been hanging out with her and Amanda on Sunday mornings while the boys go to church, then she and I have been going to the 6:30 PM service. When I jumped in the car with her, she said, “Have you been waiting on me long?” “Nope,” I said, “And anyway, it gave me a chance to work on my Scriptures. I want to qualify for the celebration event!” She laughed and said, “I do, too! And I need to get with it!” She’s got a pretty good excuse for being a tad behind on her memory work.
Don’t think for a second I’m not working hard on these Scriptures, too, Young Ladies. What we’re doing together is not easy for any of us. Memorizing this much and this often takes a tremendous effort. It also takes discipline and, to be lovingly frank, self-discipline is not highly valued in our Western world. It’s part of what can make our popular breed of Christianity so sloppy and, at times, so void of power. I’m not being cynical. There are fabulous things happening in the Body of Christ today. I just want to encourage you that this is one of those things. Stick with it! We’d be hard pressed to overemphasize the importance of Scripture memory.
Whew! I have chosen a HARD one this time! It came up in my Scripture reading one morning last week and I fell in love with it. I think it will bless so many of you to read it even if you don’t choose to memorize it. Here goes:
God’s love is meteoric, His loyalty astronomic, His purpose titanic, His verdicts oceanic. Yet in His largeness nothing gets lost; Not a man, not a mouse, slips through the cracks. How exquisite Your love, O God! Psalm 36:5-7a, The Message
Here’s this week’s tip: When I have a really challenging verse to memorize like this one, I read it over and over (please revisit our RENEW acrostic video-lesson from January if it’s been a while) then, if it invites various images, I sit back and visualize it. I deliberately begin associating pictures with various words and phrases. This is what I did, for instance, years ago when I memorized Psalm 1. It opens with “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.” I pictured a man walking, standing, and sitting in that order over and over and, to this day, I can say it from memory based on those visuals.
On this selection, Psalm 36:5-7a, I can picture a huge meteor for God’s love and the starry hosts for His infinite loyalty, an unsinkable Titanic for His purpose, and an ocean with a consistent tide for His verdicts. All of those things speak to me about His largeness so that part of the text comes next naturally. The words “man” and “mouse” begin with the same letters so that helps me remember them. The conclusion is joyously appropriate: “How exquisite Your love, O God!” That’s why I had to tag on the first half of verse 7. I wanted to respond with the psalmist to those enormous attributes of my God.
Somebody may be thinking, “Good grief! I didn’t want to have to think about it that much!” But, you see, that’s the BEAUTY of it! We could be thinking how ticked we are at somebody. We could be thinking how tempted we are toward somebody. We could be thinking how dissatisfied we are with something. We could be thinking AGAIN about what so-and-so had the gall to say to us. I am never more prone to mental defeat than when I just allow my mind to wander anywhere and to anything. I’m by no means suggesting that we never allow our minds to rest. Of course we do. I’m saying that when, in that state of rest and idleness, our thoughts begin to go left toward something destructive, we need a pretty fail-safe way to switch gears. I know no better way than to immediately start letting some verses scroll through my head. That’s what it means to take thoughts captive to the knowledge of Christ and that’s how we tear down everything that exalts itself against Him.
I’m also prone to mental defeat when the enemy has pitched me a great opportunity to obsess about something or to give way to fear and stress. Each of these represents perfect moments to turn to my Scripture memory. There are tons of things we COULD think about today but we have the power in Jesus’ Name to choose the things that edify our spirits and renew our minds. Remember, every defeat and every victory takes place on the battlefield of the mind before it erupts in the exterior life. Listen, Darling Things, we don’t have to let every mental struggle turn into a stronghold. We can successfully cut things off at the pass. And this is one huge way we do it.
OK, Sisters! Let’s hear your selections! Remember to list your name (first is fine), your city, and your verse and translation. I cannot adequately express how thankful I am to serve you. You are a very important part of my ministry life and I think about you every day.
To God’s great glory!
I love you,
Beth
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV
Deb
Manhattan, KS
Col 5:13 NIV
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Vicki
Loveland, CO
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.
Titus 3:1-2, ESV
Linda – St. Paul, MN
I have picked, and have been working on verses, but was not good about coming to the blog to post them. Here’s my verse for 04/01/09:
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade – kept in heaven for you…
1 Peter 1:3-4
Reneé
Missouri City, TX
A little late, but here’s my verse:
“Thy mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens; and thy faithfulness reacheth unto the cloud. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O Lord, thou preservest man and beast. How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.”
Ps 36:5-7 (KJV)
“Humble yourself before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:10
Ivy from NC
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
Matia
Fort Worth, TX
Psalm 38:21-22 NIV
O LORD, do not forsake me;
be not far from me, O my God.
Come quickly to help me,
O LORD my Savior.
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
James 4:10 (NIV)
Lisa Riley
Sussex, WI
O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you, my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Psalm 63:1
NIV
Susan in OKC
One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving.
Psalm 62: 11-12a (NIV)
Karen, Nairobi
“I will praise thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned thy righteous judgements.”
Psalm 119:7 KJV
Candy Seale
La Grange, TX
“‘For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but my Lovingkindness will not be removed from you. And my covenant of peace will not be shaken.’ Says the LORD who has compassion on you.”
Isaiah 54:10 NIV
Catherine
Orlando, FL
“Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.”
– Psalm 141:3 (NIV)
Ivy Morrison
Willis, TX
“Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.”
Phillipians 4:9 (Holman Christian)
Rebecca in New Orleans, LA
Patsy D
Tupelo, MS
Psalms 9:10 NIV
Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
“Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of Me.”
Matthew 24:7-9 NIV
Jane H.
Houston, TX
~”In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things god works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Romans 8: 26-28 (TNIV)
Char S.
St. Paul, MN
“I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone oh Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8
Started late so going back to make up:
Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.
Diana <><
Seekonk, MA
“Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for a child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on my hand.”
Isaiah 49:16-17
Danaly Payne
Lumberton, Texas
Each one of you will put to flight a thousand of the enemy, for the Lord your God fights for you, just as he has promised. So be very careful to love the Lord your God.
Joshua 23:10-11 (NLT)
Karey Piper
Justin, Texas
Christa Wade
Bryan, TX
St. Joseph’s
Mark 15:15 – So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged, handed him over to be crucified.
To be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Romans 8:6 ESV
Rachel B – Blaine, WA
Anna Marie Hopewell
Fontana, CA
Ephesians 5: 29
“After all, no-one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church—”
NIV (UK) Version
Psalm 119:105 NAS
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path
cathy from tx
Many are the plans in a woman’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)
Miquela
Knoxville, TN
Psalm 36:5-7a
“God’s love is meteoric, His loyalty astronomic, His purpose titanic, His verdicts oceanic. Yet in His largeness nothing gets lost; Not a man, not a mouse slips through the cracks. How exquisite Your love, O God!”
Judy Peterson
East Chain, MN
“The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
2 Timothy 4:18 NIV
Amy
Mobridge, SD
“When David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep.”
Acts 13:36 NIV
Liz
Huntsville, AL
Shannon
Houston, TX
James 1:5
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives generously without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
“Do not be afraid or terrified because of them for the Lord you God goes with you. He will never leave you or forsake you.”
Deut. 31:6 (NIV)
Kathy
Chattanooga, TN
Psalms 145: 17-19
“The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and kind in all His deeds. the Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.”
Marilyn
McKinney, TX
2 Cor. 10:5 (NIV)
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
Kelly McReynolds-Eitzen
Tigard, OR
John 14:27 (NIV)
Peace I leave with you, and peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Leanne S
Jacksonville, FL
“For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?”
Matthew 7:2-3 NASB
Liz Gershon
Scott AFB, IL
God’s love is meteoric,HIS loyalty astronomic, His purpose titanic, His verdicts oceanic, yet in HIS largeness nothing gets lost; Not a man, not a mouse, slips through the cracks. How exquisite YOur LOVE, O GOD!
Psalms 36:5-7a
Evangeline Harris
Houston, TEXAS
Psalm 69:5 NIV
You know my folly, O God; my guilt is not hidden from you.
Lori
San Antonio
“The LORD you God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
Meredith Barr
Foothill Ranch, CA
April 1 God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. Genesis 1:31 NIV
April 15 Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10 KJV
Susan~ Springboro Oh
Kim
But I trust in your unfailing love; My heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD,for he has been good to me.
Psalm 13:5-6
Spring, TX
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.
John 14:1 (NIV)
Barbara
Tomball, TX
Lori
Bangor, Maine
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty (Whose power no foe can withstand). I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I (confidently) trust!
Psalm 91:1-2 Amplified
Kay
1 Timothy 1:18,19
…fight the good fight, holding onto faith and good conscience. NIV
Kay
Richmond Hill GA
Habakkuk 3:17-18 (NIV)
Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
Pam in Columbia SC
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 3:13-14 NIV
Elizabeth
Falls Church
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)
Chrissie C.
New York, NY
Romans 5:3-5
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perserverance adn perserverance character: and character hope. And hope does not disappointus, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit whom He has given us!
Teresa
Amarillo
The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!” Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening,”
I Samuel 3:10
Stacey M.
Portland, Tx
julie
new braunfels
“for, Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
Romans 10:13