READY? AIM! FIRE!
Happy New Year, my dear sisters in Jesus! Last night I wrote a letter to the Lord Jesus right before I went to sleep and recalled His faithfulness through a tumultuous year. Right before I turned out the light, I opened up Daily Light for the last Scripture reading for the year and it offered this verse:
The Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way you went until you came to this place. Deut. 1:31
I could have cried. Yes, He surely did. And He carried you, too. Tightly in His faithful arms.
Only God knows what this particular year has in store for us. He alone sees how the path will wind, and climb, and fall, and rise again. We do not have control over the future as we glance ahead to 2011 but make no mistake. He does and we, His lavishly loved daughters, can indeed prepare to live what He thoughtfully brings our way victoriously. On this first day of the new year, we are not victims. We are called to live as victors, holding up the Shield of Faith in one hand and the Sword of the Spirit in the other.We need BOTH.
It’s finally time to post your first memory verse of 24 in 2011! If you haven’t already read the instructions thoroughly, please look at the post on December 26th titled “Siesta Scripture Memory Instructions.” It will tell you everything you need to know. Just a quick refresher: Your comments will almost entirely consist of these entries:
First name, city, verse, reference, and version.
Please keep it limited to these facts so that the verses stand out prominently for us to behold. You can occasionally say something as brief as “I’m excited!” Or “I need prayer!” but nothing longer than that please. Let’s let the Scriptures themselves rise like we’re looking at them with our 3-D glasses on.
Here’s my first Scripture entry of 24 in 2011:
Beth, Houston: All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change. James 1:17 The NET Bible
Be sure and hand write your verse in your spiral to help engrave it on your sweet mind. Also consider writing your contact information on the inside cover in case you leave it somewhere and God causes someone gracious to find it.
I love to claim Psalm 65:11 on the first day of the new year:
You crown the year with Your good blessings, and You leave abundance in Your wake. The NET Bible
Lord, I want an abundance of Your Holy Spirit! (See Luke 11:13!) Abba, go before us this year and leave the fragrance of Your very presence in Your wake!
OK, Siestas! Hit it! I’ve prayed for you and can’t wait to pursue the Lord Jesus Christ with you this year. If some of you don’t know which verse to use this time around, consider Psalm 65:11. It’s a great first round.
Remember to wait 24 hours from the time you post your comment until you assume it got lost and enter it again. So many comments come in at once on these Scripture memory posts that the server bogs down, causing it to take extra time.
I love you, Sisters! Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can do this! Remember, KEEP IT SIMPLE AND MEANINGFUL!
Lauren, Lexington – “I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit” Ephesians 3:16 NRSV
Suzie, San Pedro, CA:
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”. Luke 2:14 NIV
Jessica, Winter Park, FL – “You shall not make [gods to share] with Me [My glory and your worship]; gods of silver or gods of gold you shall not make for yourselves.” Exodus 20:23 AMP
Deb, Becker “God is kind, but He’s not soft. In kindness He takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.” Romans 2:4 (MSG)
Keysha McNeil
Roanoke, VA
Deutoronomy 4:7
For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the LORD our God is to us whenever we call upon Him?
Amy, Crystal Springs, MS – Psalm 119: 124-5 Good News “Treat me according to your constant love and teach me your commands. I am your servant; give me understanding so that I may know your teachings.”
Kristie, Thomasville, GA
Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the Lord!
Psalm 31:24, ESV
Sarah, Chocowinity, NC, Romans 15:13, NIV “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Crevolyn, Gainesville, GA: “Whatever you do work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord not for men.” Colossians 3:23 (NIV)
Mandi, Houston: Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! Isaiah 30:18
Stacey, Albuquerque, NM You crown the year with Your good blessings, and You leave abundance in Your wake. Psalm 65:11, NET
Nicole, Jacksonville: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hears and your minds in Christ Jesus” Phil 4:6-7 NIV
“Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new. It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road through the desert, rivers in the badlands. Isaiah 43:18-19 The Message
Vicky, NE
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2 NASB
SherryLu, Powder Springs, GA
Terry, Mechanicsville: In the begining was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1, New American Bible.
Yvonne
Sevierville, TN
This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him,we shall also live with Him.
2 Timothy 2:11 NKJV
Deanna-Johnson City,TN-…Be strong and courageous.Do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9 NIV
Sheilah, Melbourne, FL
Isaiah 43:18-19, NIV
18 “Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
Show me your glory, O God!
“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet My unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed” says The Lord Who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10 (NIV)
Angela; Grand Ridge, FL
“The Lord says, ‘Forget what happened before & do not think about the past. Look at the new thing I am going to do. It is already happening. Don’t you see it? I will make a road in the desert & rivers in the dry land.'” Isaiah 43:18-19
Sorry… that was the New Century Version (NCV)
Carol, Gig Harbor: “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.” Romans 12:9 NIV
Robyn of Topeka, KS
“But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”
Joshua 24:15 NIV
Marsha, Tucson, AZ: It is for Freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand Firm then and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 NIV
Trina, Baltimore: And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:5 NIV
Kelly, Frisco, TX-“Forget about what’s happened! Don’t keep going over old history. Be alert! Be present! I’m about to do something brand new. It’s bursting out. Don’t you see it? There it is! I’m making a road in the desert and rivers in the badlands.” Isaiah 43:18-19 The Message
Michele, Minneapolis, MN: Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 NIV
Kim , Loveland, Colorado
Psalm 16:111 The message
Now you’ve got my feet on the life path,
all radiant from the shining of your face.
Ever since you took my hand,
I’m on the right way.
It’s Psalm 16:11 not 111 in the message
Treat Me according to your constant love and teach me your commands. I am your servant;give me understanding so that I may know your teachings” Psalms 119 124-125
TEV
Crystal Springs,MS
Kristen Traxler
Trinna
Mandeville, LA
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)
Sooz, Springfield, Virginia.
I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. Isaiah 44:22, NIV
Charman, Florence, AL – 1 Corinthians 9:25 (NASB)”Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.”
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)
Heather B, West Lafayette
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 26:3-4, NIV.
Lynette, Nashville: Know that the Lord is God. It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Psalm 100:3 NRSV
Christelle, Delafield WI,
“Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for You are God my Savior;
and my hope is in You all day long.”
Ps 25: 4-5 NIV (1984)
Kim, Salem, Oregon: See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Isaiah 43:19 NIV
Susan, Oklahoma City
Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.
Psalm 33:20-22, ESV
I also want to start each year out with the first verse I memorized during our first SSMT.
Look, I am about to do something new. Now it begins to happen! Do you not recognize it? Yes, I will make a road in the desert and paths in the wilderness.
Isaiah 43:19, NET
Stacie- Jacmel, Haiti
Colossians 2:2 (The Message)
“I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery.”
Gayle, Colleyville Ps 65:11 You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
Carrie, Jupiter,Fl. Isaiah 43:13,15.
Yea, before the day was I am he: and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it? I am the LORD, your Holy One, the creator of Israel, your King.
Leslie, Decatur, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26
“God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” Number 23:19 NIV
Karessa, Peoria IL: So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Acts 27:25 NIV
Bettie
Proverbs 10:25
NIV
“when the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone, but the righteous stand firm forever.”
Amanda-Dover,TN-2 Thessalonians 2:16 & 17
May our Lord Jesus Christ himself & God our Father, who loved us & by his grace gave us eternal encouragement & good hope, encourage your hearts & strengthen you in every good deed & word. (NIV)
Kim Feth
Apex, NC
2 Corinthians 10:5, The Message
We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31: 8
NIV
Julie, Birmingham
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:7-8, ESV
Robyn, San Antonio: “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future.” Proverbs 31:25 NASB
Beth, Friendswood TX:
Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 1 Peter 3:9