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!
Ana, Greenwood
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on me, that I should be called a child of God!”
1 John 3:1a NIV
Julie, Glen Carbon.
Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 NASB
Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; Your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you.”
Isaiah 35:3-4
Christy, Battlefield,MO “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Tina – Cleveland, TN
People with their minds set on you, you keep completely whole, Steady on their feet, because they keep at it and don’t quit.
Isaiah 26:3, The Message
Elizabeth, Charlottesville
I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” Lamentations 3:24, NIV
Sandi ~ Glen Rose, TX:
In the darkness a light shines for the godly, for each one who is merciful, compassionate, and just. Psalms 112:4 NET
Lindsey
Sierra Vista, AZ
Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV – Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; He is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.
Kristen, Tuscaloosa. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass. 1 Thessalonians 5:24 (NASB)
Shelley
Casey, IL
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Ps. 51:10 (NIV)
Kristi Lowe, Lubbock TX: I’m SO excited! This is my first year on the SSMT!
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. ”
-Hebrews 12:11 NIV
Shelley, Friendswood, TX: “I will give thanks to your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness, because your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.” Psalm 138:2
Hope, Loxley, AL: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12 KJV
Cathy, Terra Ceia, Florida
Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. Matthew 6:33-34 (The Message)
Saundra, Altus, OK Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give you as the world gives. DO NOT let your hearts be troubled and DO NOT be afraid. John 14:27 NIV
Pam, Dublin, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.” 1 Peter 5:6 NASB
Conne, Angel Fire, “Arise (from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you – rise to new life)! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!” Isaiah 60:1, Amplified
Tonya, Houston, TX. 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 entagles, and let us run with perserverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1 NIV
Debra, Many, La
“Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. I have solemnly sworn to keep Your righteous judgments.” Psalm 119: 105-106 HCSB
Rene’, Royse City, TX
“Children obey your parents as the Lord wants, because this is the right thing to do.”
Ephesians 6:1, NCV
Elisabeth, Lexington, KY
“May the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” -Romans 15:13 NIV
Alison ~ Boone, NC
2 Cor 5:17 – Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Romans 8:26: Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. ESV
Deirdre
Windermere
Matthew 17:20 (Contemporary English Version)
20-21Jesus replied:
It is because you don’t have enough faith! But I can promise you this. If you had faith no larger than a mustard seed, you could tell this mountain to move from here to there. And it would. Everything would be possible for you.
Meredith from Trabuco Canyon, CA
And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness–secret riches. I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.
Isaiah 45:3 (NLT)
Lendy, Fort Worth, Texas
“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rocka dn my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.”
Psalm 62:5-6 NIV
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him…”
Psalms 37:7a NIV
Sharon, Gilbert, SC; You crown the year with Your goodness; Your ways overflow with plenty. Psalms 65:11 HCS
Carol Graham,TX
Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
Psalms 37:7
“Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward Him.” 2 Corinthians 2:8 KJV
Colleen, Conroe TX
For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hand. He knows your trudging through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing.
Deuteronomy 2:7 NKJV
Aimee, North Aurora, IL
Psalm 27:1 NIV
The LORD is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?
Kelly, Atlanta: Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10, not sure of the translation 🙂
Ellen, Meridian MS
My life passes as swiftly as the evening shadows. I am withering away like grass. But you, O Lord, will sit on your throne forever. Your fame will endure to every generation.
Psalm 102: 11-12. NIV
Sarah, Sledge, “You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance.” (Psalm 65:11, NKJV)
Debbie, Winchester,VA: I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth all thy marvelous works.
Psalm 9:1 (KJV)
Jennifer
Tullahoma, TN
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” (Colossians 3:23, NIV)
Juanita; Owatonna, MN
Psalm 84:2 NIV My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
Andrea, Blytheville, AR
“…… we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulation works patience; and patience experience, and experience hope……” Romans 5:3-4 NKJ
Stephanie, Houston: My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26 ESV
Carrington
Tullahoma, TN
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” (Colossians 3:23, NIV)
Tonja, Charlotte, NC
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to seperate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:38,39 NIV
Vicki, Wilmington NC
As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
2 Samuel 22:31 NKJV
Teresa, Morgantown, KY.
Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” Hosea 6:3 NIV
Do you know?
Have you heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
Isaiah 40:28 NIV
Marilyn Miller, Amarillo, TX
We have this hope as an anchor or our soul, firm and secure. Hebrews 6:19a (NIV).
Cheryl, Miller, SD
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Eph. 2:10 NIV
Star, Jackson, TN “In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.” Psalm 94:19
Johnnie
Wake Forest, NC
Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire. Hebrews 12:28-29 ESV
Donna, Grosse Pointe Shores, MI: But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease without fear of harm. Proverbs 1:33 NIV.