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!
Tara, Frankfort, KY
The Lord says: “My thoughts and my ways are not like yours. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, my thoughts and my ways are higher than yours.”
Isaiah 55:8-9 CEV
Rochester, NY
Isaiah 43:18-19
Forget about what’s happened;
don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.
Trish…Kokomo, IN~”Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.
Phil 4:8 NIV
Lisa D.– Alpharetta, GA
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:2 NIV
Jennifer, Estero FL
“Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.” Psalm 146:1
Mishawaka, Indiana:
Isaiah 41:10 (The Message)
Don’t panic. I’m with you.
There’s no need to fear for I’m your God.
I’ll give you strength. I’ll help you.
I’ll hold you steady, keep a firm grip on you.
Lisa – Nashville, TN.
“My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work” John 4:34 (NIV)
Helena, AL
I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 NLT
Kathy, Ontario, Canada
“Don’t panic. I’m with you. There’s no need to fear for I’m your God. I’ll give you strength, I’ll help you, I’ll hold you steady, I’ll keep a firm grip on you.”
Isaiah 41:10- the message.
Clinging to this as I am facing major surgery in 2 weeks.
What a perfect verse! Thank you Lord.
Kristi, Abilene, TX: “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.
Christy from Middletown- Psalm 91:2 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 trust…..The Everyday Life Bible
Sara, Greenville, SC – “Now to him who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21, NET
“The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidcence forever.” Isaiah 32:17 (NIV)
Jessica in San Diego:
Who can find a wife with a strong character? She is worth far more than jewels. Proverbs 31:10 GWT
Elaine – Fresno
“That you may really come to know practically, through experience for yourselves the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge without experience; that you may be filled through all your being unto all the fullness of God, may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself!”
Ephesians 3:19 Amplified
Cincinnati
“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.” Ephesians 5:15 KJV
James 4:8 – Come near to God and he will come near to you. NIV – Karen, Knoxville, TN
Melissa, Atlanta, presently living in Central America for adoption process: “Do you want to stand out? Then step down. Be a servant. If you puff yourself up, you’ll get the wind knocked out of you. But if you’re content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty.” ~Matthew 23:11-12, The Message
Anna, Killen, AL
“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me. I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior.”
Isaiah 43:10-11 NIV
Lahna, Burkburnett: Psalm46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” NKJV Study Bible
Trina, Kings Mountain, NC
2 Corinthians 10:5
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-NIV
~ So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Psalm 90:12 ESV
Mollie- Friendswood, TX
Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8 NIV
Kristy, Manitoba Canada
“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.” Romans 15:13 NIV
Beth from Prairieville
All your children will be taught by the LORD, and great will be their peace. Isaiah 54:13, NIV
(For Lexie)
Kelli. Kennesaw, GA
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2 NIV
Habbakuk 3:19 Amplified
The Lord God is my Strength, my Personal Bravery and my Invincable Army. He makes my feet like hindsfeet. To walk. Not to stand still in terror but to walk. And make spiritual progress upon my high places of trouble, suffering and responsibility.”
Isaiah 43:18 “Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past” NIV
Delores, Columbia TN. You crown the year with Your goodness And Your paths drip with abundance. NKJV. Pease pray for me & my family.
Amber, Marysville WA
Isaiah 25:1 O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago (NIV)
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV)
Elizabeth, Chesterfield, VA
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out in me anything that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” Psalm 139: 23-24 (NLT)
Shawn from Whitesboro. 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,
Habakkuk 3:17 NIV
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Romans 12:12. NIV
ReAnnon: Mammoth Lakes, CA
1Peter 2:5 You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Christie, Los Gatos:Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV)
Kelli, Chattanooga, TN
“All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.”
I Corinthians 6:12, KJV
Georgia
Talbott, Tn
Psalm 65:4
Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple. NIV
Cassie, Dallas.
May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Psalm 67:1-2 ESV
Kathy from Arlington
This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Isreal, says: “In repentance and rest is your salavation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.
Yvonne, Abilene, TX
Be on your guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.
~ 1 Corinthians 16:13, NIV
“Moses answered the people, ‘Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.’”
Exodus 14:13-14 (NIV)
Amanda
Olympia, WA
Holly from Plainville, Kansas:
For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 NIV – to remind me that his reign is never-ending.
Janet, San Angelo, TX
You crown the year with Your goodness, And Your paths drip with abundance. Psalm 65:11 NKJV
Christina, Hanover, MD
Isaiah 43: 18, 19 (NKJV)
Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
CJ Diachenko
Pasadena, Maryland
Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. NIV
Oops–it’s Isaiah 30:15 NIV
Ginny
Rice Lake, WI
But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.
2 Thessalonians 3:3
NIV
Amanda
Savannah, GA
“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to His power that is at work within us.” Ephesians 3:20 NIV
Karen, Virginia Beach: Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it leads only to evil. Psalm 37:8, NIV Bible (FYI – fret means “to burn with anger”, it’s got about worrying)