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!
Kristy (Spanaway, WA)
James 1:19 NIV
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry
Sue, Virginia. KJV
Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee. Psalm 143:8
Jaye, Keller TX
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (NIV)
Ginny, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Phil. 3:12. YEAH! Baby!
Denise, Ardrossan Alberta Canada.
Deut 1:31 And you saw how the Lord your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place. NLT
Pam, Sioux Falls, SD:
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
Ezekiel 36:26, NIV
The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forever.
Psalm 121:8
Alice, TX
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” – Lamentations 3:22-24
Glory Hicks
Mt. Enterprise, TX
The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24 (ESV)
2 Corinthians 5:17 (New International Version)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
Hilary, Candler, NC
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
Susan, Hoover, “Teach me Your ways, O Lord, so I may walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart that I may fear Your name.” Psalm 86:11 NIV
Amber- Parker, TX
“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
“I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Barbara, Hendersonville; “He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”. 2 Cor 1:4 HCSB
Jamey from Birmingham, AL
I’ll be working on 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (ESV).
“For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
Patti from Ft. Walton Beach, FL; 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
Gail, OFallon, MO
Psalm 65:11 “You crown the year with your goodness,and your paths drip with abundance” NKJ
Maggie, New Zealand “They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Staci Pealock (Demorest, Georgia)
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you,all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Isaiah 26:3 NLT
Molly
Tampa, FL
New Living Translation
2 Cor 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person – The old life is gone – new life has begun!
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
Karene, Delafield: Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Colossians 3:16
Tammie, St. Peters, MO
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NIV)
Lee-Lexington, KY
Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need.
Matthew 6:33 (NLT)
Lisa T., Richmond, BC
My prayer for my children this year: Acts 2:17 – “In the last days,’ God says,’ I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophecy, your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.” NIV
Katelyn, Tulsa: “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one spirit-just as you were called to one hope when you were called-one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:1-6 NIV
Elizabeth, Midland,TX
Therefore, prepare your minds for action: be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 1 Peter 1:13-14 NIV
Dixie
Alice, TX
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” – Lamentations 3:22-24
Nicole, Seattle: “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NIV
Cheryl Lexington, KY
Psalms 46:10 NRSV
Be still and know that I am God. I am exhaulted among the nations. I am exhaulted in the earth.
” You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.”
Psalm 30:11-12 NIV
Brenda
Chicago, IL
Bridget, Portland, TX
“He has sent me to announce the year of the Lord’s good will and the day of our God’s vengeance, to comfort all those who grieve. He has sent me, to provide for all those who grieve in Zion, to give them crowns instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of tears of grief, and clothes of priase instead of a spirit of weakness…” Isaiah 61:2-3 (God’s Word)
Wanda-Houston,TX
Psalm 65:11
You crown the year with Your good blessings, and You leave abundance in Your wake.
Shane, Suwanee, GA: It’s been 2 years since my son died. Though grief will always remain in some form, 2011 is my year to Re-Focus on His love and faithfulness!
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness!” Lam. 3:22-23
Be joyful always;pray continually;give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Chist Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5;16-18
Nanette, Sussex, WI
Forget about what’s happened in the past! Don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, and watch for the brand-new thing I am doing. Can you see it?” Isaiah 43:18-19 (Mes)
Kathleen, Richmond, TX
One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Phil 3:13-14.
Molly, Bend
“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.” Colossians 3:15 New Living Translation
Tulisa, Cibolo, 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)
Jen, Prairie Grove, Arkansas
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 NIV
Romans 15:13 (ESV)
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”
Shannon
Katy, TX
Colleen, Calgary, Canada
Romans 8:6
For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. NASB
Katie, NYC: 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.
Jaymie, Lincoln, NE
“The sun will no more be your light by day,
nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you,
for the LORD will be your everlasting light,
and your God will be your glory.” Isaiah 60:19 NIV
Stephanie
Knoxville, TN
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:1-3, NIV
Ann from Sugar Land. For nothing is impossible with God. I am the Lord’s servant, Mary answered. May it be to me as you have said. The the angel left her. Luke 1:37-38 NIV
Kimberly, Traverse City, Michigan
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
I Cor 15:58
Cathy from San Bernardino,CA : “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)
Colette, Mesa, Az. Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10 NIV
Starr – Lubbock, TX “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10 NIV