HOUSTON AREA TUESDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY GIRLS: If by chance we end up needing to cancel tonight over the storms, I will put a cancellation notice right here on the blog so keep an eye on this spot off and on all day. Certainly check it before you set out for HFBC tonight. We love you and want to be wise!
NOON UPDATE FOR TUESDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY: As of right now, Bible study is ON for tonight. It will really be cold for us south Texans but it’s supposed to be dry. We are planning on starting the lesson a little earlier and ending it at 8:15. See you there with our coats on!
Now, for SSMT:
Hey, Siestas!
Happy February 1st! Did January fly past us or what?? We’re at least two Scriptures the richer for it, though. I’ve been using my time on my exercise bike in the mornings to practice my memory verses so I’ve mostly only heard myself repeat them gasping for breath. (If you like picturing things, it’s in my garage sandwiched between boxes and stacks of 26 years of Moore paraphernalia and everything else besides an actual car…which is in my driveway. You also might enjoy picturing my Border Collie Star sitting right beside me, fixating on the bicycle pedal as it goes round and round. Bless her poor sweet obsessive-compulsive self.) I might have to haul the bike up there with me to the Siesta celebration next January so I can say them to my partner the same way I’ve practiced them. Or I guess I can just sit on the floor and pump my feet in the air and play like. My partner might have to sit back from me just a tad. And if none of that works, I’ll get my man to haul Star up there to watch me and see if the right conditions are responsible for the recollections. And, of course, they’re not. In John 14:26, Christ says it is the Holy Spirit who reminds us of everything He has taught us so press on! With Him, we can do all things.
Tuesday is Bible study day for us at LPM this time of year so I don’t get to talk long on here today. So, let’s get to it! It’s already time for Verse 3!
As I told you two weeks ago, I’ll primarily be working through verses out of the Book of James for much of this year. I’ll give you mine each time but I’ll also give you an alternative that I really love outside of James in case you need some ideas. Here’s the portion I’m memorizing this time around with my information:
Beth, Houston. “Speak and act as those who will be judged by a law that gives freedom. For judgment is merciless for the one who has shown no mercy. But mercy triumphs over judgment.” James 2:12-13 The NET Bible
I love that last statement. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Aren’t you thankful we have a Savior that feels that way?
The alternative I’ll suggest to you today is on my mind because someone I care deeply about struggles terribly with fear of death. This person isn’t chronically ill. Just oppressed and tormented by possibilities. Maybe some part of this segment might minister to you today.
Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it’s logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Devil’s hold on death and freed all who cower through life, scared to death of death. (Hebrews 2:14-15 The Message)
Anybody “scared to death of death”? These passages are also really rich out of the NIV if you prefer it:
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Hebrews 2:14-15 NIV)
Oh, there’s nothing like the power of God’s Word. And that’s because there’s nothing like the power of God.
You sure are loved around here. OK, let’s have it, 2011 SSMT! Verse 3! (Your first name, city, reference and translation please.)
I’ll talk to you soon!
Karen Orem, Utah
James 1:2-5 (The Message)
2-4Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. 5If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to give wisdom. You’ll get His wisdom, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it.
Doris
Austin, TX
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
2 Cor 5:17 (NIV)
Yes! Yes! Yes! This verse was part of our sermon Sunday, came up in the Teamkid missions lesson Sunday night and yesterday in my study!! What a message!!
Eleanor
Memphis, TN
“Surely He will save you from the gowler’s snare and the deadly pestilence.”
Psalm 91:3
NIV
Lois, Abilene, KS–“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
Melanie – Decatur, AL
“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
Deuteronomy 6:5-7 NIV
God, examine me and know my heart, test me and know my nervous thoughts. See if there is any bad thing in me. Lead me on the road to everlasting life.
Psalms 139: 23-24
Leanna, Lafayette, IN
O God, you are my god;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is not water.
I have seen you in your sanctuary
and gazed upon your power and glory.
Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
how I praise you!
I will praise you as long as I live,
lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise you with songs of joy.
Psalm 63:1-5, NLT
Michele ~ Kenosha, WI
Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!
Psalm 27:14 NKJV
Jennifer Lutz, Florida
“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
I pray this for my son who is in college. Many opportunities to “conform to the pattern of this world”…
Jill, Booneville: Speaking this one out LOUD! “And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” Isaiah 6:3 (NKJV)
Laura, Lexington, KY
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7 NKJV
Michele – Minneapolis, MN
“I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 11:19 NIV
“….so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” Colossians 1:10
Betty
Vicksburg, MS
“I love You, O LORD, my strength.”
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 18: 1 and 2
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open and everybody’s chains came loose. Acts 16:25&26 NIV
Christa, Denver, CO
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 wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Is. 43:18-19 NIV
Tami, Marlette, MI:
“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.”
Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV
Kathy, Delaware, OH. “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone, my hope comes from Him”
Psalm 62:5, NIV
Verse 3: “Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,
serve the Lord”- Romans 12:11 NIV
Isaiah 43:18-19 (New American Standard Bible)
18″Do not call to mind the former things,
Or ponder things of the past.
19″Behold, I will do something new,
Now it will spring forth;
Will you not be aware of it?
I will even make a roadway in the wilderness,
Rivers in the desert.
Beth, West Palm Beach: The Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way you went until you reached this place. Deut 1:31 NIV Bible
Becky, Rhode Island
“God is not a man that He should lie; neither the son if man that He should repent: hath He said, and shall He not do it? hath he spoken, and shall He not make it good?”
Numbers 23:19 KJV
Brittany – Louisville, KY
Here is a simple rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, and then grab the initiative and do it for them. – Matthew 7:12, The Message
Brandy, San Angelo, TX 1 John 3:1 “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him” Living Bible
 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4 NIV
Isaiah 41 :10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; Yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Annie Mileur
Tulsa Oklahoma
Alice, Waconia, MN
Isaiah 30:21 NIV
21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Amber, Lincolnton, NC
“Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the Lord your God that I have given you.”
Deuteronomy 4:2, NLT
Rachael, South Riding, VA
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirirt, who is in your, whom you have received from God? You were not your own.
1 Corinthians 6:19 NIV
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” James 1:12
In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.
Missy, Tulare, CA (I am switching to Beth’s suggested verse about fearing death…Beth, were you listening to me talk to my husband last night? I have struggled with the fear of death since I’ve become a mother and with the recent birth of my daughter…this fear has brought me to my knees! Thank you Beth for listening to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and posting this verse. It is just what I needed! God is good!)
Hebrews 2:14-15 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil- and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (NIV)
Katie C. from Houston:
“Servants, do what you are told by your earthly masters. And don’t just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. Work from the heart for your real Master, for God.”
Colossians 3:23-24 (The Message)
Martha, Indianapolis. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. Mark, 12:30 New American Bible, St. Joseph edition.
Kalonni, Van Meter, Iowa: 1 Peter 1:15-16 “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.'” (NIV)
Jennifer from Cape Coral, FL
“Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.” 1 Corinthians 1:7 NIV
Joni, Princeton WV
The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; Your love, O Lord, endures forever-do not abandon the works of Your hands. -Psalm 138:8 NIV
Toni, Benton. “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14, ESV
D’Ann from Washington, D.C.
Lamentations 3:21-24 (English Standard Version)
But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: 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.”
Erika, St. Maries, ID
Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. Matthew 6:32b&33.
Marla, Columbus OH
If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.
Isaiah 58:10 (ESV)
“There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the Lord.” Proverbs 22:30 NIV
Catherine,Montgomery: 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
James 1:5 NAS
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
Corinne in Chehalis Washington
3 John 1:4- ” I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are living by the truth.” NIV
Sue, Groveport, OH
“he built his sanctuary like high hills, like the earth set it firm for ever.”
Psalm 78:69 NJB
Do you ever wish you could scoop every one of God’s words out of your Bible and press them all into your heart? Thank you, Mama Beth for helping us come close.
Arlet, Fircrest. Isaiah 40:31 NASB
Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired. They will walk and not become weary.
Cassie McLelland, Mansfield Texas
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thess. 5:16-18
Rachel Watseka, IL
Isaiah 30:15 NLT
This is what the Sovereign Lord,
the Holy One of Israel, says:
Only in returning to me
and resting in me will you be saved.
In quietness and confidence is your strength.
Lisa, Van Buren, AR
But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
Luke 6:32 NKJV