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!
Michelle Martin of Lakeland, Fl
Psalm 107:13-15 (New International Version)
13 Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the deepest gloom
and broke away their chains.
15 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men,
Sharie, Chillicothe “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33 (NIV)
Susan, Atlanta
The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.
Hababbkuk3:19 NIV
Lisa, Charlotte, NC
Jeremiah 17:7 NASB
Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and whose trust (hope) is the LORD.
Maria from Louisville:
“You whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its remotest parts and said to you, ‘You are my servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you. Do not fear for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you for I am your God, I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.'”
~Isaiah 41:9&10 (NASB)
Carol, San Antonio: “I brought you into the fruitful land to eat its fruit and its good things.” Jeremiah 2:7a NASB
Holly
Monument
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
Philippians 4:8-9 ESV
Sue R in Magalia, Ca…1Thes 5:16 – 18 / NIV Be joyful always, pray contiually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus
Kristen, Denver: ” For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” – Philippians 2:13, New Living Translation
Lynette, Alton,IL
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9 NIV
Joy; Cairo, Ga
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Cor. 5:17
A gentle tongue, with its healing power, is a tree of life, but willful contrariness in it breaks down the spirit. Proverbs 15:4
Pam, San José, Costa Rica
But now that you know God–or rather are known by God–how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?
Galatians 4:9 NIV
Denise
Myrtle Creek, Oregon
Ephesians 1:17
NKJV
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.
I missed the 15th but I had one I was working on
Ephesians 3:16
that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.
Julia, Schaumburg, IL, NIV
“Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.” -Psalm 119:133
Kathy, Houston:
So, as those who are chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on LOVE, which is the perfect bond of unity. COL 3:12-14, NASB
Stephanie, Fort Wayne IN, Acts 1:8 (NIV) “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Tamara, Upland
A man’s steps are established by the Lord, and He takes pleasure in his way.
Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the Lord holds his hand.
Psalm 37:23-24 (CSB)
Romans 12:2 (NIV)
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.
Carrie
Prior Lake, MN
Christina, Waukee, “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:8 NIV
LaGrange, GA
Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God, I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand
Isaiah 41:10 NAS
Rose H from Richmond TX
Romans 8:38-39
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NIV)
Christy (Douglasville, Georgia)
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
Psalm 16:6 ESV
Kristen, Houston TX :: “Everything is permissible for me -but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me – but I will not be mastered by anything.” 1 Corinthians 6:12 NIV
Psalm 119:12 – 13 NIV
Praise be to you, LORD; teach me your decrees.
With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth.
I took Kristina’s!
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
~Hebrews 11:6 (NIV)
Shelby Wilmington, NC
He is before all things, and in Hom all things hold together. Colossians 1:17 NASB
Loribeth, Rome, Italy. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Peter 1:5-8 ESV
Susie, Longwood, FL “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 NIV
Brianna, San Antonio, TX: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV
“Is anything too hard for the LORD?” Genesis 18:14 (surely, not)
Kristin, Covington, KY.
Hebrews 10:25, ESV.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Sharon,Clinton ny I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go I will counsel you and watch over you Psalm 28:8 NIV
Sabra, Muncie: Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 NIV
My mom’s name is Sabra! I have never met anyone with her name…ever!
Colleen, Lyndonville, NY
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Phil 3:14, NIV
Jill – Noblesville: “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” 2 Tim. 1:7 (NIV)
Marybeth from Norcross: For I am the LORD your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, “Do not fear; I will help you.” – Isaiah 41:13 NIV
Lindy, Scott
Ephesians 3:20 (NIV) – 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.
Laurie, Eureka, MO
My flesh and my heart may fail but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:26 (NIV)
Barbara
Midland,Texas
Psalm 21:6 (ESV)
For you make him most blessed forever, you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
Heidi, Anchorage, Alaska
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Matthew 6:33
Kathy, (snowy) Andover, KS
And this is love, that we walk in obedience to His commands. As you have heard from the beginning, His command is that you walk in love. 2John 1:6 NIV
Patti, Florida: May God Himself, the God Who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together – spirit, soul, and body – and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One Who called you is completely dependable. If He said it, He’ll do it! 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (MSG)
Casey, Henrietta, TX
My Salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Psalm 62:7 (NIV)
Birmingham, AL
Isaiah 33:6 —
“He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to treasure.”
Megan, Gladwin
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
Nelli, Kingsport, TN
“He will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart”. Psalm 91:4 NIV
Salina Gibson, Hindman, KY “And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.” John 12:47 NKJV
Hi Salina: I love to scroll down and look at the variety of verses the Siestas choose. As I read yours, I did feel a check in my spirit. I decided to look at the verses that follow, John 12:48-50. I want to be very careful here, but it seems to me that it is important to consider verse 47 in light of verse 48. Perhaps Beth, Amanda or Melissa will offer their input. Thanks so much.
Huntsville
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is an eternal God, the creator of the whole earth. He does not get tired or weary; there is no limit to His wisdom. He gives strength to those who are tired; to the ones who lack power, he gives renewed energy.” Isaiah 40:28-29 (NET)
Melody, Greenville SC
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1 NLT