Hey, you Scripture-memory buffs! I pray that your verses are bearing fruit and that they’re right there on the tip of your tongue when you’re tempted to say something the polar opposite of God’s will. That’s one of many things I like about memory work. It’s seems out of place to use the same mouth that has been spouting Scripture to spout off a bunch of trash. That doesn’t mean we never do it but it does mean we’re likely to feel miserable over it and think twice the next time.
Two times in a row our SSMT has fallen on a Bible study day so I am forced to be much briefer than I’d like. My heart toward you is bigger than my words, particularly today. Tonight’s lesson is especially pressing because I’m further behind in preparation than I’d normally be if I hadn’t had a taping over the weekend and spent the end of last work-week getting ready for it. Yada yada yada. I am woman, hear me whine.
I bet some of you feel the same way I’ve felt over the last week: too much on your plate. Looking at all of it in one big heap on your desk or your calendar can be demoralizing. Thursday I had one of those days when you can hardly make it to your car after work without bursting into tears. On the way home I felt like God was telling me to humble myself and get the word out that I needed prayer and by the next day I felt a world better. (Some nights you just go to bed early out of love for the people who live with you.) A couple of other things have really helped me today. They seem elementary but, if so, why don’t we ever seem to learn them once and for all? Here’s what they are: Remembering to…
1) TAKE ONE THING AT A TIME! God’s grace really is sufficient and He really does meet all our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. As much as we want to see all that manna heaped up in a mountain of provision a week in advance alongside those upcoming demands, His promise in Philippians 4:19 is to meet each one AT THE TIME WE NEED IT. Thank You, Lord. If we could learn to live in this present moment with this present provision, oh, man, life would be so much less stressful, wouldn’t it?
2) SAY NO. I have managed to get that most distasteful word for the people-pleasure out of my mouth two times today to people I really, really, really didn’t want to say no to. People I love a ton. People I want very much to please. But the fact is, I don’t have a single other yes in my pocket right now. Not one. For this moment, I am completely bereft of extra yeses. Anybody else? So it’s got to be no. Help us, Lord. We need so much help to say yes to no.
Anyway, that’s not what we’re doing on here today. We’re on here to spout off our Siesta Scripture Memory Team Verse 4!
I am continuing out of the Book of James. This round I’m going with James 3:17 –
Beth, Houston. “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and not hypocritical.” James 3:17 The NET Bible (Is that a mouthful or what??)
For any of you who could use some ideas, the alternative verse I’m selecting for today outside of James may as well be the one I mentioned a couple of paragraphs earlier. If you’ve never memorized this one, stick it toward the top of your list. It’s a staple in the mental pantry of the believer.
“And my God will supply your every need according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 The NET Bible
And from The Message:
You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, His generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus.
And that is a promise, Sweet Thing. Eyes up. Chins up. Joy up.
And maybe…just maybe…say yes to no.
Just for fun, here are a couple of pictures from Valentine’s dinner last night. We didn’t have the Fitzpatricks with us because they had their own plans for their third anniversary. Can you believe it’s been that long? We missed them but had a ton of fun anyway. Here are two darling couples I got to stare at across the table. I love them each so much.
We are ecstatic to have Travis and Angela in town and the rest of the worship team lands today. They’ll lead us tonight at Bible study. Wooooohooooooo!
Are they darling or what? For any of you newcomers, that’s Amanda, my firstborn, and Curtis, her wonderful man.
This picture didn’t come out well because the lighting was so bright so I did it in black and white and it looked even goofier but, anyway, at least you know I really did go with them to dinner.
And, in case I haven’t yet bored you to utter oblivion, here is one more that Trav took with his phone:
OK, that’s it! If you’re missing my Valentine, he had to be out of town for a work thing but I will see him soon and got beautiful roses and funny text messages all day.
Let’s hear each of your fourth verses, Siestas! Name, city, verse and translations please!
I love you guys.
Suzanne T., LaGrange, GA: Read this on a previous Siesta post and have been using it with a friend as we pray over her teenage son through the ending of a difficult dating relationship. God is at work in his life!
“…can I not do with you as the potter has done?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand…” Jeremiah 18:6 NIV
Karen—Sacramento, CA
“For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.” —Luke 1:37 AMP
Amy…Kernersville…John 15:7…If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you…NIV
Erica. Ozark, Mo.
Psalm 19:14 NLT
“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
Kadie, Tinley Park
Satisy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Psalm 90:14(NIV)
Kathy, Austin
“And God will supply your every need according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus” Ph. 4:19 NET
Becky, Charlotte NC
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I Thess. 5:16-18, NIV
Tammie, Cleveland, MS
I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember Your wonders of old. I will ponder all Your work and meditate on Your mighty deeds.
Psalm 77:11-12 (ESV)
Isaiah 43:18-19 (NIV)
“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 desert and streams in the wasteland.”
GOD IS LIMITLESS!
Larissa, Benbrook, Tx
“Teach me your way, LORD,that I may rely on your faithfulness;give me an undivided heart,that I may fear your name.” Psalms 86:11
Psalms 86:11 NIV
Melody Joy, Scranton, PA
” …So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.”James 2:12-13 (NASB)
Tiffany, ATL GA!
“Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, I believe, help my unbelief”~ Mark 9:24 ESV
And God spoke all these words: Exodus 20:1 NKJV
I know this is a simple verse but it is most important in Exodus 20. It lets us know that God spoke the ten commandments which I plan to memorize the ten commandments through the SSMT challenge.
Jean, Houston, “and to knowledge, self-control: and to self-control, perservance; and to perseverance, godliness” 2Pet. 1:6
James 3:17 HCSB
17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without favoritism and hypocrisy.
Kay – Deer Park. TX
Amy Garifo- Clovis, Calif.
1 peter 5:10
In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.
(NLT)
Kadie, Tinley Park
Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
Psalm 90:14(NIV)
Chrissy
San Tan Valley, Arizona
“Rejoice always.
Pray without ceasing.
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
I am so blessed by this wonderful journey of Scripture memory! What a joy!
And let not your adornment be merely external-braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. 1 Peter 3:3-4
Lori, Syracuse
Jeremiah 23:29
Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
Victoria, Conway, AR
Psalm 32:7 (NLT)
“For You are my hiding place; You protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory.”
Praise Him today! I have victory in Jesus! 🙂
James 3: 17 NIV
17 But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
Cheryl – Kemah, TX
God’s there, listening for all who pray,
for all who pray and mean it. 19 He does what’s best for those who fear him—
hears them call out, and saves them. 20 God sticks by all who love him,
but it’s all over for those who don’t. 21 My mouth is filled with God’s praise.
Let everything living bless him,
bless his holy name from now to eternity! Psalm 145:18-21
Glennell, Buda, TX
The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
Susan, Silverhill,AL: “Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders.” Deuteronomy 33:12 NIV
Jennifer, Marietta- Col. 4:2 “Be devoted to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.” NLT
Alicia, OKC
“Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Ephesians 5:1-2 ESV
Cindi
Madison, MS
“But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you. O Israel, the One who formed you says,
‘Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name, you are mine.'”
Isaiah 43:1 NLT
Desiree, Douglass, KS “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and self discipline. ” 2 Timothy 1:6-7 NIV
Misti, Belleville MI “He feeds on ashes, a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, ‘Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?'” Isaiah 44:20 NIV
Gina, Kosciusko
A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
Proverbs 15:1 NIV
Psalms 145:8
“The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.”
Tangila, Pearland TX
Isaiah 41:10
‘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.’ (NASB)
Brie, Hickory. “You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; you turn my darkness into light. With your help I can advance against a troop; with you I can scale a wall.” Psalm 18:28-29 NIV
Mary, Westfield, NJ “You can be sure that God will take care of everything you need, his generosity exceeding even yours in the glory that pours from Jesus. (The Message)
Sandy – Houston
Phillipians 4:19 NKJV
And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord my strength and my redeemer. Psalms 19:14 KJV
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NASB)
Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.
Psalm 51: 8 – 9
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Mary
Houston
Amber, Alexandria VA
Isaiah 58:11/The Message
“I will always show you where to go. I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places-firm muscles, strong bones. You’ll be like a well-watered garden, a gurgling spring that never runs dry.”
Isaiah 41:10
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” NIV
Suzette, Normangee, TX
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that who ever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17 NIV
April, BonneyLake, Wa
But you, O Lord, are a shield about me; my glory, and the lifter of my head.
Psalm 3:3 ESV
Caroline, Philadelphia, PA
“And Hannah prayed, and said,
My heart rejoiceth in the Lord,
Mine horn is exalted in the LORD:
My mouth is enlarged over mine enemies;
because I rejoice in thy salvation.”
1 Samuel 2:1, King James Version
“The Lord will accomplish what concerns me.” Psalm 138:8 (NASB)
~Donna, Spring, TX
Joy, Monroe, GA: But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. – James 3:17 NIV
Jennifer, Grovetown Ga. “Grace is deceitful, and beauty is vain” (ASV) Proverbs 31:30
Karen, Orillia Ontario “I am crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave His life for me.” Gal. 2:20 NIV
Jennifer from Chantilly:
I seek you with all my heart, do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:10-11, NIV
Jane, Houston, TX
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. James 1:19-20 (NIV)