Hey, my dear Siestas!
Knowing I had to pop out of bed this morning to post for SSMT, I actually dreamed about you guys last night! We were at the celebration on a break between sessions and it was wonderful, beautiful chaos in the halls and teeming joy in the hearts. Now, that’s the kind of dream I want to have. I so hope you are well and that God’s Word is alive on your tongue and thriving in your everyday experience. Remember, He sends forth His Word to accomplish something. It’s meant to have effect and I pray you’re feeling the vivid power of it. I can’t think of the last time my memory verses came to me with more pure conviction. I can feel the friction they’re causing internally and the jagged edges they’re sanding externally.
Our minds are already four Scriptures stronger than they were when we broke open 2011 and that, my darling sisters, is a great accomplishment all by itself! I noticed we dropped back well over a thousand on the last SSMT entry and that’s completely normal. There’s no condemnation here. The natural tendency will be to have less and less participants as we have more and more verses to memorize. But I want to encourage you to stick it out if you possibly can because we’re not restricted to normal. The Apostle Paul claimed in 1 Corinthians 3:3 under the inspiration of God that we are more than “mere men.” In 2 Corinthians 4:7, he said we are jars of clay encasing the unspeakable treasure of the knowledge of Jesus Christ and that, through this treasure we “show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” A long way from normal. I always thought normal was overrated anyway.
I stared at the calendar yesterday almost with disbelief as February peeled off the page and I turned to March. As I glared at the word “March”, I thought to myself, “Not a bad theme for the month.” March, as a matter of fact, is a very Biblical word. The thought caused me to smile and then to look up every single occurrence of the word in Scripture and, there in those verses, the Lord spoke a fresh word to me. Maybe you could use it, too. Here are a handful of “march” Scriptures with a few thoughts that spun around in my bleached blond head:
Joshua 6:4 –
“Have seven priests carry trumpets of rams’ horns in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times, with the priests blowing the trumpets.”
Perhaps it won’t surprise you that the word “march” makes regular appearances in this book of the Bible so, if you’re in the wilderness longing to cross that river of fear and enter a land of fruitfulness, you might venture a fresh look at it. Here’s what hit me about Joshua 6:4 –
Marching tends takes a heap longer than we expect and a different form than we might rationalize. Think how odd all that marching-around-in-circles must have been to some of those Israelites. On top of that, consider that God never instructed another group of people to take exactly that same approach again in the pages of Scripture. He told Abraham to do one thing. Moses, another. Joshua, another. David, still another. All were in keeping with His will and His character but the variance in prescribed acts of obedience reminds us that God is resistant to our relentless pursuit of formulas. God knows, if we could rationalize it, we’d institutionalize it. We’d have 2500 satellite locations of the “First Church of Seven Circles.”
In case I’m losing you, or the whole idea of marching through March is too much for you, I’ll speed up.
In 2 Samuel 15:22, David told one of his mighty men: “Go ahead, march on.”
Point? If God is saying go ahead, then GO.AHEAD.
I like that. Nice and simple. If go, then go.
Maybe what you need most of all this March is for God to march right through your wilderness and rain down showers upon it from the seas in His hands. Think of praying this segment today over the 30 days ahead.
Psalm 68:7-11
7 When You, God, went out before your people,
when You marched through the wilderness,
8 the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, the One of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9 You gave abundant showers, O God;
You refreshed Your weary inheritance.
10 Your people settled in it,
and from Your bounty, God, You provided for the poor.
11 The Lord announces the word,
and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng.
(I love the part about refreshing the weary inheritance. Is that you, perchance?? It’s certainly been me at times over the last year. And how about V.11? Does that sound a little like Siestaville?? It blessed me to think maybe so.)
How about one more?
Isaiah 42:13 – The Lord will march out like a champion, like a warrior He will stir up His zeal; with a shout He will raise the battle cry and will triumph over His enemies.
And so, with all this March madness in mind for this month, could anybody use a really brief verse this go-round to help you catch up? Then I have just the March verse for you:
Judges 5:21b (NIV) March on, my soul; be strong!
Let’s hear it, Siestas! First name, city, verse, translation!
Beth, Houston. Think of how we regard as blessed those who have endured. You have heard of Job’s endurance and you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy. James 5:11 The NET Bible
Amen to that. March on, Sisters! Your God is for you!
I love you guys.
PS. For all you Houston-area girls, Kari Jobe is our guest worship-leader tonight at Bible study. Come help me welcome her. We only have two more Tuesday nights in this series and you don’t need any background whatsoever to receive from our subject matter tonight. We’d especially love to have you if you’ve never been before. Let someone on my sweet staff know you’re there for the first time. They’ll make sure you feel welcome. See you at 6:30!
Amy
Birmingham, AL
Isaiah 42:13 (NIV)
The Lord will march out like a champion, like a warrior He will stir up His zeal; with a shout He will raise the battle cry and will triumph over His enemies.
Kaye, Stone Mountain,Ga.
“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.”
Psalm 130:5 NIV
Vicki, Wilmington
Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Colossians 4:5 NKJV
Sorry so late!
Amanda, Queen City, 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 you dont know me, but I was scanning and saw your verse…one of my favorites that slipped back behind my mind and God sent it to me last month again when I needed it…so I used last month and refreshing my memory. Have you read it in The Message? I love the words. 🙂
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with ALL (my caps) your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 NIV
Shannon, Nashville: “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.” Psalm 130:5 NIV
Amy
Tyler, TX
Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Psalm 25:4-5 NIV
Tolu, Boston MA
Hebrews 3:12-14, NIV
See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first.
Baton Rouge, LA.
March3 Been in hospital that’s why I am late.
Ephesians 3:19
To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Amanda Cartersville,GA
Psalm 73:26 CEV
My body and mind may fail,
but you are my strength
and my choice forever.
Tami
Kansas City, Mo
Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.
Eph 3:20
Sharon, Bulls Gap, TN –
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” – Romans 12:1 (KJV)
I Peter 1:3-4
ESV
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you
Stacey Mississippi
Psalm 16:2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
apart from you I have no good thing.”
NIV
Ola, Woodbridge,
give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NIV)
deanna, holmdel, NJ
For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Psalm 84:11 NASB
We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. (1 Corinthians 4:12-13)
Cheryl, Peoria, AZ, Romans 12:2 “Do not conform any longer to the patterns 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.” NIV
Teri, Westland, MI
And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 NIV
Kat Clarvesville, Ga
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
Mark 12:30 (NIV)
Vicki from Elizabethtown, KY
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
1Thes. 5:16-18
ESV
Sorry I am late; my computer hard drive crashed. 🙁
Shelly G., Nashville, TN
“…by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power, not one is missing.” Isaiah 40:26 (ESV)
Nikki ~ Lake Mills, WI
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.
~ 2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)
Stacie, Bulls Gap, TN –
“The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, and rich in love.” – Psalm 145:8 (NIV)
Joy, California:
Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. Lamentations 3:23 (NLT)
“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” Proverbs 4:23
Cindie
Sanford, FL
Heather, Greensburg, La Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. II Corinthians 9:7NIV
Jennifer Greensburg, La
Always be humble and gentle. Be patient and accept each other with love. Ephesians 4:2 (ICB)
Emily, Greensburg, La
Always be humble and gentle. Be patient and accept each other with love. Ephesians 4:2 (ICB)
Emily
Fort Mill, SC
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you[a] free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,[b] God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.[c] And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.”
Romans 8:1-7
Trying to memorize all of Romans 8! 🙂
Michelle, Natchitoches, LA: Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.
Colossians 4:2, NLT
Sherry, Denton Romans 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. NAS
Amy W
Plano, TX
Proverbs 10:19 (NIV)
When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.
Blaine. Judges 5:21b (NIV) March on, my soul; be strong!
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, what is noteable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – is anthing is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Phillipians 4:8-10
rachel
conroe texas
Psalm 41:1
God is our refuge and strength,an ever present help in times of danger.
Vicki, San Angelo
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin
Romans 6:6 NIV
Shelley, San Angelo
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10 NIV
Sallie-Beaverton, OR
The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever. Isaiah 40:8 NIV
Teresa,Montana, Phil 4:19
Shelly, Hempstead, TX. “Finally be strong in the Lord and in His mightly power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:10-12 (NIV)
Cameron Richmond VA
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4 NIV
Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Shellie, Moscow, Idaho
P.S. given up on the counseling got this from, but thought I’d memorize it anyway. Suppose to have this and verse 32 memorized by next week, but won’t be going to counseling next week or ever again!
Judy, Montgomery. “Finishing is better than starting. Patience is better than pride.” Ecc 7:8 NLT
Elizabeth
Rochester, MI
The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night. Psalm 121:5&6 NIV
Blessings Siestaville ~ Sorry I am late.
Madelin, Thousand Oaks, CA
Deuteronomy 31:6 (NIV)
6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Ada
Rochester, MI
The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night. Psalm 121:5&6 NIV
Carla F., Houston, Tx.
Ps. 2-3 (NIV)
May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice. Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.
Janet, North Vancouver, BC: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 NIV
Stacey, Wichita, KS
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. Romans 15:7 NIV
Amber, Jacksonville; “They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:23 (NIV)
Cheryl, Bonney Lake, WA “A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” Proverbs 16:9
Tennessee
Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.” Ps. 86:11 ESV