Hey, you mighty warriors!
By the time you get this SSMT post, I will be on my way to Nashville for the videotaping of James: Mercy Triumphs. It almost makes me cry to see the actual (recently settled-upon) title in print. So much time and focus and prayer and frustration and second-guessing and bewilderment and wonderment – and learning and thrilling and growing and wallowing – go into the whole process of a Bible study journey. Many tears. Healthy laughs. Big eye-openers. Rich conversations. Moments of, “What on earth was I thinking??” Above all, so much desperation for Jesus. If God doesn’t pour His Spirit into it, it will fall flat like a collapsed pup-tent. That’s the God’s-honest truth. After 14 journeys similar to this one, I know just enough in advance to be dangerous. Enough to start shaking (not with anointing but mostly with anxiety) when the outline first goes on paper. I know now how life’s going to go on in the middle of it and how all sorts of unplanned ups and downs, woes and joys will mark its pages. I know now how I’m going to end up writing about things in my life and family that haven’t even happened yet. Some of them will be wonderful. Others will be painful. It’s kind of like starting a new journal. There is a certain amount of trepidation because you simply can’t guess what will fill those pages. It’s a stomach-knotting blend of anticipation and raw fear. But what I forget sometimes in that anxious moment when I know there’s no turning back is the grace. The goodness of God. The fact that I’m invited to believe He was the initiator of it, as He is in all things faith (Hebrews 12:1-3) and that I don’t have to assume complete control over it. I’m invited to remember what life the Scripture has and how much this woman has to learn.
Good grief. I’m sitting in a salon chair about to bawl my head off. (Writing this to you on Friday.) I’ll try to rein this one in and quit being so dramatic. This is no time to wear you guys out about the James Bible study because Melissa and I still need you to pray us through until the complete manuscript is turned in at the end of summer. The beauty of all the studies prior to Esther is that they were pre-blog and I didn’t gnaw you like a bone throughout the whole ordeal. It’s too late now.
Make no mistake. The studio audience, the LifeWay video crew, and I need your prayers like crazy this week. Yes, pray for us during the day when preparation is taking place but especially pray for us in the evenings on Monday (tomorrow) through Thursday. That’s when the actual sessions will be taped, two per night, back-to-back. And pray big things for the participants, too! They are so incredibly important in the process. Pray for them to get totally caught up in the Scriptures and in what God is speaking into their lives and be oblivious to the cameras. Pray for them to experience a powerful encounter with Christ through His Word and for Him to do something utterly remarkable in each life. THEN, pray for that anointing to also transfer just that heavily to the women who will one day watch the series on the other side of the screen. I requested a smaller group of participants this time (like I have at Life Today – the perfect size!) but that means the cameras will be much more obvious to all the ladies in the audience. Pray also for us to bond in the Spirit right from the beginning.
Thank you so, so much.
I won’t get a chance to blog much (if at all) while I’m in Nashville but Amanda and Melissa will chime in. I will try to get on Twitter a time or two a day perhaps so, for those of you who like that, we’ll stay in touch that way. (@BethMooreLPM – writing that kind of thing always makes me want to throw up in my mouth.)
After the sessions are complete, the video team and I will spend all day Friday doing some additional taping that won’t require an audience. Later in May they will come to Houston and we will do yet more taping. At that time (later in May), I’ll do the intros to the session and also an on-camera dialogue with Melissa over the project. She has been a huge part of this journey. In fact, she was the first of the two of us who felt drawn to this book of the Bible. She is not a camera hog and won’t let me add her name on the cover but it would be a crying shame for the women not to get a chance to connect with her on screen. She has zero interest in entertaining but she has a huge interest in studying. That’s enough to make her push past her discomfort and get on the screen. In case you’re not up to date on her part of the project, she is writing extra study portions 2-3 times per week of Bible study for the student that wants to go deeper.
I am always reluctant (as both my daughters are) to mention two of us instead of three. Amanda, Melissa and I are, as my people would say, thick as mud and we don’t like to pair off. As I mention Melissa often in this process, rest assured Amanda is cheering us on and praying for us every step of our way. She is not actively participating this time in the editorial process (I miss her so much) because her focus and energies need to be on her family but we three women are together continually.
SO, did you think I’d forgotten what we’re doing on here today???? No ma’am. I most certainly did not. All I’ve just told you led to the Scripture I’ve chosen as my ninth verse.
Beth, Houston. “Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
Yes, Sir! If this selection resonates with you, join me with it! I’d be honored to memorize with you. I will say it over and over this week. Maybe you will, too, and He will hear us each time and find joy in it. I pray with all my sappy heart that the Spirit of God loves to hover over this community.
OK, so what are your verses, Sisters??? DON’T YOU DARE QUIT!!!!!
I love you to pieces.
Janice; Springville, AL
Beth – I am joining you in memoriziing this one. I had a hard time settling on one due to the devastation in my state. This one resonated with me.
“Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14
God Bless you my Precious One on your journey this week taping the new James study. You and the team are in my prayers. I cannot wait. I hope to be leading it at my church very soon.
Sorry. I know we are only supposed to post our verse.
Blessings,
Janice
Janice; Springville,AL
I need to do two this time. I just realized I missed the round for 4/15.
Zephaniah 3:17 NIV
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.
“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.” Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)
Ft. Pierce, FL. Psalm 40:2 NIV
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
Ina. Lancaster, PA
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
Psalm 73:26
“Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
Mary Jane, Troy KS and Cindy, King City MO:
“When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought joy to my soul.” Psalm 94:19 NIV
Barbie from Yankton, SD
Ezekiel 36:26
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
1 John 3:18 My children, let us love not merely in theory or in words – let us love in sincerity and in practice! (Phillips)
Annie, Memphis, TN: “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven.” Matthew 5:16 NIV
“Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
Julie, Carlsbad, Ca~”Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.” Proverbs 4:23 NIV
Jane – Effingham, IL
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.
Ephesians 1:17
Lois, Abilene, KS
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
Megan from San Diego
Psalm 103:1-13 NIV
Praise the Lord, O my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.
Teresa, Peoria, IL
1 Samuel 15:29, NIV: “He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind.”
Renee, Calgary, Canada
I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.
2 Timothy 1:12 NIV
Christa, Kansas City, MO: Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord! Psalm 27:14 NET
Jen W., El Segundo, “For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.” Luke 19:10, NIV
Connie, Tyler
Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 NET
Melody from Crystal Springs, MS–1 Peter 5:10
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hewbrews 10:23 NIV
Sheri. Bolivar, MO. “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV.
Kosciusko, MS
1 John 3:18
“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”
Psalm 34:8
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him.
Proverbs 22:6 NIV
“Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”
Amanda, Mountain View, CA
I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears. Those who look to Him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
Psalm 34:4-5 NLT
Suzanne, Birmingham: “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14 NIV
Karen, Dover, NH “What then shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” Rom 8:31-32 NIV
Amy, Cleveland.
Jeremiah 32:27, NIV “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?”
Karen R.
Coffeyville, KS
Zeph 3:17 NIV
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.
Debbie,Sevierville
The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Psalm 34:10
Jenifer B.
Frisco, TX
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”
Romans 8:26 NIV
verse 9 Karen, Ocean Springs Hebrews3:4 “For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.” NIV
‘Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.’Is 54:10
Decatur, Alabama: “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.” Jeremiah 17:7 ESV
Lisa, Baton Rouge, LA
I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints.
Ephesians 1:18
Ruth, Sanger, TX Romans 12:9-10 NIV Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Lisa, Bethany, OK
“until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
Ephesians 4:13 NIV
Becky, Springfield. “Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
“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.” Sephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
charlotte carty
lexington, ky
Zechariah 4:6b (NIV)
Not by might nor by power but by my spirit says the LORD ALMIGHTY.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask
whatever you wish, and it will be given you.
John 15:7
NIV
Karen, Russellville, AR
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech, but with actions and in truth.
I John 3:18 NIV 2010
Megan, Columbus, OH: Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; be merciful to me and hear my prayer. Psalm 4:1
Carmen
Brookville
“Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
Lisa, Rainbow City, Alabama. ” Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always. ” Psalms 105:4
Jess, Grand Forks, ND:
“Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
Joanne, Westerville, OH
“Wait on the Lord, be of good courage and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord!”
Ps. 27:14 NKJ
Jill H. – Aurora, IL – Ephesians 3:21 – “to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”
Sandi H. – Holt, MO — “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (NIV)