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.
Let me just prelude my verse by saying my heart (and sometimes my entire body) does a little happy dance when I remember that today is my SSMT day!
“See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1 NLT
Shannon
Kissimmee, Florida
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. Colossians 3:23 (NIV)
Deneen,Pittsburgh PA
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;they will run and not grow weary,they will walk and not be faint.”
Isaiah 41:30 NIV
Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!”
Psalm 27:14
The NET Bible
Lori — Magnolia, AR.
“Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!”
Psalm 24:1, The NET Bible
Sara, Houston
Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
Matthew 16:24-25 NASB
Kristie, White Lake: “Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!”
Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
Kristi
Arlington, TX
John 1:14 NIV
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Cassandra, Mars Hill, NC: “Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically as something done for the Lord and not for men. Colossians 3:23
Angie, Toronto.
“Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
Thanks for cheering us on, Beth!
“Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!” NKJV
Marybeth in Oxford, PA- I’m continuing my memorization of Colossians 2:6-7 in the NLT.
Melanie Toups; Bridge City, TX
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
Marcia, Grand Rapids, MI: He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
Natalie; Trussville, AL: “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)
Suzanne, Decatur, Texas
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
Karen-Leonard,TX
Col 4:2 NIV
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Sierra, Vandalia, MO
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. Psalms 84:11 NASB
Kaiva in Victoria, Minnesota. I think I’m behind!!! This verse is #8 for me, which I don’t think has been posted yet:
Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.
Ephesians 6:18 NLT
“From the end of the earth I will cry to You,
When my heart is overwhelmed;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For You have been a shelter for me,
And a strong tower from the enemy.”
Psalm 61:2-3 NKJV
Angela, Mansfield, TX
“Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.” 2 Corinthians 13:11 (NLT)
Lesia from Elizabethtown, Kentucky
“God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.”
Psalm 46:5 NKJV
Gretchen, Gahanna, OH– I am asking God for one thing, only one thing: to live with Him in His house my whole life long. I’ll contemplate His beauty; I’ll study at His feet. That’s the only quiet, secure place in a noisy world, the perfect getaway, far from the buzz of traffic.
Psalm 27:4-5 (The Message)
Barbara,New Orleans
2 Peter 3:9 (New King James Version)
9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us,[a] not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Marita – Maricopa, AZ
James 1:27 (ESV)
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
For though we live in the world we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the 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.
Rhonda, Bolivar MO.
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:22 NIV
1 Corinthians 13:8-10
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfection comes, the imperfect dissapears.
Jessica Woodstock, VT
Heidi ~ Lindale, TX
1 Cor. 13:8 NIV “Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.”
Mary, Austin, TX, Eph 2:10 (NLT) For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Heather, Lancaster Pa
“Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
Kim, Center, TX:
Psalm 32:7 (HCSB)
7 You are my hiding place;
You protect me from trouble.
You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.
If the Lord delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm.
Ps 37:23
Lisa, Sparks, Nevada. Ephesians 4:29 “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment that it may give grace to those who hear”. NASB
Lauren from Spartanburg, SC. Psalm 139:23-24 NIV “Search me, God, and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
James 5:17 (New King James Version)
Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
Doris, Whiteville, NC
Psalm 100:3 ESV
“Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pastures.”
Morgen, Elizabethtown KY
Deuteronomy 18:10 (New King James Version)
“There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer….”
Kaiva in Victoria, Minnesota
“. . .’People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”
Matthew 4:4 NLT
Melissa, Clovis, CA “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, ESV)
Jean, Carlisle PA
Psalm 27:14 (New Century Version)
Wait for the Lord’s help. Be strong and brave, and wait for the Lord’s help.
John 15:7
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
NIV
Kelly, Kimberly: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 (NIV)
Gayle, Dodgeville, WI – “Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
Tilley in Franklin, TN
“Honor the Lord for the glory of his name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.”
Psalm 29:2 (New Living Translation)
Betsy – Antwerp, OH
Will be memorizing and praying with you through the week Beth!
“Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
“No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” Mat 6:24 NIV
Sandra
Wichita Falls, TX
Psalms 90:17 May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us.
Establish the work of our hands for us, yes establish the work of our hands. NIV
Sara G., Oklahoma City, OK;
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV
Tanya, Valley Center, KS
“I therefore, the prisoner for the Lord, appeal to and beg you to walk (lead a life) worthy of the [divine] calling to which you have been called [with behavior that is a credit to the summons to God’s service, Living as becomes you] with complete lowliness of mind (humility) and meekness (unselfishness, gentleness, mildness), with patience, bearing with one another and making allowances because you love one another.”
Ephesians 4:1-2, Amplified
Annabel, Valley Center, KS
“Lord, may the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing in your eyes. You are my Rock and my Redeemer.”
Psalm 19:14, NIrV
Isaiah 30:18 NIV “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him.”