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.
Dawn in Monett, MO
1 Chronicles 28:20 NIV
Be strong and courageous and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you.
Amberley – Pasco, WA
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.”
1 John 5:14 NIV
Jessie, Seabrook
” This I know, that God is for me.” Psalm 56:9b NASB
Regina, Rock Hill, SC
Psalm 119:36 (MSG)
Give me a bent for your words of wisdom, and not for piling up loot.
Anne – Johnson City, TN
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (ESV)
He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.
“The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it.”
I Thessalonians 5:24
Angie
Burlington, IN
Sarah, Wichita Falls, Tx
Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. Deuteronomy 8:5 NIV
Amie, Minnesota:
“Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 NET
alicia, chicago: joining miss beth… “rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
Paige, Overland Park, KS
“So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you.” Joel 2:25 (NKJV)
Carla
LaFayette,Al.
Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord! Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
Michelle in Nashville: “Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” –Psalm 27:14 NET
Anita, Lawrenceville.
“Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 ESV
Anne, Wauchula
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourself. Do what it says. James 1:22
Lawrence, KS
“Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4
Sorry, this verse is from the ESV. I always forget to add that part. God bless!
Danna M.
Atlanta, TX.
Mary~Columbia, PA~“Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
Jamie, Bothell, WA
When my heart was embittered and I was pierced within, then I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before You. Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. With Your counsel You will guide me and afterward receive me to glory.
Psalm 73:21-24, NASB
Shannon Roe, Tuscaloosa, AL
Ps 34:8, NASB
O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
Cara, highlands ranch,
Submit yourselves,then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. James 4:7 NIV
Danna M.-Atlanta, TX.
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
Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord! Psalm 27: 14 NET bible
Anna S, Sullivan, MO
“I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.” Psalm 143:5 NIV
Be still, and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10 TNIV)
Kelli ~ Kalispell, MT
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21
Forgot to say NKJV
Beth, I’ll be praying for you and your girls; that He will do exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask or think! <3
Natalie
Little Rock, AR
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
Psalm 19:1 NIV
Shonda, Tacoma, WA
Psalm 62:8 NIV
“Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.”
Grace, Silver City NM. “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to His heart; he gently leads those that have young.” Is. 40:11 NIV
Elizabeth, Chesterfield, VA: “It is not [a secret laid up] in heaven, that you should say, Who shall go up for us to heaven and bring it to us, that we may hear and do it? Deuteronomy 30:12 (Amplified Bible)
Heather, Piedmont Ok
NIV
Isaiah 40:31
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.
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:7, TNIV
Lisa Curtis, Jackson, Mo
Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident. Rely on the Lord! Psalm 27:14. The NET Bible
Kim, Louisville, KY
If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won’t correct you for asking. James 1:5 CEV
Deep in my heart I say, “The Lord is ALL I need! I can depend on him!”
Lamentations 3:24 (CEV)
Sherri, Modesto, CA
Psalm 112:7 (NIV) “He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.”
Annita, Haleyville, Northwest Alabama “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4 NIV
Alice, Portland,OR The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1 NLT
Kathleen, Marietta,GA
Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!
Psalm 27:14
Beth, I will be praying for you and LMP this week! Knock their socks off!! Love you.
Jill
League City, TX
“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”
Psalm 27:14 ESV
Kay, Greenwood,SC
“The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 27: 1 NIV
Vicki, Elizabethtown, KY
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses.
Proverbs 10:12
ESV
The Lord said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” Ex 4:11-12 NIV
Lisa, Jacksonville FL
“The children of your servants shall dwell secure;
their offspring shall be established before you.”
Psalm 102:28
Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him because he always lives to intercede for them. Hebrews 7:25
Heather, Glencoe, AL; I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?
Jeremiah 32:27(NIV)
Joni, Princeton,WV
I will give you a new heart & put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
-Ezekiel 36:26-27 NIV
Boni, Manassas, VA; 2 Timothy 3:12 (NIV) “In fact, everyone who wants to ive a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”
Gina, spring. “Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
Andrea, Saskatchewan, Canada
“Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord! – Psalm 27:14, NET
Isaiah 61: 1-4 (NIV)
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of joy
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations