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.
Joy from Clarksville
If you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:9
NIV
Jennifer W, Phoenix, AZ
“Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
Victoria, Michigan
“No eyehas seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him”
1 Corinthians 2:9 (NLT)
Cathie, I see the Lord has prompted you to learn the same scripture verse that I have selected. He is our Healer.
Isaiah 53:5 (New King James Version)
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
LuAnn, Port Huron, MI
Psalm 62:1 My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.
Nan, Coppell, TX
I will say of the lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Psalm 91:2, NIV
Annie, Alabama
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Philippians 4:4 (NIV)
“For this reason I bow my knees before the father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you , being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3: 14-19 NASB
Kristi-Cedartown, GA. “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.” Hebrews 12:1 KJV
Tracy, Moberly, MO
Great and marvelous are your works, O Lord God, the Almighty. Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations.
Revelations 15:3 NLT
Toni, Forsyth, MO I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33 NIV
Diane, Gig Harbor, WA
1 Corinthians 2:12 We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. (NIV)
Leslie, Hickory NC
Proverbs 3:5 KJV
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered. Proverbs 28:26 NLT
Isaiah 58:11-12, NIV
The LORD will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
Arlette, Cheney, WA
Tricia, Xenia, OH
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Ps. 27:14 (NIV)
Candy Bradley, Blairsville, GA
“Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your spiritual salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” 1 Peter 2:1-3 NIV
Sheree,Phoenix, AZ
“Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord! Psalm 27:14 NET Bible
Kathryn – Atmore, AL
“On the day I call for help, my enemies will be defeated. I know that God is on my side.” Psalm 56:9 (New Century Vision)
SPEAK, BREATHE, REPEAT: “This I know: God is on my side.”
Mary, Pierre
James 1:5 (New Living Translation)
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
Deb, Topeka, KS
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern 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. Romans 12:1-2, NIV
Philippians 3:13b – 14 NIV
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Sherree – Lilburn, GA
“The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous.” Proverbs 3:33
Michelle- OKC, OK 25 yrs old
JOhn 15:4 NIV
Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
Bonnie Kate, Taylors, SC
“The Lord is my light and my salvation- in whom shall I fear? THe Lord is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 27:1 NIV
Sharon, LP, MI
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. Philippians 4:6-7 The Message
Lauren, Arlington, TX:
Psalm 16:6 ESV
“The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.”
Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only parts of the whole picture!
1 Corinthians 13:9 (NLT)
Ouida in Trenton, Tx
Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.
I Samuel 12:24 (NASV)
Faran – Bald Knob, AR
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
Matthew 23:12 (ESV)
Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”
I Corinthians 15:33 NIV
Melissa from Easley, SC
Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you – guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us.
2 Timothy 1:14 NIV
“Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 NET
Kristi ~ Logansport, IN
And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Ezekiel 36:26 ESV
“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
– NIV
Kelly~Hermiston, OR
Oh my…I almost forgot to post this time, you were put in my spam box!
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice; And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. Ephesians 4:31, 32 (NKJV)
Teresa-Austin, TX
Psalm 92:4. NLT
You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done.
Marie, Harrison; “Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
Psalm 68:8
Beth from Lititz, PA
..the earth shook the heavens poured down rain, before God, the one of Sinai, before God, the God of Israel.
(I am dividing my verses that I posted prior now)
Carmen, Greensboro, NC
I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.
Psalm 27:13 NIV
Christina
Roseburg, OR
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
sorry, forgot…
Isaiah 30:21
NIV
“Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.”
Matthew 8:24
Amber
Florence, Ky
…getting through the storm…
“Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.”
Matthew 8:24
Amber
Florence, Ky
…getting through the storm…
Chris, Sugar Land,TX
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.
2 Corinthians 5: 17 (NIV)
Debbie, Houston -‘to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’ Acts 26:18 NAS
Paula – Arvada, CO
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.
Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)
Nicole- Blue Springs, MO
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:6-7
I think I get later each time. Lots of health issues in the family right now and this seems to be all I can cling too on their behalf. Seen it 3x this week. I think I am getting the point.
“You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great.” Psalm 18:35 NIV
Donna, Franklin, TN
Katy, Pearland, TX: Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in you. Psalm 16:1(NAS)
“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men. Colossians 3:23 (NASB)