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.
Kem, Memphis
Submit yourselves then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God, and he will come near to you.
James 4:7-9 (NIV)
Theresa
Pace, Florida
Psalm 143:5&6
“I remember the days of long ago.
I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.
I spread my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.”
Leigh-Anne
Bemus Point, NY
“God is kind, but He’s not soft. In kindness He takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.” Romans 2:3 Message
Revelation 21:4 NIV
Lisa and Annabelle in Montgomery, TX
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.
The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1 NKJV
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11
Do not judge, and you will not be judged, Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Luke 6:37 NIV
Col 4:2
Devote yourselves to prayer, be watchful and thankful.
Jan, Olney, Texas “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 The NIV Bible
Jamie, Phoenix: James 4:6 NIV
But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
“God opposes the proud
but shows favor to the humble.”
Dawn in Menomonee Falls, WI
“No, in all things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
Romans 8:37 NIV
Sydney
Tucson, AZ
(I’m reposting it because I got the scripture reference wrong).
Isaiah 40:3
A voice of one calling:”In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; Make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
Candy – Huntsville AL
James 1:22 NIV Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Bev in Bayou VIsta
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.”1 Corinthians 2:9 (NIV)
Patti, Roxboro, NC
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we woudl walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 NAS
Jennifer, Powell, Oh….and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Phillipians 4:7 NIV
Sara, Orange CA – Hear O Israe: The Lord is God, the Lord alone. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all you mind and with all your strength. Deteronomy 6:4-5 NIV
This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. NIV
Shelby Ft Myers Fl
Mark 5: 32-34
But Jesus Kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman knowing what had happened to her came and fell at his feet and trembling with fear told him the whole truth. He said to her, Daughter your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.
(NKJV)
1 Timothy 6:15a
God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light…
1 Timothy 6:15b
…Whom no one has seen or can see, to Him be honr and might forever. Amen
“Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
Kathy, Cochran, GA
The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth, and delivered them out of all their troubles.
Psalm 34:17 (KJV)
Tammy, Dallas
Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically, as something done for the Lord and not for men, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord—you serve the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23-24 HCSB
Tammy, Dallas
We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God; those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 HCSB
“The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
Exodus 14:14, NKJV
Patti, Kissimmee, FL
Dawn, Jacksonville, Fl
A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown,
but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.
Proverbs 12:4 NIV
John 3:17 (NIV)
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.
Denise
Asheville, NC
Isaiah 33:2 (NIV)
O LORD, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.
Shelly, Portland, OR. “Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do and He will bless you for it. 1 Peter 3:9
Lynnette in Houston
Psalm 126:3 (NIV)
The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.
Becky, Rochester MN, “for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you” Ps 9:10b
Valley Head, AL
Psalm 107:28 “Lord, help!” they cried in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
Sally, Grants, NM
2 Corinthians 10:5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. ESV
Trisa, Aberdeen,SD
“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them
On your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the
Road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
Deuteronomy 6:6&7
Katie, Madison, WI, “wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the LORD.”. Psalm 27:14 NASB
I missed this week because I was out of town…but, I just couldn’t leave it until I placed my verse here!
Proverbs 22:11 NIV
He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for his friend.
Kristi, Inman, SC
Lori Todd, San Angelo, Texas
Trust in Him at all times, o people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Ps 62:8 NIV
Marlene, Harleysville, PA. “Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
Catrina, Plano, TX
My dear brothers and sisters, be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to get angry.
-James 1:19 NLT
Sylvia
Georgetown, TX
James 1:22 NIV
Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
Christina
Louisville, KY
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9 NIV
Bena ~ Pikeville, KY
For you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.
–Psalm 9:10b
Debbie, Fort Thomas, KY
Sorry so late – was traveling with no access to my computer!
“Rely on the Lord! Be strong and confident! Rely on the Lord!”
Psalm 27:14 The NET Bible
Judy, Senoia, Georgia. “Behold, the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those who hope for His lovingkindness.” Psalm 33:18
Elizabeth R., Cypress, TX:
“And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
James 1:4 (NASB)
Stephanie S., Houston:
Is anything too hard for the Lord? Genesis 18:14 NLT
Nancy Anoka, MN
“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.”
1 Corinthians 16:13 NIV
I just got to post now, but I’ve been faithful… promise 🙂
Psalm 121:7-8 The Lord will protect you from all harm; He will protect your life. The Lord will protect your coming and going both now and forever.
Michelle
Florida
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