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**January 20-21, 2012**
Hey, You Scripture-Memory-Mad Women!
I hope your Memorial Day weekend was wonderful and that your appreciation of our nation’s heroes got a fresh stir. I looked around our sanctuary on Sunday at all those who had served in wars and I marveled over the few World War II veterans we have left. My Dad was one of them and, had he lived, he would be ninety. Such a powerful part of our history was written in their blood. My dad lived well over half a century with a bullet fragment lodged near his heart. He took a hit right through his cheek and, ultimately, surgeons grafted skin from his hip to cover the severe indention in his face. If you have a family with a weird sense of humor, perhaps you can imagine that it was fodder for a few jokes, most of which he told himself.
Of course, heroes come in all generations and both genders. I have two framed pictures in prominent places in my office of women soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan who have done Bible studies on their tours of duty. Flabbergasting to me. May Christ hold our soldiers tight and let them lose neither their lives nor their faith and may He return them to their families as whole people, twice the wiser.
Well, Girlfriends, it’s JUNE! Our temperatures in Houston are already well into the upper nineties and we are experiencing the severest drought in decades. It seems that few areas of our country are free of something ranging from brow-raising concern all the way to destruction and devastation. What on earth?? I don’t pretend to know the details of what is happening around us but I really do feel that Kingdom history is being written in these days entrusted to us. I believe there is a bold dot on the divine time line representing this era with a label Heaven alone knows for now, but generations will talk about until Christ’s Kingdom comes. We must stand firm in our faith and love twice as much. These are days when our words must be backed by our hearts or dismissed entirely by the world. Remember Christ’s warning in Matthew 24:12 that the hearts of many will grow cold. Our love will not endure extended seasons of difficulty by accident. In our self-protectiveness, the first natural casualty will be our emotions. We will either set our hearts on things above (Col. 3:1) where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, or we’ll lose our footing here below.
We are called to live by faith and to love by faith.
Part of how we stand firm is to know Scripture, and not with swollen heads but swollen hearts. One of the verses in my quiet time this morning was Psalm 119:57 – “The LORD is my source of security. I have determined to follow Your instructions.” (The NET Bible) One thing is certain: we are finding out how little security this anguishing planet can offer us. “The LORD is the source of security.” Personal. National. Global. Universal. The Lord alone. And, so, like never before, we need to know His instructions…and follow them.
One of my favorite portions of the Book of James has turned out to be the last half of 5:11 – “…you have seen the Lord’s purpose, that the Lord is full of compassion and mercy.” The Lord cannot set aside His compassion and mercy to deal with this world. Oh, I’m not saying He won’t ultimately deal with this world. His Word promises that He will. But I am saying that He cannot set aside His compassion and mercy to do it. They are elements of His immutable character and the first descriptions He used to introduce Himself to Moses by name in Exodus 34:6-7.
OK, Sisters. I better get to our purpose here on this first of June. The pages are flying off the calendar like leaves in the wind and it’s time for our 11th verse! God has had me in 2 Timothy recently for my memory work so here’s mine this time around:
Beth, Houston. “Because of this, in fact, I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, because I know the one in whom my faith is set and I am convinced that He is able to protect what has been entrusted to me until that day.” 2 Timothy 1:12 The NET Bible
You can bet your life on it.
You are treasured here. May Christ continue to captivate you. He loves you so much.
PS. OK, I can’t stand it anymore. SO HOW ABOUT THAT TIMER AT THE TOP OF THIS POST???? That, my beloved Siestas, is exactly how much time we have to go until our SSMT celebration! Wooooooohoooooooo!!! Bring it, Jesus! Kudos to my wonderful coworker, Kimberly McMahon, for making that happen. I told her I thought we needed a little extra incentive for this second half of our Scripture memory commitment. I WANT EVERY ONE OF YOU TO COME if you possibly can. With the numbers where they are right now on our 1st and 15th entries, we have room to fit all of you in our sanctuary. Save your money! Ask for it as a Christmas gift! Remember, the event is our gift to you but it’s not too soon to start saving for travel and accommodations. This is one of the biggest events on the calendar to us at Living Proof so please know how wanted you are and how loved you are. Celebrating a faithful work of God to a woefully dependent people was His idea in the first place. He loves festivals so, Girlfriends, let’s have one.
L.E.T.S.C.O.U.N.T.I.T.D.O.W.N.
But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my savior; my God will hear me.
MICAH 7:7 NLT
Emily, Seattle
“He who walk with integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his ways will become known.” – Proverbs 10:9 (NKJ)
Madge Marietta, GA
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6.8 NIV
Naomi, Acworth, GA
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6.8 NIV
Julie, Lexington, Ky
For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: the righteous will live by faith. Romans 1:17, NIV
Carolyn, St. Peters, MO
But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.
Malachi 4:2 NIV
“For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace.” Rom. 8:6 NAS
Luke 5:31-32 NIV
31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Kem, Memphis
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you.
Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)
Amy Hopper Ardmore, OK
“For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.” Hebrews 6:10 ESV
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Patty – Glendora, CA
“His mercies never end. They are new every morning;great is Your faithfulness!” Lamentations 3:22-23
Christina, Egenhausen: Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you. Deuteronomy 6:3
In my integrity you uphold me and set me in your presence forever!!! NIV
Natalie, Austin, Tx
Katie, Roanoke TX ” For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him” John 3:17 NIV
Karla – Cedarburg, WI
You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3 NIV
Annette, Richmond, TX – John 15:6 NIV
If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.
Julia,Whidbey Island, WA: “Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.” 2Cor.1:11 NIV
Kara Oklahoma: Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the patience of Christ. 2 Thess 3:5 NKV
Bella of Rochester, MI
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. ROM 12.2
Tracy, Edgewood – Lord you are mine! I promise to obey your words! With all my heart I want your blessings. Be merciful as you promised. I pondered the direction of my life, and I turned to follow your laws. ~Psalm 119:57-59 (NLT)
Nancy, Springdale, AR
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10, NIV
Spent yesterday trying to live up to this in Joplin, nearly broke my heart in half but was worth every second.
Marybeth in Oxford, PA- “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9 ESV
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV
Meredith, Valdosta, GA
Isaiah 44:22 (NASB)
“I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud And your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:25-26 NIV
Joan, Fredericktown, OH
Psalm 17:7 NIV
Show the wonder of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes
LaTava, Lincoln
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Colossians 4:5-6 NIV
Betty Barnard, Clarksville, TN
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”
NIV
“And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” Galations 6:9 (NKJV)
Lauren, Biloxi:
“You shall therefore impress these words of mine on your heart and on your soul; and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontals on your forehead.” Deuteronomy 11:18 NASB
“The LORD is my source of security. I have determined to follow Your instructions.” Psalm 119:57 (NET)
Reneé from Missouri City, TX:
Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Love doesn’t strut, doesn’t have a swelled head, doesn’t force itself on others, isn’t always “me-first”, doesn’t fly off the handle, doesn’t keep score of the sin of others, doesn’t revel when others grovel, takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, puts up with anything, trusts God always, always looks for the best, never looks back, but keeps going to the end.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 MSG
Kristen C, Three Rivers, MI
“And in the future, your children will ask you, ‘What does this all mean?’ Then you will tell them, ‘With mighty power the LORD brought us out of Egypt from our slavery.'” Exodus 13:14 nlt
Jennifer, Collierville TN (near Memphis)
Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you. Psalm 37:5 NLT
Naomi ~ Colorado Springs:
From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. John 1:16 NIV
De su abundancia, todos hemos recibido una bendición inmerecida tras otra. Juan 1:16 NTV
Stacey from Mississippi
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Luke 12:34 NIV
Tracy, Spring, TX
But Thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
1 Cor. 15:57-58 NIV
Lamentations 3:22-24 NIV
Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”
Loretta, Murrayville
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12 NIV
Theresa – Pace, Florida
The LORD your God is with you, he is might to save.
He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18
NASB
“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
Colossians 3:13 NIV
Paulette
Nogalus Prairie
Psalm 61:2
“From the most remote place on earth I call out to You in my despair. Lead me up to an inaccessible rocky summit!”
The NET Bible
Shara, Somerset, CA Psalm 46:1, 2 NASB
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea.
Everything is lawful for me, but I will not become the slave of anything or be brought under its power. 1 Corinthians 6:12 AMP
“O, Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with HIM is full redemption.” (capitals mine)
Ps. 130:7 (NIV)
I am engaged to be married to a wonderful Godly man. I met him exactly 7 years to the day from the day God gave me HIS promise for my husband. With HIM there truly is redemption in full but we have to be willing to wait for it!!!!
Lauren, Senoia, GA
Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man without self-control.
Proverbs 25:28, NIV
Jessie, Meriden, CT
“Come now, let’s settle this”, says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow. Though they are red as crimson, I will make them white as wool.” Isaiah 1:18 NLT
Cara McKaskle
Conway, AR
“Let’s keep a firm grip on the promises that keep us going. He always keeps his word.”
Hebrews 10:23, MSG