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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.
Ann Marie, Grand Rapids
Galatians 5:1 (NIV)
It is for freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grown weary; they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:30-31 (NIV)
I Thessalonians 5:18 Amplified
Thank God in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus [the Revealer and Mediator of that will].
Donna, DFW,TX
Revelation 17:14 (NIV)
They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because He is Lord of lords and King of kings – and with Him will be His called, chosen and faithful followers.
Janet, Wingate
I will fully satisfy the needs of those who are weary and fully refresh the souls of those who are faint. Jeremiah 31:25 NET
Irving, Texas
NIV Psalm 16:1 Keep me safe, O God for in you I take refuge.
Ginny, Ooltewah, TN
A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.
Proverbs 29:11 NIV
Thank you so much for all the verses everyone has shared. Some I know and some I’ve never committed to memory.
Beth, I loved what you shared about your Dad. My Dad was in Japan in 1954. The war was over but he remembers the people sharing how much they hated what war. It has grived his heart to see what the earthquake has done.
Sometimes time gets away from me and I realize that I haven’t read my Bible in a few days. But this blog has helped me keep better on track as I seek the Lord to be my protector, helper, counselor, and guide in all areas of my life.
Mary Ann Ringgold,, Ga.
I am with you–I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with my virtuous right hand.
Isiah 41:10 TLB
If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, fir darkness us light with you. Psalm 139:11, 12
Nina, IL
Jill H. – Aurora, IL – Psalm 139:13-14 – 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful,I know that full well.
Jamie Harper (HappyHarpers)
Birmingham, AL
“For He chose us in Him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight.” Eph 1:4 (NIV)
Toronto, ON
Psalm 18:28 (NKJV)
For you will light my lamp;
The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.
For by You I can run against a troop,
And by my God I can leap over a wall.
As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the Lord is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust him.
Susan — Nashville, IN
“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)
Lana, Laurel, Nebraska
“The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” Luke 18:27 NASB
Lynnette in Houston (I think this is the earliest I’ve posted all year – correlation to anxiety?! LOL)
Psalm 94:19 (NIV)
When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.
Cindy – Fort Worth, TX
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. John 14:27 NAS
John 14:27 NIV
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
Shelly, Greenville
Do to others as you would like them to do to you.
Luke 6:31 NLT
Soorin
Eugene, OR
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” 2 Cor 3:17 (NIV)
Sherry in Marietta GA
“All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Tim 3:16
Sallie~Beaverton, OR
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Gal.6:9 NIV
Sherry in Marietta GA
“All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Tim 3:16 NIV
Nicole, Oxford MS
A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.
Proverbs 29:11 NIV
Lisa
Psalm 73:26 NIV
“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion FOREVER!”
Jana, Quitaque, TX
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2 NIV
James 3:8 & 9 NKJ
But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men who have been made in the similitude of God.
Katherine- The Colony, TX
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Tim. 3:16-17
Nichole
Marion, Iowa
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-the fruit of lips that confess his name.
Hebrews 13:15 NIV
Deanna, Maytown AL
Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God.
2 Corinthians 3:5 ESV
rachel h- memphis, tn
“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.”
Colossians 1:9
Sheila Armstrong Union City Indiana
“Stand firm. 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 Corinthians 15:58 NIV
So remember this and keep it firmly in mind:
The Lord is God both in heaven and on earth
and there is no other.
Deut 4:39 NLT
Ti-Leigh
Orlando, FL
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
Isaiah 26:3
The Lord is my source of security. I have determined to follow your instructions.
Ps. 119:57 (NET)
Kathleen
Bellmore, LI, NY
Mary, Portland–“In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.” Proverbs 25:32 (NIV)
“Stand firm. 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 Corinthians 15:58 NIV
Revelation 21:6,7 (NIV)
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world,and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:12 NIV
Rachel- College Station, TX
“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
Andrea- Florence, Ky: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. Revelation 3:15-16
Kathy from Ontario, Canada
“He nurses them when they are sick
and soothes their pain and worries.”
Psalm 41:3 TLB
Hope in Washington!
Psalm 103:1-5 (The Message)
1-2 O my soul, bless God. From head to toe, I’ll bless his holy name!
O my soul, bless God,
don’t forget a single blessing!
3-5 He forgives your sins—every one.
He heals your diseases—every one.
He redeems you from hell—saves your life!
He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.
Diane, Ocala, FL
“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57 NIV
Cara, Holland. “The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.” Psalm 145:8-9 ESV
Sorry this is woefully late!
First Peter 4:9 (NKJV)
Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
(Sorry I’m late with this!)
(Ouch! This verse really did apply to me.)
Johnnie
Wake Forest, NC
“For He satisfies the longing soul,and fills the hungry soul with goodness.” Psalm 107:9 NKJ
Cowpens, SC
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty.”
Psalm 91:1 (Amp)
Amy, Kansas City
John 6:35: Jesus said to them,”I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. (NRSV)
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”
2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)
Erin
Denison, TX
For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven.
Colossians 1:4,5b
New Living Translation