**Siesta Celebration is January 20-21, 2012**
Hey, you Scripture memory freaks!
Your mama needs a hall pass in the worst way for a while regarding lengths of posts. We are now only about 6 weeks from the LifeWay deadline for all things James. To say that Melissa and I are under the gun is an understatement and, of course, so are all our friends on the publishing side. It’s stressful for everyone concerned this close to rolling the press. You will not waste a prayer on us, or on any member of our family, for that matter. Amanda and Curtis are finding out what kind of warfare you sign up for when you determine to get out there where the wind of the Spirit is blowing and dare to fulfill your calling. It’s hard to watch your children go through it. I tell them all the time (and they don’t need convincing) that enduring is so worth it but, man oh man, as many of you know, the fire is hot. And it’s often very personal, don’t you think? Satan goes for the psychological jugular.
I have had a great – almost life-stopping – time poring over James for well over the last year and I will miss the process so much. I love the intensity an in-depth journey demands and I genuinely fight a wave of depression when it’s over. (I’ll ask for your prayers about that at the time.) But, the fact is, push is about to come to shove. I no longer have the luxury of taking all the time I want. This baby is almost due. Thank you for any spare prayers! I am not in a bad way or in a contentious state. I’m just wide-eyed and aware that a very loud clock is ticking. So is my baby girl. I know some of you must be getting so tired of hearing about it! Stand with me a little longer, in hopes that Jesus may be glorified.
In my memory work, I’m still choosing verses out of 2 Timothy. I couldn’t split these four verses up without shortchanging the context so I’m posting the whole segment.
Beth, Houston. “And the Lord’s slave must not engage in heated disputes but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance and then knowledge of the truth and they will come to their senses and escape the devil’s trap where they are held captive to do his will.” 2 Timothy 2:24-26 The NET Bible
This portion of Scripture and others like it seem altogether ignored or dismissed in a culture where believers stay embroiled in one heated dispute after another. Scripture tells us how to differ without ripping the fabric of our common faith to shreds. In the segment above, the Apostle Paul uses words like kindness and gentleness. When we tend to think that carnality is the only kind of sin that can keep the church from revival, we’re overlooking the steady stream of commands in the New Testament about how to treat one another. Disunity can shipwreck the whole lot of us right there on the shore of disgrace. We can even be right and fall into the chastisement of God because our hearts were wrong. May God forgive us, heal us, and help us.
OK, Sisters. Let’s hear your 13th verses. While you’re at it, remember that what we’re doing here is IMPORTANT! We’ve got to protect these minds of ours! That’s where our battles are won or lost. You will never waste a single moment rolling God’s Word around in your sweet head. Your health will be the better for it. Your marriage will be the better for it. Your job will be the better for it. Your relationships will be the better for it. Your obedience will be the better for it. Your calling will be the better for it. YOU will be the better for it.
Me, too.
I’m crazy about you. Keep your eyes to the skies.
Jennifer-Mansfield, Tx
“Every word of God proves true; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.” Proverbs 30:5 (ESV)
Joyce
Dalton, GA
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22 & 23 NKJV
Stacey, Shreveport
“Lord, teach me how you want me to live. Then I will follow your truth. Give me a heart that doesn’t want anything more than to worship you.” Psalm 86:11/NIV
Vicki Wilmington –
My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
Psalm 73:26 NKJV
Barbara
Midland,Texas
Matthew 11:30(ESV)
“For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”
Penny, Cincinnati. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-5, NIV
Linda from North Fort Myers, FL: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word.” Ephesians 5:25-26 NIV
Stephanie, Canton, “So let us seize and hold fast and retain without wavering the hope we cherish and confess and our acknowledgement of it, for He who promised is reliable (sure) and faithful to His word. (Hebrews 10:23, AMP)
Psalm 33:12 (NIV)
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance.
Karina, Victoria/Vancouver, BC CANADA:
“Don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.” James 1:16-18 (NLT)
Christi of Clinton, Utah- “For you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.” Psalms 9:10b New International Version (NIV)
Emily Mechanicsville, VA
Do not judge or you too will be judged. Matthew 7:1 NIV
Jodi Battle, San Diego, CA
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
James 1:2-3 (NIV)
Becky, St. Augustine,
“God is spirit, and His worshipers must
worship in spirit and in truth.”
John 4:24 NIV
Christy
Fayetteville, AR
1 Samuel 15:29
“He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change his mind; for he is not a man, that he should change his mind.”
NIV
He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.
Isaiah 33:6 NIV
jen, Knoxville, TN
I know my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes- I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! Job 19:25-27 (NIV)
Tami
Decatur, Texas
“Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD keep watch over the door of my lips.”
Psalm 141:3
So sorry I’m late.
I John 1:9
If we confess our sins, HE is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
NKJV
Tammy. Paducah. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
John 8:36
Jaclyn, Houston. “Your ways, O God, are holy. What God is so great as our God?” Psalm 77:13 NIV
Jill Bozeman MT
Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice. Surely he will never be shaken;a righteous man will be remembered forever. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
Psalm 112:5-7 NIV
So sorry I’m late! I’m with Ms. Moore on this one though:
Maggie, Mesilla Park
“And the Lord’s slave must not engage in heated disputes but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient, correcting opponents with gentleness.” 2 Timothy 2:24 NET
Romans 12:12 (NIV) ” Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”
Through these He has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
2 Peter 1:4 (NIV)
Kathleen
Bellmore, LI, NY
Kate, Arvada “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 NKJV
Tracey from Knightdale, NC:
Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think —according to the power that works in you— Ephesians 3:20 HCSB
Barb S., Madison, WI
“My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother: Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck. When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.”
Proverbs 6:20-22 KJV
“For everything that was written in former times was written for our instruction so that through endurance and through encouragement of the scriptures we may have hope.”
Romans 15:4, NET
Nancy, Arkansas
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Luke 9:23 NKJ
Christine Lissoy, Irvine, CA: “I raise my eyes towards the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2 (late entry…was on vacation – NIV)
Carla, Houston, Tx.
The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary.
Isa. 50:4 NIV
Nanette R., Nashville, TN
“For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
I chose this after being at camp with our church youth and they were challenged to memorize six verses called, “Six Points of the Gospel>.” I decided to rise to the challenge and refresh my middle-aged brain about this way to share the gospel.
Kelly, Colorado Springs, CO
“For my yolk is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:30 ESV
Liz, Lexington KY
“Since You are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of Your name lead and guide me.”
Psalm 31:3 (NIV)
Janice, Milford, IL
Matt 11:28-30
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” NIV
Carol from Belleville On says:
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? Ps 27:1 KNJV
Dawn, Dubuque, IA
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16
bernadette, Mtn Home, AR Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition, present your requests to God. Phil 4:6 NIV
Cathy, Houston, TX. Nothing can shake me; he’s right by my side. I’m glad from the inside out; ecstatic. I’ve pitched my tent in the land of hope. Acts 2:25 The Message.
Mar Jo, The Woodlands, TX Come near to God and He will come near to You. James 4:8 NIV
Be still and know that I am God. ps 46:10
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows.
James 1:17
Gretchen in Buffalo, NY:
“O LORD my God, I take refuge in you; save and deliver me from all who pursue me” Psalm 7:1 (NIV)
Kristin
Clearwater, FL
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8 NIV
Acts 26:18 (NIV)
to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.
Vickie, Poplar Bluff, MO
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:22 NIV
While I realize I am no longer eligible for the celebration in January, by the grace of God, I refuse to give in and give up. 🙂
Andrea, Ontario, Canada
“In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.”
Proverbs 19:21 (NIV)
Becky, Vicksburg, MS
But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the Lord. Jonah 2:9 (NIV).
Julia in Americus, Georgia
“The Lord confides in those who fear Him;
He makes His covenant known to them.”
Psalm 25:14 NIV