**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.
“Therefore, submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:7-8a (Holman)
Elizabeth, Haleigh, and Isabel…..Midland
1 John 1:5
This is the message that we have heard from Him and declare it to you. God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.
Andrea, Roscoe, IL
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit, apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5
Thanks Andrea, I was struggling with a verse this week- you shared the exact one I needed to remember. Kathy Armstrong
Carrie Hays, Houston, TX
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
Ephesians 4:2 NIV
Bridgett from Pell City:
And whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men. Colossians 3:23 NKJV
Hill, LA
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
Marie Justin Texas
I will save you from the hands of the wicked and redeem you from the hands of the cruel. Jeremiah 15:21 NIV
Memorizing God’s word this year has given me the strength to deal with the struggles of my two adoptive boys.
Merredith, Champaign …Show me your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25:4-5 NIV
from King George,VA
Psalm 141:3 (NIV)
Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
James 1:17 NAS
Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
Beth from Lititz PA
Cara – Fridley, MN
Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own, you were bought with a price [purchased with preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honor God and bring glory to Him in your body.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 AMP
Robbie, Southaven, MS: “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. May the name of the Lord be blessed!” Job 1:21b (NET)
For whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. I Peter 3:10 ESV
Kristie
Queen City, TX
Molly Gainesville GA
“For as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;” Isaiah 55:10 NASB
Tammy N.~ Lubbock, TX
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12 NIV
(Sorry this is sooo late. I was away on a trip!)
Just had my kids start memorizing James 1:19 today –
Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.
Great words for summer survival! Can’t wait til you get the James study ready. I will definitely be praying. Spiritual battles galore when we truly seek the Father’s heart and His will. Full armor on! (Ephesians 6)
Donna, Albuquerque
“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 NIV
Karon, Kingsland, GA
The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.
Psalm 28:7 NIV
Lifting your ministry in prayer.
Julie, Sheffield, UK.
Flee from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
2 Timothy 2:22 (HCSB)
I am looking for verses to add to my notecards about marriage… specifically ones to change how I feel about intimacy. Sometimes this is very difficult for me. I can find plenty of verses on lust but I need ones that will show me how positive this is… I’d like to start with something that doesn’t make my skin crawl if possible. Does anyone know where these verses are located?
Emily D, Portsmouth, England
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1 v9 NIV
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”
Psalm 20:7 NIV
Natalie
Austin, Texas
Psalm 9:1 NIV
I will praise you oh Lord with all my heart. I will tell of all your wonders!
Psalm 16:7 NIV
I will praise the Lord who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.
Paula K, Muskegon, MI
Darcy, Lenoir
Isaiah 40:28 NIV
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
Darien, Lenoir
Isaiah 40:28 NIV
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
Jae, Lenoir
Isaiah 40:28 NIV
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.
Proverbs 15:13 (NIV)
Donna
Ponder, TX
Theresa, Pace, Florida
Deuteronomy 8:3
“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.”
(I promise I had this from before the first but completely forgot to post….pls. forgive.)
Hope I’m not too late! Computer crashed…
Debbie from Westerville, OH – Phillipians 4: 12b-13 NIV
I have learned the secret of being content whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.
Marybeth in Oxford, PA: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1 NIV
Joy
Charlotte, NC
For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them. But he who listens to me shall live securely and will be at ease from the dread of evil.
Proverbs 1:32-33, NASB
Kelly, Chesterfield Matthew 11: 28-29
Come to Me, all of 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
Allison, Eau Claire, WI
Matt. 7:7&8
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds. and to him who knocks it will be opened. NIV
Jennifer, Michigan
And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 The NIV Bible
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded, YOU NEED TO PERSEVERE so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. Hebrews 10:35-36 NIV
Rebecca
Greenwood, IN
This is what the Lord says to you: “Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” 2 Chronicles 20:15 NIV
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (ESV)
Romans 12:21
I have been meaning to get this up here since June 30th…hope it still counts!! I am LOVING this challenge! Thank you, Beth, for spurring us on!
“Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy & find grace to help in time of need.” Heb. 4:16 NASB
Tami
Platte, South Dakota
Colossians 3:4-8
“When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.”
Ephesians 6:10-12
Finally, my breathren, be stong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. KJV
Ephesians 4:1..I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
Kathy, Austin, John 15:5
“I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do no thing.”
Catrina
Plano, TX‎
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Jeremiah 29:11
Vicki from Waco: Late in posting but still on track. Ps. 91:16 NLT–“I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.”
Sarah, Chocowinity, NC
The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him. – Nahum 1:7
Ina from Lancaster, PA
Take delight in the LORD,
and He will give you your heart’s desires.
Psalm 37:4 NLV
Kori, Cabot AR, Psalm 119:133 NIV Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.
Karen Lipford, Farmington, AR
Psalm 4:8 “In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.” NIV