**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.
Tammy Monroe,Ga.
“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” Prov.16:24
Paula, Brownwood, Tx
Many are the plans in the mind of a man(woman),
but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.
Proverbs 19:21 (ESV)
Jeanene – Newnan, GA
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 grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40: 30-31 NIV
Leanne
Mississippi
He says, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10 NIV
Chrissy, Detroit Lakes, MN: “…guard yourselves and keep free from all covetousness (the immoderate desire for wealth, the greedy longing to have more); for a man’s life does not consist in and is not derived from possessing overflowing abundance or that which is over and above his needs.” –Luke 12:15 [AMP]
ginger, Trussville: I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13 (NASB)
Kristine, La Crescent, MN: I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. Eph. 1:17 NIV
Central, SC: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” ~ 2 Corinthians 4:18, NIV 1984 Version.
Joan/Coppell, TX: For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NIV
Deanne, Laguna Hills, CA
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8 NIV
Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Prov 19:21, ESV.
Trudy, NC
Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life. Prov. 4:23 NAS
Suzanne Summerfield,Fl
Ps. 84:11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: The LORD will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold from those who wald uprightly.
Libby, Goodwine, IL
I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:10-11 NIV
and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:10 NIV
Julie, Carlsbad, Ca ~”For He chose us in Him, before the creation of the world, to be holy and blameless in His sight.” Ephesians 1:4 NIV
Elaine, New Orleans, LA
YOu have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence. Acts 2:28 NIV
Susan, Oak Ridge, TN.
Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift. Don’t grieve God. Don’t break His heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted. Make a clean break with all cutting, backbitting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:29-32(MSG)
Clinton, TN
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.
Psalm 51:10 (ESV)
Psalm 9:10 NIV
Those who know your name will trust in you, for you Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
Joyce, Big River SK., Canada
“I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.”
Ephesians 3:16-18 (NIV)
Jenny, Elida, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Deuteronomy 6:4 (NIV)
Grace, Elida, “A friend loves you at all times. A brother is always there to help you.” Proverbs 17:17 (ICB)
Katie, IA
Psalm 119: 169-176 (NIV)
169 May my cry come before you, LORD;
give me understanding according to your word.
170 May my supplication come before you;
deliver me according to your promise.
171 May my lips overflow with praise,
for you teach me your decrees.
172 May my tongue sing of your word,
for all your commands are righteous.
173 May your hand be ready to help me,
for I have chosen your precepts.
174 I long for your salvation, LORD,
and your law gives me delight.
175 Let me live that I may praise you,
and may your laws sustain me.
176 I have strayed like a lost sheep.
Seek your servant,
for I have not forgotten your commands
Sarah, Elgin, IL
Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.
Psalm 25:5, NLT
“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”
James 1:12, NIV
Tricia Faison Wendell, NC
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our stuggle 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 6:10-12 NIV
Deidra – Waynesboro
I am the LORD; that is my name! I wil not give my glory to another or my praise to idols.
Isaiah 42:8 NIV
Cheryl Adams
Hephzibah, Ga
Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Joshua 1:6
Love y’all!
Renee, Roanoke VA: “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Romans 12:12 (ESV)
Lynn, Lake Villa, IL
2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 NIV
Callee from Houston, TX: You did not choose me but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. John 15:16
“The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it!” (The Message)
~Bobbie Jo
San Angelo, TX
Tomi, Des Moines, IA
“We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.” II Corinthians 4:10-12 NIV
Kerry, Houston
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:6-7 (NIV)
Shannon in Louisville, KY
A person without self-control is like a city with broken-down walls.
Proverbs 25:28 (NLT)
Beth, Toronto: “And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show you …
And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands for us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands.”
Exodus 25:8,9a and Psalm 90:17 (NKJV)
🙂
Praying for y’all!! Yes, indeed the Enemy doesn’t change his tactics … how awful are the doubts, fears, and a spirit of confusion in the hopes that we will lose HOPE and operate on feelings versus faith.
“Do not be afraid …. I AM your shield, your
exceedingly great reward.” Gen. 15:1
Tiffany, Houston – 11. The LORD your God wins victory after victory and is always with you. He celebrates and sings because of you, and he will refresh your life with his love.” Zephaniah 3:17(CEV)
Lucinda Bomberger, Watsontown, PA
John 16:33 NIV “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
Annie, Alabama
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39 (NIV)
Muscle Shoals, AL
I like your pick, Beth!
“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
Wendy and daughters, Faith (15) and Naomi Hope (11), Eden Prairie, MN
Psalm 33:12a, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” NIV
(a short phrase but it is sooooooo powerful, especially now over July 4th. Pray for our nations leaders that they all may understand this verse)
Sharon, Riverside, Ca.
I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13
Woodstock,Ga
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go for to you I lift my soul.
Psalm 143:8 (NIV 1984)
Dwynne, Chapman KS (NIV)
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Christina
Louisville, KY
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
Proverbs 31:25-26 NIV
Jana, San Angelo, TX
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 English Standard Version.
diane, Baraboo, Wisconsin
“Oh God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you;….
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.” Psalm 63: 1, 3-5 NIV
Sarah, Burlington, ON: “Those who look to Him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.” (Psalm 34:5, TNIV)
Judy Baggett, Irving, Texas
“Therefore since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.
Hebrews 12:1-2