We’re off and running, Sweet Things! And 11,000 strong!!! Oh, how I pray that God will grant us the divine favor and indwelling power to keep it up month after month and finish 2013 in the multiple thousands. What joy He and we would have! For now, we take it step by step, one verse at a time. Don’t get caught up wondering how in the world you’re going to memorize 24 verses when you’re having a hard time memorizing the first one. That will sink your Scripture memory boat for sure.
I make you this promise based on my experience and the experience of many others: the more you memorize, the more you’ll get the hang of it. I was going to say that the more you memorize, the easier it gets but it’s not easy and that’s part of what makes it such a victory to celebrate with Jesus. I do believe I can tell you with confidence, however, that your tenth verse will very likely be easier to memorize than your first one. By that time, you’ve quit letting your nay-whining old nature tell you that you can’t do it and you shouldn’t have even tried. A big part of the battle in the first month is simply telling that self-destructive echo in our heads to shut its mouth. It’s replacing “I knew I couldn’t do it” with “Oh, yes I can. I can do all things through Christ.”
Persevere! Let’s not be quitters! God would rather us make it to the end of the year still stumbling over some words than throwing our hands up and quitting at the first imperfect recitation. Even if we don’t get our verses down perfectly, the pursuit itself is the very art of meditation. Nothing about it is a waste of time. Just think of how it helps to break the mental loop of rehearsed offenses. We’re going to be fixated on something. That’s how our minds often work. But we get to choose what.
So, right now say verse 1 out loud the very best you can.
Tremendous job. Now, let’s add our second one to it.
I totally love my verse this time around! It came up in my Scripture reading during my quiet time early Sunday morning. Here it goes:
Beth, Houston. All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children.” Isaiah 54:13 ESV
Isn’t that fabulous? I’m choosing this verse specifically so that I can turn it into intercessory prayer. Mind you, I’m not “claiming” it like I’d be apt to do with a promise more clearly obvious under the New Covenant. I’m reluctant to claim the fulfillment of a promise made straight to Israel for myself or people in my world unless I know that we have a coinciding New Covenant promise. I’d have to see consistency to pray it as one fervently counting on it. Isaiah 54:13 carries obvious elements that are very consistent with the promises of Christ to us. He promised that the Holy Spirit will teach us all things and He blatantly gave us His peace but where I’m asking God to do an Isaiah 54:13 work in my family is the emphasis on ALL my children. I want every single one of them to be students of Christ Jesus, to love His Word and His ways with a passion beyond the natural realm, and for His peace to be great upon them and contagious. If you’ll look in the Scripture’s context in Isaiah 54, especially in verses 11-17, you’ll see that V.13 is within the promises God made specifically to Israel and scheduled for fulfillment in a time yet to come. So, no, I’m not claiming it, so to speak, BUT, I am indeed asking for it. That’s fair game.
God is not obligated to say yes to promises like those in Isaiah 54 this side of His Kingdom’s full revelation but, as I persevere in prayer and faith, He will indeed hear me and I believe be pleased that I had the boldness to pray it. He is not blessed by our small, vision-bare petitions anyway. I’ve thought for a long time that God would rather hear His children voice outrageously large prayers of faith even if He has to say no on occasion than hear our pale, timid, tepid requests for things He’s already given us anyway. For instance, if we belong to Him in Christ, He is indeed going to “bless us” and “keep us.” So, I’m adding Isaiah 54:13 to my spiral and planning to reword it often into a request. I’m going to take the risk that He may indeed perform generational miracles with a family tree sprouted from the soil of disease and brokenness. Make us oaks of righteousness, Lord, for the display of Your splendor. (Isaiah 61:3)
This I know for sure: we often have not because we ask not. (James 4:2)
I love something else about Isaiah 54:13. I love that the word translated peace in English is the word “shalom” in Hebrew. The Hebrew word blows the doors off of our usual concept of peace. When I ask God for great peace to be upon my children, I have no interest in a trance-like state of passionless nirvana. I want God’s brand of peace: lively, vivacious. Here’s what the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament has to say about it:
“The general meaning behind the root š-l-m is of completion and fulfillment—of entering into a state of wholeness and unity, a restored relationship.”
It means to be intact, healthy, sound. It means wellness of soul. It conveys the idea of God prospering His child. He describes His peace like a river: moving and running. His peace is no pond. I read the verse first out of The NET Bible that sits open on my desk at home. Isaiah 54:13 is worded this way on its pages: “All your children will be followers of the LORD, and your children will enjoy great prosperity.” Right that moment I jotted the verse down in my journal and, under it, asked the Lord (with enough zeal to imprint it on the next page) to prosper my children and their children and their children and their children in the way that really matters: grant them lives that bear much fruit – I said MUCH FRUIT –Â for THIS is to our Father’s great glory. May they blatantly show themselves to be Christ’s disciples. (That’s John 15:8 and, if you haven’t memorized it yet, it is a must! Prioritize it early on in your year if God causes it to leap off the page with you.)Â With all my heart, I want God to use this lineage He is redeeming to prosper His Kingdom.
So I am really fired up about my verse for our next two weeks and hope to still be saying it and praying it for the next generations of this family line when I’m about to see Jesus. If you don’t already have a verse selected, you are welcome to share it and make it your own with Jesus. Choose any verse that He’s using to speak to you right now. Remember, that’s what will make it stick to your ribs. It needs to mean something to you!
Hit it, Girls! Remember! Only your names, cities, verses, references, and translations! You are stellar, Sisters. I love you so much.
Edited to add: Information on how to download your Android or iPhone application!
I know many of you have been asking if we are going to have an app this year for your smart phones, and we have both good news and bad news. The good news is YES, we ARE! We have created an app for both Android and iPhones. The bad news is, the Android app is ready for you, but if you would be so patient with us, we’ll have the iPhone app ready for you in about five or six days. Does that sound good?
So, excuse me while I get technical for just a minute!
For those of you that still have the old application on your phone (and this goes for both Android and iPhone users), you would most likely have received a notification about the availability of this new one, but if not, and you are currently using an android, simply click here to download the app. (This link is for Android users only.) Android users, if you’re having issues with this link (and it’s currently working fine on this end), you can search “Living Proof Ministries – Scripture Memory Team – 2013” in your phone under applications. (I have very little knowledge about Android phones, so forgive me if my wording is wrong.)
When the iPhone app is ready, I’ll update this post for those of you who would like to download it with all the instructions you’ll need. However, I do know upfront you’ll be able to find the app in the iTunes store via your phone or computer.
Once you have the application, it is very user friendly. You’ll be notified the 1st and 15th of every month with the new blog post that will land in your application (you will only be notified if you have turned on notifications for this specific app), you can share the post, and then you can also store your memory work in there. It will also act like your spiral. You may want to use both your spiral and the app to have on hand in case you lose one or the other!
I hope that helps! Doesn’t this make it so much more fun?
Tags: Scripture Memory 2013
Fonda Skelton, Biloxi, Ms
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (Romans 12:12 NIV)
Tera Ferguson, Gardendale, AL John3:18 NIV Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Cami
Murray, KY
“…and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:19 NIV
Kim Kuneli, Hubbard Ohio
Taking Ann Voscamp’s challenge to memorize Romans 1,8, 12 this year!
Romans 1:5-6
5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake, 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;
NAS
Sadee
Celebration, Florida
Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 NLT
Jeremiah 33:3 ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ NIV
Jennifer from Price, Texas: “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelations 21:4
Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will grant you the desires of your heart. Psalm37:4
Wendy from Gillette, Wyoming
Romans 12:2 (NIV)
Do not conform any longer 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.
Ashley, Huntsville, AL:
“I am the vine; and 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 NIV
Patti McConville
Salem, Oregon
Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him
Hebrews 11:6 NIV
krystal, teague, tx.
“this is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
john 15:8 NIV
Nicole/dallas/Psalm 13 -NIV 84. “1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
3 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.”
1-15-13
Ephesians 6:18
“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”
Beth from Morristown,TN
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1 NIV
Bethany Mowat from Evart, Michigan “The Lord God is my Strength,my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror,but to walk]and make[spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble,suffering, or responsibility]!” Habakkuk 3:5 (AMP)
Kelleigh – Paducah, KY
The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
Psalm 29:4 (ESV)
John 1:6-9 NIV
There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world.”
Lezli from Columbus, GA
I Corinthians 1:18, NIV, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
Sherri Moore, Pueblo West, CO (same as Sherry Unruh, Canada)
I raise my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. ~Psalm 121:1-2 HCSB
Marilyn, Harvey, But I trust in your unfailing love, my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me. Psalm 13:5&6 NIV
Wendy, Little Rock, AR
“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” John 15:7 (ESV)
Rebecca from Las Vegas Nevada “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
Peggy: Overland Park, KS
Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do:forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. Phil 3:13 NASB
Abbie, Omaha, NE
2 Peter 3:13 – 15a, “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation” (NASB)
Psalms 121:5 (NIV)
The LORD watches over you – the LORD is your shade at your right hand.
Sara
Lexington, Ohio
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
Ephesians 5:22 NIV
Amy
Fulton, MO
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid and do not be discouraged for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9 NIV
Susan from Clinton, MS
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Philippines 4:8 NLT
Mary, Rancho Mirage, CA
I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him,I have put my hope in his word.
Psalms 130:5, NLT
“Look to the Lord and His strength;
Seek His Face always.”
Ps. 105:4 (NIV)
Mary Soisson, Barboursville, VA
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 of the world caused by evil desires.
II Peter 1:4 (TNIV)
Lord, You are my portion and my cup of blessing; You hold my future.
Psalm 16:5
Olivia Hart, Puyallup WA
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all you might. And these word that i command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise.
Deuteronomy 6:5-7 (ESV)
Marti, Loganville, Ga
John 17:22 ” I have given them the glory that you gave me that they may be one as we are one” NIV
Elisa from Wichita Falls
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after widows and orphans in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world
James 1:27 NIV
Karissa in Martinsburg, WV
Ephesians 3:10-12 NIV
His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Angie, Chillicothe, MO
“To all who mourn in Israel, he will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair. For the LORD has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory.” Isaiah 61:3, NLT.
Protection: But you are a shield around me, O Lord: you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. Psalm 3:3 – NIV
Vanessa, Houston, Colossians 1:22 (ESV)
“he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him”
Dawn in Greenwood, IN:
Mark 11:22-23 (NIV)–” ‘Have faith in God’, Jesus answered. ‘Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, “Go throw yourself into the sea”, and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.'”
Michelle, Long Beach
“Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago?
You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”
Isaiah 44:8, NIV
Tracy, Madison, WI
and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of glory that will never fade away.
1 Peter 5:4
Julia in Flower Mound, TX
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 3:17-18, NIV
Lea from Athens, Georgia
“I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.”
Hosea 2:19
Cathy,Fridley, But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit. Jeremiah 17:7-8, NLT
Janice Whiting, Waco, Tx
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:18-19, NIV
Sheri, Fort Worth. “He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” 1Peter 1:20-21 NIV
Rebekah in Fairfield, TX
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him will I trust.”
Psalm 91:1 & 2 NKJV
Robin, Scottsdale, AZ
Jeremiah 17:7-9 (The Message)
“Blessed is the man who trusts me, God,
the woman who sticks with God.
They’re like trees replanted in Eden,
putting down roots near the rivers–
Never a worry through the hottest of summers,
never dropping a leaf,
Serene and calm through droughts,
BEARING FRESH FRUIT IN EVERY SEASON.”