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
Louise,Atlanta. ‘Fear not for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strenghten you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand’ Isaiah 41:10 Esv
Cathy- Walton, IN
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matt 6:21. (NIV)
Delanie, Fenton, “My soul with be satisfied as with the richest of foods, with singing lips, my mouth will praise you” Psalms 63:5 NIV
Kim- Hickory, N.C.
Trust in him at all times; ye people. Pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah Psalm 62:8 KJV
Mary Ann Foreman – Winter Haven, FL “I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:2
O Lord, you are my lamp. The Lord lights up my darkness.
2Samuel 22:29 NLT
Mindy- Andalusia, AL
“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)
Deuteronomy 28:8 kjv
The Lord shall command the blessing upon thee in thy storehouses and in all that thou settest thine hand unto; and he shall bless thee in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
Jennifer from Frisco, TX
Show me your ways, 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)
Kelley, Des Moines WA – 1 Peter 1:13
Sherry from Winston-Salem, NC Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8b NIV
Hannah, Dickinson Center, NY: From of old, no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you who acts for those who wait for him.-Isaiah 64:4, ESV
Dee, Wheaton, IL – Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever. Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV)
amarillo, tx
I will teach all your children,
and they will enjoy great peace.
Isaiah 54:13 NLT
Judy, Beaumont, California
Many, O Lord my God are your wonders which You have done
And Your thoughts toward us;
There is none to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They would be too numerous to count. NASB2002
Leslee, Columbia, SC
O Lord, You are My God. I will exalt you and praise your name; for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago. Isaiah 25:1
” ‘Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.’ ”
Matthew 7:7-8 (NIV,1984)
Kathy
St.Louis, MO
Lori, Fort Wayne – “Seek good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you just as you say He is.” Amos 5:14
Lisa Braun
Saskatoon, SK CANADA
Isaiah 54:13 (The Net Bible)
“All your children will be followers of the LORD, and your children will enjoy great prosperity.”
Psalm 121:1-2 (HCSB) – because we are taking Stepping UP
“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.”
John 15:8 By this my father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. ESV
Allison, Forest, VA
“But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. So now present your members as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification, and its end, eternal life.” Romans 6:17-18,19b,22 ESV
Sandy from Washington Il.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your heats be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:27 NIV
Mitzi, Lepanto, AR
Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
Revelation 1:3 NIV84
Stephanie Kilper, Stow OH
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
Sonya, Chesterfield, VA
“This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.” Romans 13:6-7 (NIV)
Barb from Wetumpka, AL
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5
English Standard Version (ESV)
Lisa Lundy, Baton Rouge, LA:
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26 NIV
From Grapevine,Tx
“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Philippians 2:4 ESV
Heb 4:16 NIV 84:
“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.”
… Lisa from Huntsville, Al
Hartley, Iowa
Isaiah 42:16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. NIV
Terri Frasure from South Lebanon, Ohio
“He saved us–not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit” Titus 3:5 (HCSB)
Cindy K, Rock Hill, SC
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV 2011)
Kellye, Las Vegas
You, Lord, are my shepherd. I will never be in need. Psalm 23:1 (CEV)
Alycia from Greenville, TX. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” – 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
Melissa; Columbus,OH
They will rebuild the ancient ruins; they will restore the former foundations; they will renew the ruined cities; the devastations of many generations. Isaiah 61:4 HCSB
Sarah, Eureka, CA
John 15:8 (NASB) By this is My Father glorified that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.
Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who
hope in the Lord.
Psalm 31:24. (NKJV)
Kati, Ocracoke Island NC
Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Romans 12:10 (NIV)
Cherilyn, High Point NC
Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed from that moment.
Matthew 9:22 NIV84
Elaine, New Orleans, LA
But if we hope for what we do not have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:25 NIV
John 17:3
This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent-NASB
Barbara
Midland,Texas
Isaiah 54:13 (ESV)
“All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children.”
Trust in The Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Prov. 3:5-6 NIV
Jonesboro, AR
Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him,
my Savior and my God.
Psalm 42:11
Nicole Graves
Keller, TX
Psalm 33:21 ESV
For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name
“As for God, his way is perfect:The Lord’s word is flawless;he shields all who take refuge in him.”
Psalm 18:30
Dawn, Ozark-MO Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)
Rebecca-Winchester, KY
“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”
-Colossians 3:23 (NLT)
Kimberly
Luwero, Uganda
Galations 5:1 (ESV)
For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm therefore and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be know to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6,7 NKJ
Sandy Shiflett, Deming, NM