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
Nancy S. Columbus IN
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Heb 11:1 NIV
Andrea, Charlottesville VA
“For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?”(Romans 8:24 ESV)
Pam NC
1 John 3:1 NKJV
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God. Therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know Him.
Tanya Moore, Somerville, TN “All your children will be followers of the Lord and will enjoy great prosperity. (and peace)” Isaiah 54:13 NET
Love it and your explanation of it, Beth! :0))
Southlake, TX
“For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.” Isaiah 41:13
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Cor 4:18
Forgot
Stephanie- Fayetteville, AR
Yvonne, The Woodlands, TX
“You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance.” (Psalm 65:11, NIV)
NIV Psalm 146:1,2
Praise the Lord
Praise the Lord O my soul;
I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
Psalm 63:3 “Because experiencing your loyal love is better than life itself, my lips will praise you. – The NET
Forgot – Ridgeville, SC
Toni, Grand Haven. “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 NKJV
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 6:1 ESV
Amy, Quincy, IL
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love towared those who fear him
Psalm 103:11, ESV
Breezy – Chicago, IL
“And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” Isaiah 30:21 (ESV)
Esther, Lincoln, NE
“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!” Is.30:18 NIV
Vicki from Loveland, CO 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Heb 12:2 NIV84
All your chldren will be taught by the Lord and great shall be the peace of your children.
Isaiah 54:13 niv
kathy woodway tx
Janice, Steinbach, MB “Turn, Lord, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.” Ps 6:4
Pat, Joshua TX
Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Phil. 4:6 The Message
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 NIV
Suzanne, McKinney, TX
but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:20-21, NIV
Rachelle OneAcre, Houston, Texas.
“Your face, LORD, I will seek.”
Psalm 27:8 NIV
Joy, Knoxville, TN
John 14:6, NLT
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.
Bonnie,CenterLine,MI
Dear friends,since God so loved us,we also ought to love one another.
1John 4:11 NIV
Pat, Joshua TX
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. 2 Chron. 7:14. The Message
Gretta – Rutledge, GA
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10 NIV
Can I change my verse? This one is not as hard to memorize, and it really speaks to me right now.
TH, Sylvan Lake, AB, CAN Zeph 3:17b NLT “He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
Galatians 5:22-23 The New American Bible
But the fruit of the spirit is love,joy,peace,patience,kindness,generosity,faithfulness,gentleness and self control.
Deedi – Kodak, TN
Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4 ESV
Lyndsey Winters
Linton IN
He loves righteousness and justice;the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. Psalm 33:5 ESV
Pam, Apple Valley, MN
“They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings–and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” Revelation 17:14 NIV
Psalm 84:11 NLT
For the Lord God is our sun and our shield.
He gives us grace and glory.
The Lord will withhold no good thing
from those who do what is right.
Allison Haines
Macon, GA
“Rather you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 3:18 (NLT)
Mary Lisa, Glenwood MN — For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. 2 Timothy 2:12 (NKJ)
KariAnn – Houston, TX
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NCV)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and don’t depend on your own understanding. Remember the Lord in all you do, and He will give you success.
Ruth, Providence
And He will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and grain, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. In that day your cattle will graze in large pastures and the oxen and the asses that till the ground will eat salted provender, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork. And upon every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
Isaiah 30:23-25 RSV
Romans 8:31 “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?” KJV
Nichole, Nashville, TN 1 Corinthians 13:6-7
6 Nichole does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Nichole never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
(inserting my name for love):)
Jill–Campbellsville, KY
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:58
Maribeth G., Jackson, MS
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
John 15:8 NIV
Kristin
Clearwater,FL
All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children.
Isaiah 54:13 ESV
Nancy, Champaign, IL
This will make possible the next step, which is for you to enjoy other people and to like them, and finally you will grow to love them deeply.
2 Peter 1:7 (TLB)
May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14 NLT
Mary Margaret – Memphis, TN
So 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
Ashley King-Monroe, GA
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”
Jeremiah 29:11 KJV
Erin
Fessenden, ND
1 Peter 2:4-5 (NIV)
As you come to him, the living Stone–rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him–you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Beth, God has used u in a mighty way! I hope you don’t mind….but your verse Is one that has great mening to me, my family has been in a crisis for the last year….may I use your verse also!!
Snowing here in Alabama…it is so beautiful! Lol, I need soup :))
She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness. Proverbs 31:26 NKJV
Andrea – Houston, TX
Matthew 5:6 NIV
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Susan, Littleton. 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. Psalm 3:5-6 NIV
Almut, London, UK
Isa 61,1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.