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
Vicki, Surprise, AZ
Commit your works to the Lord,
and your plans will be established.
Psalm 16:3 NET
Laura, Arlington, Tx
So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him “Abba, Father.”
Romans 8:15 NLT
Lauren, Asheville, NC Psalm 37:23 NLT “The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.”
Shelly, College Station: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and very high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. 2 Cor 10:4-5 NKJV
Samantha,Roseau “The Lord is my rock,my fortress and my deliverer;my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. ”
Psalm 18:2 (NIV)
Johnette, Littleton,CO
“Let the peoples praise thee, O God; let all the peoples praise thee!” Psalm 67:3 RSV
Lyli, Fort Lauderdale, FL
“Give thanks to Him who alone does mighty miracles; His faithful love endures forever” (Ps. 136:4, NLT).
Hadley from Goldsboro, NC
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)
Heather-Macon
“Christ has set us free. He WANTS us to enjoy freedom. So stand firm. DON’T let the chains of slavery hold you again.”
Galatians 5:1 NIRV (emphasis added by me)
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. Psalms 13:5-6 NIV
Kim Eshelman Lewisburg, PA
And patience develops strength of character in us and helps us trust God more each time we use it until finally our hope and faith are strong and steady. Romans 5:4TLB
Christine Friend, Flagstaff, AZ
“And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!””
Isaiah 6:3 ESV
Gwen from Jacksonville Beach, FL
For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless.
Psalm 18:31-32 ESV
Brandi, Fort Worth, TX
James 1:19b-20 NASB
But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.
Peggy, Wauseon, OH “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 on can fathom. He give strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 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: 28-31. NIV.
Jamie – Niles, MI
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap harvest if we do not give up”
Galatians 6:9 NIV
Antoinette Morrisey, Kansas City, Kansas
Romans 12:1-5
12Â I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2Â And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 3Â For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. 4Â For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5Â so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
NKJV
Brandi from Windsor, Colorado.
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 entrust my life. Psalm 143:8
(I am loving this Scripture Memory Group!!!)
Vicki from St. Joseph, MO
“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
John 15:8 NIV
Kathy Castleberry Moultrie, Ga
“The Lord to close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18 NIV
Laura E- Tampa, Fl- The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. Isaiah 58:11 NIV
Michele, Pearland, TX
“You crown the year with Your bounty, and Your carts overflow with abundance.” Psalm 65:10 NIV
Claire from Arab, AL
“Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.” Isaiah 26:8 NIV84
Stephany from St. Petersburg, FL
So we do not focus 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 HCSB)
Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by doing so some have unwittingly entertained angels. Hebrews 13:2 (NKJV)
Betsy Roberts – Antwerp, OH
Joshua 3:5 (NIV)
“Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”
Therefore as God’s chosen people, holy dearly loved. Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12 NIV
Kendra Husband, Charlotte, NC:
“Ah, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.” NIV (1984)
Joy from Sutherland
But whoever keeps His word,truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
1John 2:5 NKJV
Erin from Houston,TX
1 John 1:1-4
1 That which was bfrom the beginning, cwhich we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and fhave touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed jour fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
andrea, fort collins. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. Ephesians 1:18-19 NIV
Carol Bruntlett
Albuquerque NM
Romans 15:13
13- 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.
NIV
Buffi from Mission, TX:
Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31, 32 NLT)
Devon from Shelbyville, KY:
“He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.”
Isaiah 40:29 ESV
Mariah Dickinson North Dakota
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 hand. Isaiah 41:10 (NIV)
Renee from Mantua, Ohio
But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Colossians 3:8
Terri Canfield, Conifer Colorado, “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up, according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29 NIV
from Littlestown, PA
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV)
Julie DeWitt, MI
I wake before dawn and cry for help; I put my hope in the word.
Psalm 119:147 NIV
TH, Sylvan Lake, AB, C “My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.” Prov 4:20-22 NLT
Cheryse, Miami, FL
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:7 NIV
Michelle-Livermore,CA
“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
Jerry Ann
Fort Walton Beach, FL
“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3 NKJV
Amber Burger, Fort Worth TX
Col 1:10
so as to walk in a manner worth of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
Jamie, Coupeville, WA:
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:12-15, NASB
Ginny from Henderson
“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”
Jeremiah 33:3 NASB
Kelley, Spring.
“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.”
Psalm 37:7 (NLT)
Jami from Watseka, IL Isaiah 54:13, All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.” Thanks Beth. And I like ScriptureTyper.com. It helps me memorize too.
Lanita from Houston, TX
“But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
Joshua 24:15 ESV
Tara from Quanah, TX
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. Philippians 4:8 NIV