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 – 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.) 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
Annette Hutcherson, Richmond, Virginia
“Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.” Psalm 71:18 NIV
Valerie Chamberlain; Little Elm, Texas
“Be brave. Be strong. Don’t give up. Expect God to get here soon.”
Psalm 31:24 (MSG)
Maria from Oxford, MS
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 NIV
Kim, Fredericksburg, VA
Finally, brothers, 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
Laura from Dalton, GA
“Then He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in, to give us the land of which He swore to our fathers.” Deut. 6:23 NKJV
“O Lord I cried to you for help and you restored my health.” Psalm 30:2 NLT
Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:8-9 NIV
April, Diboll.
38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Acts 8:38-39 NIV
Christy
Vidor, TX
and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.
Mark 12:30 (NASB)
Amy Piña from Caddo Mills, TX Psalms 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts.
Shelli, Houston: “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.” ~ Psalm 40:1 (NIV)
Keri Lee, Las Vegas, Nevada
James 1:5-8 NKJV
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
AnnMarie, Lexington, TN. But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
Cindy, Caseyville, IL, Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.
Saige, Shreveport, LA:
For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18 ESV)
Jennifer, Medford, OR Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. Colossians 3:2 (NASB)
Kelly
Avon Park, FL
1 Peter 1:13 NLT
So think clearly and exercise self control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.
Larci, Urbandale, Iowa. “You have circled this mountian long enough. Now turn north.” Deuteronomy 2:3 (NASB)
Janet, West Linn, OR: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3 NKJV
Ann from McDonough, GA . . . “He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear it that you do not belong to God.” John 8:47 (NIV)
Natalie, Nesbit, MS – “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 health to their whole body.” Proverbs 4:20b-22 NLT
Valerie ~ Shawnee, OK
(Continuing from Deut. 6:5-6 – Jan.1)… “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” Deuteronomy 6:7 NIV
Elizabeth Blakeley. Escalon, CA. “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7(NIV)
Cameron, Maumee, Ohio. Psalm 40:1-2, NIV
I wait patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
Roxie, Jerseyville,IL, James 1:25 ESV
“But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Lesley, Newbury Park, CA: As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is My Word that goes out from My mouth: It will not return to Me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11, NIV)
Courtney, LaPlata, MD
1Peter 1:6-11 (ESV)
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully,
11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.
Barb, Crown Point, IN. We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.
Romans 8:28 (HCSB)
Phil 4:6: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Mary Hostetter, Columbia, PA-“He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30 NIV 1984
Valerie Marrder-Fernandez
“The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit.”
Psalm 34:18 (HSCB)
Dori Cook
Spring Hill, TN
“Be careful, then, how you live — not as unwise, but wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15-16 NIV84
Lezlie from Prince George, VA – If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. – 1 Corinthians 13:2 (NIV84)
Laura, Florida
“Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all WISDOM, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:16(ESV)
Joy, Warrior, AL:
Romans 8:1-3, ESV
THere is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the Law of the SPirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his only Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,
Pati Cheyenne,WY….
Psalm 105:4 ESV “Seek the Lord and His strength seek His presence continually.”
Kim from Tuscaloosa, AL – For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 1 Timothy 4:8 (NIV)
Judy from Grenada
Therefore , be careful how you walk, not as unwise men ,but as wise, making the most of your time because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15-16 NAS
Gina, Rosamond
For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.
James 3:19
NIV
Becky from Oklahoma City
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
John 14:26 NIV
Julie, Alliance, Nebraska
Eph. 3:20-21 NKJV Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Joanie Eaton ” 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 40:31. NIV
Michelle Bentham – Watauga, TX
“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.” ~ Philippians 4:8 NLT
Leslie
Milton, GA
Isaiah 54:13 (ESV)
All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
and great shall be the peace of your children.
“Let all that you do be done in love.” I Corinthians 16:14 (NASB)
Sharie, Chillicothe, MO
I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.
NASB Psalm 121:1-2
One thing I ask from the Lord , this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. (Psalm 27:4 NIV)
Maggie Daley, SC
” My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26 (NIV)
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17NKJV