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
Kelly, Wingate, NC
Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him and He will do it. Psalm 37:4-5 NASB
Jolinda Ross- Yukon, OK
Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21 NIV
Oregon
NIV Jeremiah 33:3 Call to me and I will answer you and I will tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.
Sandy, San Antonio, Tx
John 15:8 (NIV 84) This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
Suzanne,Centreville,VA
And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:17 HCSB
Cori Burlington, Washington
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is you faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:22-24 ESV
Elizabeth from Smyrma, GA- “All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.” Isaiah 54:13 ESV
Katy, Fort Hood, TX
Phil.4:6-7 NLT
“Don’t worry about anything;instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for what He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
Michele-Lubbock, TX
Psalms 91:2-3 ” I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God;
in him will I trust.”
” Surely he will deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from
the noisome pestilence.”
KJV
Beth, Vancouver Canada
“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
Peggy, Schertz, Texas
“Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk for I give myself to you.”
Psalm 143:8 – NLT
Angel, Tracy CA Titus 2:4-5 NIV
4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children,5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
Sasha from Seattle, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose trust is the Lord,
For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots
by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will
be green, and it will not be anxious in the year of drought nor cease
to yield fruit” Jeremiah 17:7-8, NASB
Miriam
Granby, CT
Let me hear of your unfailing love to me in the morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I have come to you in prayer.
Psalm 143:8 (NLT)
Ann, Prior Lake, MN
“But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”
Romans 5:8 NLT
Debbie Whitman, Prattville, AL
Psalm 139:23 (NLT)
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts
2 Corinthians 1:4
who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God.
Sherri, Marietta, GA “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12 NIV
Britt, Burlington. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 NIV84
Mallory, College Station, Tx
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:6-7 NIV
Rachel, Mt. Carmel, PA – Daniel 10:12, NIV: “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.”
Janet – Springfield, MO
“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 43:19 NIV
Angela ~ Lizella, Ga.
Micah 6:8 Niv
He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Angie Keel, Anniston, Alabama
“And my God will meet all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus.”
Phillipians 4:19, NIV
Amy, Barbourville, KY
You are the rock where I am safe. You are my shield, my powerful weapon. You rescue me and keep me from being hurt.
2 Sam 22:3 (CEV)
Katie, Amarillo. “Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight.” Psalm 119:35 NIV1984
Proverbs 3 :1-2
My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.
Because it jumped off the page at me…
Karen, Carmel, IN
This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:8 NIV
First of all, I need to apologize for not reading the directions very well as to “when” & “where” to post. I think I have it straight now …thanks to one of my daughters who is
also participating in this…..so that being said….verse #2 is……..
Sue-Hartland, Mi
Acts 1:8(NASB) but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be My witnesses, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.
Gina, Portsmouth, Ohio
PRAISE THE Lord! (Hallelujah!) Praise the Lord, O my soul! While I live will I praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have any being. (Psalm 146:1, 2 AMP)
Dahlonega
“Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true.”
~John 3:33 ESV
Pamela Leesville, LA
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.
Psalm 32:8 (NIV)
Marisa, Las Vegas, NV
Romans 12:2 (NASB)
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Pam Hamilton, OH
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised and we esteemed Him not.
Isaiah 53:3 (KJV)
Lu from Cadillac, MI “These things have I spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NASB)
Joshua 1:8 “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.” NIV
Romans 8:38-39 NIV
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present no the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Kristin from Clawson, MI
The world and it’s desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:17, NIV
Jessica from San Antonio, TX
“So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” Luke 11:13 NLT
Audrey from Fayetteville, AR
“This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
John 15:8 NIV
Megan, Dayton, OH
“My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Ps. 121:2 (NIV)
Shannon, Buda, Texas
Then Jesus said to him “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was the Sabbath.
John 5:8 NIV
Lindsey, San Antonio, TX
Behold, children are a gift of the L ord , The fruit of the womb is a reward. (Psalms 127:3 NASB)
Jerrianne, Lakewood Co
“Let your gentlenesss be evident to all” Philippians 4:5 NIV
Karen in Fredericksburg, VA
For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope. Jer. 29:11 NASB
Tami, Mansfield, TX
But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. Jeremiah 17:7 NIV
Jill, Atlanta, Ga.
“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.” Galations 5:1 NIV
Kristen, Denver, Colorado: “So don’t throw away your confidence which has a great reward. For you need endurance so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised.” {Hebrews 10:35-36, HCSB}
John 15:8
This is to my father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
NIV
Deirdre Russell
Atlanta, GA
Shayli,age 11,Chattanooga,TN
James 1:2-3 (NASB)
Consider it all joy my brethren,when you encounter various trials,knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.