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
Priscilla R. Frisco, TX
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
Lindsay, Greenville, SC
“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” James 1:2-4 (NLT)
Tammy;Siloam NC: 2 Chronicles 20:15b—Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s . (NIV)
Susan, Lady Lake, FL, Deut. 32:3, I will proclaim the name of The Lord. Oh, praise the greatness of our God. TNIV.
Toni from Greer, SC. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:12
Cheryl Walters, Sherrills Ford, NC
Because he bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!
Psalms 116:2 NLT
“Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In His presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared Him and always thought about the honor of His name.” (Malachi 3:16 NLT)
I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Psalm 16:8 NIV
Kellie, from Nashville, TN
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” Philippians 4:6 NLT
Jennifer, Daphne, AL
“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”
2 Chronicles 15:7
Kim, Springfield, IL
Psalm 51:12
New English Translation (NET)
Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance!
Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey!
Land O Lakes, FL
Matthew 7:26
But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. (NIV)
Riki-Leigh Harnish, Myrtle Beach SC
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
1 Corinthians 10:13
NIV
Heidy, Noblesville, Indiana
Isaiah 45: 5-6 (TNIV)
“I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other.”
Cathie – Jacksonville Florida
Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 NLT
Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in chris Jesus our Lord”.
Kelly, Starr, SC
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
-Psalms 73:26 (NIV)
Alice, Chesapeake,Va
“You have roamed around this mountain country long enough;
turn northward. Deuteronomy 2:3 (Amplified)
Terri, Brandon, MS
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Colossians 3:23-24 NIV
Christina, Lancaster, CA
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
{Romans 8:15-16} ESV
Pam
Tallahassee, Florida
Colossians 3:23 NIV
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for The Lord, not for human masters.
Brenda Adams, Hilton Head Island, SC,
” I am not saying this because I am in need for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Phil. 4:11 NIV
Amberly Selle
Hesperia, CA
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. Ps. 63:3
Brenda L.
Fort Ashby, WV
Fools vent their anger, but the wise quietly hold it back.
Proverbs 29:11 NLT
You crown the year with your bounty;
Your wagontracks overflow with abundance.
Ps. 65:11 ESV
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7 NLT
Johnine, Murfreesboro, TN
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7 NIV
The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. (Lamentations 3:22, 23 NLT)
Aubree, San Antonio, TX
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.
John 16:33 ESV
Candace, Modesto, CA
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.
Proverbs 11:2 NIV
1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
Pat, Hot Springs, AR
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all they ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5,6 KJV
Ashley Sullens
Kings Mountain, NC
1 Samuel 16:7 (NAS)
But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
Colleen, Lyndonville, NY
Colossians 1:5-6, NIV
— faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.
For I will pour water on the thirsty ground and streams on the dry land. I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring and my blessing on your descendants. Isaiah 44:3 NIV
Daphne, AL
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Ephesians 4:29
Sheila, Bradley Il
By this my father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. John 15:8 ESV
Theresa from Oakland Township, MI
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”
Psalm 34:18 (NLT)
Megan, Fort Smith, AR – You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me. Psalm 139:1 (NIV)
Sallie from Tallahasse, Fl
“For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having esaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”
2 Peter 1:4
NAS
Amanda in Plano, TX
“1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.” – Colossians 3:1-3 (NLT)
Carol, Columbus, GA
John 16:33 NIV84
I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world.
Marni – Hayden, ID
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
New King James Version
Michelle from Columbus, TX:”Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” Luke 6:46 NIV
Becca, TN
Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith. Some have deviated from these and turned aside to fruitless discussion.
1 Timothy 1:5-6 (HCSB)
Miranda, SC
Deuteronomy 31:8
New Living Translation (©2007)
Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
San Ramon, CA ~ “Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.” ~ 1 Samuel 3:9 NIV
Rebecca, Guntersville, AL
Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all 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.
Phillipians 4:6-7. NLT
Marsha Bauldry, Knoxville, TN
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols to your hand and bind them to your forehead.
Deuteronomy 11:18 (NIV)
Stephanie, Fort Worth, Eph. 3:20-21NASB “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, (21) to Him be the glory in the church and Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.”