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
Mark 5:24 He said to her, “Daughter your fait has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from suffering.”
Sherry Moore, Ok
Christina McClain, Nampa,ID “James, a slave of God and of The Lord Jesus Christ: To the 12 tribes in the Dispersion. Greetings.” James 1:1 HCSB
“You crown the year with your bounty, your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.”
Psalm 65:11 English translation
Heather -Trenton tx
Do all things without grumbling or questioning. That you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life,so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Philippians 2:14-16
Psalm 31:7 NIV
I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.
Maly,Marysville, Oh
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is in the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out his roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 ESV
Angie, Lee’s Summit, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” Luke 15:7NIV
Nicole from Lewisville TX-
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask it think” Ephesians 3:20 NLT
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. Hebrews 12:2 NIV
Janell~Frisco, TX. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 1 Peter 1:6-7. NIV
Elaine, Baltimore
For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous, with favor You will surround him as with a shield.
Psalm 5:12 NKJV
Cody – Houston, TX
“…and He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in me…”
John 16:8-9, ESV
Beth, Lititz PA
Psalm 140:7 (HCSB)
Lord GOD, my strong Savior, You shield my head on the day of battle.
Brittany Fowler from Raleigh, NC “The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” John 6:63 NLT
Carol Kirby, Amarillo, TX For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39. ESV
Kathryn Stoltzfus, Sarasota, FL: “If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ”. Galations 1:10 NIV
Kit Frankenfield, Spring Hill, KS
“The Lord will perfect that which concerns me;
Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.” Psalm 138:8 NKJV
Staci, Dickinson, ND
Isaiah 40:28-31 (NASB)
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired.
His understanding is inscrutable.
29 He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
30 Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who [a]wait for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will [b]mount up with [c]wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
Tracey Johnson, Columbia, MO. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Deuteronomy 6:5. (RSB)
L Diane, Indianapolis, IN
We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Romans 15:1 ESV
Rachel – Bellingham, WA “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV
Brittany, Carrollton, TX:
Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
Psalm 139:23 ESV
Kristi, Piedmont, Al, Mark 11:24, ESV
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. “
Tonya, Mansfield TX “it is for freedom that Christ has set us free, do not be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” Galatians 5:1 NIV
Nicole – Marietta, Georgia “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6 NIV84)
Kathy, Liverpool, NY
Isaiah 41:10 ” Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I wil hold on to you with My righteous right hand.” HCSB
Kristy – Tallahassee, FL
“They are new every morning;great is Your faithfulness!
I say: The Lord is my portion,therefore I will put my hope in Him.” Lamentations 3:23-24 HCSB
Andrea, McKinney, TX
We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. (1 John 2:3, NIV 2010)
Sallie, Rocky Point NC
“Do not be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” Isaiah 41:10 NLT
Michelle -Louisville, KY “LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless.Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed,so mere people can no longer terrify them.” NLT
Jessica from Pine Hill, AL. From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Psalm 90:2 NIV
Carolyn Bonde
Nashville, TN
“All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children.” Isaiah 54:13 ESV
sharon, Nederland, TX John 15:8 This is to my Father’s glory that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disiples. NIV
Cassidy, Houston, TX, Isaiah 53:4-6, NIV
“Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Becca from Pearl River,La “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 NIV
Lisa Campo, Blue Bell, PA
LORD you have probed me, You know me
You know when I sit and stand; You understand my thoughts from afar. You sift through my travels and my rest; with all my ways You are familiar.
Even before a word is on my tongue, LORD, You know it all.
Behind and before You encircle me and rest Your hand upon me…
…You formed my inmost being; You knit me in my mother’s womb. I praise You, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works! My very self You know. My bones are not hidden from You, when I was being made in secret, fashioned in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw me unformed; in Your book all are written down; my days were shaped, before one came to be.
How precious to me are Your designs, O God; how vast the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sands; when I complete them, still You are with me.
Psalm 139:1-6,13-18 NAB
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 NIV
Stephanie Jo
Corvallis OR
This is to my Fathers glory that you bear much fruit showing yourselves to be my disciples.
John 15:8 NIV
Kathleen
Saint Joseph, MI
God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.
1John4:16b
HCSB
Teresa from Jackson, TN
continued from last time
“…so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,”
Phil 1:10 (NIV)
“The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights”. Habakkuk 3:19 NIV
Julie, Amarillo TX, Proverbs 31:8-9 HCSB
(8)Speak up for those who have no voice, for the justice of all who are dispossessed.(9)Speak up, judge righteously, and defend the cause of the oppressed and needy. #enditmovement
Tanya, Charleston, SC “The Spirit of the Sovreign 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.” Isaiah 61:1, NIV
Erin
Chippewa Falls, WI
My heart says of you,
“Seek his face!”
Your face, LORD, I will seek.
Psalm 27:8
NIV
Lisa-West Columbia, Texas
“Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
Colossians 3:2 (NIV)
Cheney
Lawrenceburg, TN
Luke 18:25
“For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter into the kingdom of God.”
LEB
” But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.”
Isaiah 53v5 NLT
“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of te Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” Colossians 3:17 (NKJV)
Lori, Oil City, PA
“When I said, “My foot is slipping,”
your love, O Lord, suppoted me.
When anxiety was grreat within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul.” Psalm 94:18-19(NIV)
Linda, Mackenbach, Germany, 2 Timothy 2:13 International Standard Version, “Our faith may fail, His never wanes–That’s who He is, he cannot change!”