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
Andrea in New Brunswick, Canada
“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
Keli , Talihina, OK
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Phillipians 4:6 NIV
Becky, Chattanooga, TN
“Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.” Proverbs 19:21 ESV
Delores, Columbia,TN
All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great
shall be the peace of your children. Isaiah 54:13 ESV
Kaylin from Searcy, AR
If the Lord delights in a man’s way, he makes his steps firm.
Psalm 37:23 NIV
Dallas from Charleston, SC
“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship.”
-Romans 8:15 (NIV)
Stacy, Arlington “Sensible people control their temper; they earn respect by overlooking wrongs.” Pro 19:11 NLT
Susan from Kentucky:
“But if you stay in me and obey my commands, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted!” John 15:7 The Living Bible Paraphrased.
Carolyn Rippee
Springfield, Mo
Genesis 15:1 (NIV)
“Do not be afraid-
I AM Your Shield
Your Very Great Reward”
Jodell, Frankfort, “Carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying on the Holy Spirit.” Jude 20 MSG
Megan from San Marcos
“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 4:6. NIV
Shannon, Jacksonville, “But You,O Lord, are a shield around me; You are my glory, the One who holds my head high” Psalm 3:3, NLT
Crystal Ogden
Tenaha, TX
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
Chris
Canton, NC
“All your children shall be taught by the LORD, and great shall be the peace of your children.”
Isaiah 54:13
ESV
Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. Psalm 42:5(& part of 6), NIV
bernadette, mtn home, ar
rev 21:5 He who was seated on the throne said “I am making everything new”. then He said “write these words down for they are trustworthy and true NIV
Karen M. from Chichester, NH
The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.
Proverbs 28:1 NIV
Melissa from Goshen, KY
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Romans 12:2 (NLT)
Sharice from Shelby, NC
All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.
Isaiah 54:13, ESV
Ephesians 3:20-21
New International Version (NIV)
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
Carol
Carthage, NY
And now, [Carol] what does the LORD your God ask of you but
to fear the LORD your God,
to walk in all his ways,
to love him,
to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and
to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
Deuteronomy 10:12-13 NIV1984
It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.1 Corinthians 13:6-7, NLT
Mary Lou Kleveland from Forest City, IA
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV
Jennifer, Oklahoma City, OK
But he brought us out from there to bring us in..
Deuteronomy 6:23a NIV
Psalm 25:14 NLT
“The Lord is a friend to those who fear Him. He teaches them his covenant”
Allie from Texas:
Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?…O Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your words are trustworthy and you have promised these good things to your servant.
2 Samuel 7:18,28 NIV
Cara, Oswego. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 NIV
Lauren – Bonner Springs
Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:25, 26 NIV)
Lindy White of Oklahoma City
Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
Psalm 147:1, NIV
Juliana Livermore, CA
Isaiah 60:1 NKJV
Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.
from Mooresville NC
Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
Luke 9:23 (NIV)
Shelley from McKinney, Texas.
Lamentations 3:40 NIV “LET US EXAMINE OUR WAYS AND TEST THEM, AND LET US RETURN TO THE LORD.”
“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3 NIV
Heather
Vicksburg, Mi
Earlene, McKinney, Tx
Psalms 40:1 (NIV) I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.
Amber Lewis from Pontotoc, MS
For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It’s obeying the law that makes us right in his sight. Romans 2:13 NLT
Angela in Katy, TX:
James 1 (NIV)
James, a servant of God and of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Allow perseverance to complete its work in you, so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask of God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not believe he will receive anything from God. He is a double minded man, unstable in all he does.
The believers in humble circumstances should take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation, for they will pass away like the wildflowers. For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant. The blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even as they go about their business.
Blessed is the believer who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that the Lord promised to all those who love him.
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me”, for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. But each of us is tempted when they are dragged away by our own evil desires and enticed. Desire, once it has conceived, leads to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.
Don’t be decieved, my dear brothers and sisters, every good and perfect gift comes down from above, coming down from the Father of Heavenly Lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word, so that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for human anger does not bring about the righteousness that God desires. Therefore get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly cling to the word planted in you, which can save you.
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves: do what it says. The one who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror. Then, after having looked at himself, he goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it – not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it – that person will be blessed in what he does.
Anyone who thinks they are religious but cannot keep a tight reign on their tongue deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and blameless is this: to look after the orphans and the widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Joan White in Milner, Ga
Through the Lord’s Mercies we are not consumed. Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness.
Lamentations 3: 22-23 NKJ.
Fynette, Cape Coral
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Ephesians 4:2 NIV 1984
Kim Moore,Lake Orion,MI
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight , O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Psalm 19:14 NIV
Kelsie from Searcy, AR
Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.
Psalm 105:4 NIV
Kristi in Mobile
Psalm 20:7
Some trust in chariots some in horses but we trust in the name if The Lord our God
Marcie from Concordia, KS. and provide for those who grieve in Zion – to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despaair….
Isaiah 61:3,4 NIV
Jenny from Scottsdale, AZ
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2 NIV
Missy from Lititz PA
If any of you need wisdom, ask God for it. He will give it to you. God gives freely to everyone. He doesn’t find fault. But when you ask, you must believe. You must not doubt. People who doubt are like waves of the sea. The wind blows and tosses them around.
James 1:5-6 New International Readers Version.
Debbie from Holbrook, NY, Psalms 5:11,12; But let all who take refuge in You be glad, Let them ever sing for joy; And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may exult in You. For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD,You surround him with favor as with a shield. NASB
Traci Wood, Shreveport, Louisiana
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7 ESV
Tara, Lees Summit, Mo
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
Partnering with Phyllis in Metairie, LA.
Have faith in the Lord your God and you will stand strong. Have faith in His prophets and you will succeed. (NCV)
Kalonni, Van Meter, Iowa: Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.
James 5:3 NIV
Marilyn, McKinney, Tx: Phil 4:19 NKJV- And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Jesus Christ.