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
Joy, Lubbock, Texas
For the Spirit God gives us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, & self discipline .
2 Timothy 1:7 TNIV
Brandi K
Cape Girardeau, Missouri
“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all that 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 Jesus Christ.” Philippians 4:6-7 NLT
Kathy, Birmingham
“A man’s wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense.”
Proverbs 19:11 NIV
Melinda from Burgin, KY
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Philippians 4:13
KJV
Lori from Centralia, WA
“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.”
~John 16:33 (NIV 1984)
Kathy Dunn in Bella Vista,AR
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your strength and with all your
mind; and love your neighbor as yourself.
Luke 10:27 NIV
Rachel in Simpsonville, SC
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
Marissa Haney, Pittsburgh, PA
“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
Psalm 27:1 ESV
Elizabeth from Victoria, BC, Canada: “Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures.” Psalm 119:90 NIV
Whitney; Greer, SC: “Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” Philippians 4: 4-5 NIV
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Matt.6:31-34 nkjv
Kristi, from Campbellsville, Kentucky
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
-Ephesians 4:29 ESV
Kim from Crawfordsville. Indiana
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. I Corinthians 10:31 NIV
Amy
Oklahoma
Job 12:13 CEV
But God is the real source of wisdom and strength.
Lynn, Colorado Springs, CO ““But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. They (she) will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream…It has no worries in a year of drought…” Jeremiah 17:7-8c (NIV)
Carmen Summersville, WV
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ”
2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV
Psalm 65:11 New Living Translation
You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
Ann from Indiana
Sandy, Rock Hill, SC
Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.
Psalm 86:11 NIV
Connie from Carterville, IL.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hebrews 12:1-2
Sarah, North Carolina
If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask Him, and He will gladly tell you, for He is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask Him; He will not resent it.
James 1:5 Living
Kelley Mansfield, Sharpsburg, GA
For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say
Luke 12:12 NIV
Ann from Salisbury, NC
Matthew 6:33 NKJV
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
Emily Jordan
Virginia Beach, VA
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2 (NAS)
Candace from Lexington Park, MD
Remain in me and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
John 15:4 NIV
Tara, Brandon And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary. Galatians 6:9
Stephanie
Quitman, Texas
Even to your old age and gray hairs,
I am He, I am He who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
I will sustain you and I will rescue you.
— Isaiah 46:4 (NIV84)
Jenni
Murray, KY
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16 ESV)
Irene
Clarksville, TN
Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
Galatians 5: 24-25 (NASB)
But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7 NIV84
Natalie Dawes, Calgary, AB, Canada
My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
Psalm 62: 1,2 (NIV84)
Jennifer, Huntington, WV
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:31, 32 (NIV)
Yvonne from King, North Carolina, I will restore your leaders as in days of old, your rulers as at the beginning.
Afterward you will be called the City of Righteousness, the
Faithful City. Isaiah 1:26 NIV
Debbie from Greenback, TN Romans 8:5
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. ESV
tonya, maple hill, ks
“if any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask god, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”
james 1:5 (niv)
2 Corinthians 5:17(NASV)
Therefore, if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away, behold, new things have come.
Kelly
Aurora, IN
Michelle Bordelon, Prairieville, LA
I love you O Lord, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.
Psalm 18:1-3 ESV
Sarah Phillips, Martinsburg WV. ” I delight greatly in the Lord; My soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” Isaiah 61:10 (NIV)
Gena, Texarkana,AR.
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8
Lee M. from IN. 2 Corinthians 9:8 ESV
“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work”
Joni Woodward, Port Neches, Tx
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:3-4 NIV84
“Everything is permissible”–but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”–but not everythiing is constructive. 1 Corinthians 10:23 (NIV)
Janice, Bakersfield, CA
Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus 1Thessalonians 5:18 NIV
Lou Ann – Moultrie, GA –
“He must increase, I must decrease.” John 3:30 ESV
Bonnie from Jacksonville
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13, NIV
Kiah from Ada, OK
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
John 1:16 NIV
Karen from Powell, OH
Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.
Psalm 46:10
Monica Henry from Jacksonville, FL
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. 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 4:6-8 NIV
Carol Boney, Il
Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
2Peter 3:18 NLT
Kristy from Cedar Park, Texas: Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.
2 Timothy 2:16 NIV
Karen in Clanton, AL
THE LORD is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. This is my God and i will praise him, my father ‘s God and I will exalt Him.
Exodus 15:2 NIV