Hey, Everybody! I am jotting this post several days in advance because I’ll be at a Living Proof Live in Atlanta, Georgia the day this goes up. In fact, if you read this before 11:15 CST (12:15 Atlanta time) on Saturday, we’d be incredibly blessed if you’d pray for our remaining time to be so flooded with the presence of God that we can hardly bear the glory.
I’m so proud of you for making it this far in our Scripture memory process! Sisters, you have worked hard. Let yourself feel the holy nod of God. He has tremendous joy in seeing His children esteem His Word highly enough to store it like treasures in the vault of their hearts. We’ve arrived at a milestone of sorts in this journey. June is tremendously significant for our team because this is the month we come to the halfway marker. Once we get into July and August we have less memorization in front of us than we have behind us. That’s a big deal.
This time around I’m choosing a verse that I’ll be challenging the attendees to memorize at the Atlanta Living Proof Live. I’m not sure a verse could be more fitting for the pure act of praise. I love Scriptures that not only speak about God but speak straight to God. Get a load of this one:
Beth, Houston. O Lord, You are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent, glorious, and sovereign over all the sky and earth! You have dominion and exalt Yourself as the ruler of all. 1 Chronicles 29:11 The NET Bible
Any of us who memorize a fair amount of Scripture have certain go-to approaches that have helped us along. If you’ve got a method that is working, by all means, go with it! But, if you’re interested in memorizing the same verse and would like some suggestions about how to tackle it, I’ll share what works for me. Keep in mind that the methods of Blonder Than She Pays To Be could be madness to someone else so take this or leave it depending on your learning style.
With any verse, I start looking almost immediately for how I can reason out the word order. The first thing I’m going to notice in 1 Chronicles 29:11 is that there are 6 rapid-fire descriptions of God in the first sentence. In this verse, I’d reason that it’s fitting for the word “great” to be first among the descriptions because many of us are accustomed to using the terminology that God (or the Lord, in this case) is great. It’s an easy, accessible word. The next three descriptions all begin with “M”: mighty, majestic, magnificent. As I prepare for Atlanta, I’ll be saying those three words over and over in that order so that they’ll get ingrained in my thinking. They have an amplifying rhythm to them, too, because the first one (mighty) is two syllables, the second one (majestic) is three syllables, and the third one (magnificent) is four syllables. Does that help at all with the word order and how they roll off your tongue? Say them until you feel the syllables build and you might latch onto them pretty quickly.
After the beginning “G” (great) and the 3 “M’s”, we have another “G.” This time it stands for “glorious.” That’s a word I love to say so I’m hoping I can remember it pretty easily. G-M-M-M-G. Are you beginning to catch on? (I think I just heard somebody yell “NO!” Was that you?? I tried to warn you that I can make things harder than they have to be. Laughing. You might need to be the one telling your sisters here how to tackle a wordy verse. Just give me an “E” for effort here and maybe an “A” for affection. I do so seriously love you.)
The last of the 6 descriptions is “sovereign.” To me, that’s always the final word on anything that has to do with God. If I’m confused or I can’t fit in my brain why this happened or why God approached a particular thing a particular way, I finally come to a measure of peace by stating this biblical truth: He is sovereign over all things. In the exact words of 1 Chronicles 29:11, “over all the sky and earth.” I love visual language and that, Sister, is plenty visual. Span the galaxies in the universe with your imagination then put your scope on our planet and zero in. (I know I’m really pushing it right now with some of you but the way I’d keep it straight that “sky” comes before “earth” is that it starts with an “S” like “sovereign” right before it. If I’m getting on your last nerve, never mind.)
Then put the finishing touches on the verse with this: You have dominion and exalt Yourself as the ruler of all!
Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not expecting that we’d have it down pat in the brief amount of time it’s taken us to walk through those few paragraphs but what about 15 days? That’s how long we’d have to get those words steeped into our souls. Could we get them down over the course of two weeks? Yes, ma’am, I do believe we can! And, if not word-for-word, just think how much we’ve meditated on descriptions of our God! That is time NEVER wasted. Let’s ask God to give us the supernatural unction to accomplish this memorization and remind Him how much glory He could receive from our being able to extol His preeminence like that over and over while we’re…
praying…
driving…
walking through our neighborhoods…
on our treadmills…
rocking our babies…
getting chemotherapy…
getting physical therapy…
sitting with an elderly loved one…
healing from a heartbreak…
or so happy that we need some way to tell Him how marvelous we think He is before we burst.
Of course, most of you have your own Scripture selections and I have just put you through the wringer for nothing! So, whether you’re sharing 1 Chronicles 29:11 or bringing your own verse to the table, let’s see them! I’m blessed almost out of my bleached blond mind to get to do this with you, Sister. You are a tremendous joy to me.
Tags: Scripture Memory 2013
Carol Peavy
Jena, LA
But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.
Luke 8:15 NASB
Riverton UT
Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.
~ Ephesians 4:2, NLT
Cameron, Maumee, Ohio
Let each of you not look only to his own interest, but also to the interest of others.
Philippians 2:4 ESV
Karen
Austin, TX
Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.
Ecclesiastes 11:5 NAS
Lori, Plano, TX “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” Luke 2:52 NIV
Darcy,Rosenberg, Yours,O Lord,is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor,for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours,O Lord,is the kingdom;you are exalted as head over all. 1 Chronicles 29:11 NIV
Anna – Conroe, TX
The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Isaiah 58:11 NIV
Melanie Toups
Bridge City, TX
Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven. –Matthew 5:16 NASB
Lori D., Georgetown, TX
Know that the Lord is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, the sheep of His pasture. Psalm 100:3 (NIV)
Amherst, VA
….the testing of your faith produces endurance.
NASB James 1:3
Do not let kindness & truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
Proverbs 3:3, NIV
Laura
Decatur, IL
He tends His flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart; He gently leads those who have young
Isaiah 40:11 (NIV)
Sarah , Lambertville, MI
Joshua 4:24 (NIV)
He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the LORD is powerful and so that you might always fear the LORD your God.
Mandeville, LA
Jesus wept.
John 11:35, NIV
Tiffany, Chester:
He then goes on to say, And their sins and their lawbreaking I will remember no more.
Now where there is absolute remission (forgiveness and cancellation of the penalty) of these [sins and lawbreaking], there is no longer any offering made to atone for sin.
Hebrews 10:17-18, AMP
Vanessa, Johnson City
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11
Honoring our graduates this week! 🙂
Dawn from Jasper, IN
“In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Matthew 7:12 NIV
Hanna Wahlbrink, Lexington, Ky
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4 (niv)
Erin from Murfreesboro TN
O Lord, you are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent, glorious, and sovereign over all the sky and earth! You have dominion and exalt Yourself as the ruler of all.
1 Chronicles 29:11 NET
Lori from Athens, Ga.:
Prov. 28:26 (NIV)
“Those who trust in themselves as fools, but those who walk in wisdom are kept safe.”
Mollie from Northwest Arkansas
“Above all, maintain an intense love for each other, since love covers a multitude of sins.”
1 Peter 4:8
Hannah from Mt. Holly, NC
James 3:17 (NLT) “but the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.”
Nancy, North Little Rock, AR
“O Lord, you are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent, glorious, and sovereign over all the sky and earth! You have dominion and exalt yourself as the ruler of all.”
1 Chronicles 29:11 NET
Corley in Conway, AR:
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will.”
NIV
Diane from Chesapeake, VA.
The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
Psalm 103: 8-10 NIV
Kate from Windsor, PA
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
~Romans 12:12
Tara, Eustis
Psalm 16:11
You will show me the path of life in your presence there is fullness of joy at your right hand are pleasures forevermore
Candace, Narvon, PA
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Ephesians 6:13 NIV
Tara
Greensboro, NC
You turned my wailing into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever.
Psalm 30:11-12
NIV
Kim S., Nashville, TN
Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!
Psalm 90:17 (ESV)
“It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.” Psalm 18:32 NIV
Annette, GA
I Chronicles 29:11 “Thine O Lord is the greatness and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all” KJV
Janice, Harrison, AR
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that when He shall appear, we shall. E like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And every man that hath this hope in him, purifies himself, even as He is pure.”. 1 John 3:2-3. KJV
Gigi, Tyler. In those days when you pray, I will listen.
Jeremiah 29:12 NLT
Imogene, Austin, TX Psalm 34:8 NIV
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
“I will say of The Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’ ” psalms 91:2 ESV
Sarah ~ Appleton, WI
Mark 8:34
Then he called his disciples and the crowds to come over and listen. “If any of you wants to be my follower,” he told them, “you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me.”
(NLT)
Psalms 55:22 Cast your cares on The Lord and he will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall. NIV
But they who wait for The Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 ESV
Shera Jenkins. Lynchburg, Va
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
—Galatians 6:2. NIV
Ps 139: 13,14
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Jessica Cochranville, PA
O Lord, You are great, mighty, majestic, magnificent, glorious, and sovereign over all the sky and earth! You have dominion and exalt Yourself as the ruler of all.
1 Chronicles 29:11 The NET Bible
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.
Ephesians 3:20 NKJV
Verse #11 –
“It (love) is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” 1 Cor. 13:5 (NIV)
Anne, Simpsonville, SC
“For shoes, put on the readiness to preach the Good News of peace with God. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.” Ephesians 6:15-16 NLT
Cara – Fridley, MN
“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.”
Luke 15:31, NIV
Fran, Stedman, NC
“The Lord is good, a strong refuge when trouble comes.
He is close to those who trust in Him
Nahum 1:7
Lori, Flower Mound, TX:
The Lord gives strength to his people; The Lord blessed his people with peace..
Psalm 29:11
Andrea, Gardendale
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:7 NIV
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 (NIV)
Poorna Diaz
Arlington, VA