Hey Sweet Things! I’m putting this post up an evening early so I don’t have to be up and working at 7:00 AM on a Saturday morning off. Smiling. Thank you for understanding! Don’t stress if the comments aren’t moderated right away. We take it a little slower on weekends so nobody’s working nonstop.
I wish I had a way to add some great celebratory music to this post. You are officially halfway! Doesnāt that feel fabulous? Oh, come on, now. Let yourself feel it. Great job, Sisters! It’s not easy. We know we can do the second half because we have already done the first. Ā And weāll do this next half exactly the same way: through the unction of the Holy Spirit. Just keep choosing Scriptures that are speaking to you in your exact season and need and theyāll come alive in the marrow of your bones.
I feel like Iāve been talking to you all day because I think of you while writing the lessons for the Bible study underway. We have hashed some things out in the Scriptures today, Sister. You just couldnāt hear them. Iāll just be glad when some of you are sitting on the other side of that page talking back. When I was at the taping for Children of the Day in May, we explained to the group that it would be a whole calendar year before the study comes out. The process takes a long time, especially because it involves both written work and video. We also have to dodge around a travel schedule that is set in calendar-stone a good bit in advance. But, in the twinkling of an eye, another month has already passed. The very last of the manuscript is due in December so youāll not waste a prayer on me between now and then. I donāt get to write every week because I am on the road more often this time of year so each day I get to sit with my Bible open to 1st and 2nd Thessalonians is a gift. And a brain cracker at times.
You and I have plenty to do before next May, however! I so hope many of you are doing the Gideon Bible study this summer with us that our gifted sister, Priscilla Shirer wrote. Itās tremendously powerful. I saw one of you give her a shout-out today on Twitter with the hashtag #Siestaville at the end of it. It made me so happy. God has graced us with such anointed messengers at this hour in the Body of Christ, men and women alike. Hasnāt He? It has been my privilege to study under a number of them with you and to hear about many others from you. Our discipleship worlds are so much bigger when we’re willing to come together. Otherwise, we sit tight in all our own little corners and have no idea how many people God has gifted to serve the Body. We cheat ourselves when we separate ourselves.
OK, Sisters, are you ready to log in your 12th verses? Iām choosing mine from a sermon Curtisās good friend, Jerrell Altic, brought in Curtisās absence last Sunday at our church. His primary text was Mark 1 but he tied in a verse that really jumped out at me. I love the Book of Philemon and have taught out of it several times in the last two years but thatās the beauty of living words. A Scripture will suddenly pop off the page that had somehow been veiled from our recognition before. Iād been so taken with phrases like āyet for loveās sakeā in verse 9 that Iād missed the treasure of V.6, and who couldnāt get distracted by a verse like the 15th? āFor this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever.āĀ I bet some of you have a pretty slack-jawing testimony of that very concept under your own roof.
But when Jerrell referenced this verse, I knew it was my choice for our 12th round of SSMT. In fact, donāt tell but I jotted it immediately on the yellow notes app of my iPhone, took a screen shot and made it my screen saver right then. Sometimes a ānowā word is like RIGHT NOW. Here it goes:
Beth, Houston. āI pray that the faith you share with us may deepen your understanding of every blessing that belongs to you in Christ.ā Philemon 1:6 The NET Bible
Ā
I want God to deepen my understanding of every blessing that belongs to me in Christ while Iām here plowing into some stubborn earthly soil with sweat sopping my forehead. Donāt you? Iām so thankful to be blessed but wouldnāt fleshing it out be a whole different prospect if we came to understand the depth and breadth of many of those blessings? To stand on them, act on them, pray from them, teach from them, love from them, and serve through them? Now weāre talking.
Colossians 2:2-3 gives a glimpse into the grandeur involved as the Apostle Paul prays āthat their (and our) hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of Godās mystery, which is Christ,Ā in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.ā
Look at that again: āthe riches of full assurance of understanding.ā We canāt soon wrap our minds around all that encompasses but we can instantly and actively start praying for God to deepen our understanding of the blessings that belongs to us in the One who embodies every divine and hidden treasure.
Iām making these prayers mine and I am looking for God to answer them. He wouldnāt dictate a prayer right there on the pages of the New Testament that He had no intention of responding to.
I love working through some verses and concepts with you, Sisters. You are so dear to me. Thank you for spending a little time around here and committing to something challenging in the midst of many priorities. I pray that every part of your life is invaded by the Word of God coursing through your brain. May God bring your harvest forth 100-fold.
Itās your turn, Sisters! Give me a hint about what Christ is doing in you right now through the selections of your verses. You are so loved.
Tags: Scripture Memory 2013
Marie, Harrison;
Above all else guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
Proverbs 4:23 NIV
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)
Erica, Kalona, Iowa
Philippians 3:16 (NIV)
“Only let us live up to what we have already obtained.”
Lea from Granger, IN: Jer 29:13 “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all of your heart.” (ESV)
Laurin, Harrisburg,NC: “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.” NIV
Selina, Barbourville, KY.
Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble;thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah
Psalm 32:7 KJV
For I, the Lord you God, will hold your right hand,
saying to you, “Fear not, I will help you.”
Isaiah 41:13 ESV
Carole, Imperial, CA: He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8 NIV
Melissa from Flemington, NJ. Matthew 22:37-19, “Jesus said to him, āYou shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.ā This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: āYou shall love your neighbor as yourself.'” KJV.
Diana, East Peoria, IL
As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord is thinking about me right now.
You are my helper and my savior.
Do not delay, O my God.
Psalm 40:17 NLT
ROBIN, Orange City, Iowa….Ps. 40:11 “Do not withhold YOUR mercy from me, O LORD; may YOUR love and truth always protect me”…Ps 40:11
Christine, Chandler, AZ.
“Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.” Acts 2:22 NIV
June, Coarsegold, CA: “So don’t lose a minute in building on what you’ve been given, complementing your basic faith with good character, spiritual understanding, alert discipline, passionate patience, reverent wonder, warm friendliness, and generous love, each dimension fitting into and developing the others.” 2 Peter 1:5-7 The Message
Pam, Apple Valley, MN
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
Hebrews 11:1 NIV
Psalm 18:46 KJV
The Lord liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
Meredith from Columbus, OH: For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. -Ephesians 2:10 (NLT)
Christy, Conifer, Colorado
Jeremiah 29:11-13 NIV
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to proser you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. “
Emily, Coralville. āThe LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. A righteous man may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all.ā Psalm 34:18-19 NIV
Tanya, Raleigh,N.C.
Blessed is she who believed that what The Lord has
said to her will be accomplished!
Luke 1:45 NIV84
Barb Wisconsin
What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good?
Ps.34:12 ESV
Cheryl – Concord, NC
“The righteous FLOURISH like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.”
Psalm 92.12
ESV
Teresa, Peoria, IL 1 Chronicles 29:11, NIV: 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 your. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.
Carrie C., The Woodlands, TX
1 Thessalonians 5:15 ESV
See that no one repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.
Ps. 119:56 LASB
This is how I spend my life obeying your commandments.
“The thief comes only to steal and kill; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” ā John 10:10 NIV
Madeline from Flagstaff, AZ
Sherri, Marietta, GA: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 NKJV
Janice Victoria,BC
Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!
2 Thessalonians 3:16 NAS
Beverly, Pearland,TX
1 Chronicles 16: 10-11 Holman Christian
Standard Bible
“Let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Search for the LORD and for His strength; seek His face always.”
Robin, Oak Harbor, Washington
Ephesians 6:20 NIV
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Jen (Prosper, 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 or think.
Ephesians 3:20 (NLT)
Kristin, Panama City, FL
“For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by Godās power.”
(1 Corinthians 4:20 NLT)
Bryn, Frisco, TX
for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
Philippians 2:13, NIV
Kathleen, Phoenix
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall.
1Cor.10-12 (NIV)
Vanessa from Victoria, TX
The LORD will fight for you; you need oly to be still. Exodus 14:14 NIV
only, not oly….sorry š
Tilley Hawkins from Franklin, TN
“I rely on the Lord, I rely on him with my whole being; I wait for his assuring word.”
Psalm 130:5 (NET)
I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers; you have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you.You have made known to us the dream of the king. Daniel 2:23 NIV
Kristi Rogersville, TN
1John 1:1 NIV
That which was from the beginning,which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have touched — this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
Michele, Rockmart, GA
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and self-discipline.
2 Timothy 1:7. NIV
Katie Brown
Greenfield, IN
Each of you must show great respect for your mother and father, and you must always observe my Sabbath days of rest. I am the Lord your God.
Leviticus 19:3 NLT
Mary VB,VA
“The Lord will withhold no good thing from those who do what is right.”~ Psalm 84:1b NLT
Denise Wilkim
The Woodlands, Texas
2 Corinthians 3:3
Being revealed that you are a letter of Messiah, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone, but in tablets that are hearts of flesh. HNV
A final word: Be strong in The Lord and in His mighty power. (Eph. 6:10 ESV)
Alexis, Salem OR
“Now let your unfailing love comfort me, just as you promised me, your servant.”
Psalm 119:76 NLT
Kristin Cho; Northville, Michigan
Psalm 130:5 NIV
“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.”
Amen
Amy–Savannah, GA
NRSV Leviticus 26:6a
“And I will grant peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and no one shall make you afraid.”
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. Psalm 130:5 NIV
Brea Rich from Ripley, MS
Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Psalm 25:4-5 NIV84
Jodell, Frankfort, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12 NIV
2 Thess 1:11 – With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted
by your faith.
Bridget in Phoenix, AZ
1 Peter 3:15 NKJV
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.