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
Melanie from Georgetown, Tx
God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Psalm 46:5 NIV
Stephanie Colucci
Dallas TX
Matthew 19:19
(NIV)
19 honor your father and mother,ā[a] and ālove your neighbor as yourself
Michelle, Alberta, Canada
“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your father in heaven may forgive your sins.”
– Mark 11:25 NIV
Diana—San Patricio, TX. “Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself; the Lord hears when I call to him.” Psalms 4:3 (NIV)
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
Kathy, Houston
Psalm 34:4 KJV
I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence
I Peter 3:15 NASB
Heather—Corpus Christi, TX. “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” James 1:22 (NKJV)
I pray that the faith you share with us may deepen your understanding of every blessing that belongs to you in Christ.
Philemon 1:6
Tammy
Cincinnati
Heather G.
Fredericksburg, VA
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
Joy from Lubbock, Texas
“When I am afraid, I will trust in You.” Psalm 56:3 NIV
Susan- Berryville, VA
Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies. (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 NIV)
Debbie, Cumming, GA. “When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, He said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” Judges 6:12 NIV.
Lisa, Andalusia, AL
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:7 NASB)
“I pray that the faith you share with us may deepen your understanding of every blessing that belongs to you in Christ.” Philemon 1:6
Suzanne, Birmingham : “many are the plans in a mans heart but it is the Lords purpose that prevails.”. Proverbs. 19:21
Sara from Virginia: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23, NIV)
Ramona, Pasadena, TX:
Romans 5:1 NIV
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Marla B from Dixon, IL 1 Corinthians (NIV) 13:1
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal…
Leslie
Milton, GA
Jeremiah 33:3 NIV
Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
Johannah, Alexandria, LA
“You are good and do only good; teach me your decrees.” Psalms 119:68 NLT
Peggy, Wakarusa IN
Psalm 16:11 “You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”
April lopez, bonneylake, wa
Look to the lord and his strength; seek his face always.
Psalm 105:4 niv
Emmilianna ferreria, bonneylake, wa
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Isaiah 40:29 niv
Sharon Allen, Redmond, WA
For thus says the One who is high and lifted up who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
veronica- Atlanta, Georgia
luke 12,6&7 what is the price of five sparrows? A couple of pennies not much more than that yet God does not forget a single one of them. 7) and He knows the number of hairs on your head! never fear, you are more valuable to Him than a whole flock of sparrows. ( living Bible)
Karen, Clarksville, “But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him…”O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?” declares the LORD. “Like clay in the hands of the potter, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel.” Jeremiah 18:4&6 NIV
Jenna from Liberty NC
Evildoers are snared by their own sin, but the righteous shout for joy and are glad. (Proverbs 29:6 NIV)
Christina McClain, Nampa, Idaho, HCSB, James 1:11. “For the sun rises with its scorching heat and dries up the grass; it’s flower falls off and it’s beautiful appearance is destroyed. In the same way the rich man will wither away while pursuing his activities.”
Danielle, Evansville, IN
“And now, O Israel, 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 for your own good?” Deuteronomy 10: 12-13 NIV
Emily in Anchorage, AK
Psalm 103:3-4, NIV
“…who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion…”
Isaiah 26:3 (NLV)
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you.
Stephanie. Danville Ky
No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. 1. John. 4:12. NIV
Bridgette- Rockwall, TX
“I know the best thing we can do is always enjoy life,”
Ecclesiastes 3:12 CEVU
Mary , Lilburn GA. Taste and see that The Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8 NIV
Jennifer, Fort Worth
Proverbs 14:26 NKJV “In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge.”
Ali s. midwest city, ok
Psalm 91:5 (NIV)
You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day.
Ps 139:15 NIV – My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in that secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
Sharon Allen, Redmond, WA
For thus says the One who is high and lifted up who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite.
Isaiah 57:15 ESV
Kelley from Houston, TX
“We know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you.”
1 Thessalonians 1:4 (NET)
Lindsey, Nashville, TN. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4 (NIV)
Lauren from Conyers, GA
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Ephesians 2:10 NLT
16Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. Matt 5:16
Jill, Fort Ashby, WV
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23 NIV
lynn, Louisville, KY.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 4 I thank my God always, making mention of your in my prayers,
Philemon 1:3-4 (NASB)
“But as for me, I will sing about YOUR power. Each morning I will sing with joy about YOUR unfailing love. For YOU have been my refuge, a place of safety when I am in distress.”
Psalm 59:16 NLT
Mary, Frisco, “You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.” Proverbs 19:21 (NLT)
Leverett, MA
Who is the man who desires life and loves length of days that he may see good?
Psalm 34:12 NASB
Barbara, Birmingham,Al
Be still before The Lord and wait patiently for him;
Do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
When they carry out their wicked schemes.
Psalm 37:7. NIV
Carol
Woodbridge, CA
“My God is my rock, I can run to Him for safety. He is my shield and my saving strength, my defender and my place of safety. The Lord saves me from those who want to harm me.’. II Samuel 22:3. NCV
For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Hebrews 12:3