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
Deanna, Houston
He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. (Psalm 18:19 NIV)
P.S. new to BCF and loved Jerrell’s message. I, too,rapidly jotted notes on my iPhone.
Suzy, Wheelersburg, OH – The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. Psalm 118:14 NIV
Suzie, Wenona, MD: My eyes are continually toward the Lord, for He will pluck my feet out of the net. Psalm 25:15 NASB
Faith
Houma, Louisiana
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (Galatians 5:18 NKJV)
Jill P., Ames, IA
Psalm 62:5,8 (HCSB)
“5Rest in God alone, my soul, for my hope comes from Him. 8Trust in Him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts before Him. God is our refuge.”
“Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your Love, your faith and your purity.”
1 Timothy 4:12b (NLT)
Wanda
Osborn, Missouri
Philemon 1:6 (NET)
I pray that the faith you share with us
may deepen your understanding of every
blessing that belongs to you in Christ.
Melissa, Locust Grove, Ga:
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 NIV
Carrie Gill, Tyler, TX, “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.” 1 Peter 2:1, NIV
Vicki Knott, Greenwood, SC
Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes. Matthew 6:34 (The Message)
T.Nutt, Mansfield, Tx.
Psalms 90:12 “Teach me to number my days so I can gain a wise heart.”
Tshaka; Belgium; The Lord announces the word, and the women who proclaim it are a might throng.
Psalm 68:11 NIV
Amy- Miamisburg, OH
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
Romans 15:13 ESV
…shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life – in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing.
Philippians 2:15-16 NIV
Andrea, Gardendale
Psalm 19:14 ESV
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord , my rock and my redeemer.
Jennifer Doucet
Sulphur, La
and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. (Ephesians 6:15 NIV)
Cindy, Uvalde, Texas
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 NIT
Rebecca, Corpus Christi, TX
James 1:17
New International Version (NIV)
17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
Nelda Adkins, Houston, TX
Proverbs 27:17 (NLT)
As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.
Tracy
Lake St. Louis, MO
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as memebers of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Colossians 3:15
NIV
Lisa, Enterprise, Alabama
~ What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. — Philippians 3:8-9 ( NIV)
Pauline, Eau Claire , Wi
“Indeed the darkness shall not hide from you
But the night shines as the day;
The darkness and the light are both alike to you.”
Psalm 139:12 NKJV
Regina, Salado, TX
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. Habakkuk 3:18 ( NKJV)
Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the
proud, to those who turn aside to false gods
Psalm 40:4. NIV
Marsha R. Lexington Park, MD
And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend.
You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
James 2:23-24 NIV
Fran, Jackson TN “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.” (Colossians 4:5 NIV)
Julie Tierra Verde FL
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 NET
Kathy, Austin Hebrews 10:36
You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of the Father, You will receive all he has promised.
Joan, Carter Lake
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 NIV)
Barbara, Lewisburg, KY
Proverbs 4:23 NIV
“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the well spring of life.”
Laura, Englewood. If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. Psalm 139:8 NIV
Charmaine, Miami, FL – “My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26 NKJV
Jenn, Frederick, CO
…āNot by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,ā says the Lord Almighty.
Zechariah 4:6
Shelley, from Bolivar, MO
Have you not known? Have you not heard? the everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth neither faints or is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.
Isaiah 40:28-29 NKJV
Martha, Georgetown, TX, Galatians 6:7 NLT, “Don’t be mis-led — you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.”
Carla, Lafayette, AL – A man’s steps are directed by the Lord. Proverbs 20:24 NIV
Michele ~ Kenosha, WI
“…This calls for patient endurance and faithfulness on the part of the saints.”
Revelation 10:b NIV
He has given me a new song to sing,a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord. Psalms 40:3
Patti, Clemmons, NC
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Isaiah 53:10
Phyllis, Irvine, CA
“And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 2:15 (NIV)
Tess
Cartersville GA
Psalm 143: 5-6 ESV
I meditate on all that you have done; I ponder the work of your hands. I stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
Isaiah 46:4 NCV
Even when you are old, I will be the same. Even when your hair has turned gray, I will take care of you. I made you and will take care of you. I will carry you and save you.
Beth Schwartz Lititz PA
You shall not be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is in your midst, a great and awesome God.” Deut. 7:21
Karen, Lynnwood, Wa
“The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Proverbs 12:18 (NIV)
Judy
Dumas, Arkansas
“I bow my knees to the Father….that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.”
Ephesians3:14, 17
Nancy, Versailles, Ky
“Be not far from me, O God;
Come quickly, O my God, to help me.” Psm 71:12
Melissa, LaGrange, GA Psalm 91:2 NIV,
“I will say of the Lord, āHe is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.ā
Tessie Watkins. El Dorado Springs, MO
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:18. NIV
Rachel, Surprise, AZ
“Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and my body with grief.” ~Psalm 31:9
Rachel H., Alabama
But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. (Psalm 3:3 NIV)