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! Doesn’t 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.  And we’ll 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 they’ll come alive in the marrow of your bones.
I feel like I’ve 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 couldn’t hear them. I’ll 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 you’ll not waste a prayer on me between now and then. I don’t 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. It’s 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. Hasn’t 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? I’m choosing mine from a sermon Curtis’s good friend, Jerrell Altic, brought in Curtis’s 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 that’s the beauty of living words. A Scripture will suddenly pop off the page that had somehow been veiled from our recognition before. I’d been so taken with phrases like “yet for love’s sake” in verse 9 that I’d missed the treasure of V.6, and who couldn’t get distracted by a verse like the 15th? “For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever.” 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, don’t 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 “now” word is like RIGHT NOW. Here it goes:
Beth, Houston. “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 The NET Bible
Â
I want God to deepen my understanding of every blessing that belongs to me in Christ while I’m here plowing into some stubborn earthly soil with sweat sopping my forehead. Don’t you? I’m so thankful to be blessed but wouldn’t 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 we’re talking.
Colossians 2:2-3 gives a glimpse into the grandeur involved as the Apostle Paul prays “that 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 God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”
Look at that again: “the riches of full assurance of understanding.” We can’t 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.
I’m making these prayers mine and I am looking for God to answer them. He wouldn’t 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.
It’s 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
Colossians 1:13-14 ESV: He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Brandy, Roseburg, Oregon. Psalm 62:6 (NIV)
“He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress I will not be shaken.”
Cindy – Houston
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
Gina from Ruston, LA
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28 NIV)
Michele, Oakdale, CA
Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face continually. Ps 105:4 NASB
Shaci- Aztec, New Mexico
Psalm 150:6 NIV
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord . Praise the Lord .
Cindy, Fort Worth, TX
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1:7 (NIV)
Mary Jane, Troy KS
“For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.”
2 Chronicles 16:9 NIV
Carol, Santa Maria, Psalm 86:12-13a, “I will praise You, LORD my God, with all my heart; I will glorlify Your Name forever. For great is Your Love toward me.” I learned verse 11 last session, but my grandblessings want to say that one and this with me now, so I need more practice on this 2nd half.
Sharon Glennville, GA
Micah 7:7 NIV
But as for me,
I watch in hope for the Lord,
I wait for God my Savior;
My God will hear me.
Monica, Abbotsford, BC Canada
Habakkuk 3:2 – NIV
Lord, I have heard of Your fame; I stand in awe of Your deeds. Renew them in our day; in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy!
MacKenzie, St Louis
Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.
Darcy – Edwardsville, IL
“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV)
Lezli. Oklahoma City, OK
The Lord is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident. The one thing I ask of the Lord — the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord ’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. (Psalms 27:1-4 NLT)
Heather Wilkinson
Springfield, VA
Psalm 91:1-2 (NIV)
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Kathy, Birmingham, “”And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 NIV
Brianna from Huntsville, AL
He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:24 ESV)
Robin Freeman~Garland Tx
In your relationships with one another, have the same mind set as Christ Jesus
Philippians 2:5 NIV
Barb~St Cloud MN~”And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give our fathers.” Deuteronomy 6:23 ESV Can you tell which Bible study I am presently doing?
Emily (kemptville, ontario)I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:12 NIV
Aleta. Westfield, IN. Psalm 51:10 NIV. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Kim
New Port Richey, FL
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 NKJ
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and in depth of insight
Philippians 1:9 NIV
Debbie from Moultrie,Ga
Psalm 103:5 KJV
Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things;so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles.
Dayla, Springfield, MO
We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. Psalm 33:20 NIV
Diana – Indpls – 1 Chronicles 16:11- NIV
Look to the Lord and his strength;seek his face always.
Sharpsburg, Ga.
Romans 8:28 NIV
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Jana, Quitaque, TX
1 John 3:2-3 NIV
Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
For you know the plans you have for me O Lord. Plans to prosper me and not harm me, plans to give me a hope and a future. Jer 29:11
Amber B., Vicksburg, MI. But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7 NIV
Colleen, Glen Ellyn, IL
For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Matthew 7:14 ESV
June 15th
1 Timothy 6:18 NASB
Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.
Natalie Dawes, Calgary, AB, Canada
Do not conform any longer to the patter 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.
Romans 12:2 (NIV84)
Melissa
Midlothian, VA
“You Lord are forgiving and good abounding in love to all who call on you.” Psalm 86:5 NIV
Stephanie, La Habra, CA “Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.” 1 Cor. 10:6 NIV
This is love, that we walk according to God’s commandments.
2John:6 (NRSV)
Donna, Huntersville, NC
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
Nancy from Barboursville WV
“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord
establishes their steps.”
Proverbs 16:9 NIV
Shannon Wilkinson
Blacksburg, VA
Psalm 37:8-9 HCSB
Refrain from anger and give up your rage; do not be agitated-it can only bring harm. For evildoers will be destroyed, but those who put their hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
Pittsburgh, PA
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3 (NIV)
Crystal Clark, Omaha, NE
Know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. Deuteronomy 4:39 (esv)
Linda from Wake Forest, N.C.
2 Corinthians 5:17(NIV)
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has
come.”
“The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”
2 Timothy 4:18 ESV
Jayne
Frisco, TX
Vivian
Birmingham, Alabama
(Same passage as June 1 – vs 1=2 then & 3-4 now)
First of all, then, I urge that requests, prayers, intercessions, and thanks be offered on behalf of all people, even for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. Such prayer for all is good and welcomed before God our Savior, since He wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. I Timothy2:1-4 The NET Bible
Mandy
Tallahassee, FL
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9 NIV
Isaiah 26:8 (NIV)
Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and your renown are the desire of our hearts.
Cindy/Midland
Mindy- Andalusia, AL
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. (I Corinthians 10:13, NIV)
Sharron, Spring, TX
If God is for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:31 NIV
Bette, Danville
For He will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. Psalm 91:11
Debbie Z Vancouver, WA
Return to your rest, my soul, for the LORD has been good to you. Psalm 116:7 NIV