Hey, you Scripture memory fiends! I am so proud of you guys for keeping your numbers up with your second verses! There can be a really big drop out between the hype surrounding the first verse and the discipline that starts kicking in with the second verse. Stay at it, you guys. Not one of you will be sorry you did. No one is going to get to the finish line next December 15th and say it wasn’t worth the work. God is far more faithful than that. He rewards those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6) and diligently uses His Word to equip us in our callings (2 Timothy 3:16-17). He uses His Word to make us wiser, more aware of His will, more fortified against temptation, and more alive in His Spirit. He uses His Word to make us less gullible when our hearts are trying to deceive us, when someone we love is trying to mislead us or when Satan himself is trying to seduce us. Be encouraged. Not one ounce of your effort is wasted.
Here is the biggest key to accomplishing this task: throughout the entire process, continually ask God to enable you to memorize. In John 14:26, Christ tells His followers that the Holy Spirit is the one who will “bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Proactively taking Him up on this assurance has been strategic through the years I’ve memorized Scripture. Over and over I convey to God that I know only He can empower those inspired words on the page to find a permanent place in my memory and a home in the marrow of my bones. I call upon His Spirit in Jesus’ Name to stir up those verses in me and remind me of every word and phrase.
When you’re able to say your verse with any accuracy at all, start thanking Him. Do it right then. Completely engage in the relational side of your memory work. That will be by far the biggest success in this endeavor. God is after your heart, not just your mind. He’s not just looking for your discipline. He wants to be your desire. His aim is relationship. Ask Him to help you then thank Him when He does it. When you’re working on a beautiful verse, tell Him you think it’s beautiful. When you keep stumbling over one particular word, ask Him right then to help you get that phrase straight. His Word is God speaking to you so speak back. Use it as an invitation to dialogue. Is the verse really hard? Say to Him, “This verse is killing me here, Lord. I can’t seem to get it. Grant it to me. Help me with it.” Get what I’m saying? This way He gets all the glory in every success and we get immeasurable gain.
This I promise you: God’s objective for you and me in 2015 is not for us to memorize 24 verses. It’s for us to draw nearer and nearer to Him, love Him more, know Him more, trust Him more, and believe Him more. To let His Word go down deep where He wants it. To invite it fervently and proactively to abide in us and bring vivacious life to us. To meditate on His words and to prize them more than our daily bread. Job said it this way: “I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my portion of food.” (Job 23:12b) That’s what these 24 verses are about. So, let’s engage with Jesus throughout the entire process. THAT, at the end of our journey, is what will determine our success.
I think I just changed my mind on what I want to present you for my 3rd verse. I am doing memory work out of the Book of Ephesians right now but I don’t happen to be on a verse that stands alone in a comprehensive enough way to offer it to someone to share. Mentioning Job in the previous paragraph stirred up in my memory how much I love that 23rd chapter. Savor the gorgeousness of verses 8-12. (ESV)
8      “Behold, I go forward, but He is not there,
and backward, but I do not perceive Him;
9Â Â Â Â Â Â on the left hand when He is working, I do not behold Him;
He turns to the right hand, but I do not see Him.
10Â Â Â Â Â Â But He knows the way that I take;
when He has tried me, I shall come out as gold.
11Â Â Â Â Â Â My foot has held fast to his steps;
I have kept his way and have not turned aside.
12Â Â Â Â Â Â I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.
Translation of verses 8-10??? I may not know where God is right now in my situation but of this I’m sure: He knows where I am. Isn’t that powerful? Then, behold the faith and steadfastness of Job in that 10th verse: because God is at work and is at the helm, “I will come forth as gold” (NIV). (If you get a chance, glance at how perfectly that concept corresponds with 1 Peter 1:7.) I believe Job 23:10 is the exact verse I want to choose this time around and I think I’ll use the NIV. So here goes:
Beth Moore, Houston, Texas. But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. Job 23:10 NIV
Hit it, Girls.
So honored to study and memorize Scripture with you. Much, much love to you.
Suzie DeVaughn, Wenona, Maryland
For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Philippines 2:13 NASB
Pamela Green, Waynesboro, GA
John 15:5 NIV
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.
“Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips.” Psalm 141:3 (NIV)
Linda O’Neill, Elk Grove, CA
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (â€Proverbs‬ â€4‬:â€23‬ NIV)
Salley Sutmiller, Tulsa, OK
For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God, and supremely so toward you. (â€2 Corinthians‬ â€1‬:â€12‬ ESV)
Vivian
Birmingham, Alabama
Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. Micah 7:8 NRSV
Danielle, Beaver Dam, WI
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” Philipians 4:7 NIV
Donna Huneycutt, Mt. Pleasant, NC
1 Timothy 4:8
For bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
Vicky, Winchester, Hampshire, England
“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.”
Proverbs 31:25 New Living Translation
Lois, Southbury, CT
As the snow and the rain come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, . . . (Isaiah 55:10 NIV)
Judith, Scott, La.
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, and let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
James 1:2-4 NAS
Eph.6:13 ESV Therefore take up the whole armor of God,that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Brittany Marietta, GA
I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit; for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5
Hannah West Boulder, CO
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 NKJV
I desire to dwell in the shelter of the most high. I will rest in the shadow of the almighty. I will say to you, Lord, you are my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom
I trust. Psalm 91:1-2 NIV
Sarah Sykes, Arkadelphia, AR
bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. (â€Colossians‬ â€3‬:â€13‬ ESV)
Lisa Hill, Flagstaff, AZ. Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” Luke 9.23 NLT
Renee, Juniata, NE
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
-2 Timothy 1:7 (NIV)
Deborah C
Atlanta, GA
“Don’t fret or worry, instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.”
Phil. 4:6 (MSG)
Jackie Watson, Marietta, Ga. “Trust in Him at all times O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:8 ESV
Pat Wagar, Jekyll Island, GA
For I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13 NLT
The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy. The Lord is good to all and His tender mercies are over all His works. All Your works shall praise You, O Lord, and all Your saints shall bless you. Psalm 145:8-10
Kelly Westbrook, Clayton, NC: Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path. Psalm 119:105 AKJV
Casey, Cheney, WA
For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
Romans 6:14 (NIV)
Laura V., Everest, KS
He will shield you with His wings. He will shelter you with His feathers. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Psalm 91:4 (NLT)
Val Thiessen, Aldergrove, BC
Jeremiah 17:7 & 8 NIV
‘But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes, its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.’
Allison Brown, Hickory, NC
“He has showed 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
Eleanor
Memphis, TN
Psalm 27.4. NIV
One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.
Ashley Allen
Burbank, CA
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; (â€1 John‬ â€2‬:â€1‬ NASB)
Raleigh,NC
But He knows the way that I take; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold. Job 23:10 NIV
Emily, Topeka, Kansas
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.”
Psalm 19:1-2 (NIV)
Philippians 4:6-7 ESV
6. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. 7. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will gaurd your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Wendy Tunison
Caldwell, Idaho
Misty Sherman, Longview, TX
“Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else.” (Galatians 6:4 NLT)
For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (â€Matthew‬ â€18‬:â€20‬ NIV)
Kristi Martin, Milton, FL
“I know that my Redeemer lives and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my sin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God.”
Job 19:25-26
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Philippians‬ â€4‬:â€4‬ NIV. Ann. noblesville, in
Lynn Greene, Shelby, NC
“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:13
Kelly Davis, Fredericksburg VA
For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
KJV James 3:16
Jordan Weller. St. Louis, MO. “‘Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.'” Isaiah 6:5 (NIV)
Show me your way 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 NLT
Laura Andres from Bryan, OH
Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not earthly things. Colossians 3:1-2 NIV
Joanie, Richmond,VA . “I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken,for he is right beside me.”
Psalm 16:8 NLT
Pat from Jackson, KY Ponder the path of your feet, then all your ways will be sure. Proverbs 4:26 ESV
Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 niv
He gives strength to the weary and increases power of the week. Isaiah 40:29 NIV, Donna, Blacklick, Ohio
Erin Heath, TX
Hebrews 2:17 NIV
For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.
Jaime Garrett Wilson, NC
1 John 1:9 (NIV)
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Perri Lee, Shallowater, TX
Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
~ Colossians 3:12 (NLT)
Angie Myers from Loganville, Ga shares
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (â€Proverbs‬ â€3‬:â€5-6‬ NIV) “
Leslyn, Houston, TX
For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.
Psalm 96:4 NIV