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.
Sheila, Williston, ND:
Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.
~Ephesians 4:29 (NASB)
Amy, Laurel, Mississippi
“You are my hiding place and my shield, I hope in Your word.”
Psalm 119:114 NKJV
Commit your way to The Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.
Psalm 37:5 NKJV
Rhonda Gross, Rosemount, MN Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (â€Galatians‬ â€6‬:â€9‬ NIV)
Joanna Vaughan, Rochester, MN
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
Hebrews 12:11 NIV
Tiffany, Nampa, ID
Romans 8:15 NLT
“So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father”.”
Joyce from Georgetown, SC
And those who know Your name will put their trust in You; for You Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You. (Psalm 9:10 NKJ)
Krystal Holt
North Little Rock, AR
But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.
Jeremiah 17;7 (NIV)
Sarah M., St. Louis, MO
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Galatians 6:9 NKJV
Jennifer Prochnow, Springerville, AZ He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8 NRSV
Lenora Grayson, Nixa, Missouri
“So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” (Genesis‬ â€1‬:â€27‬ NIV)
Carolyn Medlin Oceanside Ca “I will praise The Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live” Psalm 146:2 NIV
Kerry, Jackson, TN
5 “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. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
John 15:5-8 NIV
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.
2 Cor. 9:8
NAS
The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)
Kay Wammack in Muscle Shoals, AL
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. (â€Ephesians‬ â€4‬:â€1-2‬ NIV)
Deuteronomio 6:4-5 RVR1960
Oye, Israel: Jehová nuestro Dios, Jehová uno es. Y amarás a Jehová tu Dios de todo tu corazón, y de toda tu alma, y con todas tus fuerzas.
Deuteronomy 6:4-5 ESV
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.
Stephanie Adams, Concord, NC — You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” Hide not your face from me. (â€Psalm‬ â€27‬:â€8-9‬ ESV)
Missy Edgmon-Sugar Land, TX
Whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s sake shall save it. Mark 8:35 NASV
Look, I am about to do something new;even now it is coming. Do you not see it? Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness , rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19
Marketa, South Portland, Maine
I will save you from the hands of the wicked and deliver you from the grasp of the cruel.
Jeremiah‬ â€15‬:â€21‬ NIV
Gina Campbell, Katy, TX.
“I will be your God throughout your lifetime— until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.” Isaiah‬ â€46‬:â€4‬ NLT
Pam, Sioux Falls, SD
“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world.”
1 John 4:4, KJV
McCall Norton
Atlanta, TX
“I will be a father to tou ad you will be my sons and daughters says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Cor. 6:18
Jody from Sarcoxie, Mo
Be very careful, then, how you live–not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15 NIV
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self discipline. 2 Timothy 1:6-7 NIV
Christina D – Plain City, OH
Jessica Thomas TRA in Colorado Springs, CO
But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. (â€I Peter‬ â€5‬:â€10‬ NKJV)
Sherri Medford, Abilene, Tx- Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs judgment!
James 2:12-13 NIV
Meredith B
Collierville TN
But Ruth replied…Don’t urge me to leave you or turn back from you. Where you go, I will go, where you stay I will stay, You people will be my people. Your God will be my God.
(Ruth 1:16) NIV
Hannah, Austin, TX
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the Earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” Isaiah 40:28-29 NIV
Sheila Hildebrandt from Steinbach, MB, Canada
Isaiah 46:4 New Living Translation (NLT)
“I will be your God throughout your lifetime—
until your hair is white with age.
I made you, and I will care for you.
I will carry you along and save you.”
Tanis, Cranbrook.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my mountain where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. HCSB Psalm 18:2
Rachel, Mt. Carmel, PA – “However, as it is written: No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” – 1 Corinthians 2:9, NIV
Sandy, Deming,NM
The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health. Ps. 41:3
Stephane Bolton, Florence, Alabama:
“I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (NLT)
Jess Bucher, Valparaiso, IN
“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Peter 1:5-8 ESV
Karen Eachus from Boyertown, PA
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom”
(Isaiah 40:28. NIV)
Nancy from Pittsburgh,PA
PS 69:16. NKJ
Hear me O Lord for your loving kindness is good;
Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies.
Penny Ritter, Vian, OK
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Mark 12:30 ESV
Suzanne Carlson Ridgefield, WA
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Joshua 1:8 NKJV
“Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands.”
Isaiah 49:16 NASB
Debby Conway Clinton Mississippi
Galatians 5:1 NKJV
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free and DO NOT be entangled AGAIN with a yoke of bondage.
Janet S.
Bemus Point, NY
Psalm 84:10 (NIV)
Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
And in French:
Psaumes 84:11 (SG21)
Mieux vaut un jour dans tes parvis que 1000 ailleurs. Je prefere me tenir sur le seuil de la maison de mon Dieu plutot que d’habiter sous les tentes des mechants.
Jamie McClary, Columbus OH
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Is 43:19 ESV
Leah Harvey, Alexandria, VA “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.” Phil. 1:9-10 NIV
Lisa Medina, Fort Worrh, TX
“The Lord God is in your midst, a Victorious Warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.”
Zephaniah 3:17
Pam from Roswell, GA
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and He delivers them.
(Psalm 34:7 NIV)
Emily Cole
Pipestem WV
Luke 13:18-19
What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it? It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and put in his garden; and it grew and became a large tree, and the birds of the air nested in its branches.
Diana – Indianapolis – Colossians 3:12 NIV
[12] Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Erin DiMenna, Alexandria VA. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 NIV