*This post is coming to you a few days early as our staff travels with Beth, which you will read more about below.
Hey, Everybody! It’s May! We are making progress, Girls! By now you are getting some verses down in your bones. I was thrilled two weekends ago when we had our clandestine Siesta picture after the end of our Albuquerque Living Proof Live and a bunch of them brought their spirals. Talk about teacher’s pets! Here they are:
OK! I’ve done a little video – a really, really short one this time – where I say my verses to you while I’m on a walk in our woods so this stands as my official entry for Verse 9! I’m doing memory work right now out of Ephesians Chapter Four and it is so powerful. As you’ll hear in this segment, God seems to have a tremendous partiality to the number ONE.
Y’all, I love doing this with you. I love an SSMT year. You are so dear to us. By the time you’re submitting your verses, I’ll be speaking in London at Hillsong Colour Conference. Our whole LPM staff is coming and many of our volunteers. Melissa is with me and will be heading up a short tour with our volunteers after the Hillsong conference ends, giving emphasis to several figures in Christianity who had tremendous influence on Spiritual formation. We are looking extremely forward to it. Her suitcase weighed 10 whole pounds more than mine strictly from books. Made me grin. The girl is a book nerd if you’ll ever meet one. We were so sad Amanda couldn’t come on this trip but she needed to be home with her very busy family this round. We miss her like nobody’s business. Would all of you please pray for us as we labor in this gorgeous field of harvest? Please ask Jesus to pour out His Holy Spirit lavishly upon us and to give us such hearts of love for every person we serve.  When I say, ask Jesus to pour out His Spirit, I mean like GUSHES. FLOODS, TIDAL WAVES of Living Water. Understand what I’m saying? PRAY BIG. Get in there with your faith if you’d be willing and ask God to be enormously present among us here. Ask for many to be saved, many to be delivered from strongholds, healed, and made whole in Jesus. Ask for multitudes to awaken to the breadth and length and height and depth of the borderless love of Jesus. Thank you! I owe you a debt of love which I gladly, joyfully pay.
Ok, Girls! Hit it with those verses!
Deneen Horne, Jacksonvlle, Florida-
“so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.
And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,”
(â€Ephesians‬ â€3‬:â€17‬ NIV)
Lesley
Steamboat Springs, CO
Psalm 84:1 (NIV)
How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!
Lori, Bushnell, Florida: 1 Thessalonians 5:9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. (NIV)
Adria A. Jackson, TN
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
Paula Schumacher, Dalhart, TX
“Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised.” Romans 4:20-21
“If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.”
James 1:26
NAS
Eron Bird, Athens, GA
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he had caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” 1 Peter 1:3 ESV
Tammie Williams Utica MO Philippians 1:6 (NKJV)
Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. Lamentations 3:22 NIV
Amy from Noble, OK
Isaiah 59:1
“Behold the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor His ear to dull that it cannot hear”
Cathy, Fridley, MN
The LORD your GOD is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
Zephaniah 3:17, ESV
Margaret, Bellaire, TX
Your word is a lamp to my feet and light for my path.
Psalm 119:105
Heather, Petrolia, ON
“Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.” Psalm 24:9 NIV
Habakkuk 3:2NIV – Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.
Tammy, Ingleside, TX
Andrea Jones – Houston, TX
Psalm 141:3 (NKJV)
Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
Brianna Powers, Overland Park, KS. “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1, ESV).
Darla, Coppell, TX
PSALM 30:5
Do not sorrow for the joy of the Lord is your strength! He is your strength when you feel like you can’t keep moving. You’ve had seasons of sadness, but know that joy comes in the morning!
Melissa Teakell, Wichita, KS
(sorry so late: husband is donating kidney to a brother in Christ! – prayers cherished)
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;
and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 2 Peter 1:5-7 NIV 84.
Oh, and it is 2 Peter 1:5-7, NIV84!
Christine, Greenville, SC
“For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose”. Philippians 2:13 NIV
Lori from Seymour, TN
Ephesians 4:8 NLT
Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each others faults because of your love.
Imelda, Toledo, OH
I will give you hidden treasures,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
Isaiah 45:3 (NIV)
Sherri Dudley Albuquerque, NM Psalm 145:4 NIV “One generation commends your works to another, they tell of your mighty acts.”
This is the verdict:Light has come into the world but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. John 3:19
Elise, Cypress TX
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
James 1:12 ESV
Sandra Kelly, Laramie, WY
“Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,”. – Joel 2:13, NIV
Anne Eppright, Round Rock, Texas ” This the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 ESV
Tiffany Jones, Valparaiso,IN
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn’t fragile like the peace the world gives. So don’t be troubled or afraid.
John 14:27Living Bible (TLB)
Sheryl Hanson, Neenah, WI. “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” Romans 8:32 ESV
Stacy, Ruston, LA
And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. James 3:18 NLT
Mary Thomas
Lexington, KY
Ephesians 6:12 (NLT)
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
Irmo, SC
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
Amy from North Wales, PA:
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.
Psalm 100:5 NIV
Tasha
Matthew 6:34 (NIV)
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Destiny
Romans 8:31 (NLT)
If God is with us who can stand against us.
Kathy, Albany, OR
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)
Lana, Bryant, AR “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:16
Devina Varela San Angelo Texas 2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, “my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Romans 12:18 ({NIV}
Pam T
Augusta, GA
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (â€Romans‬ â€12‬:â€12‬ NIV)
Cara, Oswego, IL. Deuteronomy 7:9 NIV
Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments.
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17 NIV
lee from In – Psalm 91:8 “You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked”
Fairborn, OH
For we know in part and we prophesy in part,
1 Corinthians 13:9 (NIV)
Cathy, Umatilla, FL
Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. Lamentations 3:22 NIV
Dione H. – Moore, OK- If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us – 1 John 1:10 NKJV
Wendi Klaiber
Simi Valley, CA
Ephesians 4:1 (NIV)
As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
Gina, Upper Hutt, New Zealand
Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls.
Hebrews 6:18a-19a NLT
Joyce Smith~~ Mount Juliet, TN
Revelation 3:20 NIV
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.
Lori – Deer Park, WA
James 1:10 (HCSB)
But the one who is rich should boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field.
Ashlyn Bowen, Pendergrass, GA “58 “Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet.” Isaiah 58:1a NIV
Darcy, Spokane, WA
“The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He hears their cry and saves them.”
Psalm 145: 18-19 (NIV)