Hey, Everybody! Drumroll please! Welcome to the 2017 Siesta Scripture Memory Team! The entry of your Verse 1 selection acts as your registration. Please read this brief post before you leave your comment so you’ll know exactly how to do it. We are not legalistic about much around here but I am a drill sergeant about the precise way we accept comments for SSMT verse entries. One perusal through the first several hundred comments and you’ll understand why. It’s such a powerful sight you will almost want to cry. Or shout. Or throw your head back and howl your loudest hallelujah. It just all depends on how you process a fresh glimpse of divine revelation. You’ll have before you a feast spread out lavishly on a huge banqueting table.  Keeping the comments to the bare minimum makes Scripture itself stand out on the page. If we add a lot of other verbiage to the comment, the verse is more likely to get lost in it.
Not only will your soul be fed by the entries of others, you’ll discover verses you didn’t even know existed and get ideas for future selections. Any time you can’t decide what verse to memorize, jump on the comments and see what resonates with you. Any time you feel bone-dry or downcast or distracted or discouraged or just plain directionless, open up the comments on any SSMT post and behold the words of the Lord. It’s so powerful I could slap my desk thinking about it.
OK, this is how the information should appear in your comment:
Name (first is fine), city: verse, reference, Bible translation.
(Don’t forget your translation! People love knowing exactly which translation your selection came from.)
So you’ll have a paradigm for how it looks, here is my entry for Verse 1 and you’ll see at the end of the post where I made a slight little addition to add some soul-deep conviction if you wish:
Beth Moore from Houston Texas: “Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved fellow worker.” Philemon 1 ESV
You get to choose your own verse according to what you need most right now, what resonates with you in your present circumstances or what God just simply seems to land you on. This year I feel like He’s leading me to use my 24 entries to memorize the one-chapter book of Philemon. It contains 25 verses but the last one is easy so I’ll throw it in with my 24th verse as my final entry. I’ve done stacks of spirals full of unrelated Scriptures for my memory work in previous years. Other times I’ve done several different chunks or one solid chapter. There is no wrong way to do it. It just all depends on what the Holy Spirit seems to be energizing us to do. If something about chipping away at one chapter through the course of the year rings your bell, you are so welcome to join me or you can look through the Scriptures and choose a different chapter of similar length. I so loved memorizing Psalm 25 several years ago. I recited it as recently as yesterday. It has 22 verses ready to go if you’d like to consider it. You’d only need to tag on 2 separate verses after you memorized the psalm to fulfill your 24-verse goal. Jude is another one-chapter book I memorized. It contains 25 verses but I will warn you in advance, take that one on only if you like a challenge. It is pretty wordy.
Let’s just add two little words this time to the front of the entry of our first verse: I commit! And go right ahead and add that exclamation mark at the end of it for the sake of some very appropriate enthusiasm. What you’re about to do bears FRUIT. God’s Word does not return empty. He sends it forth with accomplishing power and divine purpose. That’s worth anticipating with excitement. (In fact, Isaiah 55:11 is a fabulous Scripture to memorize if you’re still searching for a great launch verse.) I think we ought to add those two little words because I keep reading how allergic we’re growing culturally to making commitments of almost any kind. I’m sure you’ve read the same thing. But here’s the deal. We will never be mighty servants of Jesus Christ, alive and awake in the Holy Spirit, bringing glory to God the Father all while standing against evil rulers, powers and principalities without commitment.
Ain’t happenin’.
Nothing was tentative to those early New Testament believers about following Jesus. They didn’t fulfill their callings by being scared of commitment. They gave Him their lives. They bore His name. They testified to the death. Let’s do this thing, Sisters. Let’s do it deliberately. We’re not destined to be weak-willed women. We’re called to be stunningly strong willed about God’s will. So, here’s my official entry for verse 1 of the Siesta Scripture Memory Team challenge of 2017!
I commit! Beth Moore from Houston Texas: “Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved fellow worker.” Philemon 1 ESV
Your turn, sisters! Try to make each of your entries within 24-48 hours after the posts go up around the 1st and the 15th of each month. Also remember not to worry if you don’t see your comment posted for a day or so. Wait a while before you post the same verse a second time. We moderate all comments to filter through spam and trash and general nastiness so the process can take a little time. Here we go! I’m beside myself with joy. Thank you for the privilege to store up the very words of God with you. They are life and breath to us. Iron in our blood. Steel in our bones. So much love to you.
I commit! Janelle MacKay from Richmond Hill, GA “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
â€â€Psalm‬ â€73:26‬ â€NIV‬‬
I commit! Bonnie from Alexandria, LA
“The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me;
Your steadfast love, o Lord, endures forever,
Do not forsake the work of your hands.” Psalm 138:8 ESV
I commit. Tammy, Paradise
Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. Jeremiah 33:3
I commit! Connor Forrester from Greenwood, SC.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
â€â€Philippians‬ â€4:6‬ â€NIV‬‬
I commit! Teresa, Orange City. But grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. to Him be the honor both now and on that eternal day. 2 Peter 3:18 NET
I commit! Chris Laughlin from San Antonio, Texas “But if you indeed obey His voice, and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies, and an adversary unto your adversaries.” NKJV
I forgot to give the reference: Exodus 23:22
I commit !
Jill , Dunedin FL
Now listen , you rich people , weep and wail because of the misery that is coming upon you .
James 5:1 ( finishing up memorizing the book of James ) NIV
I commit!
Carolyn from The Woodlands, TX
“You are my hiding place and my shield; I wait for Your word.” – Psalm 119:114 (NASB)
I commit! Denise, Mount Gilead, Ohio
“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 commands.” Deuteronomy 7:9
Jesus answered and said unto him most assurdely i say unto you unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God-john 3 vs 3
I commit!
Gwen from Coweta, OK
“Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.”
â€â€Psalms‬ â€1:1-3‬ â€NLT‬‬
I commit! Molly Norwood, Longview, Texas 1 Peter 1:3(&4) Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading. Kept in heaven for you. HCSB
I commit! Hillary Dickey, D’iberville, MS
“For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does”. Psalm 33:4 NIV
I commit!
Carol from Cumming, Ga: “Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5 HCSB
Stacie Kilgore from Lee’s Summit, MO. “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient; all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” I Corinthians 6:12 KJV
I commit! Tara: Frisco, TX
Do not conform to the pattern 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 New International Version
I commit! Julie from Ontario, California. “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6 ESV
I Committ! Pati in Jacksonville, FL
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV
I commit!
Aleigha from Coweta, OK
“How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!”
â€â€Proverbs‬ â€16:16‬ â€NIV‬‬
I commit! Nancy Gillentine from Medina, Ohio “Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers,” Psalm 1:1 (NIV)
Karen from Cypress, TX
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Philippians 4:8 NLT
I commit!
Zaleigh from Coweta, OK
“Protect me, God, for I take refuge in You.”
â€â€Psalms‬ â€16:1‬ â€HCSB‬‬
I COMMIT!
Beth P, Roswell, GA
“But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength…”
2 Timothy 4:17 NLT
I commit!
Kristina Van Dyne from Overland Park Kansas: ” Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105 NLT
Tracee, Morristown, Tennessee – I commit!
Every valley shall be exhalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:
Isaiah 40:4 KJV
I commit! BJ from Kansas City, Missouri: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33, NLT
I commit! Ann from Minneapolis, MN. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 NIV
Tanya, Rapid City, S.D. — “But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” Isaiah 43:18-19 I COMMIT!
I commit! Melissa from St. Louis MO
“For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10New King James Version (NKJV)
I commit! Erin from Lolo, MT: “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (ESV)
I commit! Carrie Bradshaw from Christiansburg, VA: “Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35 (NIV)
I commit! Becca from San Juan Bautista, California
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart;
and lean not to thine own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5 KJV
I commit! Robin, Chaska, Minnesota
“The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God remains forever” Isaiah 40:8 HCSB
I commit! Nedra Gordon Hoover, Blue Springs, MO “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. Ephesians 1:7,8a NASB
I commit! Rene’ Pingel from Cape Girardeau, MO: if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV
Rachel from Goose Creek, SC
I commit! Therefore if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation; old things have passed away behold all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV
I commit! Mary Pat Byrd from Richmond Hill, GA. “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights.” Habakkuk 3:17-19 NIV
I commit! Darrel Fuller, Lincoln UK, “so is my Word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 NIV
I commit! Brenda Russell Hendersonville TN
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 (HCSB)
I COMMITT! Mildred, Fayetteville, AR
“This letter is from Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ.” Jude 1:1 NLT
Valerie Niblack, Emporia,Kansas
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children talking about them when you sit at home, and when you walk along the road, while you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.
Deuteronomy 11:18-21 NIV
I commit! Amber Little from Burlington, Ky: “If I speak human or angelic languages but I do not love, I am a sounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” 1 Corinthians 13:1 HCSB
I Commit! Tawnya Johnson from Junction City Oregon. “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” Psalm 91:1 NLT
Andrea – Roscoe, IL
Be strong and courageous, Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you.
Deuteronomy 31:6 NIV
I commit! Lavonda from New Braunfels, Texas. “They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” — Rev 17:14
Mona Passignano, Fort Worth, TX Habakkuk 3: 17-18
Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
I forgot to put the translation I used on my entry. I used the NLT.
I commit!!! If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country–a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. Hebrews 11:15-16 NIV
I commit!
Tamara, St Louis, MO
And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
John 14:13 NIV
I commit! Kelly Harrel, Temecula, CA: For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT)
I commit! Amy Kay Nickerson, Lascassas, TN:
“When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place.”
â€â€Psalm‬ â€118:5‬ â€NIV‬‬