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!! Melinda, from Wisconsin. “But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteousness things we had done, but because of His mercy.”
Titus 3:4-5a NIV
I commit! Jessi from Murfreesboro, Tennessee
“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.” Deuteronomy 6:5 NLT
I commit!! Nichole from Douglas, WY
“but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31 NIV
I COMMIT! Claudia from Houston, TX
“You must say to the prophet: What has the Lord answered you? and What has the Lord spoken?”
â€â€Jeremiah‬ â€23:37‬ â€HCSB‬‬
I commit! eva from Houston, TX
Now glory be to God, who by his mighty power at work within us is able to do far more than we would ever dare to ask or even dream of—infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes. Ephesians 3:20 TLB
I commit! Nicole Powell in Sundown, Texas – “But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'””
â€â€Matthew‬ â€4:4‬ â€ESV‬‬
I commit! Marilyn from Wheatland, Way.
“Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 NASB
I commit! Rachel from Liberty Hill,Texas
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy,it does not boast,it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perserveres.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV
I Commmit! Pam J Rockwall, Texas “So we make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” 2 Corinthians 5:9 NIV
I commit! Stephanie from Pikeville, KY. “That’s how it is with my words. They don’t return to me without doing everything I send them to do.”
â€â€(Isaiah‬ â€55:11‬ â€CEV)
I commit. Mimi from Columbia. John 10:27 NLT
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
I commit! Heather, Tallahassee FL
“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.”
â€â€James‬ â€1:1‬ â€NIV‬‬
I commit!! Lyndsay, St. Louis, MO
“But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in Gods unfailing love forever and ever.” Psalm 52:8 NIV
I commit! Laura Beth from Providence Village, Texas
…let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.
2 Corinthians 7:1 NIV
I commit! Monica from Villa Rica, Georgia. “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.” Isaiah 43:19 ESV
I commit! Laurie from Yuma, AZ
Ephesians 3:21
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask our imagine according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen. “
I commit! Mary Ev. from Cincinnati: “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you” 2 Kings 20:5 NASB
I commit Philemon 1:1 Paul a prisoner of Christ Jesus and Timothy or brother, to Philemon our beloved fellow worker
ESV
Thx Beth great idea. So easy in scripture typer app!
❤️
I commit! Katy Lin from Oskaloosa, IA
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”
â€â€Romans‬ â€1:16‬ â€NIV‬‬
I commit! Amanda from Sulphur, Louisiana
“So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” Hebrews 4:16 NLT
I commit! Alisha from Yukon, Ok
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,” Colossians 3:12 ESV
I commit! Sari from Tacoma,Washington
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:10 ESV
I committ! Cheryl Wright, Calgary, Canada
“Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. Mark 5:19
Ruth Fisher from Columbia, SC I commit! But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. 2 Corinthians 2:14 NIV
I commit!! Diane Miller, Longmont, CO
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. Psalm 23:1 NIV
I commit! Melissa Anderson Fort Worth, TX,
You then my child, be strengthened by the grace
that is in Christ Jesus, 2 Timothy 2:1 ESV
I commit! Katie Byrkett from Des Moines, Iowa
“If we claim to live by the Holy Spirit, we must also walk by the Spirit with personal integrity, godly character, and moral courage-our conduct empowered by the Holy Spirit.” Galatians 5:25 AMP
Michele H., Pearland, TX
Psalm 103:17-18, “But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children’s children, To those who keep His covenant And remember His precepts to do them.” NASB
I commit!!! Jamie, Dallas, Texas. “The royal daughter is all glorious within her chamber; her clothing is plaited gold. Psalm 45:13 MEV (Modern English Version)
I commit! Jenny from Willow Park, Texas
“Have i not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 NASB
I commit! Lynn from Enid, Ok
“You thrill me, LORD, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done. O LORD, what great works you do! Psalm 92:4-5 NLT
I commit! Brandi, Memphis. Guard my soul and deliver me. Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You. Psalm 25:20, NASB.
I commit! Leslie from Elkhart, IN
“Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.”
Psalms 25:1 KJV
I commit! Judy from Fullerton, CA. I am doing something new; it’s springing up — can’t you see it? I am making a road in the desert, rivers in the wasteland.
Isa 43:19 CJB
I commit! Dulcena Fuson, Pineville, Ky
“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say rejoice”, Phillipians 4:4, KJV
I commit!
So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Romans 12:5 (ESV)
I commit! Stacey from Corona del Mar, California
For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not
fear; I will help you. Isaiah 41:13 NIV
I commit! Lynne from Sammamish, Washington: “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31 NIV
I commit! Regina, Waco TX
“Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say,
‘This is the way you should go,’ whether to the right or to the left.
Isaiah 30:21 NLT
I Commit!
Sherry – Champaign, IL
Philippians 4:13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
NIV
I commit! Nancy Thomas from Birmingham, AL
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds. James 1:2 NIV
I commit! Cindy; Columbia, MO;
“casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.”
I Peter 5:7 ESV
I commit! Ann Kelley from San Antonio, Texas
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6 ESV
I commit!
Kristi, Madison MS
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
â€â€Ephesians‬ â€2:10‬ â€ESV‬‬
I commit! Kris from Shakopee, MN. “The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.” Psalm 118:24 NIV
Hope, Barnesville, Georgia
I commit!
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
ESV
I commit! Ramona Gellick, Medina, Ohio
Psalm 51:10 (NIV)
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Jan 1 2017 11:25 pm I commit .. Jen from Nicholasville, Ky
Micah 6:8 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.
I commit!
Shannon Newport, TN
..so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11 ESV
I Commit! Susann from Grand Prairie, Texas. The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the broken-hearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. NLT