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! Laura from Littleton, Colorado
2 Chronicles 15:2
The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. (NIV)
Jessica Cannon- Hopkinsville, KY
I commit!
Ephesians 4:2 NLT
Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.
I commit! Charlotte, Houston, Texas
“Let me experience Your faithful love in the morning, for I trust in You. Reveal to me the way I should go, because I long for You.”
Psalm 143:8
HCSB
I’m IN LIKE FLYNN! Kristin from Germantown, TN.
“And the voice came to him again a second time, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.'” (Acts 10:15, ESV)
I commit! RenĂ©e, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. ” I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. ” Ezk 36:26 NIV
Allyson from Wichita Falls, Tx
“I commit” “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!”
Psalm 150:6 ESV
I commit! Deborah from Long Beach, California
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. Psalms 25:1 ESV
I commit! Tara from Allen, Texas. “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11 NIV
I commit! Kimberly Kleimann Chico,CA
The Lord is my strength and song, and is become my salvation. Psalm 118:14 KJV
I commit! Nanette from Plano,Texas
Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together. Psalm 34:3 NKJV
I commit! Ana from Hoover, AL “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” Colossians 2:6-7 ESV
I commit! Vivian, Birmingham, Alabama
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4: 16 KJV
I commit! Jules from Eclectic, Alabama “Only in returning to me and resting in me will you be saved. In quietness and confidence is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15 NLT).
I commit! Mary Louise from Galveston, TX.
Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn;
Isaiah 51:1b NIV
I commit!!! Kim Beechem from Idabel, OK
“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! Janai Tick Las Vegas NV
2 Corinthians 4:8-10 NLT We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
I commit! Susan from Tyler, Texas
“If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.” I Peter 4:11 (NIV)
I commit!
Lillian from Vermilion, Ohio
“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
Daniel 3:17-18(NIV)
I commit! Meredith from San Diego
In every situation take the shield of faith.. and the sword of the spirit, which is God’s word
Ephesians 6:16-17 ESV
Psalm 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
I started to get sick a couple of days ago and the next day I felt well. My body fought and won!
I commit!
I commit! Libby from Auckland, New Zealand; “I see that the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is glad and my tongue shouts his praise! My body rests in hope. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave. You have shown me the way of life, and you will fill me with the joy of your presence”. Acts 2:25-28 NLT.
I commit!
Lillian from Vermilion, Ohio
“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and He will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if He does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel 3:17-18 (NIV)
I commit! Courtney from Houma, Louisiana
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. Hebrews 11:6, NIV
Lori Dimicelli, Seguin
“For the Lord is a sun and shield; the Lord will give grace and glory; no good thing will he with hold from those that walk upright.”
Psalm 84:11
I commit! Gina from Newnan, GA
Psalm 91:1 (ESV) He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I commit! The Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete. Deuteronomy 16:15 NIV
I commit! Elizabeth from Wisconsin “I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.”
â€â€John‬ â€12:46‬ â€NLT‬‬
I commit Nancy, Williamsburg, Va
“if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.”
â€â€2 Timothy‬ â€2:13‬ â€ESV‬‬
I commit! Camille Benson from Maryville, TN-“Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.” 1 Samuel 12:24 (ESV)
I Commit! Sheryl, PDX Oregon “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons” Philippians 1:1 NIV
I Commit, Debbie from Lamar, Missouri:
“Splendor and majesty are before Him;
strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.”
Psalm 96:6 ESV
I commit! Kim from Faison, NC. The Lord your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete. Deuteronomy 16:15 NIV
I commit! Andy Spray – Centreville, Va
A Message from the high and towering God, who lives in Eternity, whose name is Holy: “I live in the high and holy places, but also with the low-spirited, the spirit-crushed, And what I do is put new spirit in them, get them up and on their feet again…”
Isaiah 57:15 (MSG)
I commit! Megan from St. Louis: FOR I WILL RESTORE HEALTH TO YOU, AND YOUR WOUNDS I WILL HEAL, DECLARES THE LORD, because they have called you an outcast: ‘It is Zion, for whom no one cares.’ Jeremiah 30:17, ESV
I commit! Carol from Salem, Oregon
I will praise the LORD at all times. I will constantly speak His praises. Psalm 34:1 NLT
I COMMIT! Janice from Tulsa, OK
“So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders” Deuteronomy 11:18 NTL
I commit! Karen Bransgrove, Littleton, Colorado “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” (NIV)
I COMMIT! Debbie St Louis- For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but He has given us a spirit of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self control. Amp
I commit! Angie from Nashville, TN. The former things I declared of old; they went out from my mouth, and I announced them; then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.
Isaiah 48:3 ESV
I commit! Wendy from Omaha, Ne.
Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself: it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. John 15:4
I commit! Sally Houston, Tx. Galatians 5:1 NIV. It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Janel from Seattle, WA. I commit! Ecclesiastes 1:1 – The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem. (ESV)
I commit! Brenda of Pullman, Washington
2 Timothy 1:1 – Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, for the promise of life in Christ Jesus. HCSB
Margot from Round Rock, TX
22The 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
I COMMIT! Stacie Grubbs Earle AR. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Romans 12:18 ESV
I commit! Liz from Costa Mesa, California
“You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.” Psalm 65:11 NLT
Haleigh from Midland, Texas
Isaiah 43:19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up;do you now perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. Is. 43:19 NIV
Hebrews 11:1. KJV
I commit. Marilyn from Fairfield, California.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. NIV
I commit! Sam Caruso from Frisco Texas If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, Philippians 2:1 NIV