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! Karen from Powell, Ohio:
Do not conform any longer 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 NIV
I commit! Nancy from Birmingham, AL: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance. James 1:2-3 NIV
Jenn from Cincinnati, OH: Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” (NIV)
I commit.
Beth, Mansfield, TX
Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust him, and he will help you. Psalms 37:5 (NLT)
Karen, Germantown,TN
I commit! 1Peter 5:7
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. (NLT)
I Commit! Gerri, Toms River NJ; Christ has liberated us to be free. Stand firm than and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery. Gal 5:1 Holman Christian Standard
I commit! Barb Rowe, Naples, Fl
‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’
Isaiah 41:10 NASB
I committ. Gretchen from Houston Texas “In you, Lord my God, Inout my trust” Psalm 25:1 NIV
Donna Hildebrand from Chesapeake, VA I commit. Ps 25:1
To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul. ESV
I commit! Faye Tronsgard from Calgary, Canada “But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ” Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?”
Romans 9:20-21 NIV
I commit! Mary from Carroll, Iowa: “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions, stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.” II Chronicles 20:17 NIV
I commit! Leisa from New Albany, Ohio:
O Lord, I give my life to you. Psalm 25:1 NLT
I commit Connie Harper from: Tyler, TX. So teach us to number our days, Thst we may get us a heart of wisdom. Psalms 90:12 ASV
I commit! Beckie from East Peoria IL: You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart” Jeremiah 29:13
I commit. Kim, from Holly Springs, NC “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,” Ephesians 3:20 NIV
Bictoria from Los Angeles, “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.” Luke 11:4 (NIV)
I commit! Patti from Roxboro, NC: And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His Will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Colossians 1:9 ESV
I commit! Jane from Clinton, MS. “I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.” Psalm 34:1 NIV
I commit! Jessica from Crystal Lake, Illinois:”Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed,yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10 NIV
Cynthia from Brooklyn Park, MN I commit!
In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade kept in heaven for you, 1 Peter 1:3-4 NIV
I commit, Gayle, from Old Bridge, NJ ” Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you whever you may go.” Joshua 1:9 NIV
I commit! Edie Caldwell from Lancaster, South Carolina: “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 NKJV
I commit, Leona, Joaquin, TX
What shall we say,then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? NIV
I commit! Cindy, Locust Grove, GA: This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. John 15:12 ESV
I commit! RACHEL from Walker, LA. Whoever dwells in the shelter of the most high will rest in the shadow of the Almighty Psalms 91:1 ESV
I commit!
Cathy Chung from Medfield, MA:
“Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust Him, and He will help you.”
Psalm 37:5 (NLT)
I commit. Sara McPeek, Decatur, TX
Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: “Give careful thought to your ways.”
Haggai 1:7 NIV
I commit! Whitney from Norris City, IL. Look to the Lord and his strength;seek his face always.
Psalm 105:4 NIV
I commit! Barbara from Fort Worth, TX. “O Lord, You have searched me and known me.” Psalm 139:1 NASB
I commit! Julie from Jackson, Mississippi
‘God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To Him be honor and might forever.Amen’ 1Timothy 6:15b-16
Heather from Harrow, Ontario, Canada – I commit!
My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. Psalm 62:1 NIV
I commit! Terri from Luray, Va: I will lift up my eyes to the hills from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord , which made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1-2 KJV
I commit! Kelly from Burlington, NC
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:8 NKJV
I commit. Amanda, Catlett, VA
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor thy father and mother (which is the first commandment with promise.”)
Ephesians 6:1-2
KJV*
Ally from Houston, TX
“I love You, Lord, my strength.
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.
I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,
and I was saved from my enemies.”
I commit! Sheela from Fort Lauderdale, FL. ” ‘Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’ Amen.” Matthew 28:19-20, NKJV
Candy from St. Louis, MO
I commit! thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy.
2 Timothy 1:3-4 ESV
I commit! Emily from Zionsville, IN: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV
I commit! Debi from Wills Point, Texas, Psalm 25:1, “In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.” NIV
I commit!
Teresa from Athens,Tennessee: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
Galatians 5:22-23. KJV
I commit! Dianne Detrick from Magnolia Tx:
I commit to memorize the first chapter of 2 Timothy for our Beth Moore Bible Study of 2 Timothy.
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, according to the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,
2 Timothy 1:1 NIV
I commit!
Wendy Karabensh from Vero Beach
“For we are God’s handiwork,
created in Christ Jesus
to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Ephesians 2:10
NIV
I Commit! Grace from Sunbury, PA. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands. Ps. 19:1 NIV
I commit! Lydia from Gonzales, La. 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 KJV
I commiit! Lenni Siegel from Atlanta, Georgia
The seeds of good deeds become a TREE OF LIFE.
I commit! Lenni Siegel from Atlanta, Georgia
The seeds of good deeds become a Tree of Life; a wise person wins friends.
Proverbs 11:30 NLT
I commit! Donita from Norman, OK. James, a bond service of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. James 1:1 (ESV)
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV
I commit! Melinda from Paige, Texas:
Do not conform to the pattern of the 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
I Commit!! Jennie Spearin from Granite Bay, Ca.
“But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I person toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:13-14
I commit! Amber Moon, Lincolnton, NC. “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:1-4, ESV