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! Trishia, from Mount Juliet, Tennnesse: “Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” Psalm 86:11 (NIV)
I commit! Melissa from Round Rock, TX. I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Psalm 145:1 (NIV)
I commit! Jill Clark from Charleston, South Carolina: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Psalm 51:12 NIV
Ezekiel 2:2 And as he spoke to me the spirit entered into me and set me on my feet and I heard him speak to me. NIV
I commit! Hayden from Farmington, Utah.
“And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].”
â€â€Colossians‬ â€3:15‬ â€AMPC‬‬
Laura Lee from Prosper,TX
“But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works.” Psalm 73:28 NASB
I COMMIT! Liz Kirkindoll from Baton Rouge, Louisiana: “And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them. I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.”
â€â€Ezekiel‬ â€11:19-20‬ â€NLT‬‬
I commit!Beth Roberts from Asheboro, North Carolina: “James, a bondserven of God and of the Lord Jesus Christm To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings” James 1 NKJV
Cathy, Amarillo, Texas,” and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”Romans 8:28 NIV
I commit, Peggy, Yorktown, VA Luke 6:37 Do not judge and you will not be judged; do not condemn and you will not be condemned; forgive and you will be forgiven.
I commit! Andrea, New London, NC: “If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.” 1 Timothy 6:3-4a (ESV)
I commit! Chelsea from Lima, OH “My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.” James 2:1 NIV
I commit!Marijke Dam from Ede Holland ; “Whoever has no rule over his own spirit is like a city broken down without walls.” Proverbs 25:28 NKJV
I commit ! Annette B. Reno, NV Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.
Psalm 62:1 NIV
Lisa, Round rock TX ““As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
â€â€Isaiah‬ â€55:9‬ â€NIV‬‬
I commit! Jacki from Round Rock, Texas: “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.” Galatians 5:16, NLT
Betti from Georgia I commit! I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. John 15:1-2 NIV
I COMMIT! Kathleen K. from Cherry Hill, NJ: “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1 ESV
I Commit! “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. ESV
I commit! Dorianne from Petaluma,CA. In you,Lord my God,I put my trust.Psalm 25:1 NIV
i commit to doing this as i admit i need to get back into reading my bible.
I commit! Karen, Olathe, KS, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Phil 4:6 ESV
I commit! Susan from Bradenton, Florida
He will be a sure foundation for your times,
a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge;
the fear of the LORD is the key to this treasure.
Isaiah 33:6 NIV
I commit! Newby Cook from Greenwood, MS: “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him.” Luke 12:35-36 (NIV)
I commit! Marcie Brown from Forest Grove, Oregon: “There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you – who are you to judge your neighbor?” James 4:12, NIV
I commit! Cindy from Ohio. Isaiah 54:11 O you afficted one, Tossed with tempest, and not comforted, Behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, And lay your foundations with sapphires. (NIV)
Sandra, Mendon, Missouri: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1, NIV
I commit! Jill Smith from Eugene, Oregon
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love,
Eph. 4:2 NASB
Cindee Johnson Portageville,Mo
I commit! “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
Proverbs 1:7 ESV
I commit! Janet Scarth from Amarillo, Texas — Isaiah 55:11 NLT — “It is the same with My Word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”
Ma Bell; Edna Tx
I commit! He who dwells in shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1. NASB
I committ! Bonnie Webb Cibolo, TX. James 1:5 NIV
If any of you lack wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
I commit! Wendy McLeod Albany, Georgia. “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” Isaiah 40:28-30. NIV
Kelly R. from Upland, California. I commit!! “The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1 VIV
I commit! Shonda Vielbig from Ventura, CA “I have hiddent your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11 NIV
I commit! Jaynell from Nampa, ID. “Since the weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments” (2 Corinthians 2:4) HCSB
I commit! Emilee Griffin. Albany, Ga. “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8. NIV
I commit! Debi Miller from Longview, TX: Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials…James1:2,NASB!
I commit! Sunni from Abilene, TX: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” Philippians 4:8 KJV
I commit!!! Lori Clark from Shreveport, LA: “In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.” Psalm 25:1, NIV
I commit! Faith from Helotes, Texas: “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.”
â€â€1 John‬ â€4:9,‬ â€NIV‬‬
I commit! Carmen from West Monroe, LA, “O Lord, I give my life to you.” Psalm 25:1, NLT
I commit! Cassie Sammons Ashland, MA. ” As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Ephesians 4:1-2 NIV
I Commit! Tanya from Birmingham, AL
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
I commit! “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
â€â€Psalms‬ â€73:26‬ â€(ESV‬‬)
I commit! Rachel from Franklin, Tennessee
“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.”
â€â€Ephesians‬ â€3:20‬ â€NIV‬‬
Penny from LOGANVILLE, GA
Romans 12:1
“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”
NASB
Angie from North Vernon, Indiana
“That’s my parting gift to you. Peace. I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught.”
John 14:27 MSG
Donna I Commit! Seal Beach CA
Matthew 7:9-11 You parents-if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake ? Of course not ! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Heavenly Father give good gifts to to those who ask him.
I commit. Michele-Lubbock,TX. Philippians 4:8. ” Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” KJV