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. Anna Scantlan, Sullivan MO
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
Psalm 130:5 (NIV)
I love all your scriptures!
I commit. Elaine from Poway, CA. …but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. John 4:14 ESV
I commit!
“However, as it is written:
No eye has seen,
No ear has heard,
No mind has conceived
What God has prepared
For those who love him”
I Corin. 2:9
My city is Houston. Just making sure I followed directions
I commit!
“However, as it is written:
No eye has seen,
No ear has heard,
No mind has conceived
What God has prepared
For those who love him”
I Corin. 2:9 NIV
I Commit! Markley Hidde from Easley, SC
Psalm 121:1-2 NRSV “I lift up my eyes to the hills – from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” (I decided to start with these two verses together)
I commit! Krystal from Houston, TX: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” -I Peter 1:3 (NIV)
I commit! Michelle, King George, VA “Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.” Psalm 25:4-5 NLT
I COMMIT! Laura Curatolo, Frankfort, Illinois. 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. Micah 6:8. NIV
I commit. Dawn Blalock from Amarillo.
“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 NKJ
I commit!
Tina
Waxahachie, Texas
2 Chronicles 15:7 NLT
But as for you, be strong and courageous, for your work will be rewarded.
I commit! Mary Jane, Troy KS. “Forgive me for my secret sins. Keep me from the sins of pride; don’t let them rule me. Then I can be pure and innocent of the greatest of sins.” Psalm 19:12-13 NIV
I commit! Deanna from Safford Arizona: “I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.” Psalm 119:16 NIV
I commit! Adrianne Prouty- Carlsbad,NM
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things. Philippians 4:8 NIV
I commit! Debbie from Livonia, Michigan:
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up up my soul. Psalm 143:8 NIV
I commit!! Madora Abney from Bossier City, Louisiana
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6 NIV
I commit!
Tera Lewis from Colorado Springs, CO: “37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39 NKJV
I commit! Lee Ann Stonehouse, Fairhope, AL
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. Since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Colossians 3:23-24 NIV
I commit! Suzanne, Salem OR. “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.”
â€â€Proverbs‬ â€3:7-8‬ â€NIV‬‬
Cathy Robinson Chester, England
I commit!
Isaiah 40 v 27-31 (NIV)
Why do you complain Jacob? Why do you say Israel “my way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God?” 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 and weary and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall; 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.
I commit!! Sarah from Austin, Minnesota.
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
â€â€Romans‬ â€8:1‬ â€NKJV‬‬
I commit!
Emily Cavanaugh, Bothell WA
Philippians 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. (NASB)
Becky from Yorba Linda, CA. “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. NAS
I commit! Jackie, Timonium, MD In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
I commit. Tonya Fowler from Bonaire Georgia. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit who is in you whom you have received from God? You are not your own. I Corianthians 6:19 NIV
I commit! Johanna, from Carlsbad, CA
“To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul;”
Psalm 25:1 NIV
To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. Psalm 25:1 (NIV)
I commit! Rebecca Gemes, Columbus, GA;
“Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul. Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord! I have fled to you for refuge. Teach me to do your will, for You are my God! Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”
Psalm 143:8-10 ESV
I commit! Beth Barber, Pella, Iowa;
‘Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.’
I Chronicles 4:10 NIV(2011)
Rachelle, Cedar Park, TX: I commit!!!!! For we live by faith, not by sight. 2nd Corinthians 5:7 NIV
I commit! Laura Nisbett, Lewisville, TX
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope.
Psalm 130:5 NIV
I commit! Tammie Kovacs, Verona, WI; “Do not confirm 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! Judy Madison, Beaumont, CA
I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Psalm 34:1 NASB
I commit! Kathy Cade, Arvada, Colorado
The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.
Psalm 28:7 (NIV)
I commit. Mandy Odum, Columbia City, IN
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.
Psalm 130:5 (NIV)
I commit!! Pam from El Cajon, California
“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividng soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Heb. 4:12 NIV
I commit! Erin Huizinga, Oxnard, California
For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Esther 4:14 NKJV
I commit!!! Celeste Quigley, Thompsons Station, TN
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “Plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen.”
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV ’89)
I COMMIT! Blaire Lindsay; Austin,TX “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
Cindy from Granite City, IL – “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures” Luke 24:45 NIV
I commit!! Stephanie Timms from Tilden, Texas:
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3: 5-6 NIV
I Commit! Stephanie Hayslip from Fort Worth, Texas:
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1 ESV
I commit!! Cyndi from Columbiaville, Michigan:
“The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, And He will make me walk on my high hills.”
-Habakkuk 3:19 NKJV
They were both lovers of God, living virtuously and following the commandments of the Lord fully.
Luke 1:6. Passion Translation. My desire for 2017
I committ! Pamela Sheldon, Incline Village, Nevada
Ephesians 2:8-10 (ESV)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
We commit!!!! Sarah, Christina, Esther May and Janie Marion Wenatchee, WA:
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus,”
2 Timothy 1:1 NIV
1 PETER 5:6-7 “HUMBLE THYSELF IN FRONT OF GODS MIGHTY HAND THAT HE MAY LIFT YOU UP IN DUE TIME. CAST ALL YOUR ANXIETY ON THE LORD BECAUSE HE CARES FOR YOU”
Tammy Bucyrus ohio
“I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” Psalm 34:1 NKJV
I commit!! Kathy Rowland from Fort Wayne, IN:
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me: Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Psalm 51:10 (ESV)
Kelly, Missouri City, Texas:
I commit! “The Lord is righteous in all His ways and loving towards all He has made.
The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him, He hears their cry and saves them.
Psalm146:17-19, ESV