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! Nancy, Charlestown, RI “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” Proverbs 3:5 NIV
I commit. Danie Mariney, Stone Mountain, GA
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord
my soul shall exult in my God
for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness
As a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels
I commit! Laurie Taylor, Gratis,OH
Isaiah 40:11
H e tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.
I commit! Darlene Moorehead from Muncie, Indiana: “…so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11 NIV
Darcy, Great Falls, MT
I commit! “For he satisfies the longing soul , and the hungry soul he fill with good things. Psalm 107:9 ESV
Abide is my word. I will be using the NIV and the message.
I forgot to say, “I COMMIT!”
I Commit! ‘ ‘For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. Romans 6 v14 ESV
I COMMIT!!! Hayley Roberts from Ava, MO;
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 entrust my life. Psalm 143:8 NIV
I commit! Kelly Balmer from Costa Mesa, CA.
A Psalm of David. To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul. Psalm 25:1 NKJV
Regina, Salado, TX
I commit!
“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?”
Jeremiah 32:27 (NIV)
Pamela from St. Petersburg. I COMMIT!!
For I know the thoughts and plans that I have for you says, the Lord, thoughts and plans for welfare and peace and not for evil, to give you hope in your final outcome.
Jeremiah 29:11 Amplified
I commit! Lynn, Divide, CO: “Yet He is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In Him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said,
‘For we are indeed His offspring.’” Acts 17:27b-28 ESV
I commit!
Rachel Brannon from Athens,GA
“Delight yourself also in the Lord and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.”
Psalm 37:4-5 NKJV
Kelly of West Branch, Michigan
Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
The Lord values those who fear Him; those who put their hope in His faithful love. Ps. 147:11 HCSB
I commit!!! Jessica B, Gaithersburg, MD
You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.
Proverbs 19:21 NLT
I’m committed
Karla Kincade Indianapolis, IN
Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil.
Ephesians 6:11 NLT
I commit! Jenna from Riverton, Utah.
Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. Proverbs 21:23 ESV
I commit!
Diane from Cypress, TX
I Peter 1:8 ESV
Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
I commit! Lesley from California. “So will My Word be which goes forth from My Mouth; it will not return to me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it,” Isaiah 66:11 NASB
I commit! Marissa Burt from Kirkland, WA
Psalm 119:113-121New English Translation (NET Bible)
ס (Samek)
113 I hate people with divided loyalties,
but I love your law.
114 You are my hiding place and my shield.
I find hope in your word.
115 Turn away from me, you evil men,
so that I can observe the commands of my God.
116 Sustain me as you promised, so that I will live.
Do not disappoint me!
117 Support me, so that I will be delivered.
Then I will focus on your statutes continually.
118 You despise all who stray from your statutes,
for they are deceptive and unreliable.
119 You remove all the wicked of the earth like slag.
Therefore I love your rules.
120 My body trembles because I fear you;
I am afraid of your judgments.
I commit! Leah from Florida.
Matthew 5:13 (MSG),
“You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness?”
I Commit!! Narda from Memphis, Tn
” Daniel 2:20-21a ESV Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. V21a -He changes times and seasons ; he removes kings and sets up kings;
I commit! Keitha from Thornville, Ohio: Ephesians 2:8:
“For it is by grace you have been saved through
Faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.”
NIV
I commit! Sarah from Sonora CA. “See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Is. 43:19
I commit! Catharine from McAllen: “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” Psalm 103:1-5
I commit! Stephanie Morris-Clark from Norman, OK
“Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ:” Jude 1 NKJ
I commit! Breanna, Pittsburgh PA, Psalms 91:14-15 ESV
“Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.”
I commit! Tiffany King in Kennedale TX: “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.” John 14:27 HCSB
For it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose. Philippians 2:13 NIV
I Commit! Amanda from Olive Branch, MS
Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:13 NKJV
I commit! Susan from Beverly Psalm 16:1 NLT
Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge.
I commit! Terri Lopez, Port Washington WI. “Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” Psalm 62:8 NIV
Forgot the “I COMMIT!!!”
I commit! Willa Grannis from Flemingsburg, KY. “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Philippians 5:23. NIV
I commit! Sara from College Station TX: “When He was reviled and insulted, He did not revile or offer insult in return; [when] He was abused and suffered, He made no threats [of vengeance]; but he trusted [Himself and everything] to Him Who judges fairly.”
1 Peter 2:23 AMPC
I commit! Meagan from Palmyra, Indiana. “And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.” Psalm 9:10 ESV
I commit! Bev from Houston, TX. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened and dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
I Commit Michele Gruwell, Edgewood, KY ” In you, Lord my God, I put my trust” Psalm 25:1 NIV
I submit! Margo Johnson from Ponsford, MN
I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. Psalm 34:1. NIV
I forgot to say I commit….
I commit! Julie from El Paso, If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer. Matt 21:22 NIV
I commit
Julie from Salida, California
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27niv
I commit! Cindy Wininger from Haslet Texas
“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.” Romans 8:18-21
I commit! Clarksville, TN: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid? Psalm 27:1
I commit! Vickie from McKinney, Texas
(A) Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? 1 Corinthians 6:19
I commit!! Jennifer from Dayton OH … ““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
Oh, You who hear prayer, to You shall all flesh come. Psalm 65:2 (ESV)
I Commit! Arilee from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Canada:
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Colossians 4, NIV
I commit! Hannah from Cumming, GA: “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.” 2 Timothy 1:1-3 NIV