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.
Proverbs 3:7-8 NIV
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. 8 This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.
I Commit! Lorraine, Marysville, WA
“This demands the perseverance of the saints, who keep God’s commands and their faith in Jesus.” Revelations 14:12 HCSB
Teach me your way, O Lord, I will walk in your truth, Unite my heart to fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God with all my heart and I will glorify Your name forevermore. Psalm 86:11-12, NKJV
L.A.S.B. version
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty”. Psalm 91:1
I COMMIT!
I commit!! Catherine from Toronto, Ontario: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that is we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we k now that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.” 1 John 5:14 – 15 NIV
I commit! Susan Jezek from St. Petersburg, Florida
“(Or) do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own…”
I Corinthians 6:19 ESV
Ann Basile from Lilburn, Georgia: I commit! “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 RSV
I commit!! Catherine from Toronto, Ontario: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.” 1 John 5:14 – 15 NIV
I commit! Kassidy Boyer, Louisburg, KS: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV
I COMMIT! Pamela, Cumming, GA John 17:23 “I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.” NLT
I commit!!! Jennifer from Ellenboro, NC, God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1 NIV
I commit! Naomi Eick from Albany, OR.
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV
I commit! Julie, Millington, TN. Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. Psalm 17:1 ESV
I COMMENT! Sara, Crystal Lake, Illinois, Ephesians 6:1. Therefore be imitators of God as beloved children; Ephesians 6:1 NASB
I commit! Dana – Ashland, KY
“Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins.” Isaiah 58:1 NIV
I commit! Kathy from Anahuac, TX
“God can do anything you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams. He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his spirit deeply and gently within us.”
Ephesians 3:20 The Message
I Beth from UK commit:
“For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11(NLT)
I commit! Sara Madras, OR. Colossians 3:1 NASV. If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand if God.
I commit! Lisa Vira from Washington, NJ: “So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it. For the Scriptures say that God told Pharaoh, ‘I have appointed you for the very purpose of displaying power in you and to spread my fame throughout the earth.'” Romans 9:16-17 NLT
I commit! Cherie, St. Clair, MI
“To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul”
Psalm 25-1 NIV
I commit! Teresa from Hampton, NH: “and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.”
sorry…1 Ki 19:12 NKJV
Jenice, Valley Mills, TX – “In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.” Psalm 25:1 NIV
I commit! Tanya from Columbus, GA – “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12 (NIV)
Matthew 11:28; Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. NIV
Atascocita, TX; I COMMIT;
Matthew 11:28- “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
I commit Micah Dickerson Whitmire,SC:
Trust in him at all times, you people
Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge.
Psalm 62:8
I commit! LeeAnn from Pamplin, Virginia: “Seek the Lord and His strength; Seek His face evermore! Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders and the judgements of his mouth.” Psalm 105:4-5b NKJV
I COMMIT!!!!!! Micah Dickerson Whitmire,SC:
Trust in him at all times, you people
Pour out your heart before him. God is a refuge.
Psalm 62:8
I commit! Sharon West from Miller, MO
“For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19 NLT
Leigh Gray
Carmi, Il.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
Eph. 4:29
NIV
I commit! Kristen Jenkins, Lanett, AL. “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.”
Psalms 91:1 ESV
I COMMIT! Sharon, Lincoln Park, Mi.
“I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.” (Philippians 1:9 NLT)
I commit! Tammy from Suffolk, VA: Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Romans 12:12 ESV
I commit! Aly from Dallas,TX: “Trust in him at all times, O People; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us” Psalms 62:8 ESV
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
I commit!!
I Commit! Mandy Kelly from Columbia, SC
Even youths shall faint and be weary,and young men shall fall exhausted;but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary;they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:30-31 ESV
I commit. D’Ann Somerall Birmingham, Alabama
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 14:27 NIV
Isaiah 43:18 NRSV:
“Do not remember the former things, or consider the things of old.”
Forget the past hurts, unfulfilled expectations, and any negative occurrences. Move forward in God’s Love and pass that on to all you meet.
Leah, currently living in Lacey, Washington. I commit! Isaiah 41:10 (HCSB) Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.
Lisa, Mechanicsburg,PA- I commit. “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plum line in Zerubbabel’s hand. (The seven lampstands represent the eyes of the Lord that search all around the world. )
Zechariah 4:10 NLT
I commit! Megan from Lafayette, LA
““Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved fellow worker” Philemon 1:1 ESV
I commit! Yvette in Daleville, VA
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus, To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
2 Timothy 1:1-2 ESV
I commit! Susan from Oceanside, CA. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 ESV
One of my favorite verses
I’m in! Jenn from Dickson, TN. My verse is: “Rejoice not over me, my enemy. When I fall, I shall rise, when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light unto me” Micah 7:8
I commit! Look to the Lord and his strength, seek his face always. Psalm 105:4. NIV
Susan from Overland Park, KS “Be still and know I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10 NIV
I’m in! Ginny from Tallahassee. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. II Corn 4:11 ESV
I Commit! Joanne Metter, Carver, MA. Psalm 139:1 NIV ” You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.”
I Commit! Joanne Metter, Carver, MA. ” You have searched me, Lord, and you know me.” Psalm 139:1 NIV
For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will creat rivers in the dry wasteland. Isaiah 43:19 NIV
I commit! Brienne T, Valdosta, GA “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.” Proverbs 28:26 ESV
I commit! Susan from Overland Park, KS “Be still and know I am God, I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10 NIV