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! Robin, from West Bend, Wisconsin. “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4 NIV
I commit! Georgia from Richmond Va.”You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD is the Rock eternal.” Isaiah 26:3-4 NIV
I commit! Stacy from Fort Worth, Texas
“Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity, clothe yourself with glory and splendor”
Job 40:10 (ESV)
Ashley, Cincinnati: “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?” James 2:14 NIV
I commit! Heather from Glencoe, AL
But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. Isaiah 43:1 NIV
Jeremiah 29v 11 For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future
Tillie Spring Branch, Texas:
“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:19 NIV
I commit! Rene from College Station, TX. “Help me understand the meaning of Your precepts so that I can meditate on Your wonders.” Psalm 119:27 (HCSB)
I commit! Meredith from Lubbock, TX:
“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world–the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and boasting of what he has and does–comes not from the Father but from the world.” 1 John 2:15-16 NIV
I commit. Stephanie Tausch Helotes, Tx. “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:”
â€â€Ecclesiastes‬ â€3:1‬ â€NIV‬‬
I commit! Debbie from Houston,TX -“In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for You alone,O LORD, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8 NAS
I commit. Sharon from Notasulga Alabama. How blessed is the man who finds wisdom And the man who gains understanding. Proverbs 3:13 NAS
Gracie Saylor from Boring, Oregon. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 NKJV
I commit! Susan from Overland Park, Kansas
“As a prisoner of 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.”
– Eph. 4:1-2 NIV
I commit! Sheri, from Portland, Oregon. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8 ESV
I commit! Luanne Ozmint from Columbia, SC: “To Thee, O Lord, I lift up my soul. Psalms 25:1 NASB
Marsha Householder from Murrells Inlet, SC
“I am not alone, for my Father is with me.”
John 16:32 NIV
Judy McCarver, Tomball, Texas “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3 NIV
I commit! Lora – Kernersville, NC – Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:1 NIV
I COMMIT!!! Jane Baker from Pontiac, Illinois: “Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.” Psalm 119:1 NIV (1984)
I commit! Stephanie from Redmond, OR. “This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the “twelve tribes” -Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings!” James 1:1 NLT
I commit! Janice from Newark, OH. (2nd post)
“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)
I commit: Heather Morgan, Waxahachie, TX
“So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do. Then the name of our Lord Jesus will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with him. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
â€â€2 Thessalonians‬ â€1:11-12‬ â€NLT‬‬
I commit! Cassy from Garvin, OK: “A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9 NKJV
I commit. Emily from Hulmeville, PA. “Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them” Ecclesiastes 12:1 ESV
I commit – Blenda – Christoval, Tx. ESV James 4:7 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you
I commit! Gayle, Salinas, CA All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16 NIV
I commit! Angie from Wentzville, MO. “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.” Isaiah 43:19 NIV
I commit!
Jesus said to him,”If you can believe,all things are possible to him who believes.” Mark 9:23, NKJV
Barbara Ordner, Tomball, TX
This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 ESV
I commit! Stacy from Taylor, Texas
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” II Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)
I commit! Kristel, from Russellville, AR. “You only need to remain calm; the LORD will fight for you.” Exodus 14:14 NCV
I commit! Kim, from San Antonio, Texas. ” May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.
2 Thessalonians 3:10( NIV)
“Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”
â€â€Psalms‬ â€91:1‬ â€NLT‬‬
I am from Fort Worth, Tx.
I Commit! Lizzie, from Sacramento, CA. “The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
I commit!
Karen, Trenton, OH
“It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.”
â€â€Psalms‬ â€127:2‬ â€ESV‬‬
I commit! Hannah from Edmond OK, Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
Jeremiah 17:7 ESV
I commit. Jackie from Medfield, MA.
“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 18:7 NIV
I commit! JoAnn from Folsom, La
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.
James 4:7 NIV
I commit! Becky from Vicksburg, MS
Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. James 4:10 NASB
I commit! Tammy from Pearl, MS
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7. (NKJV)
“Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16, 17 NIV
I commit! Jackie from Plano, TX
“Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.” – Psalm 105:4 NIV
I Commit! Jackie from Parker, CO
“Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from His mouth.'” Acts 22:14 NIV
I commit! Sara, Wilkesboro, NC ” Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts” Psalm 139:23 KJV
I commit! Lori from Grinnell
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. NIV
I commit! Gina from Johnstown, Colorado
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
Luke 6:45 NIV
I commit! Laurel from Temecula, CA- “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.”
â€â€Isaiah‬ â€43:1‬ â€ESV‬‬
I commit! Shelly from Highlands Ranch, Colorado
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.
Luke 6:45 NIV
I commit! Jacqueline in Calhoun, LA
“She is clothed with strength and dignity” -Proverbs 31:25a NIV