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! Barbara from Wyoming, MI:
“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33 KJV
Michele S. Edmond, OK
I commit!
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; Ps. 1:1 ESV
I commit!! Janet in Wagoner, OK
Those who know your name TRUST in you,
for you, O LORD, do not abandon those who search for you.
Psalm 9:10 ESV
I commit!
“I give you peace, the kind of peace only I can give.”
John 14:27 CEV
I commit!
Wendy, Knoxville, TN
Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise; apply your heart to what I teach
Proverbs 22:17 NIV
Does the time we post our verse change toTexas time or if living on east coast does it show east coast time we submitted? Sorry for technical question but 1st year & I can’t find mind searching by date & time I submitted & am checking to see if I did it right Here it is again:
I COMMIT‼️Joan, Pittsburgh, PA., “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.
Hi Joan, great question! Yes, the posting time is Central Time. Welcome!
Jodi Humble, TX
“You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.” Psalm 65:11 NLT
I commit!
Melissa, Cypress, TX
I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there.
1 Samuel 1:27-28
I commit! Hannah, Nashville, Tennessee
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:33-34 HCSB
I commit! Teri of Tecumseh, KS
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 ESV
I committ! Lorrie from Rutledge GA
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
2 For 10:3-6 ESV
Commit
2 Corrinthians
Should have waited till after coffee.
I commit! Shannon, Dallas, TX. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. Psalm 28:7, NIV.
I commit! Sheryl, Concord, CA, “but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer”. Psalm 66:19, NIV
I commit! Apryl from Raleigh, NC: Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God
Philippians 4:6 NKJV
I commit! Bonnie O’Shields from Easley, SC
“Lord, I turn to You.” Psalm 25:1 HCSB
Ty Albuquerque NM
I commit! 2 Corinthians10:5
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. And we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
I commit!
Travis from Jackson, TN: This letter is from Paul, chosen by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am writing to God’s holy people in Ephesus, who are faithful followers of Christ Jesus.
Eph. 1:1 (NLT)
🙂
I commit! Kathleen from Katy, TX: “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.” Isaiah 40:31 NIV
I commit Judy from Irving, Texas: “I have come that they may have life and have it to the full”
John 10:10b NIV
I commit! Jamie Weaver from Memphis, TN. “Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.”
â€â€Acts‬ â€13:39‬ â€NIV‬‬
I commit! Dianna from Houston, TX: “He who gives attention to the word shall find good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.” Proverbs 16:20 NAS
I commit! “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.”
â€â€Isaiah‬ â€43:19‬ â€NLT‬‬
I commit! Leisa Hale, Sheridan, Indiana – I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world. John 16:33 HCSB
Cathy Moody from Newark, Ohio
“Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our beloved fellow worker”
Philemon 1:1 ESV
I commit! Kim from Louisville, KY. 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!! I found a verse but I can’t find the translation for this phrasing….
Charlotte from Baton Rouge, Louisiana
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs 16:3
I commit! Mary Sue, from Indianapolis, IN: “Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.” – Hebrews 11:1-2
I commit!! Rhonda from Kingston, OK..
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.””
â€â€Matthew‬ â€28:19-20‬ â€ESV
Izora Browning
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous. Ps. 1:6 NIV
I commit! Kelly from Stillwater, MN “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 ESV
Betsy in Nashville; Call to Me and I will answer you, and show you great and incomprehenible things you do not know. Jer. 33:3
I commit! Jamie, Coupeville, WA: For God has not given us a spirit of timidity but of power and love and discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
I commit! Debbie-SanJose, California
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again. REJOICE!
Philippians 4:4 NIV
Betsy in Nashville: Forgot the important part. I COMMIT!!!!
I commit! “I am the Door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.” NKJV
Forgot to add my location. Susan from Waterford, Michigan
Carol McLaren from Pinon, Arizona: How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! Hebrews 9:14 NIV
I commit! Vicki Bolton from Lubbock, TX
Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress,
and for his children it will be a refuge.
Proverbs 14:26 NIV
I commit! Debbie W. from Prattville, AL
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28
NLT
I committ!! Amanda from Cooper, TX: “I will praise you forever, Oct God, for what you have done. I will trust in your good name in the presence of your faithful people.” Psalm 52:9 NLT
Frances from Orange, Texas
“…choose this day whom you will serve…But as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:15 ESV
I commit! Karen from Alliance, Nebraska.
“Oh give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name; Make known His deeds among the peoples.” Psalm 105:1 NAS
Jerri, Wimberley, Tx. I commit! “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” Colossians 3:12. NIV
I commit! Laura Reimer from Decatur IL
Whoever receives His testimony has set his seal [of approval] to this: God is true [ and he knows that God cannot lie].
John 3:33 AMP
I commit! Liz @ nashville,tn:
2 Peter 3:18… grow in Grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (NKJ)
I commit! Clarice from Knoxville, Iowa. My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. Exodus 33:14 ESV
I Committ!!! Kim from Powder Springs, GA: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 NIV
I commit!” When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion and pity for them, because they were dispirited and distressed, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36 (AMP)
I commit! Debbie Wyse from Gray, TN: “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst.” 1 Timothy 1:15 NIV
I commit! Nancy Mulford in Lee’s Summit, MO
“But 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!!! Gail, Anacortes WA. As a father has compassion for his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him. Psalm 103:13. Apologetic