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 legalisticĀ about much around here but I am a drill sergeant about the precise way we accept comments for SSMT verse entries. OneĀ 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. Ā 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 itĀ 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 wordsĀ this time toĀ the front of theĀ 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 becauseĀ 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 againstĀ evil rulers, powers and principalitiesĀ 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! Becky from Cincinnati, OH.
“I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.”
Psalm 34:1 ~ KJV
I commit!
Jennifer, Thornton, CO
“Return to your rest, O my soul. For the Lord has been good to you.” Psalm 116:7
I commit Rosalinda Avilez from Ventura, California
He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with His wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
Psalms 91:4 NLT
I COMMIT! Psalm 91:1 New King James Version
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I know I’m late posting, but my name is Alicia Gilbert. I’m from Haysville, KS. My verse is John 15:7 NLT.
“But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want and it will be granted. “
I commit! Lori Reihing from Perrysburg Ohio “Guide me in your truth and teach me for you are God my Savior. My hope is in you all day long. Remember Lord your great mercy and love, for they are of old.” NIV
I commit! Tonya, Cuuming,- Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23 NIV
I commit! Courtney, Panama City, Florida: “the Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?” (NIV) I know I’m late posting.
I forgot the reference! That verse is Psalm 27:1
I commit! Leigh Hulsey from Helena, AL, “But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” Matthew 6:33 (NIV)
I commit! Angie Elia from Birmingham, AL. “Those that 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.” NIV
I commit! Blake from Statesville, NC “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 ESV
I commit!
Dianne from Circle Pines, MN
Luke 1:37 AMP
For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.
Trusting God
Phillipines 4:1 NLT
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stay true to the Lord. I love you and long to see you, dear friends, for you are my joy and the crown I receive for my work.
I commit!
Angie from Bixby, Oklahoma
“But you Lord are a shield about me, my glory. The One who lifts my head.”
Ps. 3:3 (NAS)
I commit!
Amanda from Valdosta, GA
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. Psalm 63:3 NIV
I commit! Jill Asibelua Irving TX
Romans 1;16
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,[a] for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. NKJV
I commit!
Eniola from Brussels, Belgium
“For no matter how many promises God has made, they are āYesā in Christ. And so through him the āAmenā is spoken by us to the glory of God.” 2 Corinthians 1:20 NIV
I commit!
Michele Princeton, WV
Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
I commit! Deb, Lexington, TX
Psalm 139:1 ESV
O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
I Commit!Dina, Gainesville, Ga.
And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. Ezekiel 36:26 NLT
I commit!
But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!
John 15:7
NLT
I COMMIT. Bethany, Abilene, TX.
Matthew 6:24 HCSB
āNo one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money.”
I commit!!! Sally Hanson from Carrollton, TX. In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. Psalm 25:1 – NIV
1 Corinthians 13:6
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth
I commit! Caryn Wolfe from Sugar Land TX: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.” Eph 2:10 NLT
I COMMIT! Cathy, New Port Richey, FL
Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
I commit! Tiffany D. from Oklahoma City, OK: “For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out (Douay-Rheims Bible says accomplish) His good purpose.” Philippians 2:13 Holman Christian Standard Bible
Lyli, Fort Lauderdale, FL:
Proverbs 19:23 NIV
“The Fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.”
I commit!! Renata, Beugen, Netherlands.
“For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.” Romans 14:17, 18 – NIV
I commit! Kristie L. from Calera, OK. “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” Col 3:2 — NIV
I commit! nancy from Houston, TX
“…and there’ll be no limits to the wholeness He brings.”
Isaiah 9:6, the message.
I commit! Sandy Harper from Ringgold, GA
“. . .give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
I Thessalonians 5:18 NIV
Emily
Arlington, VA
I commit! “How sweet your words are to me. They are sweeter than honey.” Ps. 119:103 NLT
I commit! ” The grass withers, the flowers fade, but the word of our God will stand forever.” Isaiah 40:8 ~ESV
I commit!
Elsie from Verona, Kentucky!
“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.” -Proverbs 3:3-4, NIV
I commit!! Anita from Lebanon, IN “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the eart.” Psalms 46:10 NIV.
I commit! Christy from Pearland, TX. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Prov 3:5-6 NASB
I commit!! Denise from Linden, MI..” 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 – KJV
better late than never!!! Sylvia from Georgia! “To you,O Lord,I lift up my soul;” Psalm25:1 NIV
I commit!! Vicki Culbreth from Winchester, Virginia. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
I commit!! Sarah from New Hope, MN
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, āI love God,ā and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot[a] love God whom he has not seen.
1 John 4:19-20 (ESV)
I commit!
Traci McNally from Evansdale, IA
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8:1-2 NIV
I commit! Sharon Macri from Huntington,West Virginia: “My heart is confident in you,O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart!” Psalm 108:1. NLT
Debbie from Simi Valley, CA – “Do not be far from me. Psalm 22:11a NIV
I commit! Kim, Fayetteville- O Lord, I give my life to you.
I Commit! Kim, fayetteville – O Lord, I give my life to you. Psalm 25:1 NLT
I commit! Jenny O. from Boynton Beach, Florida.
That however is NOT the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in Him in accordance with the TRUTH that was in Christ Jesus.
You were taught with regard to your former way of life to put off your old self which is being corrupted by its evil desires, to be made NEW in the attitude of your minds and to put ON the NEW self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness
Ephesians 4:20-24 NIV
I commit(better late than never)!
Muriel from Ontario, Canada
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 (NIV)
I Commit! Kellie from Nacogdoches, TX “In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.” Psalm 25:1 NIV
I Commit! Karen from Seneca, Missouri 3)”You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. 4)Trust in the Lord forever, For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength.” Isaiah 26:3-4 NJKV