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.
Crista Albertson of Alpharetta, GA
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Proverbs 9:10 NIV
I declare! MonaLisa from San Antonio TX
“For with God nothing [is or ever] shall be impossible.””
â€â€LUKE‬ â€1:37‬ â€AMP‬‬
Susan Mangum, Newburgh,IN
You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Psalm 118:28-29
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.
Hebrews 13:8 (KJV)
I commit! Rebekah from TN Ridge – “For thus said the LORD God, the Holy One of Isarel, ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength'” Isaiah 30:15 ESV
Nanette Crawford, Houston, Texas — 2 Corinthians 10:3-5:
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. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
Charms is deceitful and beauty is vain but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Prov. 31:30
I commit! Carrie, Bloomington IL,
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. ESV
Michelle, from Bossier City, LA
Let love and faithfulness never leave you.
Bind them around your necK.
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
Proverbs 3:3 (NIV)
Crystal Fairman, Berlin PA
I commit!! Jeremiah 15:16 “When your words came, I ate them;
they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name,
Lord God Almighty.”
Shelby, OKC, OK
“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Luke 1:45 NIV
I commit! Jillian Riordan from Lynchburg, VA: “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” Romans 6 ESV
I commit! Joan from Springfield, VA:
O LORD, You have searched me and known me. Psalm 139:1
I commit! Barbara Goins from Lufkin TX: “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 NIV
I commit! Judy Heindl, Cottageville WV: “Jesus Saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.” John 4:26 KJV
Jill Langella from Atlanta, GA – I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, Ephesians 3:16 NIV
I commit!
Scarlett from Round Rock, TX: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10 NIV
Kala from Willow Park, Texas: “Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.–2 Corinthians 5:6-8 NIV
I COMMIT! Janay Wilborn from Dallas, TX: “But I will sing of your strength, in the the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.” Psalm 59:16
I commit! Susan Leverette, Sherman, Tx “I cried unto the Lord with my voice; with my voice unto the Lord did I make my supplication.” Psalm 142:1 KJV
I commit! Susan Leverette, Sherman, Tx, “I poured out my complaint before him; I showed before him my trouble.” Psalm 142:2 KJV
Pamela Nicholson, Cumming, GA Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:17-19 NLT
John 15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.”
Diane from Columbus, Ohio, Luke 14:33 “Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:33 NKJV
Laurie from Oklahoma
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Psalms 23:6
I Commit! Donna Ellis, Marietta GA
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,[a] striving together as one for the faith of the gospel.
Phil 1:27, NIV
I commit! Linda Nelson, Harvest, AL, “But now, this is what the LORD says- He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1 NIV
I COMMIT! Lorentia Franklin from Winslow Az.
‘Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bare fruit every month because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for medicine.’ Ezekiel 40:12
I commit! Emily from Arlington Heights, IL
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Oops! My above comment comes from Romans 12:2 (NIV)
Psalm 18:31-32: For who is God, but the Lord? And who is rock, except our God? The God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless.
Kim Malone, Naperville, Illinois
”She is energetic and strong, a hard worker” Proverbs 31:17 NLT
Psalm 66:19 (NIV)
“But God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer”
I commit! Cindy Wickham from La Junta, CO. Romans 12:12 TLB Paraphrased “Be glad for all God planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and prayerful always.”
Even though I am behind I commit
As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 NIV
I commit! Sallie from Hillsborough, NC.
Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from Him.
Truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never
be shaken.
Psalm 62:1-2 NIV
Isaiah 43:2 (ESV)
“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.”
Katie-Auburn, AL
Tina, Pilot Point, TX I commit
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children (and grandchildren) are walking in the truth.
3 John 1:4 NIV
I Commit! Sara A. from Jackson Michigan
“Be still, and know that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
Psalm 46:10 ESV
Cindy from Bryan, TX
“For you need endurance, so that after you have done God’s will, you may receive what was promised.” Hebrews 10:36 HCSB
Carol from Pinon, Arizona- For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance – now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. Hebrews 9:15 NIV
Angie from Wichita,Kansas Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before hand so that we would work in them.
Denise, Mount Gilead, OH
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. Psalm 25:1-2 NIV
Shannon from Mt.Juliet, TN ..I appeal to you therefore brother,by the mercies of God,to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1
I commit! Kailyn Miller from Pineville, LA
“God is our refuge and our strength, and ever present help in times of trouble.”
Psalm 46:1
I commit! Molly, Portland OR.
“James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.” James 1:1 NIV
I commit! “Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” Isaiah 46:4 NIV
I Commit! JULIE Suwanee,GA: So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
I commit! Kayla from Morgantown West Virginia: “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”
â€â€Colossians‬ â€4:2‬ â€NIV‬‬
Aly from Dallas, TX
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ. Philippians 4:6-7 ESV