SSMT Week 11

“You are my portion, Lord; I have promised to obey your words.”  Psalm 119:57 NIV

I don’t know why I still get amazed by how the Lord works, particularly when it comes to the Bible.  This week I wasn’t sure what verse to use for my memorization, but I was pretty sure I would find something if I would just listen.

The start of my journey was reading Beth Moore’s blog and lo and behold this verse was there and it struck a chord deep within me.  Not because I am good at obeying His words, but because I so deeply want to be better.

When my kids were very young we always told them that whatever they had done they could tell us, but if they lied that was something I had a hard time getting passed.  Lying has always been such a terrible thing to me, so maybe that’s why this verse hit me.  If I have promised to obey His words, if I blatantly go against that promise is that the same as lying? And don’t I find lying to be despicable?

AMEN!

 

This is my Verse #11 for Beth Moore’s Siesta Scripture Memory Team.

SSMT Week 10

“…and do not give the devil a foothold.”

Ephesians 4:27

The memory verse I’ve chosen for this week is actually part of a series of verses.  This morning during the sermon our pastor was talking about how we need to put aside our old selves and become new as Christians.  He showed a clip from a popular movie, though he didn’t say which one, of a young man rock climbing.  He slid down the rock face and caught the very edge of a rock with his fingertips and was able to hold on.  Pastor said this is all Satan needs in our lives in order to gain a foothold.   Illustrations like these are so powerful and I’m sure this will stay with me a while.  And gave me the perfect verse for memorization.

This is my Verse #10 for Beth Moore’s Siesta Scripture Memory Team.

SSMT Week 7

“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” John 15:11 ESV

Sometimes in life we go through periods of time where we are weary and it seems like so much is going on. It’s during those times I am so thankful to have the Scripture to turn to as a lifeline.

Our church gave us cd’s of the New Testament to listen to during the season of Lent – we will be listening to the entire New Testament in 40 days. It’s been such a beautiful experience so far to sit and read/hear the Bible with my beloved every evening.

And in the midst of weariness comes a verse promising our joy to be full.  Ahhh…sweet breath of fresh air.

Amen.

This is my Verse #7 for Beth Moore’s Siesta Scripture Memory Team.

SSMT Week 5

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”  Mark 10:45 NIV

This verse is absolutely powerful to me. So many times we go about our lives and get caught up in trying to be important and recognized.  Yet we should be looking outside of ourselves rather than focusing on ourselves.

This is my Verse #5 for Beth Moore’s Siesta Scripture Memory Team.

SSMT Week 4

“For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.”                2 Timothy 1:7 NIV

One of the most wondrous parts of this Bible memorization journey is having my eyes opened to a specific verse that I’m needing to read and know in my heart.

I’ve been preparing in my mind to begin a very concerted effort to start back to healthy eating and exercising. And yet that little voice inside keeps questioning whether I have what it takes.

This verse tells me straight out that I *DO* have what it takes and that the Spirit God Himself gave me gives me self-discipline.  I will cling to this verse when I start to feel like I can’t do it.

Isn’t the Bible grand?  I love that the very word of God is there any time we need it – and even when we sometimes think we don’t.

Amen.

This is my Verse #4 for Beth Moore’s Siesta Scripture Memory Team.

SSMT Week 3

“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” James 1:19-20 NIV

This has long been something I’ve strived for – slow to become angry.  I’ll admit though that it can sometimes be one of the hardest things in the world to do, especially if you’re like me and you wear your heart on your sleeve.  Many times “angry” is a reaction to hurt feelings and we just cannot help our knee-jerk female response.  Which is one of the reasons I believe that God pointed me in the direction of this verse.  Maybe by having it memorized I’ll remember it at crucial times and hopefully be more “slow to speak and slow to become angry.”

This is my Verse #3 for Beth Moore’s Siesta Scripture Memory Team.

SSMT Week 2

I posted yesterday that I was looking for a new Bible reading plan and you know what? God in His infinite wisdom has given me something to do in addition to reading.

I am a huge fan of Beth Moore. I think her Bible studies are so good and she speaks to a woman's heart. Every time I've done a Beth Moore Bible Study with a group of ladies I come out of it with a clearer understanding of the subject or book of the Bible. She speaks "real" during the videos and we end up having some heartfelt conversations around the table.

So when I saw that 2011 she'll be leading us in Bible memorization again I was so excited! I did it in 2009, but like so many of my plans I ended up not following through. But as I told Keith a bit ago - I am SO EXCITED about memorizing this year! And in my opinion once you're this excited about something it's the real deal and God Himself is speaking to you.

We are to post our verse on Beth's blog on the 1st and the 15th of each month, so starting with verse 2 I'm going to be posting here as well.

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"Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." Proverbs 19:21 NIV

The reason this verse speaks to me is that I am very much a list person - I truly love making lists! With this being the first of the year I've been making lists on every subject imaginable and plans are being made to improve on just about every area in my life. While that is NOT a bad thing at all, I want my number 1 thought to be "the Lord's purpose prevails" - sort of along the lines of "Thy will be done." His will, not mine.

I think this is a great thing to ponder at the beginning of the year. Meditating on this verse and keeping it in my heart will help me to remember that my plans are indeed secondary to the Lord's purpose.

AMEN!