I've been feeling lately that I should undertake a good meaty chapter. Part of me wants completion in December so I can start the year completely new, but I can't escape the leading of the Spirit to press into Romans 12. Many moons ago I memorized Romans 12:1-2, so I'm starting out with verses 3 and 4 for the first two weeks of September. Since I spend so much time in the car which is a great time for me to review and memorize, I'm going to really try and push myself, extend my brain and heart capacity. I don't know how many verses I will take in, but please know, this isn't about quantity for any of us. Our hope and goal is that deep meditation on what the Spirit wants to say to us will be the focus of memorizing. Discipline pushes us through the times of wanting to give up, but His sweet whispers of teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness is what we desire.
Romans 12:3-4 For by the grace given me, I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself in sober judgement, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not have all the same function...
God has me on a pretty sharp learning curve right now, and I'm praying Romans 12 brings more clarity to this season of lessons.
Post away, friends! Feel free to share anything extra that's on your heart. As you read each post, say a prayer of encouragement, discipline, and joyful blessing over your scripture memorizing friends!
14 important comments so far. What are your thoughts?
Halfway through last month I decided to start memorizing Psalm 121. This began stirring in my heart when the worship team taught Second Mile the song "Always". The bridge to that song is, "I, lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord". Angel read Psalm 121 during our team prayer time that night. After that I could NOT get it out of my head, especially the week leading up to my uncle's death. It was on my mind constantly. Then, moments after my uncle died, a pastor of his church came in and said, I want to read a chapter from Psalms. OF COURSE he read 121. In that moment I was so overwhelmed with intimacy with Jesus that comes from His word. And that's a little bankground to the passage I'm continuing on with, and why it means so much to me.
vs 4-5
"Indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you, the Lord is your shade at your right hand.
I just finished reading "So Long Insecurity". There is so much truth in the book and in the final pages of the book Psalm 112:7-8. I just changed the words they to she to make it a little more personal and I am excited for what these verses hold:
Psalm 112:7-8 ~
"She will have no fear of bad news, her heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. Her heart is secure, she will have no fear".
On Sunday, Chad referenced John 17:14-17 and it hit me in a completely fresh context. The verses say:
John 17:17-19 (ESV)
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.
This verse hit me so powerfully through the context of motherhood. I deeply desire for my kids to be sanctified by the truth of the word. As I go through the process of sanctification, I want to press in to Jesus so he is glorified and so my kids can see his work in me. As I memorize this, I want this verse to become a prayer I offer up constantly that Jesus may be glorified in and through the Edwards family!
---Tia
Wow how the 1st of the month snuck up fast :)
I read this post this morning and prayed for a verse that would be applicable for where I am. And I remembered a post you wrote 'God's Creativity' about God's unfailing love and it really resonated with me and I was drawn to Psalm 143:8, love that it asks that first thing in the morning I would remember His unfailing love because of my trust in Him. So perfect for right now.
Psalm 143:8 (esv) it is for these first weeks :)
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.
Jen
Still working on Philippians 1! I'm gonna be there awhile :) I made a little progress from last time:
"Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus: to all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion till the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for you with the affection of Jesus Christ..."
(vs. 1-9)
I admittedly often skip over the introductions mentally, but as I've memorized this on my way to memorize all of Philippians, it has really cultivated my heart toward how I can better love the church, and my fellow workers in Christ. What I thought would be merely "good" to memorize (a means toward an end), has been absolutely critical! I look forward to what comes out of memorizing the rest. :)
I feel like I'm in a season of perseverance right now just in terms of workload and school and life, and I want to remember that even when the fruit is not evident around me that God is good and I will rejoice in him. This passage had a large impact on me several years ago but I didn't commit it to memory then. I think it's a good reminder for me now.
"Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights." -- Habakkuk 3:17-19
Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, "yet a little while and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back my soul has no pleasure in him." But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
Hebrews 10:35-39
God is still asking me to sit on this verse. While I have been learning a lot about confidence in who God has wired me to be, He has been showing me how much I compare myself to other women. I guess just another layer of learning about confidence :) He sure is digging up some good but gross stuff. Anywho, thanks for letting this be a place where we are all consistent and honest with one another. I really enjoy it, even if I post late haha :)
"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." - Proverbs 12:18
Psalm 40:1-3
I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and place their trust in the Lord.
A few years ago God used this portion of scripture in a powerful way in my life. I am currently experiencing the power of this scripture once again and decided to commit the Psalm to memory, starting with these three verses.
My verse for 2011 was and is ....
John 15: 4-5: Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5: I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from ME you can do nothing.."
Though I see this verse daily and find peace and power in Jesus' direction, I choose more often then not to abide in and persevere in my own flesh....this is NOT a verse I can just memorize and stack away in my "knowledge base" ....my mind soul and my body must be submerged and overwhelmed in it's truth...
Matthew 5:14-16 (NIV)
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
For a lot of the last year or so, I’ve just felt really drained and pulled in too many directions at once, and I feel like I ended up pulling back and going into hiding as a result. God has been really good to start coaxing me out of that lately, and He has been laying it on my heart to engage more with the people around me. Part of this has been through seeing the repeated theme (through the David study and Untold Stories and yesterday's message) of how God crafted each of us uniquely and put us where we are for specific reasons, to be lights in those places. So while I’m more comfortable being safe and hiding under my bowl, that’s not what God has redeemed me for, and the good works He has already prepared for me to do (Eph. 2:10) need to take priority over my fear and comfort.
-Amanda
1 John 3:19-20
"This then is how we know we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts and He knows everything."
At times, oh how my heart condemns me :( Seeking to ask and accept His forgiveness and remember that He is greater than my heart, greater than my sin....and that in His presence I can rest.
Gosh, I totally spaced the beginning of the month! Here's my first September verse:
“Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked."
-Luke 6:35
I'm super late. But this will be my passage for all of September. I was inspired by Chad's message - that Christ is "I AM" - as well as challenged by a recent conversation with a Jehovah's Witness that came to our door.
Colossians 1
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Post a Comment