52 Verses in 2013!!!

As 2013 draws near, I encourage you to consider memorizing more of God's Word. You may join our challenge of memorizing 52 verses in 2013, but more important than joining any challenge is simply memorizing God's Word!!! 

If you would like to "officially" join our challenge, visit Join the Challenge page.

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If you memorized 52 verses in 2012, we would love to hear from you!! Please leave us a comment . . . and if you have time, include one verse that was special to you in 2012! 

--52 of 52--

"Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."

Colossians 2:8

What am I following? Do I "buy into" things of men - their reasoning and sayings? Or do I measure everything up to Christ?

One way that I can test the answer to these questions is by asking one more: "What am I spending most of my time in?" If I spend most of my time listening to the world, reading the world's material, watching the world's programs and videos, and talking with worldly friends, my thinking will automatically lean towards philosophies, vain deceit, men's traditions, and the world's rudiments. However, if I spend that time reading God's Word, listening to preachers who preach God's Word, fellowshipping with believers, and embracing things of God, my thinking will automatically lean towards things of Christ. Today I have a choice to make: which path will I choose?

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What is your final verse for 2012?? Please comment and share with us! Also comment and let us know if you were faithful to memorize 52 verses this year!!!

Blessings on year 2013! 

--51 of 52--

One more week left!!!! How many of you have continued this challenge all year? Has it blessed you? If you have a minute, can you share how?? And if you have two minutes, can you invite a friend to join this challenge for 2013?

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"Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence if fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." (Psalm 16:11)

I am seeing something in young people today that greatly saddens me: the search for worldly pleasures and their desire for me to join them. According to this verse, I need not college to understand the "path of life," I need God. I need not relationships, clothes, or career to give me fullness of joy, I need God's presence. I need not parties, games, movies, and activities to give me pleasure, I need closeness to God. The world (ultimately satan) wants to make us believe that praying to God is boring, a life spent going to church dull, and reading/memorizing God's Word is a chore, but the more time we spend with our Heavenly Father, the more we see the truth of the hymn, "And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace." (Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, by Helen H. Lemmel)

As a new year dawns, may our desire be to grow closer to the Lord and separated from the world.

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What is your 51st verse and how does it speak to you?

--50 of 52--

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As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:10)

How many times do I shun doing things for others because . . . they’re not my “favorite” person? Or, I don’t “feel” like it? Or, they don’t “deserve” it? Or {fill in excuse here}? God’s Word often does not give “ifs” with commands. God just commands. “When there’s an opportunity, do good.” But it does not just stop there, God emphasizes that we should make an extra effort to do good to those who are fellow-believers!!

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If you have a moment, share your verse with us!!

There are only a few more weeks! Do you still remember all of your verses? If you are getting a bit rusty on some of them, you might want to review them.

--49 of 52--

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If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him? (Luke 11:13)

This encourages me in prayer. The whole passage (which I did not memorize) goes:

“And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?” (Luke 11:9-13)

We can rest assuredly that God hears our prayers and will answer in the best way according to His will.

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What is your verse this week? Have you been faithfully reviewing all other verses?