Week 16 of 52!

"I delight to do Thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart."

Psalm 40:8

Many times, we pray, "Lord, show me Thy will," and yet we neglect to do the obvious things He has commanded. Time after time, God has written that we should read His Word, apply His Word, meditate on His Word, and memorize His Word. This verse is just another reminder that I should strive even harder to wrap my life around His Word.

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Have you memorized a verse this week? How has it spoken to you?

 

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Week 15 of 52

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40)

All that we do is rooted in one thing: who we love the most. That seems an incorrect statement until we dig deeper to discover the roots. Why do we snap at people? Because we love ourselves better than others. Why do we neglect God’s Word? Because we love ourselves better than God. If we stop to consider why we do or do not do certain things, we will find that it boils down to who we love.

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Have you memorized a verse this week? What is it? Has God used it in your life in a special way?

Week 14 of 52

For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. (Romans 14:17)

This verse comes in the same passage that says, “But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” (Romans 14:10) So often, we get distracted by arguing different points and convictions. But according to God, our focus should not be on the outward things, but on the inward: righteousness, peace, and joy. When we focus on that which really matters, we find that many “discussions” are simply “foolish and unlearned questions” (2 Timothy 2:23)

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Have you memorized a verse this week?

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Week 13 of 52!!!

“Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith; Who for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:2

This verse holds the Answer for many of our problems. So often, we try to face all of our problems by relying on our own strength (which is weakness) instead of looking to Christ and relying on His strength. What problem are we facing today? We must stop trying to master it in our own strength and look to Jesus – because “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13)

I noticed that this verse fell on the weekend of Resurrection Sunday – what a beautiful reminder!

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What verse have you learned by heart this week?

How does it speak to you?

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Week 12 of 52!!

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,” Hebrews 12:1

Romans 15:4 reminds us, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” In Hebrews 11, we read of many men and women who lived by faith. Then, we reach Hebrews 12:1, which exhorts us to not give up but to continue. I know that it is an encouragement for me to read through the many men and women of faith who the Lord strengthened to live as He would have them to. The God Who shut the mouths of Daniel’s lions, Who protected Joseph through various troubles, Who kept David safe from the enemies next to him, and Who protected Noah in the ark is the SAME God that I serve today!

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What verse did you memorize this week?

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Week 11 of 52

 “But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.” Colossians 3:25

In context of Colossians 3:24 (“Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.”), we have choice to make – a choice with known results. If we do right, we will be rewarded by God, but if we do wrong, we will be punished. There is no exception. Today, the choice needs to be made: for Whom will we work (see Colossians 3:23)?

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What verse have you memorized this week?

What does it mean to you?

Have you been reviewing your other ten verses?

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Week 10 of 52!

“Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:24

This verse begs the questions:

     ~For whom am I working /serving?

     ~Why am I working?

     ~Am I working for a temporal or eternal reward?

If we can honestly answer the following, then I truly believe that we are on the right path:
     ~I am serving Christ, 
     ~I am working for His glory to be known
     ~I am not expecting a reward down here

I cannot answer those questions as I should, but am praying that God will help me so that one day I can.

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What is your first verse memorized for March?

Does it spur on any questions?

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Week 9 of 52!

“And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;” Colossians 3:23

This is a verse that I memorized when younger, but as time has waned, only had it “half-way” memorized. As I meditated on this verse, I began to realize that I have never fully embraced the meaning of this verse. I always thought of the “doing it heartily” part, but that is not the whole. As believers, our tasks should be done “as to the Lord.” That means that when I unload the dishwasher, I am not doing it for Mom; I am doing it for the Lord. When I rebel against helping my sister make her bed, my attitude isn’t against her but against the Lord. This puts a new perspective on my work. I should view every task as an opportunity to show my love and obedience to Christ (John 14:15).

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What is your verse this week?

Has it spoken to you in a new way?

This is our last verse for February – if you have time, please consider updating us with all of your February verses!

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Week 8 of 52!

Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for Me?

Jeremiah 32:27

Absolutely NOTHING is too hard for my God!! What more can I say?

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What verse have you memorized this week? Take a moment and share it with us!

Week 7 of 52!

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“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28)

The past two weeks, I have memorized the previous verses:

“But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:” (Mathew 20:26-27)

We can argue our case of “why I can’t do that” or “why I shouldn’t be the servant” until we read “Even as the Son of Man came . . .” Jesus Christ – the One Who Created me – came to minister . . . to me! He willingly bowed so low that He left His glory to live in the filth of earth among the filth of men . . . for our sakes! If Jesus Christ did so much for me, who am I to say that I cannot do so much for Him and others? It is simply ridiculous for us to assume such a lofty position to refuse to serve.

A good parallel passage for Matthew 20:26-28 is Philippians 2:5-11: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

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What verse are you working on memorizing this week?

Week 6 of 52!

And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant;

Matthew 20:27

This continues the thought from last week, but in itself is a good single verse to remember. In girls’ language: “Am I trying to be the popular girl, or the girl behind the scenes?” As I ponder this, I realize that it goes much deeper than the doing level. It penetrates to the motive. I might be a “servant-girl” on the outside but inwardly yearning to be that popular girl over there. Or, I might be that servant-girl with the motive to be noticed and exalted. May we strive to keep our motives – as well as our actions – obedient to this verse.

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What verse have you memorized this week?
If you have not reviewed all of your memory verses, why don’t you take a few minutes to go over them slowly?

Week 5 of 52!

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But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;

Matthew 20:26

This goes totally contrary to our natural flesh and to the teachings of the world. We believe that to be great, we much “exert ourselves.” However, as children of God, we are commanded to be different. We are not to “exercise dominion over them {or} exercise authority over them” (Matthew 20:25). Like our example, Jesus Christ, we are to be servants, humbling down from our pride to serve others.

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What verse are you memorizing this week?

Please share your thoughts with us!

Week 4 of 52!

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The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.

Proverbs 12:15

All throughout our life, we will face situations that test which way we will take. Will we be like the fool and go our own way? Or will we seek and follow counsel?

As I pondered the last part of this verse, I began to think of those from whom we are to get counsel. Pastors, parents, and older men and women immediately came to my mind. But, the Lord brought another counselor to my mind: His Word. Psalm 119:24 says, “Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.” How often do I seek God’s Word for counsel? And how often do I hearken to that counsel?

May it always be my goal to lean not on my understanding, but go to God for His wise counsel and guidance.

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What verse did you memorize this week?

Did the Lord bring another verse to your mind which parallels your memory verse?

 

This is the last verse for January! Congratulations for those of you who have faithfully memorized the first four verses in our challenge! If you have a moment, why don't you consider stopping by and updating us with your memory verses for January?

Verse 3 of 52

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 “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speaking. As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” (1 Peter 2:1-3)

As I memorized these verses, the Lord showed me two key points for growth:

1) We must lay aside some things

          (malice – depravity, trouble; guile – a trick, wile; hypocrisies – acting under a feigned part, deceit; envies – ill-will, jealousy; evil-speakings – defamations)

2) We must desire God’s Word

With these two points applied, we can fruitfully grow in God’s Word.

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What verse(s) did you memorize this week?

What does it mean to you?