Moxie Memorizers

Wednesday, February 01, 2012  ::  

I've been reading through the New Testament over the last two weeks starting in Galatians. I have been struck by the verses I have memorized out of context. For the next few months, I'm going to be filling in the holes...unless God lays a passage on my heart for the here and now.

Let me encourage you to memorize scripture in context. This doesn't mean that you have to learn an entire chapter, although, I do recommend the challenge at some point in your memorizing journey. But, if you are taking in a verse that is meaningful to you, be sure to read the verses before and after to see how it all fits together. If the whole paragraph adds to the depth and meaning of the one verse, be brave enough to memorize the whole paragraph. This didn't occur to me when I was 19, so now I have make-up work to do.

Many years ago I learned Ephesians 6:18. "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of requests. With this in mind be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." It follows the passage about the full armor of God. I remember memorizing it during college because I wanted to understand what it meant to "pray in the Spirit" and I wanted to be someone who would "always keep on praying for all the saints." Many times I begged God to teach me to pray, to help me know what to pray and for whom to pray. This is still a deep cry of my heart.

However, one of my great weaknesses is praying for myself. I'm actually pretty terrible at it. On top of that, I have the hardest time answering when people ask me how they can pray for me. I usually respond with "Ummmm, well, uhhh, you can, hmmm...I'm not sure." Lame. **

Thank God for His word. He has answers to my inability to pray for myself!

Eph 6:20-21
Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. 

There you have it, folks. I'm memorizing this one for sure!

I love how many of you are posting your verses. Thank you. I often hear, "Oh, I'm memorizing, I just never post on the blog." Well, come on! Just do it! It only takes a minute or two. Please know, posting isn't just for you. The accountability for you is great, but the purpose of posting our verses together is for encouragement, community, inspiration. When we see that there are others in this with us, it inspires us to keep up the good work, stay the course, not let anyone down. Community is far superior to taking the loner path. Stepping off my soapbox now...

Post away, friends! Moxie Memorizers celebration is coming soon. Watch for details to be posted in the next few days!

**Please don't worry or lecture. When I don't know specifics to pray for myself, I ask God to build the fruit of His Spirit in my life, to give me a gentle and quiet heart, to enable me to love and serve Chad and my kids, to build His leadership in my life that will flow into allowing me to lead others.

27 important comments so far. What are your thoughts?

Anonymous said...

Going back through my verses to be sure I have each committed to memory. And checking context while I am at it!

Carol

Sarah Ling said...

Since I keep forgetting to post mine, I thought it fitting I should be one of the first this time!

Last one I went through:

"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 gaurd your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:6-7

I prayed through this chapter a lot last week, but these verses were why I went looking for it again (remembered it from our Beth Moore study):

"I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning." -Psalm 130:5-6

Anonymous said...

This semester I am learning and studying femininity and learning to embody characteristics of a worthy woman of God. I am going to start memorizing Proverbs 31:10-31. This time I am going to start with verses 10 and 11.

An excellent wife (a.k.a. Woman) who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The hear of her husband (a.k.a friends and community) trusts in her and he (they) will have no lack of gain.
Proverbs 31: 10-11

~Nicky

Lizz said...

I am new at this, but very grateful for the community of memorizers you've established!

I have felt God's call on my life to memorize scripture and the rubber is meeting the road today!

Psalm 1:6
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

Thanks!

Julie said...

1 Corinthians 6:20

Anonymous said...

In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
1 John 4:10

Annie

Monique said...

Journeying along side Nicky to more deeply discover Godly femininity :) As we learn together we will both be memorizing Proverbs 31:10-31 (since she already posted the verse, I get to just copy and paste it...hehe)

An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The hear of her husband trusts in her and he will have no lack of gain.
Proverbs 31: 10-11

Dejah said...

Continuing in Colossians 3...

Colossians 3:5

Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

John D said...

This is going well but are there any of those memory verse card holders left? I'm starting to memorize James

James 1:2-4
"Consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Let perseverance finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Leslie @ top of the page said...

going to put together two sections that now come together that i've been working on...

In fact, anyone who wants to live a Godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed, and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:12-17

whew. thanks again for hosting angel!!

Jenna said...

These next two verses meant so, so much to me over summer. I am really happy that God is bringing me back to them as we start 2012.

"I declared and saved and proclaimed, when there was no strange god among you; and you are my witnesses," declares the Lord, "and I am God. Also henceforth I am he; there is non who can deliver from my hand; I work, and who can turn it back?"
Isaiah 43:12-13

Angela DeSoto said...

I have 5 verses to go in my passage of 11 verses in Isaiah 40, so I'm going to try and tackle two of them before the 15th:
Isaiah 40:27-28
Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, "My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God"? 28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

Tia said...

Continuing on in Isaiah 55 with verse2:
Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.

Tamara Casady said...

Tamara should use whatever gift she has received from the Lord to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms

-1 Peter 4:10

Caylin Stroupe said...

Hebrews 12:28-29 ~
"Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken and let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire."

Anonymous said...

Psalm 63:1-5:
O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.
I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

grey rose (they/them) said...

after reading proverbs 2 this morning, i want to tackle it next! {love you, sweetie face!}

Proverbs 2:1-5 ESV
My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.

Kelsi Somers said...

Continuing with Godly wisdom from above..

James 1:5-6 If any of you lacks wisdom, let his ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.

Kelsi

Emily said...

Romans 6:22
But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

Tim said...

Thank you for this reminder to memorize and know God's word in context!

Ephesians 2

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Anonymous said...

I'm going to memorize psalm 139 this year. I'm continually drawn back to this verse, ALL THE TIME. It's such a comfort to me that God knows me-knows everything about me even when I don't understand myself. It's 24 verses, so I'll take it in small chunks.

Psalm 139:1-2
O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I am far away.


--Kelly T.

Sara said...

Finishing up Psalm 23 with verses 5-6:

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

Alysa said...

We just started the new James study by Beth Moore. Part of the study is to memorize part (or all) of James. For right now, I am focusing on the beginning...

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:
Greetings. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:1-4

Lauren said...

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. 8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8

Anonymous said...

2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

Amanda

Tori Einstein said...

Man, I'm behind in posting. After our celebration last night, I was challenged to start memorizing the book of James. So in the next couple of days, I am going to work on James 1:1-2.

"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds."

Laura K. Moore said...

still working on 1 corinth 13.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.

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