Verses from August 2022 through July 2023

No one has a perfect life. Everyone sins. Everyone has problems. We all have things that bother us, that give us some degree of anxiety. What can we do? If you are a believer, our first memory verse for June of 2023 tells you.

1 Peter 5:7 - Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

God knows what is going on in your life and wants you to rely on Him. Sometimes you may not think that God hears your prayer because He doesn't do what you want when you want it. Turn it all over to God and trust Him to do what He knows is best.

Our second memory verse for June of 2023 uses the word "propitiation." Propitiation, in this use, means that Jesus Christ became our substitute, taking the weight of our sin upon Himself, and paid in full the penalty that we owed for our sins. He is the only one who could do that. We can not possibly pay the price for our own sin. Only Jesus can. This verse tells us that.

1 John 2:2 - And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

A lot of people think that the Book of Revelation is very difficult to understand. Yet the Book of Revelation contains a verse that promises a blessing to those that “read”, “hear”, and “keep” the things that are written in this Book, and a verse that promises NOT to seal the “sayings” of this book. In other words, if you study (read and hear) the Book of Revelation, and obey (keep) the truths that you read and hear, you will be blessed. Another book of the Bible, Daniel, was “sealed” so that readers and hearers could not understand its prophecy (Dan 12:4). That is not the case with the prophecies of the Book of Revelation. The prophecies of Revelation are not sealed. They CAN be understood. How could you be blessed by reading something that you could not understand?

Our memory verses for May of 2023 are these two verses from the Book of Revelation.

Revelation 1:3 - Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Revelation 22:10 - And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.

This year, Easter falls on April 9th. Easter commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, who suffered and died on the cross of Calvary just 3 days earlier, shedding His blood to pay the price for our sins, a price that none of us can possibly pay for ourselves. On Easter Sunday, Jesus rose from the dead and left the tomb, appearing at least 8 times to apostles, disciples and others over the next 40 days. Then He ascended back to Heaven. I hope that most of you agree that the days from Good Friday to Easter Sunday were the most important days in the history of mankind on this Earth.

Our 2 memory verses for April 2023 both speak about the events, and the results of the events of these 3 days.

Philippians 2:8 - And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

1 Corinthians 1:18 - For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

There has been a lot of buzz the last few weeks about a “revival” going on at a college in Kentucky. I don’t know enough about it to have an opinion, but I know that the Holy Spirit can really convict hearts and great things happen when people follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. When I think of a “revival”, I think of many people coming to Christ for salvation. Coming to Christ requires, first of all, a realization that you are a sinner and that you can’t possibly “do” any works that will save you.

I am not sure how often the first memory verse for March 2023 is used for this purpose, but the general principle of the verse does apply to salvation.

Mark 8:36 - For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Once you realize your sinfulness, and accept the price paid by Christ on the cross as your only means of salvation, you are saved. From that point on, you need to grow. Our second memory verse tells us how to grow in our relationship with Christ. Read your Bible!

1 Peter 2:2 - As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.

Each year, in February, we celebrate Valentine’s Day. Restaurants are full of couples eating out and Florists scramble to have enough roses available so that couples can celebrate their love for each other. Love started with God and His Word, the Bible has a lot to say about love.

Our 2 memory verses for February 2023 show the importance of love and how to best show love.

1 Corinthians 13:13 - And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. (Charity = Love in this verse and many others in Scripture)

John 14:15 - If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Happy New Year! If you are searching for a New Year’s resolution, our memory verses for January 2023 are great verses on which you could base wonderful, Biblical resolutions for 2023!

Philippians 3:13-14 - Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Each year, in December, we celebrate Christmas. I wish I could say that most people are celebrating the real "Reason for the Season", but I guess I don't believe it. Christmas has become extremely commercialized, and we have been sucked into a meaning of Christmas that involves giving and receiving gifts, which might not be so bad if so many of the people of the world didn't seem to completely ignore the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas is about Christ, the Son of God, who became "flesh and dwelt among us", which is the true reason to celebrate Christmas.

Our first memory verse for December 2022 speaks of the true meaning of Christmas.

Isaiah 7:14 - Therefore the LORD himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

"Immanuel" means "God with us". Through the miraculous virgin birth, the very Son of God became a human being and was born into this world. That is something worth celebrating. His birth was a great beginning to the fulfillment of the ultimate plan of God to provide a way of salvation for sinful men, which includes all men who have ever, or will ever live. So, though the beginning was wonderful, it was the ending that can save us. Christ's substitutionary, sacrificial death on the cross paid the price for the sin of every man, a price that we could not pay ourselves in any way. The real reason we celebrate His birth is His death. Our second memory verse speaks of the sacrifice that Christ made for each one of us.

Gal 2:20 - I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

November is, of course, the month in which we celebrate Thanksgiving. Hopefully we all realize that we need to be thankful 24/7/365 for all we have been given by God! Many years ago, someone in our church started to encourage people to keep a notepad with them at all times, and whenever something happened for which you should be thankful, to write it down on the notepad. Then each night, or each morning, look back through the notepad and recall and give thanks to God for these blessings. The more you give thanks, the more you will see that you have to be thankful for!

Here are the 2 memory verses for November, 2022.

James 1:17 - Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Colossians 3:17 - And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

There are a lot of problems in today’s world that impact the well-being of people, even people in our own church. With inflation, things cost a lot more now than they did a year or two ago. Such a financial strain puts a lot of strain on the emotional well-being of people as well. They worry. They hurt. A lot of people have those problems. Maybe there are friends or relatives that have serious illnesses, or that have suffered injuries in accidents or other ways. Maybe some people you know live in the area of Southwest Florida that bore the brunt of Hurricane Ian. There are likely very few, if any, people that don’t have problems. We should try, to the best of our abilities and within our available resources, to help others, not for the praise of men, but because it is the will of God for us to do so.

Our memory verses for October of 2022 relate to these issues.

Matthew 5:41-42 - And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain. 42 Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

In Matthew 25:34-39, Jesus tells a parable of a King (God) who tells his people to get ready to inherit what was prepared for them, and then lists all sorts of things that the people had done for him (feed him, clothe him, etc). Then the people ask, when did we do those things for you? Our second memory verse for October contains his response.

Matthew 25:40 - And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

We need to help others, but the things that we do for others should not be done to receive thanks from those for which we did them, or praise from others who know what we did. They should be done because that is what God wants us to do.

When we first started this Bible Verse memorization project, our first 6 verses were on the “exclusivity of Jesus Christ.” As I was looking at 1 Timothy 2, I saw another familiar verse that deals with this topic. There is only one way to be saved, and that is through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary, that was made to pay the penalty for the sin of all mankind. Our first memory verse for September 2022 is

1 Timothy 2:5 - For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;

Each September, in this country, we celebrate Labor Day. For the last 2 years, one of our September memory verses was one of the versions of the Great Commission. That is the “Labor” that Christians must be about constantly. Our second memory verse for September 2022 is a 3rd version of that “Great Commission.”

Acts 1:8 - But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth

The memory verses for August 2022 represent the beginning of the 4th year of posting 2 verses a month for you to memorize. It is our hope that you find this to be a help and a blessing to you!

Last August, we learned 2 great things that God does for the believer. According to Romans 8:28, for the believer, ALL things work together for GOOD! A few verses later in the same chapter (Romans 8:38-39) we find that NOTHING can keep the believer from the love of God! We keep that same theme for August of 2022.

Our first memory verse teaches us that God watches and listens to the righteous (believer).

Psalm 34:15 - The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.

Our second memory verse teaches us that we can’t even imagine the great things that God has prepared for the believer (them that love God).

1 Corinthians 2:9 - But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

2 more great promises of God for believers. To be a believer you need to recognize that you are a sinner (Romans 3:23), that you can’t take care of your sin problem by yourself (Ephesians 2:8-9), that only Jesus can solve that problem (Romans 6:23) which he did when he willingly took your sin upon Him and sacrificed Himself on the cross of Calvary (1 Cor 15:4-5). When you accept that sacrifice, that free gift from Christ as your only means of gaining eternal life (salvation), you become a believer and gain these other wonderful gifts from God, in addition to eternity in heaven with God!