Author: debo

Stages of life come and go, and we pass on to the next phase before you know it. Seasons and environment change. Things don’t always turn out the way you expect. It is easy to get disillusioned and loose hope, in the midst of negative circumstances. I hope that you never experience that. If you happen to be there right now, I hope soon you can be enjoying the abundant life that Jesus came to give us. I hope you can once again see life as wonderful! The future is bright, and God is not finished with you yet! Look for God moments and begin to let even small things bring a joy filled moment to your day. Here is a poem from several years ago, that is applicable every day….the best is yet to come!

The Best is Yet to Come!
No matter what it looks like, no matter how you feel
The circumstances that you’re in are not what’s really real
The future up ahead is bright, the days ahead will bring
A freshness in your spirit, and a song of joy you’ll sing
You are full and you are rich with what is worth the most
It’s not a product of the world, it’s from the Holy Ghost
Rejoice and be extremely glad, this work I have begun
So let the fullness bubble up, the best is yet to come!

God has a destiny and a purpose for your life. If you knew what was beyond the mountain in your life, you would keep walking! If you knew your provision was around the corner, you would keep going. Don’t stop, don’t give up….your best is yet to come! Plod on!

Intro:
Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword. Our AGF fall Bible study is all about shutting out the negative chatter in our heads. I heard a great line recently from someone who said, don’t listen to yourself, talk to yourself. I agree! Let’s speak the Word over our life. Sometimes life can be hard, and circumstances can seem like they are dominating your life. That is when we can encourage ourselves by speaking God’s Word over your own life. This week, I want you to listen to these scriptures and let them come alive in your heart. You can have and do and be all that God has for you! Here are your dailyeword.

Jesus is Lord over my spirit, soul, and my body (Phil 2:9-11). I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Phil 4:13) The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.(Ps 23) My God supplies all my need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:19) I do not fret or worry about anything. I cast my cares on the Lord. (Phil 4:6, I Peter 5:6,7) I am redeemed from the curse, and by His stripes, I am healed. My body functions the way God designed it to function. I honor God and bring glory to Him in my body. (Gal 3;13, Matt 8:17, I Peter 2:24, I Cor 6:20) I have the mind of Christ. (I Cor 2:16) I am a believer, not a doubter, I decide to walk by faith, live by faith and practice my faith. I hear God’s Word, and my faith grows. Jesus is the author and developer of my faith (Heb 4;14, Heb 11:6, Rom 10:17, Heb 12:2) Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world. I am seated with Christ in heavenly places. The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. (I John 4:4, Eph 2:6, Romans 8:2) I do not fear because God has given me a spirit of power, of love and of a sound mind. God is on my side (2 Tim 1:7, Rom 8:31) I am God’s sheep and know His voice, any other voice I will not follow (John 10:27) I am God’s workmanship and a member of the body of Christ. I represent Him well! (I John 5:4,5 Eph 2:10, Phil 2:13) I let the Word dwell in me richly. He who began a good work in me will complete it (Col 3:16, Phil 1:6) I will accomplish what God has for me on this earth, because I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, and my prayers are powerful and effective. (II Cor 5:21, James 5:16).

I love the verse that tells us to study to show ourselves approved unto God, like a workman that doesn’t need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth. Most people as soon as they are done with school put study behind them forever. As Christians we are going to be life-long learners and life-long “studiers” of God’s Word. There is so much meat for us to digest, that truly in a lifetime, we can’t exhaust all the riches to be found in the Word of God. Each day as we read and study the Word of God, we are on a treasure hunt. What new “golden nugget” will we find today? What question in your life will be answered by taking time to read and study the Word of God? What preparation is taking place so that you can overcome any fiery dart the enemy may throw your way? What great foundation Pis being built so that when the storms of life hit, you will stand strong, and not be blown out of the water.

So how can we make reading and studying God’s Word a priority? One way is to put it in your planner. Make an appointment every day, just like you do any other important thing in your life. If you have a daily plan, you give yourself permission to take time to do something for yourself that is important. Probably most of you take time to exercise several times a week. (If you don’t you should!!!) Probably most of you go to church every Sunday to spend time worshipping God. (If you don’t you should!) Probably most of you take time to get to the grocery store to buy good healthy fresh fruits and vegetables at least once a week. (If you don’t, you should!!!) So why not make it a priority to eat some living bread, and drink some living water that will not only build your spirit, but give you wisdom and strength for your life. That sounds like something that is too good to pass up!

Do you know that starting a positive habit in your life when you are young has great advantages for the long term? There are lots of things that we can do in the natural realm that help us live more healthy lives, just by developing a positive habit. How about the habit of getting exercise daily, instead of being a couch potato, or eating fruits and vegetables, instead of eating twinkies and drinking Dr. Pepper, or exercising your mind by reading or playing games, instead of watching tv or playing video games all day. One awesome habit to begin is to read your Bible everyday. What is so great about God’s Word is that it is jam packed full of wisdom, and it is full of life! The Bible tells us when given the choice between life and death, to choose life! So one way to do that is to read the Bible! It is great to have a reading plan, and be systematic, but actually, just getting the Word of God in your life any way possible will have tremendous benefits. The Word of God is a light to your path. It is wisdom for your life. It has the power to change your behavior. It gives your courage to face your fears. The list could go on and on. So why not read a chapter from the New Testament and a Psalm and a Proverb everyday. It will take you less than15 minutes, and you will gain more than you can realize. When you digest God’s Word, and make it a priority in your life, not only will you be empowered to succeed in the plan God has for you, but you will have mastery over the areas in your life that could have led you down a wrong path. So what kind of habit can you begin that will bless every part of your life? Read the BIBLE daily!

The Bible: God’s instruction Book….read it, follow it, live it! You’ve probably all heard the song that says the word Bible is an acronym for Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. I’m not sure who came up with that, but I think it is great. The time that having the Word of God planted deeply in your heart benefits us the most – is on this side of heaven. When we reach glory, we will be in the presence of the Word made Flesh – Jesus himself. So the Bible really is our manual for “doing life” on this planet. And truly the Word of God isn’t really complicated. The basics are pretty simple. When we love God with all of our heart, soul and might, and love our neighbor as ourselves we have summed up the whole book. Loving God is the easy part, sometimes we make the next part complicated. When we can love ourselves like God loves us, we can love others. When we take time to study the Word of God, we can learn the value God places on us, and begin to value and cherish what He has put on the inside of us. When we have love to give, everyone around us benefits. A great word study to do is to look up all of the scriptures on love. Study to find out how you can love more completely, and how love is supposed to act. You could probably take a year on that one word alone. We can get creative doing the Word. James 1:22 in the Greek means this: Put your heart and soul into finding ways to act on what you have heard. The NKJV says it this way, be a doer of the Word. The best way to do something is to know about it, to have read up on it, and to study it. So study away! To be an effective doer, get the Word of God planted deeply in your heart!

It says in Col 3:16, for us to make God’s Word feel at home in your heart. Are you comfortable with it, and know it inside and out? In real estate, the mantra is location, location, location. I want to encourage you to find your perfect location in the middle of the Word! We can find our home and live and abide in the promises of God which are all wrapped up in His Word. On a daily basis we can have the freshly spoken word of God – the “rhema” become manifest in our lives as we read and study the building blocks or logos or foundational princples of God’s Word. Everything we do should be measured against the standard of the Word of God. Whenever we wonder about anything, we should find out what God’s Word has to say about it. When something comes out of our mouth, we need to make sure it lines up with God’s Word. A great question to keep in mind is …..where did you find that in the Word? So much of the time, we hear something repeated and because it sounds good, we take it for truth. But the enemy really finds joy in deceiving believers. The way to avoid deception is to be aware when God’s Word is being twisted or taken out of context, because you have knowledge of the context. When the Word of God is hidden in your heart, you won’t be easily deceived. The Bible tells us to pay attention to my word. All through the book of Proverbs, continually there is the admonition to pay attention to God’s Word. I want to encourage you the same way! Pay attention to the Word, plant the seed of God’s Word in your heart, and you will reap the harvest. Start planting today!

Yesterday we talked about the value of having the word of God hidden in our heart so that we can stand firm against any attack of the enemy, our adversary the devil. The Bible tells us to stand firm and be inflexible in Heb 10:23. We are to hold fast, tightly , rejecting all attempts of anyone who tries to steal it from us, not fickle in our commitment, but determined to be inflexible and unmoving in what we believe and confess as it says in another version of the Bible. Most of the time, it is good to be flexible. Certainly your muscles and joints feel better when we stretch them and are flexible. Dealing with people, we just can’t be pushy and inflexible when it comes to opinions and preferences. If you’re married you’ve certainly learned that being flexible enough to compromise is beneficial!!! Each opinion is important, and for peace in the home, we can be flexible. But when it comes to the Word of God, there should be no wavering. We stand firm! We will not be shaken! A huge key in having the ability to do that comes from reading, studying and meditating on God’s Word! Taking the time before an attack comes is so much easier than trying to read the manual during the battle. Advance preparation is key. So today remember this, we do have weapons to fight with, but they are not carnal. They are powerful, because they are our tools provided by our Heavenly Father to overcome in this life. The weapon is…..the Word of God. Read it, study it, be prepared to use it!

The Bible is a sharp sword….Eph 6:17, and a two edged sword as it says in Hebrews 4:12. Because not too many people we know use swords as weapons anymore (thank God!) those scriptures don’t have the same meaning to us as they might have to a new Christian who lived in the first century when a sword was an invaluable too. But even today, when cooking in the kitchen, sharp knives make life easier. A dull knife is just about useless, it makes things take longer and can even be dangerous because of the extra force needed to make even a simple cut. The Bible is a sharp sword! It has a point that gets to the point. As we talk about studying God’s Word this week, I think it is good to remember that the Bible is our best weapon against the enemy’s attacks. A good chef will sharpen his/her knives. A military man or woman will make sure they clean and care for their weapons. Even a hunter will make sure their arrows are sharp or their gun is well cared for. When we realize that we are in a war, but the weapons we fight with are not carnal as it says in II Corinthians chapter 10, it would be to our advantage to know our weapon. Knowledge requires study! We should become well acquainted with how the Bible is set up, why there is an old covenant and a new covenant. We should know who are the major men and women surrounding the most important person in the Bible – Jesus. It is great to know our weapon so that when we are attacked by the enemy, we have an artillery of scripture that can help us stand strong and not be shaken. Because we have studied, we will know the character of our God, and know how He operates and what He would want us to do in each situation. What great benefits we have from taking time to study His Word. Why not study your Bible today!

Intro:
This week we are again talking about the Word of God. It is so important to love it, read it, meditate on it and live it. Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with your dailyeword. II Tim 3;16,17 tells us to study to show yourself approved unto God….. So let’s add the word study to the things we do with the Word. School just started for school aged kids, but for Christians, we are still in school too. It is the School of the Word, and we need to attend everyday, getting filled up with the Word so we can live life victoriously. Here is your dailyeword.

What does it mean to study the Word of God? I know lots of you read your Bible everyday, but do you know as Christians we are to study the Word of God as well? Remember the scripture “study to show yourself approved unto God in II Tim 3:16,17”? The word study really is in there! When you study something, it isn’t just a casual read through. We should study the Word like we would study for a test. There might be a couple of them on your journey! What tools can make it easy to study? There are a couple of things I always use when I study the Bible. The most valuable tool to me is my computer. Anything you need to find is in there. Additionally, there are all kinds of Bible helps, that I encourage you to use as well. A second thing that I always do is have something to write on or have my computer handy. When you receive some clarity on a scripture or a passage in the Word, I write it down. I would encourage you to write down your thoughts about what you have learned. Think about it, do some cross referencing which means finding other scriptures that say nearly the same thing, or relate in some way. Then do a word search to find other scriptures that have the exact word you are studying within them.
The greatest encouragement I could give you when it comes to studying God’s Word is to find a place to start. Why not make today the day you start studying to show yourself approved unto God. Then, don’t get down on yourself if you miss a day…..keep right on going! Make a plan, work the plan, and get ready to grow in God as you grow in your knowledge of the Word.

When we hear about how “new age” people meditate, sometimes we as Christians shy away from any type of thing that would connect us to them. What is interesting is that God thought up meditating, and everyone else who does is just trying to imitate what God invented!
Joshua 1:8 is a terrific scripture to look at when we talk about meditating on the Word. It says very clearly that if we want to experience prosperity and success, we should keep the Word of God on our tongue and on our mind all the time, and then be obedient to do what it says. Experiencing prosperity and success can also be translated from another version of the Bible as dealing wisely in the things of life. I know I want to deal wisely in the things of life, and be able to give good advice to others who want to deal wisely in the situations they are in. That makes it so important that you and I spend time meditating on God’s Word every day.
I often use the illustration of a cow chewing her cud to make a visual reference to how important meditating on God’s Word is for a believer. We should daily take a morsel of God’s Word, and chew on it all day long. If we have an area we need to work on in our own life, we should find the scriptures that relate to our situation, and get them down deep into our heart. If we want real change in our life, we have to renew our mind to the Word of God. Rom 12:1 and 2 says that transformation takes place in our life as take the old thoughts out, and put the new thoughts that are “the truth” in their place. In II Cor 10:3,4,& 5, we can see that thoughts become imaginations, and imaginations can become strongholds. A strong hold is anything that holds us strongly. That explains the progression of how we can be in bondage because by the way we think. How do we change our thinking? A great place to begin is by meditating on God’s Word. Most of the time when we need an answer, God is just waiting for us to ask Him. We will go to everyone else to find out their opinion or what their solution for us would be. God wants us to ask Him, and then meditate on the Word that applies to our specific situation. As we do, be encouraged, God will make His Word become freshly spoken to you.