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One thing I’ve noticed about human nature is that we get committed to something when it directly affects us. For example, when sickness attacks our body, we begin to get serious about reading healing scriptures. When we have a financial shortage, we real get serious about tithing and reading the Word about finances. Advance preparation is storing up for the future. We can do that with the Word of God. If we really want to be Spirit led believers, we should spend time, attention and energy on the importance of understanding the operation of the Spirit of God. We want to be attentive listeners. God wants us to check our heart, and then let Him flow through us. If we seriously want to live the abundant life, it takes discipline and diligence. It takes reprioritizing our life. It takes simplifying our life. It takes saying no to the good, so you can say yes to the best. What is most important? If we want to be Mary’s who choose what is right and most important at the right time, we have to say no to some things that really don’t matter. Living above natural human existence, living in the presence of God, living a life that is led by the Spirit of God, let make this our priority. Life can’t get better than that! That is living your best life.

Many Christians live way beneath their privileges as believers. They live a purely natural human existence, day by day, moment by moment. They live average lives, bumping along, often from disaster to disaster, or from trial to trial, without doing anything about it. They don’t really read the Word, they don’t really pray – they might pray before they eat, or before they go to bed at night, but their existence is purely on a natural level. It can happen to any of us – actually, I’m repenting, I’ve done that before! We are called out of darkness to live in the light! We can experience so much more when we are following after God and being led by the Spirit. The Bible tells us to draw close to God, and He will draw close to us. If I reach out to God, He’ll reach out to me. If I talk to God, He will fellowship with me. If I seek Him, then I will be found in Him. If I call on Him, He will show me great and mighty things. Those are things we can begin expecting! We make the first step. So Regardless of the size of the storm, keep going! You’ll have a much better chance of making it to shore. Jesus was asleep on a pillow during a storm on the lake with the disciples. They were distraught and Jesus was resting. I think that could probably be what would be said about us when storms of life are pressing in on us. We get distraught, but Jesus is still telling us to rest. Let’s be prepared, and live above this natural life. Let’s live the higher life God is calling us to!

Sports are a great learning tool for life. The lessons we learn include not giving up, perfecting our skills, having a good attitude in the midst of a down turn, and even smiling in the face of adversity. Whatever the sport is, the object is to continue getting better. If it is baseball, you keep swinging till you get it right and make contact with the ball. In the big baseball game of life, we know who the final winner is. Sometimes we may feel like we’ve lost the inning, but we don’t stop at three strikes. We keep on going. In fact, I love what I heard one minister say once. “My bat, my ball, my yard and my win.” I love that kind of tenacity. Sometimes there are set backs. They happen. Sometimes we strike out. Sometimes we can’t get on the field because it is raining, or snowing, or windy. But we don’t let the win slip from our hands. In the midst of the journey, it is important to continue loving the game. Everyday we need to enjoy the journey. Keep on looking for jewels that God places in your path. Keep on finding joy in the small moments of life. The greatest win of all is coming…..eternity in heaven. But remember, Jesus said that His desire was the God’s will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Let’s bring a little of that heaven into our sphere of influence today.

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!