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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.

Have you ever eaten anything that makes your jaws tired? One thing that really does that to me is beef jerky. It tastes so good, but it can be hard to chew. You can chew and chew and chew, and still not break it all down enough to swallow for a long time. Well this might sound a little funny, but try to think of God’s Word like beef jerky. If you want to meditate on God’s Word, you need to chew on it a while. That really means, think it over, mull it around in your brain, and just bring it back around to your thoughts again and again. Kinda like beef jerky! The best part about chewing on the Word of God is that the more you meditate on a specific scripture, the more real it becomes in your life. God can bring fresh ideas of how to put it into practice in your life, and even give you some specific information that will bless your life through the words you are meditating on. The words that you read in the Bible won’t just be black ink on a white page, it will become the very Words of God, that He wants to speak specifically to you. So just like you’d chew on some beef jerky, chew on God’s Word, take a little bit at a time, and then chew away. Soon it will be broken down into bites you can swallow, and will bring amazing nourishment to your spiritual life. Why not try meditating on God’s Word today and everyday!

Have you ever eaten anything that makes your jaws tired? One thing that really does that to me is beef jerky. It tastes so good, but it can be hard to chew. You can chew and chew and chew, and still not break it all down enough to swallow for a long time. Well this might sound a little funny, but try to think of God’s Word like beef jerky. If you want to meditate on God’s Word, you need to chew on it a while. That really means, think it over, mull it around in your brain, and just bring it back around to your thoughts again and again. Kinda like beef jerky! The best part about chewing on the Word of God is that the more you meditate on a specific scripture, the more real it becomes in your life. God can bring fresh ideas of how to put it into practice in your life, and even give you some specific information that will bless your life through the words you are meditating on. The Words that you read in the Bible won’t just be black ink on a white page, it will become the very Words of God, that He wants to speak specifically to you. So just like you’d chew on some beef jerky, chew on God’s Word, take a little bit at a time, and then chew away. Soon it will be broken down into bites you can swallow, and will bring amazing nourishment to your spiritual life. Why not try meditating on God’s Word today and everyday!

Did you know that taking time to meditate on God’s Word is one avenue of receiving supernatural revelation in your life? Having the mind of Christ, as it says in I Cor 2:16, comes as we are led by the Spirit of God. As we talked about earlier this week, being led by the Spirit of God is often a direct result of spending time meditating on the Word of God. In I Cor 2:9,10, it says that eye hasn’t seen, nor has ear heart, or has it even entered into our heart what God has prepared for those who love Him. Verse 10 says this… But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit! It is like the light being turned on our path. The things that were once concealed are now visible to us. When we spend time meditating on the Word of God, the Word becomes not just ink on pages, but line upon line, and precept upon precept of living letters written specifically and directly to us. God’s Word will speak, and we will hear and understand. Above the noise, above the crowd, I can hear Him speak. I am His sheep and I know his voice. My ears are attentive to my shepherd. Those are words that we should say on a regular basis, not only because it is directly from the 10th chapter of John, but because we believe them, and we operate in them! God does want to give us specific direction. He isn’t hiding His will from us. He gives us liberally all the wisdom we need if we ask of Him. He even has given us the mind of Christ, so we can know in our knower what to do in every circumstance. He said His Word is a light to us! He doesn’t want us walking in darkness…..so expect there to be light on your path, expect to be His sheep who not only knows his voice, but one who listens and obeys.

“Word of God Speak”, is a song you’ve probably heard on the radio. Another song by the duo Branded with a similar theme says this – speak to me words of life, speak to me words of truth, speak to me words of healing, to my heart, to my soul. I know just about every Christian I have ever talked to wants to be led by the Spirit of God. No one wants to take a misstep, or to walk the wrong direction, or to turn away from the will of God. We want to hear what the Spirit of God is saying to us. In my life, I have found when I need a specific word from God, in a specific instance or circumstance, when I take time to meditate on the Word, God will lead me by His Word that has already been planted in my life. His Word will speak to me! He will bring back to my remembrance what He has previously taught me when I was meditating on God’s Word. That means I can have confidence that when I meditate on the Word of God, even if what I am meditating on right now doesn’t apply to my life specifically right now, it is being stored up for future reference. So think of your time meditating on scripture like this….it is an account being stored up for future use. It is the best kind of account to have, because it is advance preparation for exactly what you will need in the future….How encouraging is that! It definitely encourages you, but God can do the same thing for other people too! You can know inside your knower, (your spirit) that God wants you to share a specific scripture with a specific person. So be sensitive and be ready. Keep filling up the reservoir so there is more than enough to give away at a moment’s notice!

One of the greatest things about meditating on the Word of God is that it makes day dreaming respectable! Isn’t it great that God wants us to sit and rest and think? His desire is that we mull over His Word, ponder it, think about it, wonder about how it applies to our life, and then actually do that…..apply it to our life. This is easy to do, all day long. If I begin the day by thinking about a specific scripture, and say it over to my self a time or two, then when I have a moment to ponder, I do just that….I think about it. Then I ask if I am being obedient to what it says. Do I understand what it means? Sometimes straight from heaven, a fresh revelation will penetrate my heart about that scripture. Just by thinking about it, God will reveal some aspect of what I was wondering about, and shazam!!!, it becomes totally clear. Sometimes I’ll think about, ponder and meditate on one scripture for a week or more. It will be one that keeps coming up in my heart. One that has captured my attention for quite a while now is in Eph 3:20,21 where it says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we could ever ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be the glory, in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever, amen.” The three phrases that have captured me are “above all”, “power that works in us”, and “to all generations”. As I think on these verses, I realize that God wants to do powerful things on the earth that are way above what we can dream, that will affect all generations, through His power in us! Is that mind blowing or what! Think on that a while! That will encourage you!

Another reason to spend time meditating on the Word of God is so we can live in the overflow. If someone has a need, I want to be willing and ready to help meet their need. To do this, we should be filled up to the brim to be able to “spill” on someone else. Meditating on the Word gives us the opportunity to continue being refilled, so that we always have enough in our reservoir to have extra to give away. This kind of spilling isn’t messy like a toddler spilling their food. This is the kind of spilling that is like oil rubbed on dry skin. It is like ointment on an open sore. This kind of spilling brings refreshing to the weary and gives strength to the weak. It is like a cup of cool water in a dry and thirsty land. We become as the Word of God states that surely out of our bellies shall flow rivers of living water! (John 7:38)
A few years ago, I was asked on a moments notice to share about being filled with the Holy Spirit with our children’s church. Because it is one of my passions to pray for people to be filled with the Spirit, I have spent a lot of time studying and meditating on the scriptures that relate to that subject. As I was sharing with the kids, I first asked if there was anyone who wanted to be saved, and 2 girls got saved. I shared about the scriptures on the Holy Spirit and 12 kids (first through fourth graders) got filled with the Holy Spirit. How exciting! Then I went back to the adult service, and a young man came up as soon as church was over to be filled with the Holy Spirit as well. Praise God for living water flowing from us to those who want to be filled! God does want to speak to us through His Word, and He does want us to be full enough to have something to give. We are prepared and flowing over when we meditate on His Word.

Intro:
Aren’t you thankful for the Word of God? Where would we be without it? Hi, this is Dorette Schaal with an encouraging word for your day. We had Karen Jensen Salisbury as our special guest speaker several weeks ago and she reminded us so beautifully that God’s Word is our guiding force for life. To make right choices, and to live the victorious life God has for us, let’s give God’s Word the place it deserves! Get her podcast at our agf.org website, and learn again how to love God’s Word more and more. Read it on your own, and study it with others. Don’t forget to get involved in a small group Bible Study. Here is my encouragement for you to get into the Word, and meditate on it every day. Here is your dailyeword.

Can you find some time this week to just meditate on the Word of God? I hope you do! I thought it might be a good idea to give you a little explanation on what it means to meditate. Meditating on the Word is simply taking time to think and ponder on a specific scripture or passage from the Bible. Meditating on God’s Word is really a great way to fill up the reservoir of your spirit. Everyday things drain life from us. The drains could be a result of a difficult relationship, an unhappy boss, insecurities, low self-image, overwhelming bills, disobedient children, a job loss, too many responsibilities, not enough time, or a myriad of things. One way to refill your reservoir is to meditate on the Word of God. Some of the most spirit-led people I know are those who have discovered the value and necessity of meditating on the Word. What meditating does is makes us more sensitive to the voice of God, and instead of just trying a million different things to bring change in their own lives, we just ask God for His specific directions for our life. So what is one area where you would like to become an overcomer? Why not search the Word and find scriptures that relate specifically to you? You might find one word or phrase that jumps out at you that can be your personal encouragement in that area. If you are believing for healing, a new job, even a raise, or new friendships and relationships, there are so many scriptures that will specifically speak to you. Search them out, and then make them a part of your life. Get the Word of God working on the inside of you. Let it work on the inside and then let it change you on the outside. You will find that meditating on the Word of God brings success, even in natural areas!