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Ever find that when you get a new car you see other people driving that same car everywhere you go?
Seems like every road I take, there's my van.
Well, that same thing has been happening to me lately, but this time it isn't with a new car, it's with a scripture.
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:8-9
I received that scripture passage at a women's retreat I attended in March. For the last six years, a few friends and I have attended that same retreat and every year large silver trays are passed around, covered in ribbons, each length of satin embellished with a scripture. The ribbons lie face-down on the tray, each one having been prayed over by the ladies who prepared them; that each ribbon would go to the right lady and be a word in due season. It's a part of the retreat that all the attendees anxiously look forward to because you just know you're about to receive a kiss from God and direction for the year.
So, ever since receiving "my scripture" a few weeks ago, my bible study teacher has spoken on it, there it is in a book I'm reading, a speaker at another conference I recently attended mentioned it,
I just received a book as a gift and there's a whole chapter on "my scripture,"
I hear it mentioned in a tv show I'm watching...
I mean it's just everywhere I go.
There's my scripture.
It's a good reminder and encouragement to me to make it a daily habit to be in the Word. I love it when I am, but I haven't always been real good at being consistent with it.
But lately, I've been inspired by a couple of good
reasons to meditate on God's Word day and night...
1. It moves you forward.
While I was reading a book I was recently gifted, "The Magnificent Word of the Lord" by Sandra G. Kennedy, she shared that the word prosperous in Joshua 1:8 has nothing to do with money. When you look at the meaning in Hebrew, this verse is actually saying that if you will be a doer of the Word, you will "push forward and break out." So, if I don't want to be stuck, but want forward momentum in my life, I must first know the Word and then be a doer of it.
2. It's timely and relevant.
God's word given to you by someone, like my ribbon was, or when it just leaps off the page like it was written especially for you, is always wisdom for what's going on in your life or preparation for what He's about to do...preparation for where you're headed.
When I got back from the retreat, my husband and I were asked by our Pastor and Elders to lead the elementary school ministry at our church. The children's Pastor and his wife are stepping down after 18 years of amazing service. This new role tempts to be intimidating for just regular Jesus-loving folk like me and my husband, until I remembered my scripture and the context in which it's found in the Bible.
You see Moses, the long-time, much-loved-by-God leader of the Israelites just died and God was calling Joshua to take over as the new leader to take the Israelites into the Promised Land. He was giving Joshua direction as to what he was to do. And God's direction to Joshua as He called him to lead was to be in the Word, to meditate on it day and night, and to live it out. And finally, to not be afraid because God would be with him.
How good is God that He gives this scripture to me just days before I was asked to lead a children's ministry that had been led by a faithful man and his wife for years? I was already blessed by the scripture I received, but when I read it again in light of this new season and ministry, I was totally amazed! It is this word that I will cling to as I "push forward and break out."
God always prepares us, equips us, and moves us forward to what's ahead and He does it by His Word.
I'm ready to dive in, how about you?
Seems like every road I take, there's my van.
Well, that same thing has been happening to me lately, but this time it isn't with a new car, it's with a scripture.
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:8-9
I received that scripture passage at a women's retreat I attended in March. For the last six years, a few friends and I have attended that same retreat and every year large silver trays are passed around, covered in ribbons, each length of satin embellished with a scripture. The ribbons lie face-down on the tray, each one having been prayed over by the ladies who prepared them; that each ribbon would go to the right lady and be a word in due season. It's a part of the retreat that all the attendees anxiously look forward to because you just know you're about to receive a kiss from God and direction for the year.
So, ever since receiving "my scripture" a few weeks ago, my bible study teacher has spoken on it, there it is in a book I'm reading, a speaker at another conference I recently attended mentioned it,
I just received a book as a gift and there's a whole chapter on "my scripture,"
I hear it mentioned in a tv show I'm watching...
I mean it's just everywhere I go.
There's my scripture.
It's a good reminder and encouragement to me to make it a daily habit to be in the Word. I love it when I am, but I haven't always been real good at being consistent with it.
But lately, I've been inspired by a couple of good
reasons to meditate on God's Word day and night...
1. It moves you forward.
While I was reading a book I was recently gifted, "The Magnificent Word of the Lord" by Sandra G. Kennedy, she shared that the word prosperous in Joshua 1:8 has nothing to do with money. When you look at the meaning in Hebrew, this verse is actually saying that if you will be a doer of the Word, you will "push forward and break out." So, if I don't want to be stuck, but want forward momentum in my life, I must first know the Word and then be a doer of it.
2. It's timely and relevant.
God's word given to you by someone, like my ribbon was, or when it just leaps off the page like it was written especially for you, is always wisdom for what's going on in your life or preparation for what He's about to do...preparation for where you're headed.
When I got back from the retreat, my husband and I were asked by our Pastor and Elders to lead the elementary school ministry at our church. The children's Pastor and his wife are stepping down after 18 years of amazing service. This new role tempts to be intimidating for just regular Jesus-loving folk like me and my husband, until I remembered my scripture and the context in which it's found in the Bible.
You see Moses, the long-time, much-loved-by-God leader of the Israelites just died and God was calling Joshua to take over as the new leader to take the Israelites into the Promised Land. He was giving Joshua direction as to what he was to do. And God's direction to Joshua as He called him to lead was to be in the Word, to meditate on it day and night, and to live it out. And finally, to not be afraid because God would be with him.
How good is God that He gives this scripture to me just days before I was asked to lead a children's ministry that had been led by a faithful man and his wife for years? I was already blessed by the scripture I received, but when I read it again in light of this new season and ministry, I was totally amazed! It is this word that I will cling to as I "push forward and break out."
God always prepares us, equips us, and moves us forward to what's ahead and He does it by His Word.
I'm ready to dive in, how about you?
Is this your first visit to Freedom Friday?
We're embracing freedom each Friday here in 2012.
Click here for a list of the other posts in the series
Click here for a list of the other posts in the series
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