Opening prayer
Father God, thank you for the gift of your word for it is as sweet as honey to our tongues! Would you please open our eyes now to see the treasures it contains? Would you begin to till the soil of our hearts and make them fertile for planting your seeds of truth deep within us? Lord, help us to come to your word with a desire to see you fully, to not interpret you through our lens, but to know you as you are. Help us to approach our reading carefully, being sure not to miss the context or larger story into which each passage fits. I pray that this time would produce much fruit in us as we come to meditate on your holy revelation. In Jesus' name, Amen!
5. Meditating on the word brings wisdom, prosperity, and success. (Joshua 1:8)
NIV Version
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.
Note: many people think that prosperity and success comes from having power, influential personal contacts, and a relentless desired to get ahead. But the strategy for getting prosperity that God taught Joshua goes against such criteria. He said that to succeed Joshua must (1) be strong and courageous because the task ahead would not be easy, (2) obey God's law, and (3) constantly read and study the book of the law-God's word. To be successful, follow God's words to Joshua. You may not succeed by the worlds strongholds, but you will be a success and God's eyes-and his opinion is most important.
6. The word brings stability, fruitfulness, and fulfillment and all that we do will prosper (Psalm 1:3)
NIV Version
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in season.
Note: The phrase "whatever they do prospers," does not mean immunity from failure or difficulties. Nor does it guarantee health, wealth, and happiness. What the Bible means by prosperity is this; when we apply God's wisdom, the fruit (results are byproducts) we bear will, be good, and will receive God's approval. Just as a tree soaks up water and bares luscious fruit, we also are to soak up God's word, producing actions and attitudes that honor God. To achieve anything worthwhile, we must have God's word in our hearts.
7. God's word upholds, guides, maintains, and propels the universe. (Hebrews 1:3)
NIV Version
The sun is the radiance of gods glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
Note: Not only is Jesus the exact representation of God, but he is God himself-the very God who spoke in Old Testament times, he is eternal; he worked with the father in creating the world
(John 1:3 Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.
Colossians 1:16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.)
He is the full revelation of God. You can have no clearer view of God than by looking at Christ. Jesus Christ is the complete expression of God in a human body.
8. God's word has the power to create. (Genesis 1)
NIV Version
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. And God said, “Let there be a vault between the waters to separate water from water.” So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And it was so. God called the vault “sky.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the second day. And God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear.” And it was so. God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day. And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day. And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky.” So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day. And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.”
Genesis 1:1-31 NIV
http://bible.com/111/gen.1.1-31.niv
Closing Prayer
Thank you, father God, for letting us gather to learn about what your word does for us. Thank you for focusing our eyes and hearts on you. Thank you for giving us and allowing us to gain insight, knowledge, and wisdom along with the ability to share and bless others with it. Thank you for bringing us together in fellowship and learning. In Jesus' name, Amen!!!
I'm so thankful that we have such a wonderful and amazing God!!!
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