Sign up for The Good Stuff

Our weekly newsletter filled with news, updates, and inspiring stories of how God is working in the Bay Area.

"*" indicates required fields

Sign up for The Good Stuff

Our weekly newsletter filled with news, updates, and inspiring stories of how God is working in the Bay Area.

"*" indicates required fields

Everyone wants to be successful and prosperous. When we set our mind on something we can get ourselves far, but when we set our minds on the Bible we are able to reach true, satisfying success. Lets look at how we can love the Bible with all our mind.

With All My Mind

Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:7-9 NLT

We all want to be prosperous & successful in all that we do; however the key to success is the Bible. Not just reading it, but having the willingness to apply your mind to the Bible through studying scriptures, meditating on them & obeying themStudying is defined as the devotion of time and attention to acquiring knowledge on a subject, especially by means of books. To meditate is to think deeply or focus one’s mind for a period of time, in silence and to obey is to put into practice and to apply.

Test It Out

140 Your promises have been thoroughly tested; that is why I love them so much.

Psalm 119:140 NLT

Putting the bible to the test leads to loving it because you will see its power. Decide to apply one thing you read today.

Going back to the scripture in Joshua, he had to lead Israel across the Jordan river into a new territory where everything was foreign to them. What uncharted territory are you experiencing in your life? Sometimes it seems safer to stay in familiar territory, but God gives us the bible as a guide. If you study & meditate on it, it will lead you in the right direction to go and how to handle the unfamiliar situations you are confronted with.

105 Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

Psalm 119:105 NLT

The Bible guides us into uncharted territory lighting our path.

The Enigma of the Heart

For the inward thought and the heart of a man are deep.

Psalm 64:6 NASB

“The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?

Jeremiah 17:9 NASB

The heart is a complex & confusing thing to understand. Knowing why we do the things we do is essential to growing. And the bible is the guide for the heart.

12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12-13 NIV

The Bible is the only thing powerful enough to get to the heart. Excitement for the Bible comes when you read it and allow it to penetrate your heart.

What Hardens the Heart

3 This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:

“Plow up the hard ground of your hearts!

Do not waste your good seed among thorns.

4 O people of Judah and Jerusalem,

surrender your pride and power.

Change your hearts before the Lord

Jeremiah 4:3-4 NLT

The good seed of God’s word cannot take root in your heart when the weeds of a proud and embittered heart are covering the surface of it. The key to softening your heart is surrendering your pride and power. How do you see your pride come out? Is it hard to express need, vulnerability, feeling hurt? In what ways do you need to surrender your power? Do you need to be okay with not having control over your emotions and others?

Water the Bamboo

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:9-11

A fact about bamboo trees is that they do not grow for the first four to six years after being planted.  After that point, they grow 90 feet tall in 60 days (G.Bell, 2009). Some things take time. How quick are you to quit on the Bible because you expect instant results? When things don’t happen right away, it’s not because God’s word doesn’t work. Things take longer when your heart is hard. That is why we need to let the Bible change our hearts.

 When Scriptures Lay Root in Your Heart

…a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces his character in you.

Ephesians 4:24 MSG

The Bible changes lives. When we make decisions to live our life by it we develop His character in us. Seeing other people’s lives change because of the Bible also renews our faith in the power of the scriptures.

Challenge:

  • Read Psalm 119 this week.
  • Study it, meditate on it, and obey it.  Re-ignite your love for the Word.
  • Ask someone who knows you what areas of your heart you’ve hardened to. Then, take that on and start studying that out in your Bible.

Written by

Bay Area Christian Church

This was created by a member of the Bay Area Christian Church team.