Welcome to another day the Lord has made that we should rejoice and be glad in. (Psalms 118:24)

As mentioned yesterday, Pastor Foley preached from today’s scripture. He gave us the three ‘P’s for God’s prosperity. It’s my plan to present each one over the next three days.

Today’s scripture, Joshua 1:8 (NKJV) still instructs…This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Consider…
According to today’s verse, as explained by Pastor Foley, practicing God’s word is the second key to achieving God-success.

Notice the LORD tells Joshua, and us to OBSERVE and OBEY.

Oxford Languages defines observe as notice or perceive (something) and register it as being significant.

Thus the first act of practicing God’s word is paying attention to it and registering it as being significant.

That looks like…

• Psalms 119:111 (NLT)…Your laws are my treasure; they are my heart’s delight.
• Psalms 119:129 (NLT)…Your laws are wonderful. No wonder I obey them!
• Psalms 119:138 (NLT)…Your laws are perfect and completely trustworthy.
• Psalms 119:144 (NLT)…Your laws are always right; help me to understand them so I may live.

It also looks like Psalms 19:7-11 (NLT), which declares…The instructions of the LORD are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. [8] The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight for living. [9] Reverence for the LORD is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the LORD are true; each one is fair. [10] They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. [11] They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them.

God’s word is registered as significant when we see it as vitally important to us!

Perhaps one of my favorite verses that expresses the importance of God’s word to me is Psalms 119:105 (NLT)…Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

That’s because the verse says we can’t see/know what to do (steps) or where we’re going (paths) without God’s word. That’s seems pretty significant to me.

That ran my mind to the Apostle Paul’s scripture significance registration in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)…All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. [17] God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

And then there’s Hebrews 4:12-13 (NLT) word significance registration…For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. [13] Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.

The last thing I will say about the significance of God’s word is that we don’t have to wait for a word from the LORD because He has already spoken, we just to read and obey what He’s said.

Which leads me to the second half of practicing God’s word, which is OBEY.

In Leviticus 18:4-5 (NLT) God tells His chosen people…You must obey all my regulations and be careful to obey my decrees, for I am the LORD your God. [5] If you obey my decrees and my regulations, you will find life through them. I am the LORD.

As an aside, when reading commands the LORD gave me the Children of Israel, remember He was talking to His chosen people, and then remember 1 Peter 2:9a (NLT) declares…But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession…

Therefore, when God says you must obey, that’s a command pertinent to us today still. In fact Jesus said in John 14:15, 21 (NLT)…“If you love me, obey my commandments.
[21] Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

And emphasized further in John 15:10, 14 (NLT)…When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.
[14] You are my friends if you do what I command.

Clearly, obedience is key to living in God’s love.

In fact 1 John 2:3-6 (NLT) explains further…And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. [4] If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. [5] But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. [6] Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.

Knowing God requires obedience, otherwise the Bible says we’re living a lie.

So you don’t think John is the only one that understood Jesus’ emphasis on obedience, 1 Peter 1:14 (NLT) commands…So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then.

When I set out to write this post, I thought about practicing medicine, which AI Overview says means applying medical knowledge to diagnose, treat, prevent, and alleviate diseases, injuries, and ailments in people, involving activities like prescribing medication, performing surgery, offering advice, and making clinical judgments, all while adhering to legal standards and professional ethics, and it’s a blend of science (evidence) and art (judgment and patient care).

Redeeming that for God’s word reads…
Practicing God’s word means applying His knowledge to diagnose, treat, prevent, and remedy sin and it’s injuries, and ailments in people, involving activities like providing instruction, requiring forgiveness, being a living sacrifice, and transforming our thinking, all while adhering to God’s righteous standards and Holy expectations, and it’s a blend of examples (evidence, Jesus) and art (judgment and patient care).

So today practice God’s word by OBSERVING and OBEYING it in all we think, do and say, because it means you’ll have done everything God’s way.

Today’s song is…
I Stand On Your Word

Blessings 4HG (1 Corinthians 10:31)