“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

What a compelling and encouraging verse to meditate upon as we go into a new year! The context of the verse reminds us that the great prophet and deliverer of Israel, Moses, has died, and the nation of Israel stands poised to enter the Promised Land. The baton of leadership has changed hands and now Joshua receives these powerful and strong words from the Yahweh.

Here we are, standing poised to enter a new year. Like Joshua, we do not know what foes we will encounter. All we know is that “there are giants in the land.” So God tells us, just as he told Joshua, that we will have good success in all that we will do and we will make our way prosperous.

English speakers wish others a “Happy New Year” while those in Spanish speaking nations say, “Prospero Ano” or “Have a prosperous New Year.” In order to have a prosperous New Year we must be strong and courageous keeping God’s law in our mouths and meditating on it day and night (Joshua 1:8). The word of God hidden in our hearts is essential to our prosperity.

There are many ways you are encouraged at RMPC to keep God’s word central to your life:

• The Sunday morning sermon is always going to expose God’s word before you so that you more clearly understand the gospel, having heard it preached.
• The Sunday school classes, from the pre-school to the adult classes, will always have biblical themes and principles as their foundation.
• A plan for reading through the Bible in a year is included in the bulletin and on the website.

Here are some additional ways you can keep the word central to your life:

• Encourage your Life Group to memorize a verse or even an entire chapter of Scripture for the year. Call it your theme verse for the year. Recite it and rehearse it at each Life Group meeting.
• Read a portion of Scripture each day with your spouse or entire family. Choose a verse or passage to memorize as a family. Make it your verse or passage for the year and recite it often.
• Take some time each day or each week to be quiet and meditate on the Scripture you heard preached on Sunday or that you read that morning. Meditation simply means hiding it in your heart then bringing it to your mind throughout the day.

I am praying that RMPC is going to experience an unprecedented year in spiritual growth and numerical growth in 2015. It won’t be because of clever advertising or creative/innovative additions to the worship service. It won’t be because I’m going to try harder or because you’re going to try harder. It will be because we are going to maintain and strengthen our focus on God and his Word.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9