The word of God was being written as the disciples did their ministry following the resurrection. Matthew and Mark, for example were written in the 60s (Remember Jesus ascended in 33 AD) So what does it mean when we see "word of God" in the New Testament?  Simply the message of God to us as humans.  Isn't that appropriate and right?  God has spoken and He has spoken through Creation, His miraculous acts, The Person of Jesus on the earth, and His word.  Here are all the places where the phrase "word of God" is in the New Testament. 
Matt. 15:6; Mark 7:13; Luke 3:2; 5:1; 8:11, 21; 11:28; John 10:35; Acts 4:31; 6:2, 7; 8:14; 11:1; 12:24; 13:5, 7, 46; 17:13; 18:11; Rom. 9:6; 1 Cor. 14:36; Eph. 6:17; Col. 1:25; 1 Th. 2:13; 1 Tim. 4:5; 2 Tim. 2:9; Titus 2:5; Heb. 4:12; 6:5; 11:3; 13:7; 1 Pet. 1:23; 2 Pet. 3:5; 1 John 2:14; Rev. 1:2, 9; 6:9; 19:13; 20:4
​As you think about them, and read them.  Thank Him for His faithfulness in not keeping us wondering.  He has spoken in His Son!  Praise God! 

In Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians, he was complementing them on their faith and affirming them in their confession of Christ.  In so doing, we get a great picture of the power of God's word in the life of one who comes to Him.  Here in chapter 2 verse 13 he says it clearly:

1Th. 2:13   And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.
The word of God is not just text on a page, but God's love communicated to us. Its power is what it does inside... the second part of v. 13 says it so well.  "which is at work in you believers".   Praise God! 

Paul the apostle wrote the most epistles.  He had a standard greeting that is found in almost all of them.  It is "Grace to You and Peace from God Our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ".  Here's the 10 places I found the phrase:

Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3; 2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:3; Eph. 1:2; Phil. 1:2; Col. 1:2; 1 Th. 1:1; 2 Th. 1:2;
​Philem. 1:3
Within this phrase is the essence of the Gospel.  On the one hand is God's activity toward us.  GRACE.  The unmerited favor of God.  On the other hand is our response to that GRACE...... PEACE.  The anxiety that sin brings is gone.  The joy and peace that comes from believing is the result of having experienced what the hymnwriter called:  "Wonderful Grace of Jesus, Greater than all My Sin". Praise God! 

When we pray the Lord's prayer.  We look up!  Jesus told His disciples to "Pray this way".  That's pretty specific!  "Our Father who is in HEAVEN". He is far above the troubles of this earth.  Holy is His Name. It's His plans that are the priority.  The "Holy" adjective describes His nature.  God has not accommodated sin into His existence.  He is perfectly holy. What does this do for the believer?  It clarifies who we're praying to.  It magnifies the reality that there is One who has watched over us in the night.  There is the only God who superintends all that we encounter throughout the day.  He's aware and acquainted with our ways.  Praise God! 

The opening phrase of the Lord's prayer helps us to orient to who we are talking to.  He's not our boss, though He is.  He's not our mentor, though He does mentor us.  It says "Our Father".  He is the one that created us.  He belongs to us.  The second part of the phrase is even more insightful "Who are in heaven".  He is where He's supposed to be, unaffected by the drama of earth, though intimately acquainted with us.  Stuart Hamblen was a Los Angeles writer who found Christ as he was investigating Billy Graham's Los Angeles campaign back in the 50s. After becoming a Christian he wrote a song entitled "How Big is God?"
When we pray "Our Father, Who are in Heaven".  I think about how big He is and in control He is.  Stuart Hamblen wrote.  "How Big is God?  How Big and wide His vast domain, to try to tell, these lips can only start.  He's big enough to rule this mighty universe.  Yet small enough to live within my heart".  Our Father, who art in heaven!  Holy is Your Name!  Praise God! 

Sometimes it's we learn more about God's nature by considering what He doesn't do.  The Lord's prayer is a good example as Jesus told His disciples to pray: "Lead us not into temptation". That's valuable because God NEVER TEMPTS anyone. James reminds us: ​James 1:13        No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone. 14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire.
What a great promise from His word.  God isn't in the business of tempting. ever. When we read further we discover where temptation comes from (James 1:13-15)
The reflection on the fact that God does not ever tempt us, as we pray, is a powerful reminder of what He does....Deliver Us From Evil.  He is able to Deliver!  Praise God! 

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, I doubt that they understood how profound the answer would be.  "The Lord's Prayer" (Matt 6:9-13; Luke 11:2-4) as it has been known through the thousands of years of tradition, has been taught about, orchestrated into grand musical productions, and found its way in many forms of literature.  There is one phrase that blesses me every time I pray it.  "But deliver us from evil" That's right.  He is a Deliverer.  Evil is present in the world.  As Jesus told His disciples on another occasion, 
John 16:33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”
Why has He conquered the world?  Because He is a deliverer!  Praise God! 

Doing things for Jesus is often referred to as ministry.  The root of this idea is service.  Volunteers make the church work.  Why?  do volunteers, volunteer?  I would like to think it's because they love God and appreciate His great grace and it motivates them to serve others.   I'm sure some volunteer out of duty or guilt as well.  When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, he gave a window into the idea of "joy". He was referring to the love that He had for the new Thessalonian church when he said:

Th. 2:19 For who is our hope or joy or crown of boasting in the presence of our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?

Is it not you indeed.  The joy of ministry is what makes volunteering fun.  It's what makes it meaningful.  Seeing the light come on in a person's soul, or the relief from comfort given in a time of pain, or the growth and maturity over a series of ups and downs.  God has provided that we would have joy in the task of serving!  

Praise God! 

The apostle John was a unique individual.  His gospel is distinctively different from the other 3, where he opens it with a highly theological tone.  His Gospel emphasizes the moment of decision, or belief in Christ.  He also wrote the last book in the Bible, Revelation.  I have a youtube playlist all about it!  He also wrote 1, 2, and 3rd John.  As one who walked with Jesus, and then later wrote under the inspiration of the Spirit, it's important to notice how he uses certain words.  The word today is "confidence".  It's in 1 John 4 times.  That's important because it's a short book with only 5 chapters.  Two of the verses, 1 John 2:28 and 1 John 4:17 both mention confidence before Christ at His coming.  1 John 3:21 simply mentions "confidence before God" and the final one in 1 John 5:14 mentions the confidence we have before Him that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us.  Confidence for us in every circumstance because of the Gift that He gave!  Praise God! 

There is nothing quite like the local church.  From generation to generation, every week, believers gather (in person and online) :-) To express their love of God as a community.  Jesus promised that where two or three are gathered in His name, He is there. (Matt 18:20)  Older believers model to the younger how to persevere through trials, trust God for miracles, and learn the power of His promises. The rich and the poor meet together in fellowship like no other organization on earth. (Proverbs 22:2) The church in Thessalonica was special for Paul the apostle.He had started it and only been there for a few months when he had to run for his life out of town.  (Acts 17:1-10) When Paul heard later about them, they were thriving.  The victory note of 1.& 2 Thessalonians is found on every page.  Paul, under the inspiration of the Spirit, emphasized the value of the church:

2Th. 2:13        But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God has chosen you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. 14 He called you to this through our gospel, so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold to the traditions you were taught, whether by what we said or what we wrote.

The Church!  His Body!  Our Community!  Praise God! 

Jesus turned water into wine. (John 2:4-11) It was His first public miracle.  He calmed the storms of water with one word. (Matt 8:26) When He went through Samaria and began to get thirsty we discovered something new.  As he asked for a drink, he got in a discussion with the person known only as "the woman".  It's in this discussion we discover this wonderful and interesting phrase.

John 4:10        Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would ask him, and he would give you living water.”
John 4:11        “Sir,” said the woman, “you don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep. So where do you get this ‘living water’? 12 You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are you? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and livestock.”
Following that discussion with Jesus, "the woman" became an evangelist.  It changed her life:

John 4:28        Then the woman left her water jar, went into town, and told the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?”
Later, while in the temple, He made this grand declaration about the Holy Spirit! 
John 7:37        On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 The one who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, will have streams of living water flow from deep within him.” 39 He said this about the Spirit. Those who believed in Jesus were going to receive the Spirit, for the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.

An encounter with the Living Water is a life changing moment of deliverance and a perpetual joy in the Holy Spirit!
​
Praise God! 

It's not Thanksgiving, but we can still talk about it. It's a Christian virtue.  It's not a virtue because of what we've done, but because of what He's done!   I'm thankful for the love of God.  I'm thankful for the grace of God.  His faithfulness is worth celebrating! He has superintending love! He watches over us while we sleep.  He has promised to keep in peace those whose mind is stayed on Him! (Isaiah 26:3) He has led us with wisdom all the days of our lives when we didn't know what we didn't know! (James 1:5) We have abundant reasons to be thankful 24/7!  Not every English translation conveys the exact word thankful the same.  It is noteworthy that in the NIV the word "thankful" is only translated 3 times.  

Col. 3:15       Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Col. 4:2       Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
Heb. 12:28       Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,

When Jeremiah was a prophet.  His message wasn't well received by the King.  God called Jeremiah to prophesy the truth about the nation's sins and the king didn't like it.  The king didn't like it so much he put him in jail.  Several things happened to Jeremiah during this time, (read about it chapter 32) but it was at the end of that event that God spoke to Him a second time.   His circumstance had not changed.  Neither had God's mercy and provision:

Jer. 33:1        While he was still confined in the guard’s courtyard, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah a second time: 2 “The LORD who made the earth, the LORD who forms it to establish it, the LORD is his name, says this: 3 Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.

Praise God!

Titus is.a short epistle.  It is also written by Paul.  He writes to encourage him in his church leadership ministry.  Toward the end of the book, Paul makes a significant distinction between human religious effort, aka "good works", and the activity of God.  It is God's activity that is so abundant and valuable.  It is also for some reason the thing we forget about.  It's often so easy to focus on the efforts that we do, probably because it's observable and measurable.  Look up!   He has done the work!  It's all been motivated by His mercy!
​Titus 3:5 he saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to his mercy--through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit. 6 He poured out his Spirit on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior 7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we may become heirs with the hope of eternal life.
Praise God! 

The King James Version was so well done, sometimes the phrases translated still ring powerful and grand. One of these places is in 1 Peter.  I had the privilege of memorizing this book decades ago when I was on a Bible Quiz team.  The wonder of God's word becomes a treasure when its memorized.  Although it requires work, you literally have the Bible inside of you.  Here is the verse.  Enjoy the great hope that it gives:
1Pet. 1:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

Praise God!

Sometimes a question is a declaration.  I think of the disciples after Jesus had calmed a wild storm on the Sea of Galilee.  All He did was say "Be still" and there was complete calm (Mark 4:39).  The disciples said to each other "Who is this? that even the winds and seas obey them".  Isaiah was prophesying in the Old Testament and made a similar statement as he looked up into the sky he was taken with the wonder:

Is. 40:26     Look up and see!
    Who created these?
    He brings out the stars by number;
    he calls all of them by name.
    Because of his great power and strength,
    not one of them is missing.

Not one of them is missing!  Praise God! 

Context is everything.  I appreciate lists of verses.  I really do.  There are times when the next verse really clarifies the meaning of the word.  Romans 3:23 is a good example.  For years it has been quoted to make the point that everyone is a sinner.  That's quite true.  I have to share that I already knew that.  Sin is problem number one within the human frame.  Verse 24 provides a powerful context that communicates the Gospel.  Here is Romans 3:23-24 and I'll let the Scripture speak for itself.

Rom. 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 

​Praise God! 

One of the things that makes the Bible the Bible is that the writers of the New Testament, many of whom had seen Jesus alive after his crucifixion, do two very important things.  First, like Jesus, they quote extensively from the Old Testament and refer to it as Scripture.  Second, their information is often of eye-witness quality.  John, Matthew, and Peter often use the phrases "we have seen" (Luke 5:26; John 1:14; 3:11; 20:25; Acts 4:20; 1 John 1:1–3; 4:14) and "we ourselves saw" (2 Peter 1:18) Peter also refers to the writings of Paul as Scripture (2 Peter 3:16)

 knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:19-20)  A reliable word. Praise God!

When you notice the quality of an item, read an online review, or listen to the details of the latest advertisement, you hear this phrase.  There is nothing like true craftsmanship.  The woodworker, the manufacturers, and the artist share a common bond.  The mark of quality.  Paul used a phrase with the Ephesians that has resonated with the church for generations.  
Eph. 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time for us to do.
Because of the care and work of Christ.  We have quality and value!  Praise God!

It's interesting how internet searching has enabled our study of the Bible.  If you spend much time "googling"  you know that putting a phrase IN quotes restricts your search to that exact phrase while the opposite gives you every word in every context.  The English translation "Love of God" is in the Bible 4 times.  Each of them is in the New Testament.  Each one is in a different book.  Here they are:

Rom. 8:39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2Cor. 13:13        The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

1John 2:5 But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him:
Jude 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting expectantly for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ for eternal life.

Nothing can separate, the love of God is with us, the love of God is shown by us when we keep His word, and we can keep ourselves in His love while we wait for His return!  Praise God! 

Every year, the sports world considers and postulates who will win the superbowl.  In addition, we look forward to seeing how creative the advertisers will be and if their ingenuity will cause the millions to consider their product.  The writer of Hebrews clearly makes the case that Christ's sacrifice was "once for all".  As a part of that discussion he asks us to consider Him. 

Heb. 12:3        For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, so that you won’t grow weary and give up.
A powerful reminder to keep trusting, believing and hoping because He is worthy! Praise God! 

Everyone has sinned.  This is made clear multiple times in the Scripture.  Some of the most well known are Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23.  
There was only One who didn't sin. Paul makes this point clear in 2 Corinthians:

2Cor. 5:21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

He literally stood in place for us so that we could accept His offer of forgiveness and have the assurance of eternal life.  This removes the fear of death and the fear of the future!  Praise God! 

I love this verse because it literally says it all.  It talks about the way we are saved.  
It zeros in on the absolute and clear truth of God's grace as the agent in not only initiating salvation, but sustaining it.   Here it is in Ephesians:

Eph. 2:8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift--

​Praise God! 

A current praise song directs attention to the Lord and has this phrase:  "You can light it up."  How true!  Jesus clearly stated:
John 8:12    Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”
John 9:5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

Following that logic, He not only declared himself to be the light, but included us!
Matt. 5:14        “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden."

Praise God!