Monday, October 24, 2011

DEVOTIONAL SUGGESTIONS



DEVOTIONAL SUGGESTIONS

Your Tools

Every disciple of Christ should own a King James Version of the Holy Scriptures… without marginal notes.  Additionally, you should have a good unabridged English concordance of the Bible, such as Strong’s or Young’s or Cruden’s, to help you find verses of interest and to trace themes and doctrines through the Scriptures.  A spiritual principles diary is also helpful to make a lasting note of the things which God reveals to you from His Word.  A sample page is included in this exercise which can be duplicated into a sufficient number to fill a loose leaf notebook.  Finally, a good hymnal is most helpful for both private and group devotions.

Your Workshop

Find a quiet place, away from family, friends, and the telephone.  It should be a place where you have maximum privacy, where you can commune with God and pour out your heart without fear of interruption.

The Time

Everyone’s schedule is different.  The most suitable time for your communion with God is something that you alone must decide.  It is usually best to stick to the same time every day, give or take a little.  Make sure that you give God your best time.  It should not be when you are sleepy or too tired or distracted by other cares of the day.  Do not plan for a devotional time of more than fifteen to thirty minutes at a time.  Remember, this is not a Bible study.  It is a time of personal fellowship with God, your Heavenly Father who loves you and is concerned about every detail of your life.  God is looking for ways to bless you and to make your life more meaningful and fulfilled, but this is not possible when He has no opportunity to speak to you and to direct you.

The Devil will try to convince you that there is not really good time available in your schedule at present and that the thing for you to do is to postpone starting your personal devotions until a more convenient time.  The problem is that a more convenient time never arrives, so do not let the Devil talk you out of the blessings of spiritual growth and fellowship with the One who loved you so much that He died for you that you might have eternal life and abundant life as well.  With a sincere desire for a closer relationship with God, you can expect opposition, but God respects sincerity and wants you to succeed in overcoming the obstacles.

A Suggested Plan

Although it is desirable to read through the Scriptures, this is no time for unrealistic goals or too fast a pace.  Quality is more important than quantity at this time.  The disciple must come with a heart seeking the face of God and not as a student studying a text book.

If possible, try to read a portion from the Old Testament in the morning and another from the New Testament in the evening.  This provides variety.  Record in your spiritual principles diary precious verses and exciting truths, as God lays them on your heart during this time.  Do not forget that God speaks to us through His Word, so what we receive from Him is most important to our lives, and lessons taught by God should never be forgotten.  There may be times when you will wish to review your spiritual principles diary to see evidence of your spiritual growth and to recount the blessings that you have received directly from the hand of Almighty God.  Counting your blessings can be a wonderful inspiration and a cause for praise to the Lord.  The most important things are your communion with your Lord and Savior and learning the lessons which He sets before you.

It is best to be systematic in your reading as opposed to letting the Bible fall open to a random place.  The themes of God flow through the entire Bible and He can speak to you on any subject of need when you are following a systematic plan of Scripture reading for your devotions.  Do not use the Bible like a Ouija Board unless you prefer to hear from the Devil instead of the Lord.  Sometimes it will work as desired, but all too often the practice of letting the Bible fall open at random and placing one’s finger on it to discern the will of God leads rather to openings for the Devil to play tricks by causing the words to be taken from context and wrongly applied.  Discerning the will of God is no game to be played in imitation of the black arts of witchcraft.  That is not necessary.  God is more concerned about your knowing His will for you than you are, and He does not make it difficult to discover.  The things that keep a child of God from the revelation of the will of God are insincerity, disobedience to what has already been revealed to them, sin in their lives with which they refuse to deal and seeking truth in unapproved ways, like the one described here.

Select your own topic of interest.  For example:

Read a chapter of Psalms a day…… for worship and devotion.
Read a chapter of Proverbs a day…… for wisdom and character.
Read a chapter of Joshua a day …… for courage and guidance.
Read a chapter of the Gospels a day…… for example and blessing.
Read a chapter of Romans a day…… for doctrine and interest.
Read a chapter of Galatians a day…… for liberty and grace
Read a chapter of Malachi a day…… for warning and judgment.
Read a chapter of Corinthians a day…… for morality and warning.

Warning

·        Do not let your communion be one-sided.  Give God a chance to speak to you
(1 Samuel 3:1-10)
·        Avoid complicated portions of Scripture such as Revelation, etc.  (2 Peter 3:16).
·    
    Believe God for His promises and personally apply them to your heart (Hebrews 11:6)

·        Do not have your devotions in bed, unless you are confined to bed for some reason, like sickness or injury.

·        Do not rush your devotions.

·        Pray and ask God to guide you in the choice of the book of the Bible you will begin reading in your devotions.  Do not become stumped by waiting on sky writing from God to tell you which one.  Ask for His leadership and move forward to the choice with confidence that He will keep His promise to answer your prayer.  Your choice will be just the right one for you, and God will speak to you from His Word.

·        Always finish what you start.

·        If you are floundering and seem not to be enjoying this time of fellowship with the Lord or getting nothing from it, contact your minister and ask for his help.

SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLES DIARY

Make an accurate note of all you want to remember – leave nothing to memory.

Date                                          Occasion                                                                    Time              

Reference                                                                                                                                            

Principle                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                                           

My Personal Application                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                                                           

Cross References                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                           

 Date                                         Occasion                                                                    Time              

Reference                                                                                                                                            

Principle                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                                           

My Personal Application                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                                                           

Cross References                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                           

Date                                          Occasion                                                                    Time              

Reference                                                                                                                                            

Principle                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                                           

My Personal Application                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                                                           

Cross References                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                                          

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