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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