HOW are your daily devotions going? I ask because I recall this question being asked of a group of men, church leaders, sitting around a meeting table where we were discussing various church concerns, especially the spiritual well-being of several under our care. I remember that sort of “deer caught in the head light” stares down at the table, and heard several reasons (i.e. excuses) for inconsistencies and lapses in this discipline. At that moment, in the back of my mind I thought of 1) my own struggles past, and present, in this area, and 2) the convicting axiom that “you can’t lead people any further than you’ve gone yourself.”
I RECEIVE a daily devotional email from Grace Gems. One that captured my attention on this topic of daily morning devotions and prayer is as follows:
…may we gather supplies of heavenly manna–even the precious nourishment of [the] Word. Thus may we be strengthened for each conflict, nerved for our upward race, and empowered for more than conquest over every foe. We know that Christ is the open channel for all blessings to descend upon us. [We need to consistently seek] until the sluices of mercy widely open, and our souls are so replenished that there shall be no room to receive more.
DAILY devotions are a strange thing in this hurry-up society we live in. I like the word meditation rather than devotions; but both have merit in definition, aim, and purpose. Carving a time out to spend with His heavenly Father was a regular practice of our Lord and challenges us all to a valuable disciple that is not easy to develop. Martin Luther is quoted as saying, “I have so much to do today that I shall have to spend the first three hours in prayer!” But of course, he didn’t have all our modern distractions or so called “time saving” devices we have today. So just what did our Lord mean when he said that, “…without Me you can do nothing” or “…you can bear no fruit “unless you abide in Me” (John15: 3-5)?
THE point is, healthy spiritual growth in Christ is dependent upon daily nourishment. What parent sends their child off to school without an adequate breakfast and a lunch in hand? Just like our bodies need proper rest and feeding, so does our soul and spirit.
Phil. 4:8-9 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
I STARTED collecting “quotations” many years ago, writing them on scraps of paper or post-its, tucking them away in different places. But I was more then a little un-disciplined at it and should have taken better care in recording and organizing them. I now chronicle them in an Excel based “quotation log” helping me to retain and recall them. I found this to be a helpful habit building discipline, so I started logging in my daily devotional readings as well. I know some who advise journaling to aid in building the practice of daily devotions.
LOOKING to my left there is a small bookshelf next to my desk of “daily reading” resources for encouragement and refreshment. The number of books found there continue to grow, along with a growing list of email subscriptions that provide further “in coming” food for thought and daily contemplation. Most importantly the Scriptures are at the center of my daily readings, keeping me centered.
IT seems like God’s word never ceases to amaze me; this is no hyperbole. I recall recently a visiting pastor conducting chapel at school, and he opened a very familiar scripture revealing something –at least to me- that I had never seen before. I was truly blessed. I’m mentioning this because it was a reminder that life is not static, and we need to be ever learning from the dynamic, living Word of God. (Heb. 4:12) We face many difficult things, we need to be reminded over and over that the “trial of our faith IS more precious than gold than perishes” (1Pet 1:7), driving us back to that single source of strength that alone can redeem and deliver a weary soul, the one eternal water brook that satisfies a trembling and thrusting heart. Psa. 42:1-2*
ONE of my favorite contemporary Christian writers is Andree Seu Peterson, who writes for World Magazine. A comment of hers caught my attention: There is an easy way to “test yourselves” and check “whether you are in the faith” (2Cor. 13:5) at any given moment: anxiety. I am talking about a handy self-diagnostic tool -a kind of spiritual breathalyzer- and I check myself several times a day.” …Now of course, you need to have the full context of this statement to get all of what she is saying here, –but that’s my point, the necessity to make and take the time to get the full context of the instruction. So again, let me ask that opening question: How are your daily devotions going?
THERE are so many entertainments and distractions in today’s world, we really need to spend quality time in the good stuff, the whatsoever things of Philippians 4:8, rather the whatevers of this postmodern age that would engulf and drag us down into faithless anxiety and fear.
AS I read Andree Seu Peterson, I thought of individuals I encounter daily in the context of Phil. 4:8, wanting to encourage each to seek out and make good use of the good stuff that God has provided for our daily edification, comfort, and joy. The blessings of the Lord are already yours in abundance (Eph. 1:3), but we are so forgetful and need the constant reminder and encouragement every single day that the joy of the Lord is indeed our strength. Neh. 8:10
WELL, there is more that can be said on this. But that’s enough for now. In the next comment, we’ll return to where we left off in the Principle of Position. In the meantime, meditate on what is said, meant, and the implications contained Phil. 4:8 in your daily time alone with your Lord.
*As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God… . Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God. Psa. 42:1-2, 11
