12/15/2023
Do you read a simple devotional each morning? Is it one that speaks God’s Word to you in an interesting new way, or alternatively, is it one that takes what is comfortable and bends God’s Truth to fit it? Finding the right author who doesn’t caudal your humanity at the peril of your spirituality is the challenge. Either an author who shows you God’s word in a new and challenging way, or one who might be doing harm to God’s Word, can affect your faith… one increases it, while the other can mislead you and do your faith great harm. Who do you read?
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15 ESV
Reading devotional messages can make the Bible come alive, and can give us a view of scripture that allows us to grasp it as we see it offered in a new way by presenting it in the context of our own lives. Sometimes the author allows us to borrow his words as he expresses a truth that we have been struggling to put into words of our own; but take care because there can be great danger in this as well. Discernment is always imperative.
Over the course of my life there have been resources that I have turned to when I was trying to form an opinion regarding a new product, or before selecting a purchase. These aids can give us confidence, and allow us to make decisions about our everyday lives with some degree of reassurance. You probably do the same as you explore such sources as a wise friend’s advice, look for the “GoodHousekeeping Seal of Approval” on a product, read the “Kelly Blue Book” concerning automobiles, or look to “Consumer’s Report” for information on a broad swath of items. When we are dealing with spiritual ideologies and interpretations we need a similar trusted source to reassure us. We need to lean on the Word of God itself, prayer, and the leading of the Holy Spirit. It is also good to seek out several established commentaries to determine what is considered commonly accepted thought.
“But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness,”
2 Timothy 2:16 ESV
Second Timothy speaks some words of warning to pastors, other religious workers who relate God’s Word to someone, and devotional authors as well; this is a warning to us personally too. We should be challenged by Paul’s words as individuals. I am not simply referring to what we say to others, but in what we read, hear, and allow to modify our own view of scripture... our understanding of God’s Word, and our personally evolving Theology. Oswald Chambers warns us of this when he writes these words:
“The author who benefits you most is not the one who tells you something you did not know before, but the one who gives expression to the truth that has been dumbly struggling in you for utterance.” - Oswald Chambers
Theology is the study of God and religious belief, but when someone refers to “their theology”, they are referring to a very specific, or narrowly focused, view of God, and the religious truths and approaches that they themselves base their own faith on. There can be danger in theologies, but on the other hand there is irrefutable truth and safety in God’s Word.
This year I have been reading “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers, and loosely basing my writing on where this daily offering has taken me. I sought out this devotional after careful consideration, and yet there were still some offerings that I couldn’t agree with; and that I took exception to. This is how we should ingest spiritual thought... mull it over, and then weigh it against the Word of God, generally settled truths, and those other resources I spoke of earlier. It is our responsibility to determine what is truth as opposed to fiction by asking ourselves; is this something I believe to be true, is this something I take exception to scripturally, or perhaps... is this something that has opened my eyes to a previously unseen truth and has modified my own theology by so doing?
During the coming year I will read, and write once again using, “The Power of Prayer” by E.M. Bounds as my catalyst. You are welcome to read along with me so that at the very least you will know where many of my thoughts each morning have been birthed. Correctly selecting a devotional book, or, as some have referred to my own writing as being, “mini-lessons”, can enrich us spiritually. They can move us quickly into scriptural thought and jumpstart our day’s journey into faith, but just as with any journey we take, there are decisions we must make along the way... do I believe this to be the way I will travel, are the directions I am reading correct, and will they lead me towards my desired destination… eternity in God’s presence?
I invite you to walk with E.M. Bounds, and me, over the coming year, but I also ask that you not only follow along, but that you become a fellow traveler... insuring that you personally believe that the way Bounds and/or I are leading us each day is true and spiritually good.
“The Word of God is the fulcrum upon which the lever of prayer is placed, and by which things are mightily moved.” – E.M. Bounds
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for leading me on a journey of faith through your Word, and providing me with your Holy Spirit to serve as my guide. I thank you for those who write devotional messages that help open my eyes, and guide my thought each day, but I also thank you for giving me spiritual insight that makes my journey a personal one based on your truth, and how you would will me to walk. Lead me Father; allow me to walk as if to Emmaus, with Jesus Christ as my fellow traveler and steadfast companion. Give me discernment Father that keeps me ever on the right path, and let your Holy Word be the one true roadmap that I ultimately follow. Excursions are exciting Father, but I pray that they will always bring me back to the main road I should walk, and that will insure my successful arrival at where you await me. On my arrival I will shout and sing your praises, I will rejoice in a successful journey and sit at your table as we discuss the details of the trip... Great are you Holy Father, and greatly are you to be praised!
Rich Forbes