And the Devotional Book I Recommend for 2020 is……
… the Bible!
Apple pies are great. I love them, especially with whipped cream or ice cream on top. They make a great dessert, and yes, even with everything else that goes into them, the apples provide real nutrition. Even so, for a daily breakfast routine I would recommend an actual apple over an apple pie. I just think an actual apple is more nutritious than an apple pie. That doesn’t mean I’m throwing grandma’s apple pie recipe away. It just means on a daily basis I eat actual apples. My stomach only holds so much food and if its filled with apple pies, then there won’t be any room for actual whole apples.
Its the same with devotional books and the Bible. Of course God created us to be social creatures. I actually learn from other people’s comments in Sabbath School class and on Sabbath School Net. I learn from books other writers have written. So I am not suggesting you throw away your new 2020 devotional book any more than I am suggesting throwing away grandma’s apple pie recipe. Just make sure you are eating plenty of whole apples, and make sure you are actually reading the Bible. While serving as a literature evangelist I learned that during the years Arthur Maxwell wrote the Bible Stories , he read only the Bible as he did not want anyone else influencing his depictions of the Bible stories.
Image © Sally Weimer from GoodSalt.com
The other day I was teaching a 4th-grade Bible class in a local Adventist School in which I occasionally substitute. I asked the children why do we pray before reading the Bible? I received several good answers, but my favorite came from a boy who answered “Because Proverbs 3 says we are not to trust our own understanding but to depend on God for understanding.” What a great application of Proverbs 3:5 I thought! 2 Peter 1:21 tells us that those who wrote Scripture were moved by the Holy Spirit. In John 16:13 Jesus assures us the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth. The same Holy Spirit that moved the writers to write those words thousands of years ago, is the same Holy Spirit that teaches us as we read those words. The Holy Spirit can teach you as easily as any theologian.
When I preach on Sabbath I like to make sure I use plenty of Scripture. That way if my own thoughts are worthless at least people got to hear actual Scripture, which is valuable. Most of my illustrations are my own, but of course I get ideas from others as well. When we read the Bible for ourselves we also have ideas the Holy Spirit gives us to share with others. If we do not read the Bible for ourselves then we are only getting ideas from others. This is not fair to them or to us. We are not contributing our fair share and others are doing all the thinking for us. A mother breastfeeds her infant with the hopes that one day the infant will grow up to feed him or herself. Likewise we should not always rely on other authors to feed us. God wants to teach us all how to find our own spiritual bread in the Bible.
In Ezra’s day there was a reformation and revival as the people turned back to the reading of the Word. I think our church today is in desperate need of a revival and reformation inspired by the reading of the Word.
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I have a habit of reading the Bible through each year. Normally I read a plan that goes through the Old Testament then the New, but now that I have been reading a chronological plan I like it better. Even though I read the Bible each year there is always something that I read that I could almost swear was not there before! God's word is awesome.
Thanks William. I only started really reading the Bible about 10 years ago after being a Christian for more than 40 years. I did study the Scriptures when I studied the SS lesson or read devotional books. But just reading the plain scriptures and depending on the HS to teach me has completely transformed my understanding of God’s character. I don’t have a goal of so many chapters per day. I just read, sometimes a few chapters, sometimes a few verses because I stop and pray and reread and cross reference and wrestle with understanding. Sometimes it takes two years to get through the entire thing. Then I start all over - and discover new treasures with each rereading.
I read the bible sometimes, in order to refer to a text that I have read before, and have a purpose. To read the bible through as some in my SS class have done several times. In my opinion, to read the bible through as an accomplishment,does not provide understanding of all that is being read. I go to scripture to find the meaning of a word , verse, or, chapter, in order to find something that I believe, and have read that can be applied to my life.
Really? One of the things I value most about the Bible is that I can discover things that are not being taught (or not being taught accurately) within my denominational fellowship. Reading the Bible has enabled me to confirm that our established, consensus SDA doctrine (e.g. the unconscious state of the dead and the mortality of the soul in Gehenna) is fully sound. It has also helped me to avoid some the errors that are oft repeated, and sometimes become popular, in SDA circles. For instance, our view on the nature of man has become rather materialistic, with the soul being seen as nothing more than a combination of body and spirit (breath). Then I read Jesus telling us not to fear those who can destroy the body but cannot kill the soul. This has the effect of pulling my personal views back to the proper balance, and interestingly confirms that the Protestant teaching of "soul sleep" was always spot on.
William, I think you have exquisite taste in devotional reading material! Besides, like the apple (even a few, if you like
) Scripture (Isaiah 55:2; Ps 81:10,16) won't make any unwelcome midriff tissue deposits--unlike a half, or even a whole of some "apple pie" recipes out there!
By the way, please place an apple on the desk of that 4th grade student. You can put it on my tab...should we ever cross paths
!
I began a yearly through the Bible Study in in 2015 and found it to be such a great blessing that I have continued since that time. For me there is no better devotional than Scripture, and I continue to find new things each year, and to understand more deeply the things of God.
I only wish that I had started this years before and I thank God for His grace and mercy for continuing to call and direct me to read His Word. God willing, I plan to continue as long as I am able to see and read.
For 2020 I plan to do a chronological study as I have found it most helpful this quarter in understanding how Daniel, Jeremiah, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Haggai, and Zechariah all fit together. Knowing how the historical events occurred in time, help me as I prepare to lead out in the lesson study.
May God richly bless you as you continue to search the Scriptures daily!
Interesting, we all have different tastes. God created us with that ability,