REFLECTIONS ON PERSONAL DEVOTIONAL LIFE OF THE BELIEVER
KEY VERSE – It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Gal. 5:1) SECONDARY THEME VERSES: “A man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ” (Gal. 2:16); “If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing” (Gal. 2:21).
THEME: Salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone releases us from the yoke of the law, freeing us to live a life of love through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Legal (Imputed) Righteousness: We are justified by faith in Christ (Gal. 2:16). Imparted Righteousness: Immediate Moral Change at conversion (Gal. 6:15); Gradual Moral Change through the fruit-growing work of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22) which requires our cooperation (Gal 5:16-17, 25, 6:8). We cooperate by using CCRC (Concentration, Choice, Reflection and Confession/Thanksgiving. Foundational verse, “By one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” (Heb. 10:14)
Good Teachers: (1) Constantly re-evaluate what they are doing; (2) Set large goals; (3) Ask – “Does everything I do contribute to learning?”; (4) Prepare well; (5) Check for understanding; (6) Like teaching; (7) Get results from their teaching; (8) Have perseverance. Don’t give up.
TEACHING GOAL: The show how profound was the problem to God of providing a way of forgiving people for their sins.
TEXT FOR THE DAY:
But whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. (Psalm 1:2)
‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest command-ment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments. (Mt. 22:37-40)
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1:35)
REFLECTIONS ON THE PERSONAL DEVOTIONAL LIFE OF THE BELIEVER
1. The Primary Goal of The Christian
2. Our Lord – A Role Model in Relating to the Father
3. Some Ways to Cultivate Our Relationship with God
4. Practice Using the “My Encounter with God” Form
I. THE PRIMARY GOAL OF THE CHIRSTIAN
‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. (Mt. 22:37-38)
QUESTION: Scholars talk about the ‘antiquity’ of this command. What do they mean?
QUESTION: Scholars talk about the ‘dignity’ of this command. What do they mean?
QUESTION: What is the main purpose of this command, its main thrust – theological, ethical, anthropological, sociological?
Anthropological – Man has the ability to love; Theological – God is the supreme being; Ethical – Love is the primary ethic of Christianity; Sociological – God’s primary concern is that we have a relationship with him.
Sociological – God’s primary concern is that we have a relationship with him.
II. OUR LORD – A ROLE MODEL IN RELATING TO THE FATHER
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. (Mark 1:35)
QUESTION: What did Jesus’ day look like in Mark 1:21-39?
Vs. 21 They went to Capernaum
Vs. 22 On Saturday he attended the synagogue and taught.
Vss. 23-28 He healed a demon possessed man who was in the synagogue.
Vss. 29-31 Visited Peter’s house, healed mother-in-law, ate, rested.
Vs. 32-34 Whole town gathered at the door, healed various diseases, drove out demons. What time did they go to sleep?
ILLUSTRATION: My travels with a team of workers in the Madiun area. Mitsubishi pick-up made into a van, six guys. Drove together, ate together, slept together. Sleeping on floor, hard church benches. Showered outside using old 50 gallon drums of water. Ate, often cold food that was hard to choke down. But with these guys all day, every day visiting markets, handing out tracts, preaching in village markets using heart chart … but only for a week at a time. Jesus lived like this for three years with no place as a retreat, to go home too. And there were at least 13 in the group. Obviously you learn to move at a slower pace. Sleeping on the floor in the middle of the day. And then responsible for the group.
QUESTION: What time did he get up on Sunday morning, the day after the Sabbath? “Very early in the morning, while it was yet dark.”
QUESTION: What are some reasons why the morning is a good time for personal devotions?
QUESTION: How did he get out of the house without being heard? Have you ever tried to get over 12 bodies and find your way to the door, unlatch the door in dark without waking everyone?
QUESTION: Where did He go? “A solitary place.” Is it hard to find a solitary place? Stood in the laundry room for an hour in North Carolina, sit in the car if we are traveling, sometimes in the middle of a field, on a park bench, a quiet place in a restaurant, an isolated lobby in a hotel … it is easy to find a quiet place early in the morning in the USA. Very few people are up early in the morning.
QUESTION: What did Jesus do?
He prayed. We have Bibles and books and lights. We can pray and also study the Bible.
III. SOME WAYS TO CULTIVATE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR HEAVENLY FATHER
ILLUSTRATION: My personal experience – How I came to the Lord; 30 days after conversion at PBI. Morning and evening devotions at 6:30 and 9:30; Devotional Life as a family. From the day we were married, the day Doug as born, always 30 minutes personal devotions and 30 minutes family devotions. Yet, in 1995 during crisis in our family I decided that I really needed to get serious about my devotional life. I decided then that every morning I would spend one hour with the Lord.
But how do I fill up one hour? I could study the Bible for thirty minutes and pray for thirty minutes. But I had been doing that for thirty years. And on top of that praying for 30 minutes straight was difficult. So I decided to develop a Personal Devotions Program … just like we have for a church program.
The first 20 minutes I would sing hymns. I thought if I memorized the hymns then I wouldn’t be tied to a book. I would be able to close my eyes and sing them to the Lord. This I have followed and presently have memorized over 150 hymns. As you see that is only 10 new hymns a month. I don’t memorize them during devotions. I do that while I walk or exercise at the gym. What is a blessing it is that I often go over these hymns in the night before I sleep or when I wake up. Hymns are easier to memorize than verses because of the rhyme.
I also now take the first three minutes of my worship time to memorize verses, and continue to memorize and review verses every day.
I decided the next 20 minutes would be prayer. I made a new list of prayer requests, broke them into 7 days, certain requests for each day of the week.
Eventually I came to develop 6-7 new prayer requests for each new year. These I pray for daily throughout the year, and then pray for the other requests that are set for each specific day.
Then I set aside the last 20 minutes for Bible Reading and Study.
The key is not so much the system or program or plan although it is good to have a good plan. It keeps your devotions interesting. What is important is consistency.
Ps.119:147 “I rise before day and cry for help . . .”
Ex. 16:22 “Each morning everyone gathered as much [manna] as he needed.”
Dan. 6:10 But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.
IV. PRACTICE USING “ENCOUNTER WITH GOD” FORM
But whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. (Psalm 1:2)
*** A fresh understanding of spiritual truth does not lead me to an encounter with God; It is an encounter with God.
“You thrill to God’s Word, you chew on Scripture day and night.” (The Message)
My paraphrase = “God’s true follower finds great pleasure in Jehovah’s precepts. Her rejoices in them and reflects on them continually and habitually.”
2. IMMERSE MYSELF IN THE MEANING OF THE TEXT
What do I look forward to? What brings me great happiness and joy? Have I ever said, “’If only I had this’, or ‘If only I could do this’, then I would be happy”?
3. MAKE ADJUSTMENTS IN MY LIFE
What do I look forward to? What brings me great happiness and joy? Have I ever said, “’If only I had this’, or ‘If only I could do this’, then I would be happy”?
What is it that “delights” my heart? What brings me great pleasure and happiness? A good movie? A good book? Sex? Participation in some sport? A road trip? A vacation? A visit with a friend? Listening to good music?
While reading other books is fine, I need to always keep God’s Word as foundational and primary.
4. WRITE A PRAYER TO THE LORD BASED ON MY STUDY
“Father, please lead me to be like the ‘Blessed Man’, to thrill at reflecting and meditating on your Word. May I find as much pleasure in your word that I continually, yes habitually, find meditating on your Word my greatest joy.”
5. WRITE THE THEME OF THE TEXT IN 7 WORDS
“Reflecting of His Word – A Believer’s Greatest Pleasure
***** The program / plan / system you use is not of primary importance. What is primary is consistency in daily setting aside time and consistently hearing the voice of God through your quiet time!!
SO WHAT???
1. Our primary concern, based on the First Commandment, should be to cultivate a relationship with God.
2. Spending time with God, in worship, prayer and Bible study is the only way to cultivate an intimate relationship with our heavenly Father.
3. Our plans or programs for our devotional times may vary but all of us must to the same in consistency. Our devotional time must become an ingrained, daily habit in our lives.
4. If at all possible, set aside time in the morning, an hour if possible, for your personal devotions.