Deepen My Desire

 "The Bible does not thrill, the Bible nourishes. Give time to the reading of the Bible, and the recreating effect is as real as that of fresh air physically."

Oswald Chambers, 1874-1917

 

I was moving around my matted prints and found this snap from Christmas 2020. The ceramic Christmas tree reflection in the kitchen window made a cute snap beside the bird feeder.

 

I have always enjoyed spending some of my devotion time each morning reading from devotionals. I have many. I use them all the time. But at the end of 2021 my spirit told me to spend more time in the Bible.

 

So I rearranged my "devotion time shelf" next to my chair. My hymnal, Bible (covered n one of my first quilting projects), my commentary and a new last year devotional and new this year devotional.

My current journal sits up front so I can write in it when I find something I want to keep.
 

 

That's the order I now begin with. I chose the Gospel of John for an in depth study to start the new year. I'll read Scripture then open the commentary and read the same scripture. After that I sing a hymn from the hymnal. It's only been 18 days but I'm enjoying this format very much. The I read the two devotionals.

On Crosswalk.com the January 7 devotion was titled "Encouragement for Today," written by Corrie Gerbatz. She touched on this subject.

"While I manage to set aside a daily quiet time (at least, most days), much of that time has been spent consuming all the “extras” in my faith-filled collection. From books to podcasts, praise music playlists, online sermons and daily devotions my shelves are stacked with resources that are encouraging and insightful, lifelines of hope, beautiful works of art, no doubt created by people who love the Lord."

And we all enjoy those extra faith-filled items that keep us singing and thinking. But how many are too many. Especially if spending time in the Bible is squashed down to just a few minutes?

Our first year in PA we took a drive to see the snow and found this cat in the window of an old barn.  

Gerbatz continues: "Paul understood that Scripture was not just a nice collection of stories and rules to share for informational purposes only. He knew that Scripture is the very Word of God, alive and active, (Hebrews 4:12) with the power to be transformational in a believer’s life. And Paul desperately wanted others to understand this truth, too.

"Friends, we are those “others”! The Good News of the Bible then is the Good News of the Bible today. Throughout the chapters, the Lord graciously provides wisdom and direction for our daily lives — rebuking, correcting and training us in righteousness. He clearly lays out His redemption plan for our broken world through the sacrifice of His Son. And He reveals His heart to us so we may know our true identity in Him."

My journals are filled with quotes and paragraphs I've pulled from my devotion books.  Many are lifelines of Hope as Corrie Gerbatz said. And I go through my journals often to refresh my mind on the encouraging and inspiring words, as well as challenges.

                                 One of my favorite snow snaps in PA. The colors just fit!  

 I encourage you to focus more of your time in the Bible this year and the wealth of information, direction, inspiration and help it gives. I'm noticing a BIG difference in how I feel. I know you will too!

My pastor shared these words in a recent online devotion: "The more that we study and hear Gods word, the more we can look at moments in life and recall Gods words and repeat them for comfort, peace, guidance, thankfulness, trust etc. These words are ones that we don’t ever want to stop from going over and over in our hearts, minds and mouths. The book of Psalms is a wonderful book in which we can see this occurring over and over again." Pastor Jim Fillhart

So . . . what are you reading? Make sure God's Word is at the top of the list. It's the best book in the world!

 "No one ever graduates from Bible study until he meets the author face to face."

E. T. Harris

 "This book [the Bible] is a supernaturally inspired unveiling of ultimate reality."

Chris Tiegreen