NEW YEAR, NEW BEGINNING

You might say to me “I do my daily devotions, but I read a devotional book. What is wrong with that? Aren’t they books based on the bible?”

My response to that is to remember that there is only one book in the universe that is God-breathed (II Timothy 3: 16).  It is given to us for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.  So while I am a big fan of good devotional books we need to remember that it never replaced our time directly in God’s Word.  So in my mind it is not an either/or thing—it’s a both/and!  But first and foremost, we need to go directly to the Word itself for God-breathed instruction.  The Bible has stood the test of time.

So I want to encourage you to read the bible through this year.  We have a hard copy of the bible reading plan that we will do together this year.  You can pick it up at the welcome center anytime.  You can also visit this website http://www.lifejournal.cc when you get there click online devotional and it will have our Bible reading for the day.  You can pick a translation, it will have commentary and if you don’t feel like reading it will read it for you if you like.

I also want to encourage you to take it a step further and begin to journal at least 3-5 days a week using the acrostic SOAP.  I will leave you an example of this below.
Just think of the spiritual renewal and awakening that will occur in our lives, homes and our church when you have hundreds of believers getting alone with God in His Word, recording what He is saying and Obeying His voice.  Get ready it will be an awesome year. I hope you will step up and make the commitment to spiritual growth.

Over the next few weeks I want to answer some questions that you may have like.  Why should I Journal?  Which Bible translation should I use?  Why is it so important to have a daily devotional?  Or What if I miss a day or two?  I am praying for you that God will bless you in an incredible way.
 
I want to give you an example of journaling with the acrostic SOAP from Wayne Cordeiro’s book The Divine Mentor p. 89
As you read through the bible, pick a verse from the reading that speaks to you…
 
SCRIPTURE:  “Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the Lord shall send against you, in hunger, in thirst…” Deuteronomy 28: 47-48
 
OBSERVATION:  God doesn’t want us just to serve Him, does He?  No, it’s the motives behind my serving that catch his attention.
I can serve out fear of retaliation.  I can serve for a desire to be applauded. I can serve to be noticed, rewarded, given credit, or even granted recognition—but here God says “I don’t want you to serve me out of mere duty. I want you to serve Me with a joyful and a glad heart.  It is the motive and the heart behind what I do that make what I do life-giving.
 
It is not for want of anything.  It is simply for the joy of serving….
 
APPLICATION:  If my motives are wrong in serving, I can still serve; but when I am done, it will leave me hungry and spiritually thirsty.  Serving is designed to fill my heart, but if my motives are wrong, I will go away empty, tired, depleted, burned out and angry that others and angry that others didn’t help me more… I have to change-not my serving, but the heart with which I serve.
 
PRAYER:  Father, my prayer is this: Please seal this truth to my heart, so that I might be a true servant.  Help me to serve with a joyful heart, for indeed the joy of the Lord will be my strength.