The daily devotions

At the heart of this site are the daily devotions.

THE VISION FOR THE SITE   The devotions and Bible studies on this website are freely available for your use privately or in Bible study and prayer groups. The vision for this website was received in 2005, and now thousands use the site and its resources every day.

HOW IT WORKS  At the heart of the site are the regular daily devotions.  To access these from the front page, click on the ‘Select Devotions’ button.  This takes you to the ‘SELECTIONS PAGE’, where you will see a list of dates and texts. To start your devotions, click on the date.  You will then find that you are on the main ‘devotions’ page for the day you have selected.  Alternatively, you can access the devotions directly from the front page by click today’s date on the ‘quick links’.

SUNDAY - SABBATH  On Sunday, the author provides a prayer, prayer suggestions, a meditation, and a ‘thought for the day’.  This break from the usual pattern allows the author to have a weekly ‘Sabbath’.

DICTIONARIES  The site holds five dictionaries of Biblical words, places, names, events in the Bible, and books of the Bible.  Follow any dictionary link or click on any RED words in the study to obtain a pop-up window with a dictionary description of that word.  Once in the dictionaries, you can explore more of what it has to offer.

DOWNLOADS  You can download each day’s devotions as a ‘pdf’ file, and print it out.  On any list of devotions, click on the nearby ‘DL’ for the relevant download.  The devotions will appear on your computer as a standard ‘pdf’ format.  Some will prefer this for reading the devotions because it is in black and white.  The site contains a page entitled ‘downloads.  This contains most of the devotional downloads for the last four years.  It is a store of information for those wishing to research the Bible

Please note:  he downloads can only be read if you have Adobe Reader installed.  Most computers have this already, but if you do not, then you can download it free from www.adobe.com

RECORDINGS You can access an audio file of each day’s devotions (containing the brief Bible study only).  At this time, the author’s software does not support the streaming of audio files, but it is hoped that this will change.  Recordings are a relatively recent innovation, so there is no extensive back store of these recordings, as yet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to establish regular devotional disciplines

TIME TAKEN  The devotions will vary in length depending on which sections you chose to use.  The prayers, meditation and brief Bible study will take about ten minutes, but full devotions using every available feature could take between ½ and ¾ of an hour.  It will be helpful to allow time to think and pray apart from the discipline of using this material.

DIFFERENT WAYS TO USE THE MATERIAL  Some people find a daily discipline difficult, but there is no shame in using the time differently or flexibly.  Find a pattern for using the site that suits you best, and prayerfully submitted this to God. It may be, for example, that weekdays are best, but not weekends.  Certainly, if you are only able to use the devotions for a few days each week, you can always catch up on the Bible studies from where you last accessed them.  The Bible study pages DO NOT DISAPPEAR from the site.

I suggest you make your routine of devotions a matter of prayer, and select those resources that are right for you.

A VOW TO GOD   In Old Testament times, making a discipline of devotion to God would be thought of as a ‘Vow’, something like a holy contract with the Lord.  Such a vow should not become oppressive, however.  If your devotions become hard to sustain, prayerfully reconsider everything and change what you do.  Talk to the Lord about it; for He is not a legalistic taskmaster, He is our friend, encourager and advisor.  The discipline of a vow is for our benefit, not His, and He will help us work out what is right.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using devotions at the weekends

SABBATH DEVOTIONS  The author takes a break during the week to honour god as his Sabbath.  He does not write every day.  The different devotions provided on the Sunday signifies this important feature of Christian life.  In addition, the prayer suggestions cover a wide range of topics, not to give you plenty to pray about, but to suggest things to you for prayer that you may not have otherwise considered.

SORT OUT YOUR LIFESTYLE CHALLENGES  During the week, the user is encouraged to use the site’s scheme of ’Discipleship Challenges’ (see page with this tile).  In the cycle of these challenges, the weekends are a good time to assess what has happened within the last week, and decide what challenges may be appropriate for the next.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to use the prayers

OPENING AND CLOSING PRAYERS The opening and closing prayers are all written by the author, but reflect different styles and cover a wide range of subjects.   Mostly, they are not linked to the Bible study themes.  Sometimes, prayers are suggested rather than directly written, or guidelines are given about how to pray or what to pray for by yourself.

All the prayers are either prayers of worship to God, prayers about others (intercession) or prayers about personal concerns (petition).  These different categories are mixed up on a daily basis, so that together with the meditation and the ‘suggestions for prayer’ (see below), most aspects of prayer are covered in any one day.

SAYING YOUR OWN PRAYERS  When there are suggestions about saying your own prayers, they may include:

It is important for each of us to grow and develop in how we pray.  Unfortunately, praying has become a thing of fear for many Christians; people even say ‘I can’t do it’.   However, we can all talk to God, and if we know Him as Saviour, He is our friend (John 15:15).  Prayer is a great privilege of course, and the place to start is with words of normal conversation, and there is nothing to be afraid of.   Your own prayers are very important to the Lord, as He really does want to know what comes from your heart.

‘SUGGESTIONS FOR PRAYER’  Each day there are suggestions for prayer based upon a weekly theme, and they are provided for your own use in intercession.  You can take these prayers as far as you like.  A brief prayer is helpful, but the topics may sometimes provoke you to research the subjects further before praying.  In this way, you broaden your own understanding and experience of both prayer and the world in which we live.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Using meditations

USING YOUR MIND TO WORSHIP GOD  Meditating is, for the Christian, nothing less than allowing our minds to dwell without distraction on our Lord and God.  It is a way of using our minds to worship the God who made us, and to put thought, reason and reflection into our faith.  A meditation is provided every day, sometimes in poetic form, to help you do this.

FILL YOUR MIND WITH WHAT IS GOOD  Some think it is unchristian to ‘meditate’ because other religions do it!  Really, meditating just means ‘thinking about’, as in Philippians 4:18 ‘whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable ... if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think (meditate) on such things’.   Indeed, Psalm 1 encourages us to meditate on the ‘Law of the Lord’.

So then, Christian meditation should fill your mind with what is good and of God.  Other religious practices use meditation to do other things with the mind; techniques used in some cults are rather like brainwashing, and others such Yoga focus on ‘emptying’ the mind.  This is not the Lord’s way.  His way is to liberate us to think about and experience the world as free individuals, and the Scriptural model of meditation is based on ‘wisdom’, the art of reflecting upon what is right and wrong in the world.  As we meditate and He fills our minds with what is good, and He blesses us.

THEMES  There is no structure to the themes provided by the meditations.  As with the prayers, the variety provided by the authors own spontaneous selection of subjects from a wide variety of sources enables different people with different interests or concerns to connect with the devotions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to use the Bible studies

STUDYING THE BIBLE  Studying the Bible is the privilege and duty of all Christians.  Through it we broaden our own faith and understanding as God reveals His truth to us.  For this reason, the passage of scripture provided each weekday has a substantial commentary.  Please do not be put off by this, for they can easily be read in 10 minutes, and the aim is to give the reader a good understanding of all the main features of the text.

Careful study is like giving yourself permission to allow God’s Word to dwell in your mind, so that you can engage in some serious thought.  You should feel free to make connections with the life of Faith, as people have done for centuries, and the Holy Spirit will work in your mind to bring a focus to your thoughts if you have submitted your study to Him.

BIBLE TRANSLATION USED  The Bible study page has the relevant passage of scripture in the author’s own translation.  In most recent studies, there is a section in the main Bible study called ‘NOTES ON TEXT AND TRANSLATION’ and this explains the way in which difficult parts of the text have been translated.

Some might feel that this is not necessary, but you will find that most modern versions of the Bible vary considerably, and ordinary Christians have the right to know why scholars translate the Bible in such different ways.  Uniquely amongst modern Bible study notes for everyday people, these devotions offer a justification for the translation and explain the complexities in ordinary English.  It is crucial for people to know what the words of the Bible actually mean, if we are to believe that it is the ‘Word of God’.

A PATTERN OF STUDY NOTES   The notes follow a pattern.  They begin with a section entitled ‘REVIEW’ which summarises the message of the text and gives a brief message.  It can be used for those who only have a short time.  A short paragraph at the end of this entitled ‘going deeper’ explains the issues to be dealt with later in the main Bible study page, if the user wishes to use the full study.

The Bible study on the main Bible study page begins with this ‘REVIEW’ and continues with ‘NOTES ON TEXT AND TRANSLATION’ as explained above.  The bulk of the remaining study continues under the heading ‘GOING DEEPER’ and has secondary headings to help you follow the study, The study ends with a section headed ‘APPLICATION’ in which issues are discussed which arise from the text and are relevant for today.

PASSAGES OF SCRIPTURE   Since the website began in 2005 many books of the Bible have been studied, and the author is gradually adding all his work to the ‘BIBLE STUDIES’ page where you can access all the work done to date in the project.  At present, roughly one quarter of the Bible has been completed, including just under one half of the New Testament.  The whole project should be completed in 2018.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Taking notes and using the questions provided

TAKING NOTES  At the end of each set of study notes, you are encouraged to write down a few notes by way of reflection on the scripture you have read.  I suggest that a few notes written regularly will provide a helpful summary of your thoughts that can easily be accessed at a later date.  I suggest you create a file on your computer for this purpose.

If you make even simple brief notes over a period of a few months, your daily notes will build up to a considerable store of personal theological reflection.  This can be a source of great interest for you, later on, for they are a record of our growth in understanding the Lord and His Word.  If you are preacher, you will find these noted invaluable.

USING THE QUESTIONS PROVIDED On the final ‘Discipleship’ page, you will find a set of questions which relate to the text and the study for the day.  They are designed to do one of two things; either to assist you as you reflect upon the passage you have studied, or to be used by Bible study groups.  It is not the primary purpose of the website to assist Bible study groups, so you will not find that the questions cover all the necessary ground for exploring a given text.  It is hoped they will be a useful starting point for Bible study group leaders as they prepare for guiding discussions.

If you use the questions to prompt your own thoughts, please do be careful.  They can assist you if you do not find that your first reading is fruitful; however, do try to respond to what the Holy Spirit is saying to you directly through the Scripture text, rather than through study and the questions.  These are written with the intention of helping you find what the Lord is saying to you through the text, not to dominate what you think of it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discipleship challenges

A PLAN FOR CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP   The material provided in this website is a new approach to the disciplines of Christian living.  At the end of every study, I offer some thoughts about how the text might effect Christian lifestyle and discipleship.  It would be impossible for anyone to take up all the issues that are raised, so please read them out of interest, but do the following in order to follow a plan for developing your Christian discipleship.

LIFESTYLE CHALLENGES   Firstly, please read the website page devoted to ‘lifestyle challenges’ and download the guidelines for your own reference.  To begin with, it is best if you choose one of the subjects mentioned on this page to get going with your lifestyle challenges.  These include such things as fasting, giving practical help to neighbours or praying for friends. The lists of suggestions on the Lifestyle Challenge page are suggestions, and are certainly not exhaustive.  Decide what is right for you, and adapt them as you wish.

When you are used to the programme, then you will be able to read the discipleship comments at the end of each study and spot issues that you can make into challenges yourself; things you feel that the Lord is asking you to follow through. The worksheet available on the ‘resources’ page are useful for all such challenges, whether selected from the published list or chosen by you from the daily devotions.

The idea behind this is that we hold together the two great challenges of the Christian faith, our relationship with God and our relationship with others. Day by day, you respond to the issues of discipleship that the Holy Spirit brings to your attention.  This can be spiritual and practical hard work!

FAILURE? It is almost impossible to take on any challenge and not have to deal with failure.  Sometimes what we plan does not work out or is not well received.  We should expect these problems sometimes.  Think about why things have gone wrong, and come prayerfully before the Lord to try and sort it out.  We often learn more from our mistakes than from our successes!

SUCCESS!  Taking on lifestyle challenges will certainly help you to live out your Christian faith with fresh vigour.  It may seem daunting at first, but it is not hard to follow.  Those who have done this programme testify to its life-changing effects; problems overcome, new relationships established, and a new sense of God’s presence in the ordinary things of life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other comments

CHOOSE TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE   If you have not had regular devotional times before, this website is essentially an invitation to change your life.  When people decide to change their lives and do God’s call whatever it is, then revival happens in the life of one person.  Taking up the challenge of regular devotions that are focussed on the traditional truths of Prayer and Bible study is life changing.

THE WEBSITE MATERIAL IS FREE FOR YOU TO USE AS YOU WISH   The material available on this website is free.  It has been written for committed, daily use, and the author hopes that however much or little of it you use, you will strive to use it regularly.  It is designed to help you uncover the inner strength and guidance God offers you through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, not just when you feel like it, but regularly.

PRACTICAL TOOLS FOR HANDLING REAL LIFE   The author does not pretend to offer simplistic solutions for your own troubles or those of the world, society, your church, or your family.  He hopes that if you take up the challenge of this website, you will have the tools to deal with the ups and downs of real life in a practical way, confident in the ever present Holy Spirit to guide you. 

CHOOSE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE   As you use this website, pray that by the power of God’s Holy Spirit you will find the vigour, calling, insight, self-control, maturity, honesty and humility to make a positive difference in this world.  Pray also that any evil that prevents you pursuing a Godly life be defeated in the name of Jesus Christ.

RENEWAL and REVIVAL   The author is convinced that the evidence points to prayer, Bible study and disciplined Christian living as the beginning, the means, and the end of Renewal and Revival, whatever the culture or time (in history).  He seeks to live what he preaches.

‘COMMON’ ENGLISH IS USED  Technical theological or ‘churchy’ words are avoided, but sometimes they are an indispensable shorthand for ideas which cannot be expressed any other way.  There is  a ‘Dictionary’ page on this website where such words are explained. The dictionary is a feature of the site that will grow with time and will be added to as the author is able so to do.

ADDRESSING GOD   I use the expressions ‘God’ and ‘the Lord’ interchangeably, as do the Psalms.  In commenting on individual texts I use whichever term is used most in the verse or psalm I am describing.  The pronouns referring to God (‘You’, ‘Your’ etc.) are capitalised.  This implies a sense of the awesomeness of God, similar to the praise of God in the Psalms.