Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Sharing My Daily Devotions with You

Like everyone else, I have my routines that I do everyday. They are such  a normal part of my life that it is easy to forget that not everyone may enjoy the ones that I do.

For example, every night, whether I am sick, so tired I can't keep my eyes open, or we are away from home, I read all of my devotions before I go to bed. There are at least six of them. I thought I would share them with you because they speak to me every night through scriptures and the wisdom from those that write them.


I read them in the same order every night. I start with the Daily Bread which is a free publication from RBC Ministries. It is a monthly publication with a devotion for every day written by Pastors and Christian leaders such as William E. Crowder and H. Dennis Fisher. A page of scripture follows each devotion.


The next one is the monthly InTouch magazine from In Touch Ministries by Dr. Charles Stanley. There are wonderful articles by Dr. Stanley and others with a daily devotion in the back called "early light" with scripture references.

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young is the most talked about new devotion right now. It is a yearly devotion written through the inspiration of the presence of God in Sarah's life. The beginning of the book explains how it all came about for her to hear personal messages from God. It is one of those devotions that always seems to have just what you needed to read that day. It is available in most Christian bookstores, or here at Amazon.com .


 
The other three or four devotions I read every night vary. Right now I am reading 100 Days of Prayer for Women, a gift from my husband. There are many books like this out in the marketplace to encourage the specific needs of women. Check out that the book is scripturally sound and it can be an assest to your scripture reading and prayer life.

Another such book is by Beth Moore, one of my favorite evangelical woman bible teachers. I have done many, many of her video/workbook bible studies through my church and she has a way of getting God's word to you in a clear, scripturally sound and funny way. Her book Praying God's Word, Breaking Free from Spiritual Strongholds is a must read. It looks like a bible with leather cover, gold gilt on the page edges and an attached ribbon bookmark (it is the fourth one down in the first picture). The chapters include subjects like Overcoming Idolatry, Overcoming Unforgiveness and Overcoming Food-Related Strongholds. She includes scriptures and prayers you can recite to help get you through that particular stronghold.


 
My newest devotional reading is a book called Prayers for Prodigals, 90 Days of Prayer for Your Child by James Banks. These are direct prayers to God written by Dr. Banks for his children. They are encouraging and are a model for how we can specifically pray for our children too. It is published by Discovery House which is the same publisher for RBC Ministries.

Last but not least I am reading a book called Heaven written by Randy Alcorn. It is 476 pages long and I am on my third renewal from the library to finish it! It gives a lot of insight and scripture on what Heaven will be like for those who have given their lives to the Lord. He covers everything from what we'll eat and drink, what our relationships will be like to the animals that will be there, and everything else in between. A very good read. According to Stu Weber "Other than the Bible itself, this may well be the single most life-changing book you'll ever read".

Of course our Bible should be the first source we go to for answers for all that goes on in our lives. A devotional can supplement that and help interpret things that you are experiencing in your life daily. If you were thinking of getting a new devotion to read or just need some encouragement in a particular area, I hope that these particular ones that I enjoy reading will become your daily devotions too.

AnnMarie :)

9 comments :

  1. That's a lot of devotions to read each day. You are so committed. I love the book Heaven by Randy Alcorn. One of my favorites. I've read it twice now.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great idea! I love Beth Moore: ) and I use to carry the Daily Breads in my cami pants pocket when I was in the Military: ) Great reminder!

    ReplyDelete
  3. You remind me of my mom. She has her routine as well in the morning.
    She reads a Proverb, then a Daily Bread, then prayer. Wow you read a lot of books. You are a great encouragement to me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wonderful books! I want to read at least two of the ones you mentioned here :) Thank you for sharing them with us. It is always good to be mindful of what's currently out there. My Grandma used to read the Daily Bread all the time, too! She'd have it on the side table, and I'd often read through it :) Very nice memories of her.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Whose the handsome guy on your nightstand...very blessed man to have such a Godly woman ;)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Staying in the Word is essential to our spiritual lives.

    ♥♥♥
    Sue

    ReplyDelete
  7. I hadn't had a "Our Daily Bread" in a while but it just so happens I picked up the June one last week at church. I wish I was as disciplined with my reading though. I'm going to try to be more faithful with that one for now.

    ReplyDelete
  8. They do a Beth Moore study at my church every semester but I haven't had a chance to attend. Now you've motivated me to go get a few of her books at the library. It is always necessary to be encouraged by God's word daily. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  9. What a blessing! It is so great to hear what others read for spiritual help and guidance - such a great habit to get into. I find somehow no matter how tired, I find renewal as I read the Bible or devotionals at night (although mine are not as extensive as yours!).

    Beth Moore is a favorite. My husband and I watch Charles Stanley at InTouch Ministries before we take off for church Sunday mornings. Our pastor was inspired to preach a series of sermons on heaven after reading 'Heaven'. I've always wanted to read it.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment...I treasure each one! Do you know if you are a no reply comment blogger? I love to reply to your comments but sometimes instead of an email there is a noreply-comment@blogger.com. It can easily be changed by changing the setting in your blogger profile to "show email address".