“The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.”
John 6:63 (NIV)
The terms devotion and devotional are linked with the verb “to devote.” Webster’s dictionary defines this verb as “a solemn act of dedication involving the giving of oneself wholly, as the focus of one’s attention is centered completely on the other.” When we have our devotional time with the Lord, we should be focusing our attention completely on God and giving ourselves wholly to Him and to the time we’ve dedicated to Him.
I’d like to look at why it’s important to spend time with God and study His Word. The first reason is because we are in covenant with Him and His Word is the primary way He has revealed Himself to us and therefore the primary way in which we get to know Him.
The Bible describes the church as the bride of Christ. Unfortunately, in today’s society, many see marriages simply as a legal contract. A contract is when two people enter into a legal agreement whereby if one person does not live up to what they agreed to in the contract, legal actions can be taken against them. Fortunately for us, God has not entered into a contract with His people, but a covenant. A covenant is an unconditional promise based on steadfast love. When we are unfaithful to God, He does not take legal action against us. The blood of His Son has already atoned for our unfaithfulness. Being in covenant with God is an honor and privilege we have received due to the sacrifice of His Son. Honor it by spending time with God and His Word.
We also need to spend time in God’s Word because it is to our souls what breathing, eating and drinking are to our physical bodies. Jesus tells us that man should not live by bread alone, but on every word that has been spoken by God (Matthew 4:4). Just as we need multiple meals throughout the day to nourish our physical bodies, so too we need multiple meals of God’s Word throughout the day to nourish our souls.
Next time we’ll look at a couple more reasons why it’s important to spend time with God and in His Word.
God bless!
Noree Wegmeyer
Photo Credit: http://www.freeimages.com/photo/bible-1622576
Little white lies—they’re harmless, right? They weren’t for the couple in today’s Dose verses. “But there was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest.” (Acts 5: 1-2) They were together in this deceit! Peter confronted Ananias first. Ananias fell down dead! Not long afterward, Peter spoke with Sapphira and when she told the same lie as her husband, he confronted her too. Then, she fell dead!
When prayer request time comes around in my small group, I usually ask for prayers for other people close to me and not myself.