Now is the time to start a yearly devotional. It is imperative to our walk with Christ to be in a devotional daily. The secret to the best devotionals? Reading the Bible (And if you do this every year, one way to motivate you to keep going is to read through the Bible in a different translation than one that you usually read e.g. New Living Translation, New American Standard, God’s Word, to name a few):
1. The Discipleship Journal has several options (I am doing this one this year) AND I am using a different Bible translation: Holman Christian Standard Bible AND I am reading the Bible using The Apologetics Study Bible which is excellent for those with a lot of questions.
2. A One Year Bible is a great way to go
A few GREAT options for those who want to do a daily devotion but not read through the Bible:
1. The One Year Book of Church History (I just finished this one, and it was AMAZING! I HIGHLY recommend it.)
2. Promises by Bill Bright (I did this one years ago. It is excellent, but I think it is out of print.)
3. Our Daily Bread: You can download it to your PDA, read it online, or order a paper copy. (I have done this one for years, and it is simple, concise and FREE! They will send you a free copy FOREVER–even tracked me down when I moved across the country!)
4. The One Year Book of Bible Prayer is another great option.
5. walkthru.org has a eDevotion that is sent to you via email, and they have some GREAT paper devotionals
(Their Daily Walk will walk you through the Bible in a year, and their Closer Walk will walk you through the New Testament in a year–both are excellent.)
Finally there are some GREAT audio options:
1. The Bible Experience (you can buy on itunes via audiobooks or at their website) I have bought the book of John and the Psalms and listened through it. They are VERY good.
2. The Bible Podcast is a FREE audio version of the Bible that is also excellent.
It doesn’t matter what you do as much as doing SOME form of daily devotion. Ideally you are reading the Bible daily.
Hi Andrew!
I totHi Andrew!
I totally agree with reading different translations / versions. I can read through one and not get much insight and in the next have a total “revelation” if you will. My first was KJV and the first time it was just Old English words. Then the NLT you gave me years ago really helped me to understand a lot of what I was missing. Now reading NIV Old Testament ( I love its literary/poetic style) and The New Testament in an NKJV Study Bible. My next I think will be ESV.
Regarding daily devotionals, I just bought Oswald Chambers “My Utmost for His Highest” for my wife and I love it. Each daily devotional is about 200-300 words and easy to digest, but not too brief. Check it out if you have not read it, it is an oldie originally from 1935.