It’s working for me
My great grandfather and grandmother were two people who I always thought of as walking close to God. Part of that walk was that they practiced daily spiritual habits. Every morning before the busyness of the day would begin and before grandpa would be out working in his garden, my grandfather and grandmother would sit at the kitchen table and do their daily devotion. Their devotion time which was from 10-15 minutes included the reading of scripture, a reflection on that scripture, and a guided prayer. They kept their devotional book on the kitchen table and each morning would turn to the appropriate day and go through the daily readings.
I’ll admit, even as a pastor who gets paid to be spiritual, I’ve often struggled to get into the daily habit of scripture reading and prayer. I read the Bible almost every day, but often it is part of my research for a sermon and not simply listening to what God might be saying at that moment. I know that being a disciple of Jesus requires discipline, but often my daily spiritual discipline has been lacking.
Recently though I’ve been trying something new and for me, it has been working. I signed up to receive the GPS-Grow, Pray and Study daily devotional from The Church of the Resurrection. Several years ago, we at Wright’s Chapel were one of just a few churches in the country who joined in a partnership with The Church of the Resurrection, the largest UMC in the US. Over the last 5 years, they have shared many of their ideas with us.
Every day, the first thing in the morning, I receive an email that contains a scripture reading, questions to guide my thinking, a prayer, and a reflection written by one of their staff members. Often the scripture readings will go right along with what I’ll be preaching on that week. I’m glad to say that I haven’t missed a day yet and I find that starting my day out in this way helps me to start with the right focus and with my mind centered on Jesus.
I called a friend out at Church of the Resurrection and asked if I could encourage my people from Wright’s Chapel to sign up for daily devotional? He was excited for us to join in. The daily devotional is free and all you have to do is sign up by clicking here.
If you’re not currently in the practice of daily scripture reading and prayer, let me encourage you to try this and see if doesn’t help you grow closer to God in your daily walk. I’m telling you, it is working for me. Peace Charles