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January 15, 2012It’s been 10 years in the making … and it’s now available … so, if you’ve not seen or signed up for my daily devotional, “Morning Glory, Evening Grace,” I hope you’ll take up a look at it.
You’ll find this devotional is, I think, unique in at least a couple of ways.
First of all, it doesn’t contain one word or thought by me or any other non-inspired author. The only words in this devotional come directly from the Bible—God’s word—as found in one of the most popular modern translations, the New International Version.
The reasons are simple:
- For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (He 4:12).
- All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Ti 3:16-17).
I would be pleased if an angel were to look at these devotions and say, “These are the true words of God” (Re 19:9). Nothing more, nothing less.
Our human words and thoughts, at their very best, simply do not these reach the righteous standards indicated in the bullet points above. And even if I were to choose to try, I’d likely bump against this admonition: “I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll” (Re 22:18).
Of course, for picking and choosing Scripture … re-packaging it, if you would, into topical devotionals, which read as short letters to you from God … I could be accused of breaking the most basic rules of sound biblical exegesis … nevertheless, I hope you’ll agree that it works.
My desire is that these devotionals will allow God to speak to you in a new way with His truth, honesty, and bluntness.
Second, as you begin to meditate upon Morning Glory, Evening Grace, you’ll notice that the verses or paragraphs do not look like they would in your “normal” Bible. There are no book references or chapter and verse numbers. There are no study notes or cross-references. There is no red lettering.
Why? Because I’ve found that all these additives … none of which are original to Scripture[1] … can sometimes get in the way of letting God’s Spirit speak to us and teach us from His word and His heart.
In my experience, when people first come across God’s word without an indication of book, chapter, and verse, they are often leery that someone has changed the verse(s) in this or that way.
Therefore, for both confirmation that I’ve properly handled God’s word, and for any further study, I’ve put the book, chapter, and verse references at the bottom of each devotion and hyperlinked them to an online Bible.
Often people will look for devotionals that reflect this or that theological leaning. You won’t find that here either.
What I’ve labored to do for you, over the last decade, is gather together significant verses or thoughts from God’s word about a wide variety of topics that I think will be of interest to most people.
I’ve worked to order the verses to accurately reflect the whole counsel of God’s word. My guide was this: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
Last, but not least, let me encourage you to NOT just read this devotional. Rather, slowly and prayerfully taste and chew on God’s word. Feast upon it. Meditate upon it. Allow it to infuse your soul and change you from the inside out.
My prayer is that God will use His word to bear His fruit in and through you. To the degree that He accomplishes this, I will join you in giving Him all the praise and glory.
You can view the devotional here.
Also, on the home page of Morning Glory, Evening Grace, you can sign up for daily email notifications of each new devotional.
I hope you will!
- [1] The Bible chapters were developed early in the 13th century with verses being added in the 16th century. The first Bible in English to use both chapters and verses was the Geneva Bible published in 1560. These chapter and verse divisions have since been used in nearly all English Bibles.