Tried and True Devotional Methods for the New Year

Here is another resolution I have incorporated into 2008 - to improve my devotion and bible reading times. I'd like to share this tried and true method that I learned many years ago and somehow drifted away from in my daily reading and devotions..

There are 31 Chapters in the book of Proverbs - one for each day of the month. If you read one chapter a day, you will have read the whole book each month. What great way to get wisdom! Then, if you read 5 Psalms a day for prayer and praise, you will have read the whole book of Psalms by the end of the month.

I began this once again on January 1st. As I read Psalm One, I realized what God has to say about prosperity or success. On Sunday morning, Dr. Charles Stanley pointed out that the bible is the real success book. It was a much needed reminder with all of the "success" books on the market. (Some are good because they use bible principles and references, but not all.)

The beginning of Ps. I says:
"Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly..." This means to me that to have Godly counsel is to go to God's word or to those who teach it and preach it.
"...his delight is in the law of the Lord and in His law doth he meditate day and night."
We need to think about God and His ways and include God in all our plans and what will happen next?
"He shall be like a tree, planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth fruit in its season.
His leaf will not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." So the blessed and prosperous man is one who understands the importance of thinking God's way and doing things according to the word of God. This is the key tl real success.

In Ps. 2, I was particularly struck by the verse "I cried unto the Lord with my voice, and he heard me upon His holy hill..." It made me think of how God heard and answered my prayers recently. To know that we can go to the Lord and he will hear us from on high is a great comfort to me.

I am sharing these things so that you can see what the benefits of this type of study and devotions are. I hope you will give it a try for a month and be blessed. Let me know how you make out with it.

Have a great day! Lady of Light