Monday, November 19, 2007

[overview] Devotions

Hey everyone...first off, I got up about 15 after 6 today. I have done my devotions and I'm READY to eat! Haha. Wow...The Lord has been teaching me much...

Saturday I read the intro things and why Nancy wrote the book. It's called "A Place of Quiet Rest" and it's by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. In the intro and things I was caught by something she talked about. She talked about her father and how one thing she always remembers of him was that every morning he would be reading his Bible. No one would interupt him because he was having alone time with God. It was amazing some of the things she said about it all. I was very convicted and how I REALLY need to stick with my devotions. I have been for a little while now. But it really encouraged me to want to do more for my Lord and to really TRULY stick to it. The other thing she mentioned was to not let our devotions become a 'duty.' We need to keep them that we WANT them and that they are a 'delight.'

In the first chapter it talked about how we are 'so busy' with our lives, we just don't have time for God. She gave us examples of Christ. And are we not supposed to be more Christ-like??? She said about how He arose early in the morning, and He had some alone time with His Father, then He went and preached. There was an interruption while He was teaching. Now how many of us would get upset about that??? I know I probably would. But that is not the way to handle it. He took the time and He got a demon out of a man. And when He was down with all of His preaching He went to Simon's mother-in-law. And she was sick and He healed her. And then there were people outside the door that gathered and needed help. So He took the time then and helped them as well. And the next morning He STILL got up early again. One thing that really got me that she said that is going to be REALLY convicting, "It[alone time with God] was the highest priority of His life--more important than being His disciples, more important than preaching the Gospel, more important than time with His mother and brothers, more important than responding to the demands and needs of the crowds, more important than anything else." That REALLY got me. It NEEDS to be the HIGHEST priority in my life...and your's.

Now today's devotion was about how we were made for intimacy, but we can only find true and full intimacy that satisfies us with God. The one thing that she says is that some of us have devotions, but we don't have 'devotion.' And how we NEED to culitivate a love relationship with God. And how we know 'about' Him, but we don't 'know' Him. Having alone time with God should be our first and highest priority.

A few decisions I have made now is to get my devotions done FIRST in the morning. I will wake up, go to the bathroom, and then do my devotions. THEN I will eat or do anything else. I had one other but I was just distracted. It goes along with what I learned about in my devotions.

Well, I'll talk to ya all later...
~~Em

2 comments:

Molly Sipling said...

Wow that was good... that books sounds really good. I love Nancy Leigh Demoss and the things she speaks about. And wow. That thing she said about Jesus' alone time with His Father being His highest priority WAS convicting... and since I want to be more like Jesus, I realize that I need to make Him my highest priority. Always - and in everything [decisions, my words, my life].
Thanks for posting that.

Emily said...

Yes I know, and that is something I often struggle with sometimes. Thank you!