I have a brand new respect for daily devotional writers today. Why? Because I tried writing one myself. In 2010 and 2011. In both years, I was not able to keep up. I first tried the daily devotional format. It was quite exhilarating and overwhelming. I changed it into a weekly format but that became quite challenging too.
Why did I start writing a devotional in the first place? Everytime, my wife and I spend time with the Lord, He reveals something to us and I thought it was a good idea to put it out for everybody. But the problem was not that the Lord was not speaking to us after a while. But writing a devotional requires a skill that goes beyond what was just spoken to you.
From my experience, I identified six parts (ingredients/process) to a devotional (weekly or daily):
Ingredient: Bible verse: Every devotional needs to be based on a Bible passage. The Bible was inspired by God and devotionals have to be inspired by the Word of God. You don’t want to write something that you thought up on your own. All devotionals have to have their foundations in the Word of God. There is no compromise there.
Ingredient: Introduction or Story: The introduction sets the tone for the rest of the devotional. A good story generally helps in setting the ball rolling. We love stories and starting a devotional with one helps convey the message better than the actual devotional.
Ingredient: Subject matter: This links the story with the Bible verse and brings out the truth from the passage.
Bake/Cook: Practical application: This is one of the most important part of my writing process. How can the passage be applied practically into our daily lives?
Garnishing: Title: A good title always helps in attracting attention to the main content. When writing online content, there is a fine balance of writing to attract readers and optimizing them for search engines.
Ready to serve: Prayer: The devotional should end with a prayer that will help people to internalize the concepts/truths of the devotional and what God wants out of them.
Among these six parts, the one I found most challenging was the second ingredient – introduction or stories. I love to start every devotional with a story. But I found that my thirty years of earthly life was not enough to generate any relevant stories for the devotionals.
I was also not able to manage the devotionals along with my regular job and church duties. (I confess, time management is not really my forte!)
Please don’t get me wrong – I enjoyed writing those devotionals. And I hope to do it again some day. But I am hanging that coat for a while. I write these points here to help you, if you are inspired and would like to try your hand at writing devotionals. And if you do, please let me know.
“And he (Jesus) was amazed at their unbelief.” – Mark 6: 6a (NLT)
Compare that to Luke 7: 9 “When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!””
In Mark 6, Jesus was among his family, relatives and the place where He grew up – Nazareth (Mark 6: 1 – 6). But the people there questioned Jesus’ authority – in verses 2, 3 – ““Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?” Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Maryand the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.”
The people of Nazareth and Jesus’ family were used to seeing Jesus for a long time. They knew him as Mary’s son – a carpenter just like his father, Joseph. He had brothers and sisters just like any normal family. But once Jesus’ ministry was revealed and He started working for His heavenly Father, things changed. He started teaching and people would listen. He healed the sick. He had followers and disciples. He took on the religious leaders of His time – challenging their traditions and questioning their motives.
To the rest of the world, Jesus was a beacon of light in their darkness. But in his own hometown, He was just the boy who grew up with them. They were familiar with Jesus and they could not believe.
We are at the same risk in the church, as the people of Nazareth. We could get used to coming to church every Sunday and going for our regular prayer meetings and forget the real reason why we are there. We become engrossed in our own world that we forget how to believe. Have we got used to the way Jesus does things that we don’t expect Him to work in any other way? Remember, He is the God of creation and the God of new beginnings.
We can never know Him so much that we know Him all. We can never fully understand all His ways and never completely comprehend His awesomeness.
David wrote,
“Trust in the Lord and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.
Commit everything you do to the Lord.
Trust him, and he will help you. He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun. Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.” – Psalm 37: 3 – 7a
May we never take Jesus for granted but may we always walk in His light. May we depend on His Word for direction. May the Holy Spirit open our eyes and mind to see what He has in store for us, everyday.
(If this thought has blessed you, won’t you let us know? Comment here or send us an email to feedback [at] simplyhim [dot] com)
Did you read the Bible today?Click here to read (This plan is a yearly plan where you can read the full Bible in a single year.)
Today’s reading: Luke 2: 20: “The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.” (NLT)
2000 years ago, history records the most amazing night. It was like most other nights for everybody else. But one family and heaven above would witness something special. Something that both have never experienced before. The family got a child they never planned for. Heaven saw the King of heaven in a manger.
That baby would split history itself into two halves, heal lives, mend brokenness, spread peace, joy and hope. A hope that had a lasting effect even 2000 years after he was born.
The baby was born. The miracle was real. God became man.
We often think of that baby in the manger as quiet and peaceful. Nobody paints the baby Jesus as a crying baby or nursing with his mother or laughing with glee or even peacefully sleeping while his parents are exhausted after the travel and work. The baby in that manger was like any other baby. He was hungry. He wanted to be cuddled. And if he wanted to express his unhappiness, he did just the same thing every other baby does. He cried.
Jesus was no different. But at the same time, he was so unique.
He was God. The God who authored creation, loved them and knew they would never find a solution to the mess they found themselves in. God decided to give us a gift – himself. God informed the wise men as well as the shepherds. He wanted everyone to know
The concept of Christmas lies in one statement – God with us. That was his name – Immanuel. In 700 B.C., God revealed his plan through Isaiah, the prophet “… the Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’).” (Isaiah 7: 14)
The shepherds went to verify (Luke 2: 15) and they saw the prince of heaven clothed in swaddling clothes and cuddled by his mother.’God of heaven’ had become the ‘God with us’.
They couldn’t keep quiet after all that. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. (Luke 2: 17). The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. (vs. 20)
For those who don’t understand why christians have to make so much noise about their faith, it is because of that one reason – The ‘God of heaven’ became the ‘God with us’. And we will continue to talk, sing, shout, preach, share the real reason for the season. The joy of heaven came down to us knowing we had no other way to reach home.
Celebrating Christmas on December 25 will not make sense if we don’t celebrate it the rest of year as well.
(If this thought has blessed you, won’t you let us know? Comment here or send us an email to feedback [at] simplyhim [dot] com)
Did you read the Bible today?Click here to read (This plan is a yearly plan where you can read the full Bible in a single year.)
We do not serve God because he is a dictator of sorts who expects us to worship him or serve him. He does not expect us to bow down, prostrate before him and give him non-meaningful worship. He expects us to love him first. Love him first and then worship flows. Love him and then we bow down to him. Hug him. Raise our hands to him. Smile at him. Open our hearts and mouths to sing. Love him first and we will keep quiet. Listen to what he has to say.
Love him because he loved us first.
When we realize who God is, we also realize who we are. We are small. Helpless. Unable. We are not possible. We are a speck. A mere dot in something so big, the dot is never thought of in the first place to be forgotten later.
When we realize what God has done for us, we realize who we are. We are big. Resourceful. Able. We are possible. Giants. We are that dot who got the chance to be remembered.
When we realize what God has done for us, we realize what we can do. We are scientists. We are philosophers. CEOs. Doctors. Spacemen. Mountain climbers. River-rafting champions. We are world-changers. People-changers. We take care of the needy. We show compassion to the poor. We direct the lost. We shine the light to the searching.
Love him, because he first loved us.
Expect great things not because you need them. Expect great things not because it will make you popular. Not even because you have not been treated right all this time. Expect great things not because you deserve them.
Expect great things because he is able to do great things. Expect great things because you don’t deserve them but he still gives it to you. Expect great things because he gives you a chance.
Heaven is filled with reluctant people who decided to give God a chance.
There have been movies made about machines taking over the planet and the human race as we know it. And today, we are closer than we have ever been. Okay, the real deal is that I am trying to work out the registration of this blog on Technorati and they need to see some identification. The above code tells them this is I.
I may have gone too far calling it world-dominion-of-the-machines but they insist on putting this as a post. I may delete this post once this verification process is over.
New Section: Recommendations
This section will showcase some of the best resources available for a particular task, service or information. They feature websites that provide information on a particular topic in an insightful way. The topics covered will be mostly Christian but we will feature anything that is useful for our daily living. This section will also feature service providers that make our lives easier by doing what they do, the way they do it. Please note, these are personal recommendations i.e. – these recommendations are personal opinions of the writers who have used the services themselves. These are not sponsored in any way by the organization being recommended.
The options that are available for today’s entertainment are plenty. Making the right choice becomes a tough decision when the entire value system pulls down the “this is your limit” line. Let us take mainstream cinema for example – they deal with literally all topics imaginable and do a pretty good job at engaging the viewer. But not all cinema can be watched by everybody. That is where the rating agencies come in – they do a good job at classifying movies or television series to let us know what to expect in terms of content. A movie rated “R” is strictly not to be seen by a child but they are free to watch a movie rated “G”.
Movie reviews are another way of finding the quality of content. For example, reviewers rate the story line, cinematography, direction, acting and finally come to the decision whether the movie is worth watching. This is very important to me because I don’t see a lot of movies and when I do, I want to make sure I watch a good one. (Now I understand that good can be a very subjective word and I will leave that for discussion later.)
Christian Movie Reviews
Today, I wanted to share a resource that I use to pick my movies – ChristianAnswers.net. The website covers a lot of topics including answers to a lot of common questions about faith. One of the sections is devoted to movie reviews. They cover all recent releases and have reviews for movies since 2000 (I think). Anytime I hear of a movie, the first thing I do is check the review at christiananswers.net. I can quickly decide if I should see this or if it is okay to take my nephews with me.
One of the key features at the review section of the site is that it classifies the movie on two meters – “Moviemaking Quality” and the “Moral Rating”. Moviemaking Quality gives you the technical view point i.e. storyline, action, direction, cinematography etc. come in this category. Moral Rating tells you whether it is okay to watch the movie as a Christian. That part also tells you whether you can show it to your kids too.
At the beginning of the review, they have a box that calls out thestars – “Moviemaking Quality” and the “Moral Rating”. There is also a 3-item meter at the bottom of each review that quantifies the amount of violence, profanity and sex/nudity in the movie. Both of these put together should give you a
3-point ratings
good idea of what to expect from the movie. I have agreed with their ratings most of the time. I have rarely differed with the reviewer about moviemaking quality but I have never disagreed with the moral meters.
So the next time you want to watch a movie at the theaters or rent a movie at home, check out the review at christiananswers.net first. Especially, if you have kids around.
There is an article on CNN today about Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, an Iranian woman who has been convicted of adultery and is sentenced to be stoned to death. She is a mother of two. Human rights groups are trying to stop the stoning by building international pressure on Iran.
Reminds you of the time Jesus was confronted by the Jewish leaders. “Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?” (John 8: 4,5)
Imagine being asked that question yourself. We found this man doing wrong. What do you think we should do with him? We caught her stealing. You tell me what should we do to her?
I do not know Sakineh personally. But I wish she had a chance. Her kids need that chance. The CNN report says she was forced to confess after being subjected to 99 lashes. Mina Ahadi is the human rights activist quoted in the article who also heads the International Committee Against Stoning. She said, “Article 74 of the Iranian penal code requires at least four witnesses — four men or three men and two women — for an adulterer to receive a stoning sentence. But there were no witnesses in Ashtiani’s case.”
I guess the authorities need to hear what Jesus replied 2000 years ago. “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” (John 8: 7).
I wonder if the Iranian authorities can live up to that test. I wonder if any of us can live up to that test.
For those of you who follow this blog, the first thing you would have noticed is the change in design. We had a face lift in the start of 2010 and we also started a daily devotional. The idea was to share something that blesses our day with you. But I am guilty – that brings me to my second point, the missing updates. My last devotional was on Jan 24 and the small crevice grew into this huge gap, I have been trying to fill. But I admit it has been difficult. My busy schedules at work and ministry gives me little time to sit down and write.
I have got emails from friends, family who have been very supportive. So I am not willing to give up yet. For now, I have decided to leave the gap as it is. And start building this devotional from today. Brick by brick. Day by day. Somewhere along the way, as I get some extra time, I will fill in the gaps.
I want to thank you all for being patient and understanding. Thank you for your kind words.
I would be happy to hear what you think of this blog/daily devotional. I think it would be exciting to hear what you have in mind and even more exciting to hear what God has been doing in your life.
Yes, I claim to be a christian. But I don’t believe in Christmas, at least the way it is done now.
Christmas seems to be a:
time to shop.
time to give.
time to share.
time to love.
time to buy gifts (for oneself and others).
time to spend time with family and friends.
time to have good food.
time to feel bad for the under-privileged.
time for Santa Claus.
time for the tree. And decorating it.
time for carols.
I don’t get it. If Christmas is supposed to be Jesus Christ’s birthday, where is He? There is everybody and everything else, but Him. Even the Christian radio station play songs to Santa Claus and Drummer Boy. I play my CDs in the car now.
Christian artists bring out Christmas albums, well in advance. And you wonder if anybody ever gets the point.
It’s even sadder to see churches fall in the same mess. Joshua Cody from Church marketing sucks, one of my favourite blogs, has an excellent post.
For me, Christ is not a baby anymore. He grew up. He died. And He rose up. And He is coming again. He reigns. And it is Him, I love to worship.
Oh! by the way, I am glad the Walmart lady wished me “Merry Christmas”, instead of “Happy Holidays”.
We often think of that baby in the manger as quiet and peaceful. Nobody paints the baby Jesus as a crying baby or nursing with his mother or laughing with glee or even peacefully sleeping while his parents are exhausted after the travel and work. The baby in that manger was like any other baby. He was hungry. He wanted to be cuddled. And if he wanted to express his unhappiness, he did just the same thing every other baby does. He cried.
The options that are available for today’s entertainment are plenty. Making the right choice becomes a tough decision when the entire value system pulls down the “this is your limit” line. Let us take mainstream cinema for example – they deal with literally all topics imaginable and do a pretty good job at engaging the viewer. But not all cinema can be watched by everybody. That is where the rating agencies come in – they do a good job at classifying movies or television series to let us know what to expect in terms of content. A movie rated “R” is strictly not to be seen by a child but they are free to watch a movie rated “G”.
