There are all sorts of wonderful devotionals out there, but it can be difficult finding one that is simple enough for children to grasp and meaty enough to challenge adults. This devotional from Jennifer Lane --her very first book --has nailed it! Jennifer has penned personal meditations for every day of the year (including the leap year) and compiled them into what she calls "A year-long journey through the story of Creation, man's fall, and God's plan to redeem us all." In her introduction, Jennifer says her love of history was ignited as she homeschooled her children, teaching history (Old Testament history included) in chronological order and paying special attention to the integration of events. She shares this integration throughout her book by including "Fun Facts" about concurrent historical events around the world and their correlation to biblical history. To provide further clarification, there are maps, a chart of the kings of the divided kingdom, and a helpful article on Jewish feasts as given to Israel and why they are significant. This is teaching that provokes further learning.
Take a moment to read some of Jennifer's thoughts on Exodus 5 (March 1):
After Moses and Aaron had their successful meeting with the Israelite leaders, they got up the courage to go before Pharaoh and ask him to let the people go worship God in the wilderness. Of course, Pharaoh denied their request and made the work even harder for the Israelites suffering in slavery. God had told Moses that Pharaoh would not cooperate and would have to be forced by God's hand to let them go, but Moses must have forgotten that part. When he saw that his efforts had only made things worse for the Israelites, he felt like a total failure. He was expecting immediate, positive results, despite what God had told him.
...Sometimes God's plans take longer than we would like. When we start on a journey following God's lead, sometimes we face roadblocks and difficulties that can lead to discouragement; but God can use those experiences to help us grow closer to Him while preparing us for what comes next. Like Moses, we need to persevere to see the miracles that are coming.
Is this something to which you can relate? I know I did. And it was simple enough to encourage our youngest.
One of my absolute favorite parts of her writing, however, is from the Introduction:
My desire is that you actually read the whole passage listed with each day's reading and just use what I wrote as food for thought. That way you will spending significantly more time in God's Word than on my words. And that's how it should be.
As someone who has been stringing together thoughts and words on the internet for years, it is a powerful reminder to me why I have been given the privilege of doing what I do. The same can be said for every aspect of a believer's life: it is --or should be --all about our King, all for His glory! I believe this wonderful devotional can assist in directing readers to give more, do more, yield more to the will of God; to conspire with Him to make His glory known throughout the world. Jennifer was kind enough to send me a complimentary copy, but I encourage you to get your copy on Amazon today!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment