Does your spiritual life feel non-existent, bland, or in dire need of a revival?
If you answered yes, one possible reason is that you’re trying to live and nurture your spirit only on daily devotionals—hyper-short, spiritual sound bites that are really nothing more than soul snacks.
It’s become more and more of a problem as we’ve taken the easy way out and become a society of sound bite snackers, a reflection of our current bent in society—microwave and fast food, snippets of entertainment, 15-minute news shows (after you account for the incessant, interrupting commercials), Facebook tidbits, Twitter feeds, and out-of-context, twisted quotes.
And through all of that, statistics show that we’re becoming more disengaged, lonely and frustrated with life.
And our souls are taking a beating for it.
What’s the Problem with Daily Devotionals?
Nothing.
And plenty.
Don’t get me wrong. I like devotionals and even get paid to write them. But they can’t sustain you spiritually, and they shouldn’t be a substitute for nurturing yourself with larger, more satisfying and sustaining meals of full Bible reading and in-depth Bible study.
Devotionals simply don’t—and can’t—provide the deep, sustaining nourishment your spirit desperately needs.
It’s like our physical bodies that need to be fed more complex meals to grow and flourish—proteins, carbs, high quality fats. And even if you do choose to snack your way through the day with complete proteins, good fats and complex carbs, you wouldn’t stay healthy very long if you limited your daily snacking to one, fifteen-minute snack and nothing more.
The same can be said of devotionals. While they may help you focus on a single topic and give your soul a little satisfying taste or sample of God’s word, it’s not long before your soul is famished and craving nourishment again.
In order to have a rich and deep spiritual life, like well-nourished and tended soil a healthy plant flourishes in, you need a better, more soul-nourishing sustenance than devotional snacking gives you.
Another problemwith a devotional is that the Bible verse associated with it is too easily forgotten. And the verse is often not connected with the broader context of the passage it was plucked from.
You miss deeper meanings. You miss full understanding. You miss the life-giving, life-changing, life growing “meat.”
It’s also like joining a group of people who’ve been in deep conversation about a topic for a while and having to quickly get brought up to speed with the discussion by asking the others what you missed, in order to hang in with them as they chat on. You get the elevator speech, but you usually never feel as though you’ve fully connected to the discussion.
Devotionals + More Nourishing Spiritual Food—
If you want to get to know something or a subject well, you spend time reading about it, researching it. Mulling it over. Going to source material to study it from eyewitness accounts.
If you want to get to know someone well, you spend time with her; get to know her intimately over tea, telephone conversations, heart-sharing moments. You ask her questions about her life history, her likes and dislikes, hopes and dreams. You watch her as she interacts with others. You listen intently to what she says and how she says it.
Like our ancestors knew a hundred years ago, you sit on the front porch with a friend and enjoy an iced tea or checkers and chat. Cell phone off or put away.
Love Devotionals?
If you love using devotionals, keep using them. But consider them snacks, short pick-me-ups in your day, not the main course. They’re appetizers for a larger, more satisfying fare—the whole word and picture of God and His Son, Jesus Christ.
Living off devotionals is spiritually risky. But there are rich, eternal rewards for taking time to immerse your mind, heart and soul in God’s word
Don’t miss out on the five-star meal!
Invitation—
Turn the devotional snack into a meal by opening your Bible and reading the entire chapter the verse was taken from. Learn the context, the before and after. The bigger picture and deeper meaning.
It’s good soul food.
Remember: Living on devotional snacks leaves your soul anemic and sick. If you want to have a satisfied soul and healthy spiritual life, dig in to the whole word of God, every day.
NEXT WEEK: More encouragement on how to have a richer spiritual life than daily devotionals can give.
Until then, make time in your schedule for enjoying the spiritual appetizers AND the main course!
Blessings,
Andrea
“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, jut as your soul prospers.”
Andrea Arthur Owan, M.S., A.T., R., is a health and fitness pro, speaker, award-winning inspirational writer, memoirist, and senior-ordained chaplain (IFOC). She helps people thrive physically, emotionally and spiritually and recover from grief, loss and trauma.
I know you already know this, but 2020 has been an unbelievable, and rough year. Pent-up emotions unleashed, brutality on display over and over and over again in living color, anger and resentment driving people to vengeful behavior.
Within and amidst all this chaos, how can and does one find peace?
Not temporary peace that ebbs and flows with beautiful or ugly reality, but the kind of peace that comes and stays and quiets your heart in the midst of pain, injustice, and grief.
Perfect peace.
Dr. Don Colbert recently had a great blog post about finding peace and purpose in these unsettling times, and I’d like to use some of his post highlight concrete ways to find peace right now. Some of them we’ve recently discussed that I’d like to re-emphasize.
Read on to discover 10 tips to finding peace in the chaos.
Name the source of your anger, fear, anxiety, pain—
It’s okay to be angry about something, or with someone. But often we feel angry about “something” without really knowing what that “something” is.
A big part of being able to find peace is naming the source of your anger, fear, anxiety or pain. Naming it gives you opportunity to confront it and understand it.
This is where journaling comes in, which we’ve talked a lot of about in the last several posts. Not only is it okay to journal, it’s healing to do so.
Thankfully, our Heavenly Father isn’t put off by our anger. He even demonstrated His own righteous anger when He cleared the temple of what He called “a den of thieves.” Thieves that made it impossible for people to reach and worship Him.
And the Bible is full of verbalized complaints, anger, frustration, pain and questions. Just read the Psalms, and Job.
Name the source to gain control over it. Just ranting and crying out to God about it helps unload it and qualify it. While He may not agree with your limited assessment about the cause, He will listen and guide you in your thinking and healing.
Remember who is ultimately in control—
Although we certainly are surprised, God isn’t surprised by any of this. And that’s good for us, because He alone knows why it’s happening, (He sees what’s really going on behind the scenes and reads hearts), and He alone is the One who can give direction for leading us into greener pastures everyone can enjoy, rest in and feast upon.
It does a turmoil-filled heart good to remind itself of that.
If you want answers, go to the source of the right questions. The One who can give you the results you seek. And talk and listen to Him in prayer and meditation.
As a friend of ours likes to say, “Pray and pray often.”
He loves you and wants to hear from you. Often.
Focus on God’s power and promises—
The Bible is loaded with reminders and proofs of God’s power, promises and provisions, and it’s important to pick out a few verses to remind yourself of that.
Some of the passages Dr. Colbert presented are good ones to keep in mind.
“…be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
“Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets’” (Matt 22:34-40).
“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:8-12).
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:16-17).
Another passage I’ve used as a foundation for my life is Joshua 1:9:
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
But the passage before it sets up this command, and it’s worth noting:
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
Do you see it?
There is an if-so-then-that set up. If you read God’s word, meditate in it and try to commit your life to it, then you’ll be more able to prosper and find success in life.
Does hard work always guarantee success? No, because evil works all around us, seeking our failure. And our fallen human condition makes us broken and weak.
We are big sinners in need of a big savior. And we have one in Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah.
One last passage I’ll note that is particularly pertinent right now:
“He has shown you, O man, what is good;
And what does the LORD require of you
But to do justly,
To love mercy,
And to walk humbly with your God” Micah 6:8)?
How much different would our world and lives look if we:
Loved the Lord our God with all our hearts, minds, and souls?
Loved our neighbors as we love ourselves?
Didn’t melt down in anxiety about anything, but, instead, took all of our anxieties to the Lord and prayed continually—with thanksgiving—about it?
Remember that God loves the WHOLE WORLD (that He created), and everyone in it and made the ultimate sacrifice to have a relationship with us?
Remember the Lord is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love toward us?
Act toward others the same way He acts toward us?
Use these truths to pray through and out of your anxiety—
As the famous Nazi concentration campus survivor, Corrie Ten Boom, said,
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.”
Prayer fills out hearts and minds with strength. It can restore our joy.
Take your thoughts captive—
You can talk yourself into almost anything, including fear and anxiety. So it’s important to be able to talk yourself out of them, into gratitude, contentment and joy.
Again, prayer can do that, as you take every time and energy-wasting thought to God and ask Him to do something about it. Ask Him to remove it. Give it away to Him to deal with.
He’ll know what to do with it. You can trust Him on this.
Take action in your own life and on behalf of others—
Nothing stops you from spending too much time thinking about yourself and wallowing in your own problems or negativity than to re-focus on others and their needs.
Put your energies into positive actions.
There are a lot of injustices in this world. Look around and identify one you want to pour your energies into and rectify.
What can you write about? What can you volunteer to do to help alleviate suffering and pain?
If you’re unsure, pray about that too. God will open your eyes to needs in your community. He’ll use your gifts to work to right wrongs, to stand up against prejudice and greed and all manner of evil.
And while you’re going about it, make sure you pray for the people you’re standing against. It will calm and open your heart toward them. Help diffuse tensions and open up lines of communication.
It’s very difficult to be angry with someone you’re praying for.
Keep a gratitude journal—
Every day write down 3 things you’re grateful for; or at least thank God for them in prayer. Doing that opens your heart to receive joy and peace for the good things in your life.
And not stress so much on the things you don’t have and wish you did.
Make sure you do your deep breathing exercises—
As part of your daily meditation, make sure you do your breathing exercises that I highlight in this post
People who do these breathing exercises and meditate experience more peace and gratitude, have less anxiety, and live longer.
Make sure you nourish your body—
Keep your body nourished with good, natural food, the right amount of sleep, fresh air, and exercise.
All these ingredients are critical to good brain function and emotional, physical and spiritual health.
Spend quality (and quantity) time with loved ones—
Even though it’s more difficult right now, make sure you carve out time for loved ones. Doing so releases the hormone oxytocin, a natural stress-relieving chemical.
Petting your cat or dog does the same thing, as does looking into someone’s eyes, (even your dog or cat’s eyes), receiving or giving a hug, laughing with someone. Sitting close to them. Touching one another.
Even though it’s difficult to do right now, make good, strong eye contact with people. Even with a mask on, you can usually tell when their eyes sparkle from a smile, a kind word, a joyful encounter.
And I’ve gotten braver, as I’ve hugged several friends I hadn’t seen in months or over a year. Mask on, I’ve put my whole strength into my brief hug, and I’ve enjoyed a enveloping hug in return. Just giving and receiving one makes you laugh with joy and relief.
Am I foolish and reckless for doing it? Perhaps. But I’ve decided that life really isn’t worth living without a hug or two; and—especially because one of my love languages is touch, and I grew up in the land of hugs (Hawaii)—my mental and emotional health require it.
So I hug, while praying that God will protect me from deadly viruses and germs.
As you go forward this week, I want to leave you with two things that have lifted my spirit and given me more joy and peace.
Lockdown
Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan, after so many years of noise,
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet,
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
is offering free meals and delivery to the
housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call
on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and
Temples
are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary.
All over the world people are looking at their
neighbours in a new way.
All over the world people are waking up to a
new reality.
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the
soul.
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to
live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your
panic
The birds are singing again.
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing.
Fr. Richard Hendrick, OFM
March 13, 2020
Until next week, when we’ll continue our grief myth discussion,
may you be filled to overflowing with joy, peace, and abundant blessings!
Andrea
Andrea Arthur Owan, M.S., A.T., R., is a fitness pro, senior-ordained chaplain, and award-winning inspirational writer. She works and writes to help people recover from trauma, grief and loss and to live their best lives — physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Although there are many Bible verses associated with Christmas, like Old Testament passages about Jesus being called Immanuel, and New Testament verses about bringing peace to men of good will, I think the best passage to give full perspective to Christmas is:
“For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son,…” (John 3:16a).
Loved.
The thing we all crave. To be loved. And who could love us better than the One who created love and is love?
The story is simple:
You have God, who created humankind.
He gave mankind some rules, to protect us. Keep them innocent, happy and shrouded in peace and protection.
But they rebelled, broke the rules and lied about it to their creator, and laid bare their progeny and all mankind (all of us) to the ugly ramifications of their sin.
With the snap of His powerful creating fingers, God could have scrapped them and started over; or shook his head and given up. Spent the rest of eternity with his angels.
But He didn’t. He immediately devises a redemptive plan. A plan for death and destruction to be overcome, to have no power over life. A plan that wouldn’t come to fruition for thousands of years, but a plan that would come to fruition because He ordained it so.
And it did. A little over two thousand years ago.
And that’s what we’re celebrating at Christmas, really.
A love so deep and so wide and so unfathomable that it’s impossible for us to fully wrap our minds around. To comprehend it.
God sends His spirit to be joined to the seed of a woman to form a baby—His Son—to live a fully human life while simultaneously being fully God.
This son’s purpose is to experience life as a human—child and adult—and embark on a ministry of healing and teaching and leading people to a better life. A redeemed life.
To show people the Father.
To show them what real love looks like.
And believe. And follow.
And then pay the ultimate price of sacrificing Himself, to bring the redemption tory full circle.
To redeem mankind.
“…so that whosoever should believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16b).
The story of Christmas is that Heaven gave the supreme gift of love. Of life.
So we could stop perishing.
“Love,” God says. “I give you unconditional love. Because I know you don’t have the power to do this yourself, to redeem yourself. I’ll do it, so we can be properly reunited to spend eternity together.
“So I’m going to do it for you.
“That’s my gift.
“The gift of Love.”
This is the start of a season of love that begins with a gift and culminates in a death and Resurrection. Both gifts of life. To you and me.
This month—
In the next several weeks, we’ll look at just how powerful love is and what effects it has on us physically, emotionally and spiritually.
The power of Love.
Are you ready to give it?
Are you prepared to receive it?
Until next Monday, prepare your heart to be a love-receiving and love-dispensing vessel.
It’s what Christmas is all about.
Until then!
Blessings,
Andrea
May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).
What does your future resurrection mean to you? Do you look forward to it with longing and joy, or questions, fears, and misunderstandings?
Do you believe your spirit will go on eternally but your decrepit, physical body will remain eternally entombed someplace in the Earth?
Today we’re going to explore some Scripture that may impart new meaning, new joy, and new purpose to you for your resurrection, and for your present life on Earth.
Getting it straight—
Throughout the pages of Scripture—Old Testament and New—you can read a promise of, and belief in a future resurrection—spiritual andphysical. There is both a physicality and soul/spiritual component. The physicality of a resurrection actually defines and solidifies the definition of resurrection.
Word pictures of resurrection—
Scripture gives us word pictures of people “coming forth” out of their tombs after hearing God’s voice calling them to come forth, like Jesus called out to Lazarus when He raised that dead man from the grave.
This resurrection will be grand and unspeakable, an awesome display of God’s creative and re-creative and restorative powers. It will be a day unlike any other since Jesus’ Resurrection.
There are Old Testament resurrection passages echoed in the New Testament.
Even Job believed in a bodily resurrection.
Supporting Scripture—
Meditate on the following verses to expand, solidify and encourage your resurrection view and hope.
“But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?’ God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Jesus speaking in Matthew 22:31-32).
“And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:14).
“Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed” (First Corinthians 15:51-52).
“For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first” (First Thessalonians 4:16).
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself” (Philippians 3:20-21).
“Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have” (Luke 24:39).
“Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are I the graves will hear His voice and com forth—those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28-29).
“And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many” (Matthew 27:51 – 53).
“And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2)
“For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
And after my skin is destroyed, this I
know,
That in my flesh I shall see God,
Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not
another,
How my heart yearns within me!” (Job 19:25-27).
May your heart yearn within you, dear reader and child of God, for the bodily resurrection you will enjoy, the eternal spirit that already resides within you, and the promise of seeing our precious Savior—in our renewed, restored, and revitalized bodies—face-to-face!
Until NEXT WEEK (when we’ll explore more about the importance of our bodies), may you revel in these truths and meditate on them in supreme joy!
For more reading on this subject see this article on the “desiring God” website.
Blessings,
Andrea
May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).
Were you able to answer last week’s worldview questions—
What’s your worldview?
Why do you believe what you believe?
Who’s had the greatest influence in your life, and why?
Perhaps you were able to write down what you believe in several sentences, even though you might not have been able to put a title to the worldview philosophy it fell under.
But I’m going to guess that answering Why you believe what you do might be tougher to answer.
A story of worldview failure and the lifelong negative effects—
I once asked a friend why she’d become an atheist, and she revealed to me that one day in Sunday School class, when she was a little girl, she asked her Sunday school teacher: “Why do you believe that? How do you know that’s true?” The answer she received from her Sunday school teacher was less than affirming, or confirming, and it would have a lasting, dramatic affect on my friend’s life and faith.
What was the teacher’s answer?
“I just know it’s true.” That’s it. No defense, no apologetics, no explanation to satisfy the thoughtful curiosity of a very inquisitive child. (My friend would go on to become an investigative journalist). My friend claims she was so frustrated and disgusted that she lost all faith in God or Christianity, because, as far as she could see, even her teacher didn’t know why she believed what she professed to believe. Thirty years later, my friend still had a tone of disdain in her voice for that teacher, who definitely let this seeking little girl down. With a thud.
What’s the moral of that story?
The Apostle Peter provides it in his first personal letters to Christian believers. The Amplified Bible gives a great, thoughtful rendering—
“But in your hearts set Christ apart [as holy—acknowledging Him, giving Him first place in your lives] as Lord. Always be ready to give a [logical] defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope and confident assurance [elicited by faith] that is within you, yet [do it] with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:25).
The CEV version gives it to us short and sweet:
“Honor Christ and let him be the Lord of your life. Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope.”
But many of us can’t put our faith into a logical explanation. Or we use a lot of Christian-speak that flies right over the head of unbelievers. They end up looking at us with glazed eyeballs, no closer to the truth than they were before asking us. Or, worse yet, they wind up moving farther away from a life-saving faith!
Because we’re not always ready to give an answer to someone when they ask us about our hope. We can’t give a logical defense for our beliefs. And you can imagine what that leaves them thinking about those beliefs and us.
Throughout history there have been a lot of thinkers and writers whose beliefs and teachings have had a profound impact on us. When they philosophized about life, their thoughts usually centered on God and His existence, or non-existence. Their beliefs have colored our world without us being aware of it.
When my friend didn’t get the answer she was seeking, she sought knowledge elsewhere. These thinkers colored her worldview and shaped her beliefs. They provided—what seemed to her—to be cogent answers to life’s big questions. And these thoughts have been guiding her life and decisions for decades.
Next week—
We’ll begin looking at 19 of the most well known thinkers and philosophers of all time and will specifically explore what these men thought about God in human history. Your knowledge of their thoughts, conclusions, and how they intersect, or diverge from, God’s word is important for living a true, well-balanced life.
But let me leave you with several questions to ponder before I sign off:
How would you have answered my friend? When she was little? Now—as an adult?
Have you taken Peter’s instructions to heart? Are you ready to give anyone who asks a logical explanation for your faith when they ask about it?
Thanks for joining me! I’d love it if you’d take a moment to make a comment! And please share this post with a friend you think might be interested in the topic. Maybe someone you’d love to enjoy a philosophical discussion with!
Until next week,
may you always be ready to logically explain your faith and hope—in much joy, gentleness and thanksgiving!
Blessings,
Andrea
May you prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers (3 John 2).
Andrea Arthur Owan, M.S., A.T., R., is a health and fitness pro, speaker, award-winning inspirational writer, memoirist, and senior-ordained chaplain (IFOC). She helps people thrive physically, emotionally and spiritually and recover from grief, loss and trauma.
