“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect”
(Romans 12:2).
God desires for us to draw near to God with both our hearts and our minds. One of the best ways to do that is to think, pray, and mediate on God’s truths each day. There are multiple formats and ways to do this, but this is essentially what daily devotions are all about. On one hand, we could simply read a Bible passage each day and then pray. However, many Christians have discovered that being lead through a Bible reading by an author – benefiting from their insights and applications – can help us to connect with God’s word on far deeper levels then we are able to on our own.
Here are some recommendations. There are print and online editions of most of these devotionals:
- Read a scripture
Here are 2 Bible reading plans that I found helpful
a) https://www.navigators.org/resource/bible-reading-plans/
b) https://www.biblegateway.com/reading-plans/
- Our Daily Bread https://odb.org/
- My Utmost for His Highest https://utmost.org/
- The Lutheran Hour https://www.lhm.org/ (click on todays devotion link)
- Download The Lutheran Hour’s Mobile App
- The Upper Room https://www.upperroom.org/devotionals
Great Christian books to read:
The following is a list of recent books that have inspired either myself or my wife Pr. Lucy Wynard. They are great books that help us to see and discover not just how God feels about us but how God is moving in our lives and our communities to transform the world around us.
- Any book by Henri Nouwen but especially The Wounded Healer, The Inner Voice of Love, Life of The Beloved, The Way of the Heart.
- Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brene Brown
- Surrender to Love: Discovering the Heart of Christians Spirituality by David Benner
- Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life by Tish Harrison Warren
- I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown. This is a great book that helps us to see how our race and ethnicity frames not only our customs and culture, but also our worldview, beliefs, and faith practices.