God’s will for me in 2019

Instead of the usual devotional guide, I’m starting this year with a book called “Exploring the New Testament” by Walter M. Dunnett. It has twelve chapters and my plan is to read and reread, asking God to speak each day using the prompting of this book and the Bible passages read. The first chapter is background information and seems a good way to begin January and a new year.

Dunnett says the New Testament books were written to instruct local congregations of believers and to inform them of the life and teachings of Christ. This is important. It was for Christians, not those without faith in Jesus Christ. For one thing, without the Holy Spirit, these books cannot be properly understood. However, this does not exclude anyone from reading it because . . . “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17) But it does mean that without that faith, most of the Bible will seem like a jumble of words.

Faith is God’s preparation in the human heart so that we can understand what He is saying to us. He began this preparation at the time humanity fell into sin in Eden. Then, “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4–5)

Before Jesus came, God selected a people to be His own. They were to hear and obey Him, then take His message to the world. However, they failed and wound up in Babylon as slaves. They were eventually scattered across the ancient world and despite their tendency to rebel against God, they did let it be known that they believed in one God, not idols. They also had the Law of God, distinctly different from the notions of the pagans in the rest of the world.

APPLY: Jesus, I’m thankful for the Bible. Reading the Word of God not only builds my faith but maintains and strengthens it. Besides the responsibility of this discipline, I’m also Your child with a mandate to tell the world about the One God who created and loves them. I’m also to listen to You with an obedient heart that seeks Your will and not my own. There are lots of voices. I need discernment to know if what I think is from You or is from the world’s way of thinking, including the ideas of my own ego. As I plan and live out this day, may You guide me clearly, and may I pay attention to You every moment, not drifting off or being distracted by anything else but the goal of pleasing and glorifying You.