Read an Excerpt from the Devotional Handbook "Spending Time With God
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- Write Down Your Thoughts.
This is just a suggestion that has helped me. I've done it for years. I write down my thoughts, questions and insights. Sometimes I write down what God tells me to do. I keep a master list called "Things to Do." It's divided into two categories. One section is related to my responsibilities as a pastor, and the other concerns my personal and family life. I keep it stored on my computer and update it regularly. For example, if I've been reading the passage in Ephesians 5 stating, "Husbands, love your wives …," God may speak to me about doing something special for my wife. So, I make a note on my list to be sure I don't forget. And, if you're like me, the older you get, the more you forget.
Pay attention to the voice of God. Sometimes He'll tell you to do something, and at first you won't recognize that it's His voice. Perhaps you're simply not expecting to hear something big and important, like when He told Jonah, "Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it." But God may say very ordinary things, too, like, "Cut the grass," or, "Clean up your desk." He may tell you to write a letter or take someone a meal. So, learn to listen for the little things God tells you, as well as the big things. And, if necessary—write it down.
- Respond.
After God speaks to you, it's crucial that you respond. This is probably the most important step of all. If you just read the Word and know what it says, what good has it done you? God intends not only that we know His Word, but that we do His Word. Knowing means nothing if we don't do what it says. James wrote about this:
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it-he will be blessed in what he does. (James 1:22-25, NIV)
We're not going to be blessed in what we know; we're going to be blessed in what we do. There's a big difference. The Pharisees knew a lot, but they didn't do a lot.
At times we look for great commands like, "Go and be a missionary to the natives in the jungles of Africa!" God does at times speak to us in this way, but more often, He speaks to us about our day-to-day responsibilities. As we listen and respond regularly, He brings great blessings to our lives. Jesus said this plainly in John 13:17 as He taught the disciples how to love and serve one another daily: "Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them."
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