“Your Devotional Journey Through Scripture: A Daily Discipleship Resource”

by Pastor Don Brandt

Many thanks to Doug Schoelles, NALC pastor and member of the board of Lutheran CORE, for his video review of Don Brandt’s new book.  A link to Doug’s video can be found HERE.  A link to our You Tube channel, which contains sixty-seven reviews of books and videos on topics of interest and importance, can be found HERE. 

Doug writes –

I applaud Pastor Don Brandt for addressing a fundamental practice of growing in our faith: How do we study the Bible?  As Lutherans with our mantra of Sola Scriptura we believe the Word of God is for all people. We also believe that God’s Word has something to say to every Christian every day.

But we know that building a consistent devotional pattern is difficult. We get distracted by the mundane, our busyness, and shiny electronic things. I commend Pastor Brandt for laying out a pattern to help people to begin to immerse themselves daily in the Word. Your Devotional Journey is a practical book to help a beginner become a pupil of scripture. The pattern that he gives is relatively simple. He gives advice on how to set yourself up for your quiet time in the Word. I do think he should have given a bigger emphasis to praying for the Holy Spirit to teach us. Only by the gift of the Spirit will the Word be revealed to us and our understanding be grounded in God.

• Read the day’s Bible passage.

Pastor Brandt has selected passages of three to twelve verses from throughout the Bible. I would even suggest they read the passage twice. The work he has done to select passages helps the pupil of the scripture to focus initially on important scripture passages. He has twice as many New Testament lessons as Old Testament passages. Again, this is a beginner’s book. A pupil of the scripture should cover all the scripture, Old and New Testament, over their years and decades.

• Copy 1 to 3 verses of the passage.

We are encouraged to hide the Word in our hearts (Ps 119:11). One of the best ways to learn and memorize scripture is to copy it. Pastor Brandt asks the pupil to write down – copy – 1 to 3 verses of that passage to their prayer journal. This is a good practice. Another practice that could be encouraged is writing down key words or repeated words.

• Read Pastor Brandt’s brief reflection on the passage.

The work he has done to give direction to the pupil of the Word by way of his written reflection and questions is very helpful. Reflection questions are helpful to guide meditation, going deeper, making personal. His reflections focus on the bondage of sin, the character and works of God, and applying the New Life in Christ.

• Write your personal reflections on the passage.

We have read the scripture and even copied, so now what? How does the Word of God apply to my life? The act of writing down our meditation on the Word should lead us to listen for what the Holy Spirit is saying to us. How is the LORD applying this scripture passage to me, to my life, to my sin and to my need for salvation? So, again I applaud Pastor Brandt for encouraging this step.

• Write a prayer of gratitude to God based on the scripture passage.

I was pleasantly surprised that his concluding devotional act was to reflect and write down a “thanksgiving to God.”  Not just what you are thankful for, but to thank God for his work and word in your life. When we ponder the character and works of the LORD that bless our lives, then we will find our unshakeable joy in the LORD (Isa 58:14). This emphasis on gratitude can help the pupil of the scriptures to develop a hunger and thirst for God’s Word because they find something delicious to consume each time.

I commend Pastor Don Brandt’s “Your Devotional Journey Through Scripture” as a practicum that can help Christians to begin and establish a daily time in God’s Word.

 

Editor’s Note: Click here to register for Lutheran CORE’s next free webinar, Vision Casting for Church Leaders, led by the author.

During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.  Acts 16:9-10

An extraordinary vision launched St. Paul into new territory, setting the stage for a world history changing ministry despite all the challenges that would follow.  Every movement in Christian history has followed the same pattern including the path taken by our own Martin Luther.  God shows a way forward and believers do something about it. “What is God saying to me and how will I respond?” becomes the basis for a different trajectory because the inverse is also true: “Where there is no vision, the people perish” Proverbs 29:18.  Vision is the place where tomorrow is shaped. Vision draws in excitement, motivates believers, and determines what may be accomplished. Vision inspires creativity and is a catalyst for innovation. Vision points to a future possibility. And then comes Monday morning and we’re already exhausted.

Our mutual challenge is this; statistically, according to a research study by George Barna, four percent of pastors have a Vision for their communities. I would suggest the other ninety-six percent of us also have a Vision, but it’s a Vision maybe not as clearly articulated to inspire motivation in a congregation.  Personally, I think Barna asked the wrong questions. In a lengthier tome we could dig into the results of spiritual gift inventories and note how few of us have Apostle as our primary gift set (they love taking new territory and Vision seems to leak out of their pores) and how/why the bulk of us test out as Pastors/Teachers. No surprise, yes?  We are emotionally and spiritually committed to the people who called us. That’s what it means to be called – caring for those who invited us into that role of leadership and understand our roles as pastoring and teaching. 

Living with integrity requires an openness to lean into the negative, see past the frustration and ask, “Why is this my reality?”  That is the pivot point for all manner of Holy Discontents. Then what? This is not throwing shade at the theological systems which formed us, but were we taught next steps? I know I wasn’t, at least not initially, and I don’t claim to be an expert in how to teach others to discover their own, but I have learned a few things over the years about how to hear and effectively cast one.  Much of that came from the Beeson Institute for Church Leadership, sadly a three-year program no longer available at Asbury Seminary and I thank Dr. Dale Galloway for having the vision to have launched it.

Why doesn’t my church look like my kids’ friends?

Brian Hughes

What does an implemented Vision look like?  One example: It happened in Orinda, California and the congregation I was serving.  Both of our kids were in school in Moraga, CA.  Their friends would come over for play dates or we’d drop them off to visit.  One Saturday I noticed our backyard looked like a tiny version of the UN. There were kids from nearly every ethnic background running around and happily laughing and then it hit me – why doesn’t my congregation look like my kids’ friends? So it began.  In Orinda we welcomed a Korean ministry among us which eventually led to their pastor teaching at Luther Seminary. That vision never left and when the family ended up in Columbia, Maryland the same Vision continued.  I felt a call to that community precisely because it was so ethnically diverse and we ended up with nine services a weekend in five languages with the Ocansey Royal Family of Ada, Ghana blessing me to become an honorary chief and my wife an honorary queen mother.  A simple challenge that I heard from Christ, “Why doesn’t my church look like my kids’ friends?” 

What’s God saying to you? And if you want to do something about it, how will you cast the Vision for it?

Please register and join us online on Wednesday, February 19th for our vision casting webinar.