Dear Ones,
A glorious New Year to you! We didn’t make it to midnight and not even to the end of the Viking game as it was quite lopsided! Emoji Today I plan to go to my exercise class, do food prep and put our Christmas tree away etc.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Happy New Year!! Hope you have been seriously thinking about fresh goals for 2024 and are writing down some things you may want to change and do differently in this new year. I spent some time before New Year’s doing just that and of course, it will not be the same as yours for God’s plan for each one of us is different and unique. Hopefully each of us will want to relate to the Lord in a deeper way and draw closer to Him in 2024 and give special attention to how He is speaking to our hearts.

It is so important to spend time in the Word so we can live prayerfully throughout our day and to grow in intimacy with the Lord. There are so many ways to approach God’s Word and recently I read Cindi McMenamin’s suggestions on Crosswalk.com of possible ways. It helps to vary the ways so the Word is fresh and touches our spirit. Some like a Bible plan that goes through the Bible in a year. We may want to read a Psalm a day as I like to do, and the writers seem to cover most every emotion that we can identify with. I also read from 5 different translations which helps me to get fresh insight. Some people like to do a Proverb a day or a topical study, word study, questions Jesus asked of others etc. There is not just one right way and one way that Al and I experienced with a group was called Lectio Divina. We read the gospel lesson from the particular Sunday and asked ourselves what stood out to us. We read it again and asked how it convicted our heart? The third time read we asked what in our lives needed to be corrected in light of the Word and lastly how we could live more righteously in light of what we read. It was an eye opener to reveal what was in our own hearts.

We can also get a Bible App and not only read a specific portion but have it read to us. It is important to wait in silence with the Lord after we have read the Word so we can let the Spirit touch our hearts. As it says in Psalm 62:5-6 (Message), “God, the One and only—I’ll wait as long as He says. Everything I hope for comes from Him so why not? He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul. An impregnable castle; I’m set for life.”

May we tune in to new ways of relating to the Lord and be open and listen as he individually speaks to us..

Challenge for today: Try a new method when reading the Word and be open and respond to the Holy Spirit.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy