Devotional Ideas

Yesterday I blogged about the importance of reading your Bible and having a daily walk. I know many people struggle because they don't know where to start. I didn't want to leave you hanging, so I made a list of ideas and great books that can be a bonus to your devotions. 
A word of caution: Do not substitute the Bible for other inspirational or good devotional books. They should only be an added bonus to help you start out with your walk.

Ideas: Here are some books or subjects you can study through in the Bible.

First off I would encourage you to keep a notebook (Bible Journal) and write down every day what you learned that day. This will keep you accountable to yourself and it will be a great tool to go back and look through when you need something to encourage you. This will also help you remember what you studied.

1. Read a Psalm a day (Highlight or write down all the characteristics of God) Get to know who your God really is. Not just who you think He is. 
2. Read one Proverb every day of the month (31 Proverbs) So today July 7th I would read Proverbs 7
3. Read through the gospels, you can study the miracles of Jesus, the words of Jesus (usually in red), the parable of Jesus (Keep a notebook and right down what you learn
4. Read through Philippians and study about joy.
5. Read the old testament books and learn about some of the Bible Hero's 
6. Study Song of Solomon, I Corinthians 13 and the Cross to learn about Love
7. Study different woman in the Bible: Eve, Sarah, Rebekah, Ruth, Esther, Mary, Lydia...the list goes on.
8. Study the life of Jesus.
9. Track the ministry of Paul (Start with Acts and then move through the epistles that he wrote)
10. Study the End Times (Revelations and parts of Daniel)
11. Read through the whole Bible in a year.
12. Study the doctrine of the Bible. 
13. The list doesn't stop here. There are tons of other great studies. What do you want to know about the Bible? Pray and ask the Lord to show Himself to you as you read. 

Devotional Books and Helps: 

The following links are to different christian websites, I wanted to give you an idea of some useful website where you can buy christian books.

1. What do I know about my God - This book was written by Mardi Collier and is a lot like suggestion #1. It helps guide through a study of getting to know who God is by reading through the Bible. This is a really neat study and I recommend it highly! 
2. Pursuing Godliness- Elizabeth George also has a lot of other devotional guides. This is one of many neat devotionals she has.
3. My Utmost for His Highest - This is a short but deep devotional you can do everyday. My husband and I did this together at night for a while as a devotional together.
4. A Family Devotional Guide - This is written by Clarence Sexton, the president of Crown College of the Bible. This is written for the family to do devotional together. It can also be good for the individual if he/she wants to study through the bible. 
5. God and I Time and other devotionals - The WILDS Christian Camp in Brevard, NC has a great store full of wonderful devotionals. There God and I Time devotionals are treasures. Check out there store by clicking on the link above.

Devotions are important not only to the individual but also to the family as a unit. It is super important to get the whole family together to read and worship the Lord together. My family, growing up, made a point of doing this together every night after dinner. It wasn't my favorite thing, at that age, but looking back I see how important it really was. I'm ending this blog with another link to an article on the Family Altar. Take the time to read it. There are also some other great suggestions for devotions. Enjoy and remember to REJOICE IN THE PRESENT!