As we saw in our recent sermon series in Colossians we are called to “seek the things that are above, where Christ is…to set your minds on things that are above…For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (3:1-3) Later in the same chapter we read, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly…and whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.” How do we fulfill this? Through the daily Christian 3-step dance of repenting, believing, and striving, in the Gospel.
The past several years, all in our church family have been encouraged to join in this dance of spiritual growth individually or as a household, which is also linked to readings in our weekly church worship service. With our lives often scattered and our attention easily distracted, carving out even just 10 minutes a day to learn something new from God’s Word or remind ourselves of things we forget, is vital. Having resources in hand to pursue that teaching during the week, is as important as it ever was. To that end, in the past, we have invited everyone to walk together through the Westminster Shorter Catechism (English from 1640s) and the Heidelberg Catechism (German from 1563), using the daily readings from Starr Meade, as well as the Read Scripture app for daily bible reading, and last year the New City Catechism (American from recent years!).
This year we are doing something similar and different. Similar in daily content that is easily accessible, but different because it is not in the question and answer format of a catechism. I hope everyone in our church will take a moment right now to purchase the book “New Morning Mercies” by Paul David Tripp through Christianbook.com or Amazon, in good ole fashion paper, or e-book if you prefer. If you have children old enough to read a one page devotional each day or several days a week, you may want to purchase extra copies for them as well. See video for an introduction.
The devotion runs Jan 1 – Dec 31, daily, but each stands on its own, so no worries if you missed the Jan 1 kickoff. (Our family has been on vacation so will be getting a start a few days late, while we are on the road). If you are a highly disciplined family, you may want to read the devotionals as a family, once a day and discuss, perhaps in the morning before the days activities or around the dinner table. Or it may make sense to block out 3-4 times a week to read together as a family and allow for individual reading the other days of the week.
For those with children, I would encourage you not to be the least bit surprised if your children are not excited about this! Ha. Just like us adults, they are not always enthusiastic about the means of grace we know we need for spiritual growth. As children do not usually love to eat a healthy meal, or go to the dentist, or yield their precious screen time, they will not necessarily see why they should read for spiritual growth on their own, or join in family devotional time, or for that matter, go to worship service or youth activities! Ha. They will need loving but clear direction from parents who care about them, and are okay with not always being perfectly liked by their children.
If you have another devotional plan for the year, this certainly does not need to replace that, but it would be awesome if everyone in our church engaged with this process at some level, beyond our Sunday morning worship. As we do, we will look for the truth of God’s Word to transform us, and make us a blessing to those around us for God’s Kingdom. John 17:17 “Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth.”
