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MAXIE D. DUNNAM
52 Devotions
to Warm Your
Heart and Guide
Your Path
ABINGDON PRESS
Nashville
THE GRACE-FILLED LIFE
52 DEVOTIONS TO WARM YOUR HEART AND GUIDE YOUR PATH
Copyright © 2010 by Abingdon Press
All rights reserved.
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ISBN 978-1-4267-0682-0
All scripture quotations unless noted otherwise are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are taken from the King James or Authorized Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (RSV) are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from the Good News Translation in Today's English Version—Second Edition © 1992 by the American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (THE MESSAGE) are from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19—10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
INTRODUCTION: GOD'S BREATHED WORD
John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Movement, called himself "a man of one book." He wanted Methodists to be Bible people. In fact, early Methodists were derisively referred to as "Bible moths." Here is a passionate expression of his burning conviction:
To candid, reasonable men, I'm not afraid to lay open what have been the inmost thoughts of my heart. I have thought, I'm a creature of a day, passing through life as an arrow through the air. I am a spirit come from God, and returning to God; just hovering over the great gulf; till a few moments hence, I am not more seen; I drop into an unchangeable eternity. I want to know one thing—the way to heaven; how to land safe on the happy shore. God himself has condescended to teach the way; for this very end he came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the Book of God! —preface to John Wesley's Fifty-Three Sermons, edited by Edward H. Sugden (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1983)
The Christian movement is always less than it is called to be and has the potential of being what Wesley's kind of conviction demands. For Christians, the Bible is the Word of God, which is "able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 3:15). In fact, it is more than a book; it is, as Paul said to Timothy, "God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16-17 NIV). All that we need for our salvation is in this book. All that we need for growth in discipleship is here. All that we need to be equipped for every good work is here.
It is more than a book: it is revelation and an encounter with the living God. As Christians, we believe the Bible is God's chosen means of selfcommunication. So in Scripture we encounter the living God.
More than a book, the Bible is an invitation—an invitation to life. The great events of the Old Testament—creation, covenant, and exodus—all re-flect the gospel. The movement of God is a movement of love toward us. The big story of the Bible is the story of God staying with us—through his grace wooing us, loving us, seeking to restore us to our created image and bring us back into fellowship with him.
More than a book, the Bible provides the dynamic of faith and hope for a desperate people and a desperate world. G. K. Chesterton was right when he declared, "Christianity, even when watered down, is hot enough to boil all modern society to rags." And the power of it is in God's breathed word.
These devotions seek to capture the dynamic of God's breathed word. There are fifty-two of them, coming from a "reading the Bible through in a year" plan. This plan is printed as an appendix on pages 173-75. I have selected passages from each week's readings on which to base my devotional reflection. You do not have to read all the suggested passages for each week to get the meaning of the devotions, though you do need to read the designated passages connected with each devotion.
Each devotion has a "life of its own"; therefore, you can use the book as you wish. You may connect it with the plan of reading the Bible through in a year, or you may use it in other ways simply as a part of your devotional life. It is designed to invite and challenge you to make Scripture reading and reflection a part of your daily and weekly discipline for spiritual growth.
I find it meaningful to use different translations in reading and studying Scripture. Also, I recommend a good study Bible—one that has commentary and study helps. There are a number available, but I am especially excited about the Wesley Study Bible (Abingdon Press, 2009).
If you give it a chance, by reading it faithfully, you will discover that the Bible is more than a book. It is a revelation and an encounter with the living God. It is an invitation—an invitation to salvation and eternal life. And it is a blueprint for living. Within it is the guide for the way we are to pattern our lives, and at the heart of it is a call to holiness. My prayer is that these devotions will warm your heart and guide your path to a grace-filled life.
1
IN THE BEGINNING, GOD
GENESIS 1
Genesis is a book of "beginnings." This is the meaning of the Greek title genesis. This first book of the Bible presents the beginning, the origin of everything except God.
Few phrases