Writing about my faith, my Savior, God’s Word and how to apply God’s principles to our lives, is without question one of the most satisfying and close to my heart. I mention 2 types of spiritual writing below, but there are many other reasons for writing faith-based materials.
A Christian devotional is a piece of writing that contains reflections, prayers, and meditations based on passages from the Bible. It’s intended to be read as part of a daily spiritual practice to strengthen one’s relationship with God and to bring comfort, guidance, and inspiration. Written Christian devotionals can cover a wide range of themes, including spiritual growth, relationships, forgiveness, and trust, and many others. They can be used for personal reflection or in group settings such as Bible studies or worship services.
A Bible study or essay is a piece of written work that involves close examination and interpretation of passages from the Bible. Bible studies typically involve the study of a specific book, passage, or theme within the Bible, while essays may cover a broader range of topics related to biblical themes, theology, or spirituality. The goal of a Bible study or essay is often to gain a deeper understanding of the text and its relevance to one’s personal faith and beliefs. They may be written for personal use, for academic purposes, or for publication in religious websites, blogs or books. Bible studies and essays often involve research and can take into account the historical or cultural context of the time when they were written, as well as consideration of different interpretations and viewpoints.
Here is a Devotional I Wrote For a Christian Website:
THE MAGIC OF CHOICE
Have you ever made a big mistake? Sounds like a silly question I know. We all do things we regret; make unwise decisions; look back at choices made and shake our heads or weep. The following words of inspiration may enable you to look back at your future choices with peace instead of pain .
I have a friend who came home one day, called me and said, “I’m in love! I met the woman I have been waiting for!” Apparently she felt the same way about him and they fell deeply into…..well whatever it is you feel in a weeks time.
Everyone counseled them to take it easy, to go slow and really get to know each other and see how their various values would play out in real life situations and times of crisis, etc. Most of all they urged them to be certain of God’s plans for their lives. But emotions are powerful things, and with feelings (and hormones of course) in control, they decided that being in love would solve all their problems and make the world a perfect place.
Three months from the time they met they took a long drive together and decided to elope. When we saw them the next day they were over the moon and thrilled to be married! They had another three months of euphoria and happiness until reality began to set in. A year later they were divorced. Today both their lives are broken and troubled, largely because they neither one got over the tragedy of a broken marriage and each of them continued to make worse choices to try and soothe the pain.
I live on a small farm with my husband, 2 goats, chickens and guinea fowl (along with 7 cats and 2 dogs). I love my animals and usually care for them diligently, but sometimes I put things off. A few months back I noticed one of my guinea hens acting lethargic and unwell. I was pretty busy that week and kept thinking any day I would catch her (a bit of a challenge) and doctor her. A week and a half later, she was dead, to my great sadness.
Last year my sweet nephew spent several nights in a row up till 3 or 4 am. playing with his friends and visiting family that was in town. His Mom reminded him that being up so late was not a good habit, but in your early 20’s you are invincible. After 2 days of very little sleep he came out to visit his Mom and Dad and parked his SUV in the driveway of the family home and went in to shower and eat supper. After eating he went out on the back deck to use his cell phone and looked out toward the front side of the house only to go into shock! Why? Because he could see his SUV head down and dead center in the middle of his Mom’s beautiful and decorative fountain pond.
At first he could not wrap his mind around what he was seeing. Finally he realized he had forgotten to put the vehicle in gear and it had coasted down the sloped yard and into the pond. On it’s way it wreaked havoc on both vehicle and fountain pond, until it stopped with a crash at the other end of the ponds rock wall.
What do these stories have in common? Perhaps you have already gotten the point. Each story involved choices made and the consequences that came as a result. In each situation you can also visualize an alternate scenario where different choices were made and the story’s ending would have been totally different. The marriage could have survived, the birds illness treated and healing, the SUV and pond undamaged.
God has given us the miraculous gift of choice or free will. It is a gift both magnificent and terrible in it’s consequences. Most of the evils in this world are a result of that gift, as are the most phenominal and soul-stirring things of beauty!
Choice is perhaps the most powerful of all human abilities. The tragedy we read about in the Sunday paper, the homeless child who was rescued and adopted, the jailed father and broken family, missions in the middle of gang infested cities, wars and rumors of wars, all are results of choices people have made.
The Offer of Life or Death
Deuteronomy 30:11-19
“Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.
It is not up in heaven…..
Nor is it beyond the sea…..
No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.
See, I set before you today Life and Prosperity, death and destruction.
For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws;
then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you…..
But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them,
I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed….
This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live
and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life…..”
It’s really simple, life is made up of opportunities to choose.
And what we choose can lead to life or death.
Even our smallest choices ALL lead somewhere and can be more significant than we imagined. (Like how much sleep we get in a given day.)
Galatians 6:7 says “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” I suspect the “do not be deceived” part here implies that we easily delude ourselves into thinking that little choices we make do not really matter. We rationalize decisions to make them acceptable to our minds and deceive ourselves into thinking there will be no consequences…..
“Maybe that movie promoted greed and took God’s name in vain a few times, but it was a great show.”
“My boyfriend has a good heart deep down and know I can get him to stop drinking if I marry him.”
“God will understand if I don’t sit down with my Bible very often. I am so busy supporting my family.”
“So what if I lost my temper, they deserved it! They had no right to say what they did.”
You get the idea. We will all reap what we sow!! Every single choice we make will have a resulting consequence for good or for evil.
Whether it is about deciding to eat healthy meals or what job to work at or if you will spend time with your wife and kids, each has a consequence.
May these inspirational thoughts encourage you to take advantage of the power God has given you to choose Life and sow wisely!
This is an Example Bible Study From My Notebook:
Nearly everyone has had a beloved pet that has been important to them at some point in their lives. When those pets pass away they leave an empty spot and often some questions as to their final end. As a result there is an ongoing discussion among believers regarding as to whether or not animals go to Heaven. Some will argue that animals do not have souls and cannot be saved, which means they cannot enter Heaven. Others believe that everything God created will return to Him when it dies. In reality it does not matter what we as human beings may think one way or the other. What counts is what God has told us on the subject in His Word.
The Bible says that on the last day redemption will extend to the whole of creation: Romans 8:20-22 says, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation that been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” This clearly says the WHOLE of creation which would obviously include the animals. In Luke 3:6 it says, “all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” Could this not also mean all living beings?
To many people it seems clear that God meant animals to be part of His world, both now and in the age to come. And indeed, the Bible does confirm that there are animals in the Home He is preparing for us. Isaiah 11:6-9 describes a variety of animals living in peace with each other……. “The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
If God created animals for the Paradise He made in the Garden of Eden it seems to imply that they are beings that He wanted to be part of our lives. It also makes sense that He would include them in Heaven, His new Eden! Martin Luther said, “In Paradise there was complete harmony between man and animals; one day again that harmony will be restored and all creation will be made anew.”
The Bible does not clearly state whether or not animals have souls but we do know that when God has given us the New Heaven and the New Earth, that everything there will be absolutely perfect! It seems evident in the scriptures that this will include the wonderful presence of all sorts of creatures, cats and dogs included! The writer of Ecclesiastes penned these words, “Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down into the earth?”
God’s general attitude toward animals is kind, as if all His creation, down to the smallest creature, matters to Him. He said that not a sparrow falls to the ground without Him knowing and caring. (Matt. 10:29) He also said in Prov. 12:10 that whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, or in other words, that a good man is kind to his animals. And there is Job 12:7-10 “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.”
God did quite an amazing thing after the flood when He spoke to Noah and family! He told them that He was making His Rainbow covenant with both man and beast! Genesis 9:9-10,16 “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth.” When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.”
Another surprising story is found in 2 Samuel 12 which says that God spoke to King David about his sin with Bathsheba, by having the prophet Nathan tell David a story about a man who had a pet lamb. The lamb was raised like one of his children as part of the family. He held it in his arms, it ate at his table and drank from his cup. Even more astonishing is that the great King identified with the story so much that he became very angry at the man who had that pet lamb killed (not realizing it was an analogy to his own sin)! How powerful that God knew the story of a small pet lamb would pierce David’s heart and lead him to repentance, better than any other tale! This also speaks of the accepted value of pets in our lives!
I find myself agreeing with Author Randy Alcorn who writes in his book about Heaven, “If we believe God is (the animals) Creator, that He loves us and them, that He intends to restore His creatures from the bondage they experienced because of our sin, then we have Biblical grounds for not only wanting but expecting that we may be with (our pets) again on the New Earth.”