Trailblazin Ministries: Why Daily Devotions?

Why Daily Devotions?

Written by LaRosa Johnson
Tuesday, 11 September 2007

As disciples and followers of Christ, it should be our desire to spend time with our Lord on a daily basis. We can see that from Creation, God had a desire to be intimate with us; and we see this so much so that He was willing to give up His own Son so that we could regain the intimacy that was lost through sin. If this is so, then it should be the Christian's practice to spend quality time with their God each day. Even knowing that the Lord desires intimacy, we realize that it doesn't always happen on a consistent basis, especially when it comes to studying the Holy Bible. This is where daily devotions come into play; with the aide of a daily devotion, it helps to enable the Christian to open up their Bible and study it on a regular basis.

What exactly is a daily devotion? Depending on where you go, a daily devotion can be many things. For some, it is simply a listing of Scripture passages that you are supposed to read; for others, it is a brief anecdote or story that relates to a particular passage of Scripture; and there are others that encompass something else altogether. All of those things are great, and we believe that each has its place as a form of ministry, but Trailblazin Ministries aims to do something different with its daily devotions. Instead of giving you something different everyday in a topical fashion, it is our desire to approach our daily devotions in an expository and systematic manner. In our daily devotions, we take the approach of going verse by verse through a book of the Bible and going in-depth to gain a greater understanding of the passage's meaning.

Why do expository devotions? We feel that studying the Bible by topic lends itself to personal opinion and opens the door for incorrect Biblical interpretation to creep in, by allowing one to more easily read in their own meaning to a passage. By using an expository teaching method, we believe that it keeps the reader focused, because they will know what is going to be studied each day. This method provides for a more accurate Biblical exegesis of Scripture, since it requires studying a passage within its proper context. We also teach this way in our devotions because it allows the reader to gain knowledge of Scripture in more manageable portions, as opposed to trying to read some long discourse that would provide the same information, but in a more overwhelming manner.

Even with an expository teaching method, there is much that can be applied to the life of the believer and each day you will walk away with a greater understanding of Scripture, as well as the tools to be applied to your life so that you might continue to grow in holiness.