A NEW - and different - KIND OF DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Devotional Bible reading - intentional and ongoing interaction with Scripture - can bless, encourage, and strengthen our spiritual lives. Such predictable encounters provide recurring reminders of God's involvement in and vision for the world. Without planned visits to its pages, however, the Bible is a book we hear about only from others, likely in worship or Sunday school settings. Devotional reading fosters reflection and feeds the soul. TRANSLATION: It's a good thing!


But it can also be a time consuming thing. If the thought of regular rendezvous with Scripture appeals to you, but you're not sure you have the time or discipline to make them happen in your life, we invite you to check out our new daily devotional called "ONEverse" that will launch Wednesday, May 1, on our website and Facebook page.


Every day, ONEverse will offer a single verse from somewhere in the Bible, Old Testament or New, along with a few comments, observations, and/or questions created by our pastor, Bill Coley.  The mission of ONEverse will be to encourage and challenge you in your spiritual journey, and to do so in a way that won't ask for much of your time. Some verses will remind you of your place in God's family. Other verses will hold a mirror up to your life and invite you to engage in honest self-evaluation. All verses will have the potential to bless.


You might wonder about the context of the single verses this devotional will present - after all, surrounding verses almost always deepen our understanding of individual verses. That's a great point to which we have three responses: 1) the ONEverse verses will be chosen in part because they speak for themselves, or because their obvious meanings don't conflict with nearby verses; 2) Bill Coley's comments will often refer to surrounding verses; 3) we'll include a link to the New Living Translation of the larger passage of which each verse is a part as found at biblegateway.com.


We intend for ONEverse to be a quick but thoughtful addition to your day. Look for its debut on May 1!

before your first oneverse

Every day ONEverse will introduce you to or remind you of a single verse from the Bible, either the Old or New Testament. The verses, hand-picked by our pastor, Bill Coley, will variously inform, challenge, encourage, and strengthen you, while holding you accountable for the grand potential God has planted within you. Here's one way to make the most of your ONEverse experience:


1) BEFORE ANYTHING! Take ten seconds to be quiet before God, to ask God to open your heart and mind to the verse you're about to read.


2) Read the verse at least twice. What does it say? What do you notice about it? How might it apply to your life, family, friends, community, and/or world? (Not every verse will apply to your specific circumstances!)


3) Read and reflect on the accompanying notes and questions. 


4) Ask yourself, what's the word God has for me today through this ONEverse?



[For additional insight into each verse, read the larger passage in which it resides by clicking the provided link.]

mAY 5, 2024: Psalms 19.14

CONSIDER:

My intention for the Sundays of this daily devotional is to direct our attention to verses, often from the Psalms, that remind us that worship is something we give, not something we’re due.


We spend quite a bit of time during most weeks thinking about—sometimes obsessed with—personal issues and ambitions. Worship is an act of intentional self-denial during which we relocate our focus. In worship we focus on God, who by grace and through Christ saves us from self-absorption and so much more. Today’s verse quietly reminds us of our place in heaven’s hierarchy.


May my words, both spoken and not, please you, God.


Notice, the psalmist doesn’t seek personal satisfaction. He wants his words to please God, presumably regardless of the effect of those words on himself. That matters because a commitment to God-pleasing words opens us to life-changing, albeit at times inconvenient, declarations:

 — I need your help

 — I did wrong; forgive me

 — Help me make things right

 — Not my will, but yours

 — I don’t know why you love me, but I’m forever grateful that you do


On this Sunday, pray some praise, offer some thanks, raise your hands, and find your way to your spiritual knees. Not to add to the list of all the ways you currently need God’s intervention, but to confess that God is God, the one for whose pleasure you offer your words, your meditations, and yourself.


PRAY:

1) Thank you, God, for . . . .

2) Forgive me, God, for . . . .

3) I need you, God, because . . . .


MORE THAN ONEverse - TODAY'S VERSE IN CONTEXT:

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=PSALMS+19&version=NLT