We always encourage the Harbor Ohana to spend time with Jesus on a daily basis. There are three disciplines to encounter Jesus that I pursue every day:
- Reading God’s Word — sometimes large chunks of Scripture, sometimes just a few verses a day. I want to ingest God’s word and meditate on it.
- Praying God’s Word — the Bible is the best prayer guide we have, so I want to pray God’s word back to him, and praise him for all the things I see about him and his character in his word.
- Praying My Heart — there are so many places where I want to see God work – in myself, my family, my friends, our church, and our world.
To help systematize this time with Jesus, there are resources we recommend every year. Here are three daily devotional options we encouraged the Harbor Fam to consider for 2024:
- For the Love of God (D.A. Carson) — This devotional guide follows the M’Cheyne system of reading the whole Bible in a year, and offers insights on each day’s reading by renowned biblical scholar Don Carson.
- God With Us (Justin Holcomb) — We all want to see God better, and Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” This devotional guide helps us understand all the different aspects of Christ’s life and character.
- Take Heart (David Powlison) — In a world that’s falling apart, this devotional guide helps us take heart by reminding us every day that God is sovereign, loving, and just.
In 2023, we encouraged our church family to read a few proverbs a day, using God’s Wisdom for Navigating Life by Tim Keller as a guide.
In 2022, we encouraged the Harbor Ohana to read the entire Bible chronologically, and we offered the suggestion of using an audio Bible like the Dwell app (paid) or the ESV Audio Bible (free). There’s something about listening to Scripture (like the earliest Christians did) that helps you engage with God’s word in a different way than reading it.
Whatever devotional approach you choose, there’s one discipline that’s become a necessity for me: make a commitment to spend time with Jesus before you look at your phone every morning. Once you glance at your phone, your notifications, DM’s, emails, and appointments will fill your mind. Instead, fill your mind with Jesus first. Then he can help you deal with the rest of your day in a healthy way.