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Feed Yourself Lesson Three

Devotional Method

"May my meditation be pleasing to him, as I rejoice in the LORD." Psalm 104:34

The first method we will study is known as the Devotional Method. It is called the Devotional Method because we are meditating on the Word of God to receive daily inspiration. Your goal is not a deep Bible study, as we will do later, but to hear God speak to you gently through His Word. It is the still small voice that guides, motivates and strengthens us as we move through life.

Read Ps. 46:10, Ps. 37:7 - We live in a world full of noise. Many people are afraid of silence, scared to be alone with themselves. Even Christians fill their days with TV [Christian or not], music, visiting - none of which is wrong in itself - but if it is an escape from being alone with God, then it is wrong. How many people could sit in silence for 5 minutes without being bored? Maybe if you’re a hunter or fisherman, but more and more people clutter their lives with noise. Entertain me, don’t let me be bored; above all, don’t let me be alone in silence. This is often the cry of modern man.

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The Devotional Method is the foundational method of Bible Study. The other ways of Bible Study all use the Devotional Method to some extent.

In the Devotional Method, you select a portion of Scripture to read. Often, out of that portion, you choose one verse and meditate on it, allowing God to speak to you through it. Due to the influence of false Eastern religions, the word "meditation" can be misunderstood. In Eastern meditation, the goal is to empty the mind, seeking peace in the void. This is the exact opposite of Christian meditation. Christians are never told to empty their mind - that is dangerous - they are told to fill their mind with the things of God. Meditating on Scripture involves spending time thinking about a specific verse, a selection of verses, or even a topic. Think carefully about each word. Consider the sentence or sentences. What is it saying? What does it mean? How does it apply to your life? The secret of meditation is time. Think about the verse over and over again. Look at it repeatedly from every angle you can.

In meditating with the Devotional Method, use the four R's:

1. Reading. Read through your Scripture selection carefully and thoughtfully. If possible, read it out loud as this will involve more of your senses. Look around for the context. Be a scientist. Be an explorer. Don't miss a thing. As you are reading, emphasize different words to bring out more meaning. For example, The LORD is my shepherd, The Lord IS my shepherd, The Lord is MY shepherd, The Lord is my SHEPHERD. Also, in some cases, you can put your name into the verse, such as: The Lord is YOUR NAME's shepherd.

With each emphasized word, a different angle of the verse is brought to the front. They were all there to begin with, but it is like shining a spotlight on it. "The LORD is my Shepherd " emphasizes who our Shepherd is. We focus on Who Jesus is and what He has done. We recognize He is not the Suggestion Maker, but our absolute Lord, etc. With "The Lord IS my Shepherd," we realize that this is a current position. We can turn to Him now because it is His current action. We are not relying on something that happened in the past or will happen in the future. The Lord is my shepherd now.

2. Reflecting. Spend time throughout the day thinking about what you have read. It can be while driving, working [depending on the type of work you do!], or playing. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal His truth to you. Consider why the writer wrote the way he did. Why did he choose one word or expression over another? Why did he say it the way he did? What was his purpose? What does it mean to your life? Be curious. Answer as many of the following as you can: What? Where? Why? How? Who?

This works well if a person can select the Scripture in the morning. If a person’s Devotional time is in the evening, then they can go to bed thinking about it and quickly refresh their memory in the morning as they begin their day. Then they will be able to think about it during their day as well.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions as you do your reading. Write them down. You may not know the answers. You may never know the answers, but it keeps your mind active and engaged in thought. You will discover more answers than if you had not asked the questions.

For example:

Rev. 1:1 - “The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him to show His servants..." Jesus is God. So why did God the Father have to reveal this to Jesus to pass on to His servants? Didn’t Jesus already know?

3. Recording. Spend some time to write down what you have observed in your verse or reading selection. What is it about? What words jump out at you? What do they mean for your life? You might want to rewrite the verse in your own words. If you have chosen more than one verse, which verse is the key verse? You can write it down in paragraphs, in outline form, or in any other format that suits you. You are not trying to win a writing award; you are just recording your thoughts on a verse for your own benefit. It is like a Bible journal or diary.

This can be encouraging to go back and review in later years. In discouraging times, it can remind you that God has spoken to you in the past and will speak to you in the future.

4. Responding. Information alone is not the purpose of Bible Study. We must do something with what we are learning. Our lives must change. We must be a channel, not a dam. Did God bring a sin to mind to be confessed and forsaken? Is God calling us to a new level of obedience and faith? Is there a promise we can claim? Is there an example that we can follow? Is it something we can pray about? Can we draw strength or encouragement from it? In short, how does this Scripture affect us?

Bible Study is not simply about gaining knowledge, but it is about knowing Jesus and changing our lives. The Pharisees had an outstanding knowledge of the Word of God available to them, but they did not fare too well in Jesus’ comments. The question is: What do we do with what we know? How does it impact our lives? Choosing to live in ignorance is not a realistic option, for God recognizes our evasion of responsibility and will hold us accountable for what we could have known.

Use these four steps in your Devotional Study - Reading, Reflecting, Recording and Responding. As you practice with them, they will become second nature. You will find yourself automatically asking questions, drawing information out and applying it. Relax and have fun as you learn and draw closer to Jesus.

WEEK THREE PROJECT

1. Download the Devotional chart included in this lesson. Look it over. You may want to print it out and use it, or you may prefer to simply write the headings down on your note paper, allowing you more room to write. Or you may want to develop your own system/style. This is personal. Find what works for you. You may even change styles back and forth as you read different passages of Scripture. There is no right or wrong about this method.

2. Day One: Do a devotional reading on Psalm 23.

A. Today read Psalm 23 ten times slowly and thoughtfully - out loud if possible. You may want to read it at different times throughout the day, rather than all at once. When you are done, record your thoughts and impressions in your notebook. What is the Psalm about? What does it mean to you? Have you ever felt like the Psalmist? When? How did you react? Try to accomplish this in one day.

B. Days Two - Seven: EVERY day for the next six days:

1. Read Psalm 23 three times slowly and thoughtfully.

2. Read one of the verses [starting with verse one] ten times. Think about each word in the verse. What does it mean? Why is it there? Is it past, present or future? How does the verse relate to the rest of the chapter? What is that verse saying to you personally? Record your thoughts. There are 6 verses, so you can do a different verse each day.

3. Continue with your daily reading program.

4. Read the short story, The Student, The Fish, And Agassiz, to illustrate the Inductive Study Method. This is the method you are using in the Devotional Method. Keep this story in mind as you do your Bible Studies over the following weeks. Don't be in a hurry, but look...look...look...

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Reference Works Used In This Course:

Bible Study Methods by Mrs. Shirley Davis

The International Inductive Study Bible by Harvest House Publishers

Effective Bible Study by Howard F. Vos, Zondervan

How To Understand Your Bible by T. Norton Sterrett, IVP

How To Study Your Bible by Kay Arthur, Harvest House

Independent Bible Study by Irving L. Jensen, Moody

How To Study The Bible For Yourself by Tim LaHaye, Harvest House

Return to Feed Yourself Lessons.

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