How to Develop a Devotional Message (2 Tim 2:15)
"Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial) a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing (rightly handling and skillfully teaching) the Word of Truth." (2 Tim 2:15)
Illustration: Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law. . --Psalm 119:18
My wife Shirley and I stayed 2 full days in Interlaken, Switzerland, and yet we never saw Jungfrau, one of the highest and most beautiful peaks in the Swiss Alps.
"What did you think of Jungfrau?" fellow tourists would ask. We couldn’t answer because we never got a glimpse of it.
How could we possibly miss such an immense and breathtaking natural wonder? Because a persistent fog had blanketed the entire peak.
Sometimes we may be "in a fog" when we try to understand the Bible. We struggle and strain, but we cannot see the beautiful truths that lie within the passage. It may even seem as if God is keeping them hidden from us.
Don’t forget that we always need the illuminating help of the Holy Spirit. It is not God who wants to keep us from grasping the wonderful truths of Scripture; it is His enemy. The devil knows that we can’t put into practice what we don’t comprehend.
We need to pray as the psalmist did, "Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law" (Ps. 119:18). As we seek the Holy Spirit’s guidance each day, He will clear away the fog so that we can see the marvelous truths within God’s Word. --DCE
Open my eyes, that I may see
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me;
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free. --Scott
Without the light of God’s Spirit,
we’ll be in the dark about God’s Word. (Our Daily Bread)
To personalize the interpretation and application of any scripture use the following acrostic: S-P-A-C-E-P-E-T-S (Sin to Confess - Promise to Claim - Attitude to Change - Command to Obey - Example to Follow - Person to Imitate - Error to Avoid - Truth to Believe - Something to praise and thank God about). I Corinthians 13
1. Sin to Confess - Love is not rude, self-seeking, easily angered, and does not hold grudges. Failure to forgive is a sin that hinders our fellowship with God and those around us. (I Cor. 13:4-7)
2. Promise to Claim - Love bears up under any amount of pressure, injustice or hardship. Love endures anything and everything regardless of the pain. Love is fadeless under all circumstances and it stands the test of time without weakening. (I Cor. 13:7)
3. Attitude to Change - My own love should not be affected by personal biases. Love should never fade out or grow cold to people who are unkind to me. My love for those less fortunate than me should be done with a heart full of compassion, sensitive and caring for every person’s need. (I Cor. 13:8)
4. Command to Obey - Love believes the best in every person. My love should try to focus on the areas of peoples’ strength rather than their weaknesses. True love should be able to overlook another’s fault and instead concentrate on their area of greatest concern. (I Cor. 13:7)
5. Example to Follow - Paul, the apostle, encouraged the divisive Corinthian believers to put love before every other concern. Paul wrote I Corinthians 13 to the church in Corinth to provide them with a formula for loving one another regardless of their differences of opinions. Paul recognized that the root cause of many disagreements could be eradicated if they applied Paul’s love principles to their thinking and actions. Paul’s description of love helps people understand that love is more than just human affection
6. Person to Imitate - Jesus Christ’s faith, hope and love is a perfect example for me to follow in dealing with accusatory people like the Pharisees. Jesus never lost self-control even during the most distressing times. Jesus Christ willingly fellowshipped in the homes of the tax-gathers and sinners, as well as anyone who would engage Him in conversation. Even when Christ hung on Calvary’s cross, He turned His attention to His heavenly Father and said, "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do."
7. Error to Avoid - True love does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. It is all too easy to laugh at other people’s problems or to feel morally superior. A Christ like love avoids the temptation of looking down on other people. Love is able to display a compassionate and tender heart even for people who have previously mistreated you. Love tries to avoid the sins of omission of failing to love people who are different than we are. ( I Cor. 13:6)
8. Truth to Believe - Love does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful. Real love is not obsessed with one’s own interests. Love knows when to turn the controls of problems over to the sovereign will of God. Love has the serenity to accept the things it cannot change, courage to change the things it can and wisdom to know the difference. (I Cor. 13:5)
9. Something To Praise or Thank God About - God’s true love lives in the person of the Holy Spirit that lives in the life of every true Christian. The Holy Spirit empowers, enables and instructs us every moment in the best ways to demonstrate Christ’s love. We do not have to be Ph.D. holders in order to love our family, friends and associates. The Holy Spirit motivates us to love people in the same way that Jesus Christ would if He were standing in our shoes.
Conclusion: The Spirit of God gives us the capacity to love those who need the message of salvation and forgiveness of sins even if they are rude or apathetic. The Spirit of the Holy One replenishes our faith, hope and love when we feel we do not have an ounce of strength left in us to do His will. God’s Spirit is given to each believer enabling them to do the Lord’s supernatural work in His way without lacking any of His resources. Whenever we are feeling low, the Holy Spirit turns our attention to praise the great love found in Jesus Christ and our hearts are renewed with a fresh provision of His overflowing affection. Christ’s love allows us to overcome any evil with good. The Spirit helps us find a way to demonstrate His love to people in ways that proves His a supernatural affection that supercedes all human understanding or circumstances! ( I Cor. 13:13)
