Keeping God's Word Fresh



One of the pursuits I struggle with is keeping the Word of God fresh as I try to put it faithfully before my eyes (and heart) each day in personal devotions.
One strategy I’ve found effective and refreshing is to bring alongside a reputable resource to illumine God and/or His truth.
I don’t replace this book for spending time in the Word, but I do supplement my daily reading & meditation with a brief section or chapter from it.

I don’t necessarily have time for this every day (and I don’t get legalistic about it), but I’ve found it stimulating and helpful to, over the course of a couple months, make my way through a book by digesting bite-size portions.
Sometimes it is content-heavy, rich and intellectually challenging, but most often it is simple truth extrapolated to touch my soul, heart & mind so I can understand God better & be motivated to love Him more.

Here are my choicest title suggestions; all but 2 have already been of help & encouragement to me: (I'm still getting to #4 & #5)

1. 31 Days of Praise: Enjoying God Anew by Ruth Myers
2. Streams in the Desert by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman
3. The Attributes of God, by Arthur Pink
4. Knowing God, by J.I. Packer
5. The Pleasures of God, by John Piper
6. Be Still my Soul, 23 classic & contemporary readings on the problem of pain, edited by Nancy Guthrie
7. Whiter than Snow: Meditations on Sin and Mercy, by Paul David Tripp
8. Practical Theology for Women, by Wendy Horger Alsup
9. A Pastor Prays for His People, Wendell C. Hawley (collection of prayers)

Can I encourage you in the sweet moments of fellowship I’ve enjoyed as I’ve been brought gut-level, face-to-face with my sinfulness, yet also been directed to the tender spotlight of God’s mercy in the midst of it? (A reflection on Psalm 51)
Can I reiterate how wonderful it is to read the prayer on a page and think, “That’s exactly how I think/feel about this….!” And then be further exhorted in God’s truth in response? (A reading on Romans 6-7)
Can you imagine being ‘pushed’ to see grace in a greater/brighter/richer light as it is examined or explained in a slightly different nuance than you’d previously considered? (A reading on the sin of David w/Bathsheba and God’s response of mercy to it)
This is the richness I’ve recently experienced with my time in #7 (listed above).

May God illumine our paths as we strive to know Him, through His Word, with all our heart, soul, mind & strength!