The devotional study of God’s Word is indispensable for a vibrant Christian life. Today, I want to share my top 3 devotional resources that help me dig deeper into God’s Word with more consistency. After acquiring a good study Bible, check out these resources for yourself and then let me know what resources help you study God’s Word more deeply:

  1. The M’Cheyne Reading Plan – The M’Cheyne Reading Plan comes from the work of Robert Murray M’Cheyne. A Scotsman born in the early 19th century, M’Cheyne was passionate about the study of the Bible. In order to help facilitate Bible reading, M’Cheyne produced a chart that consisted of reading for Family Devotions and readings for Private Devotions. If you follow the yearly plan, you will read through the Old Testament once while also covering the New Testament and the Psalms twice. I attempt to follow this plan as closely as I can throughout the year. To stay on track, I use two additional tools to follow this plan. First, I subscribe and listen to the M’Cheyne ESV Reading Plan Podcast from Crossway. Second, I read from the devotional commentaries of D. A. Carson, entitled, For the Love of God: A Daily Companion for Discovering the Riches of God’s Word. There are two volumes of Carson’s work (Volume 1 & Volume 2).
  2. Moleskine Cahier Journal – My office is littered with these journals. Writing while reading or praying keeps me focused and helps me meditate on God’s Word. Obviously, you could use any journal for this purpose, but I choose to use these specific journals because of their quality. I enjoy writing with good pens and pencils on quality paper. My hope is for my work to benefit my children and grandchildren one day when I am not around to give them counsel. To me, journaling is part of leaving a spiritual heritage behind for my family.
  3. Light on the Path | More Light on the Path – These resources may not be immediately helpful for everyone, but they are invaluable for me. The first resource, Light on the Path, is out of print, but still available as a used book. It is edited by German banker, Heinrich Bitzer. Bitzer compiled daily scripture readings in Hebrew and Greek to help students and pastors stay up on their biblical languages. The second resource, More Light on the Path, is an admirable work that seeks to pick up where Bitzer left off. This second resource is more user-friendly, but both are equally helpful for the interested student. These two resources guide me into the biblical text and force me to translate a few verse of Hebrew and a few verses of Greek every day.  Translation aids are provided under the verses, making notes about awkward syntactical issues or rare vocabulary. For those interested in an online ministry emails you language refresher lessons throughout the week, check out Daily Dose of Hebrew and Daily Dose of Greek. If you have the time to dig into the biblical languages, make every effort to do so. Fall in love with the languages. Nothing has enriched and refreshed my study of God’s Word more than forcing myself to slow down and translate from my Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, my Rahlfs-Hanhart Septuaginta, and my Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece. Take the time to learn the languages!

I hope these resources have been helpful to you. Now it is your turn to share resources with me in the comments!

CBH