I am a man, husband, father, athlete, outdoors minded and setting a priority in 2024 to reconnect with God. I am asking for recommendations on a daily devotional/bible study with the above themes to help me down the path of reconnecting with my faith.

Thank you

TXaggiesTX said:

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I don't personally like devotionals. To me, it's less Gods words more men's words. I would recommend setting aside a certain amount of time or committing to read a certain amount of chapters of the Bible per day. No need to go in order (don't have to start with Genesis then Exodus) but read entire books at a time. I would recommend starting in the NT and probably with a gospel as an easier read will help you get momentum into forming the habit. As far as reconnecting with the Lord, would also recommend you make a habit of attending and getting involved with/ getting to know people at a local church.

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Great advice.

I will say, though, that the first time I read through the Old Testament I was surprised how interesting and readable the history books (Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 12 Samuel, 12 Kings, 12 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther) were. They are not great as devotionals. However, they do provide a lot of context and help one understand a lot of the rest of the Bible. The people of Christ's time were intimately familiar with those books, so knowing the content of those books helps to understand Christ's teachings more deeply.

In addition, reading the history books helps to understand God and his judgment. God gave his people miraculous sign after miraculous sign and warning after warning, yet they still turned away from him almost immediately. Eventually, I came to understand that I do exactly the same. I take God's blessings for granted and constantly turn away from him, relying on my own limited abilities and ignoring God and the overwhelming love that he has for me and wants to show me.

For me, the history books help to frame the New Testament books and help to understand God and his character more deeply as I read them. In other words, Christ is not our buddy, not our best friend, not just someone to bail us out of a pinch. Christ is quite literally the King of all Creation yet, out of obedience to God (note, not out of love for us), came to earth as a man to allow us to be able to enter the presence of his father, the God of all Creation.

Ragoo said:

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I appreciate the input. I grew up in the church and have read most of the Bible. What I am specifically asking for is a recommendation for a structured guide. Structure for me drives consistency and consistency is what I am after.

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I think the Bible in one year app is really good at being structured with sound discussion.

Every day there is a a Psalm or Proverbs, a NT reading, and an OT reading.

Each section has a structured commentary and prayer.

Great. I will look into it.

Ragoo said:

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Great. I will look into it.

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I second a bible in a year app. Devotionals can be good....however I think its incredibly important to understand the full context of scripture passages by understanding the texts before and after. It can give us a less complete understanding of the means of a passage if that's all we are given, along with someones interpretation of what that means.

Certainly this isn't true of all scripture, but many. I think for devotionals we are looking for short bitesize verses that we can focus on each day. But we should make sure we are getting the full context of where Jesus, or the disciples, were, who they were talking to and what was the focus of their statements.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bible-in-one-year/id504133402

Spurgeon's morning and evening.

Ragoo said:

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I am a man, husband, father, athlete, outdoors minded and setting a priority in 2024 to reconnect with God. I am asking for recommendations on a daily devotional/bible study with the above themes to help me down the path of reconnecting with my faith.

Thank you

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Ragoo,

I find the structure of the Daily Examen a wonderful method for grounding each day with God.

Bless you on your journey.

https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen/

dermdoc said:

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https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bible-in-one-year/id504133402

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downloaded

ChaplainMCH said:

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Ragoo said:

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I am a man, husband, father, athlete, outdoors minded and setting a priority in 2024 to reconnect with God. I am asking for recommendations on a daily devotional/bible study with the above themes to help me down the path of reconnecting with my faith.

Thank you

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Ragoo,

I find the structure of the Daily Examen a wonderful method for grounding each day with God.

Bless you on your journey.

https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-examen/

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Don't make your self a stranger Chaplain.

Appreciate the encouragement.

Ragoo said:

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I am a man, husband, father, athlete, outdoors minded and setting a priority in 2024 to reconnect with God. I am asking for recommendations on a daily devotional/bible study with the above themes to help me down the path of reconnecting with my faith.

Thank you

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Find your nearest Orthodox parish and become a catechumen. Plenty of outdoorsmen at my parish and we even have raw milk suppliers and ranchers that share fresh eggs and other items. The whole Orthodox life is similar to being an athlete and is quite the struggle.