September 15 – Your testimonies are my meditation

“Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works.” – Psalm 119:27 

Scripture reading: Psalm 119:97-104

According to a recent Faithwire survey, 36% of regular church-going Christians, read their Bible daily. You know this same group of people daily eat, brush their teeth and go to work. But their actions don’t show that Jesus is the most important person in their lives. A podcast host regularly says, “Action is a language.” What we do, or don’t do proves what our priorities are.

Here is where mentoring comes in. If you think of a compass, east and west are opposite one another, on the same horizontal plane. As to mentoring, I think of East and West as peers who are at the same place in their walk with Jesus. When they meet, the first question each one should ask is this: “How much time do you spend reading the Bible each day?” Asking this question at the very first meeting would help set the target each one hopes to reach.

Look how the Psalmist experiences the Word of God—variously called the Law, commandments and testimonies. These are a delight to him. He savors the Word because it keeps his feet from stumbling in the way of evil. Such pleasure in the Word of the LORD may sometimes wane in your life. Knowing you have a peer who will weekly ask you about your Bible reading, and ask you why you’re missing a day, or days, can be a great motivator to keep at it. You might find what began as a duty, committing to reading the Bible, soon becomes a daily activity you anticipate with joy.

Suggestions for prayer

If you have been slacking in your Bible reading, confess this to God; if you are keeping a faithful practice, bless God for His work in you; pray for peers and fellow Christians who may be struggling in their regular devotions that the Word may become compelling to them. 

Rev. Richard T. Vander Vaart and his wife Carolyn are now in their seventh year living in Moncton, NB. with Redemption Prison Ministry as a pastor in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church of Canada. Get this devotional delivered directly to your phone each day via our RP App. This devotional is made available by the Nearer To God Devotional team, who also make available in print, for purchase, at NTGDevotional.com