NIV 365-Day Devotional Plan (2017)Sample

How can I know God and his will for my life?

How do we know God? How do we understand and see the world we live in? How do we grasp where we came from and why we are here? How do we know where this story is ultimately heading? The answer is profound—God reveals himself and his grand plan to us. Our Role is to listen and believe.

The Bible repeatedly records that God communicated to his people at specific times with specific messages. In some cases, such as with Moses at the burning bush, he spoke audibly. In other instances he spoke through dreams or visions or less direct impressions. But the words of the Lord were always given to his people to reveal his plan for them and for all humanity. God revealed his story because he loves us.

The Lord spoke mostly through prophets in the Old Testament and through Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament.

Throughout the Bible the writers warned readers that they should not add or take away from God’s Word. God has given and preserved his Word for us so we can rely on it to guide our lives into all truth and according to God’s good plan. Therefore, Christians revere the Bible and affirm its right to command our beliefs and actions.

KEY VERSE

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)

KEY IDEA

I believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God that guides my beliefs and action.

KEY APPLICATION: What difference does this make in the way I live?

• The Bible is the lens from which we view the world. God’s Word informs what we think and feel about everything we encounter. We see the intervention of God in history, in our present lives, and on into the future as he continues to write his grand story.
• We are obligated and motivated to study the Bible to understand God’s will for our lives. The Bible forms the content of truth we seek to marinate our minds in.
• The principles in the Bible must govern our lives, even when we don’t fully understand or like what it teaches.

Taken from NIV Believe