Hey Dads,

We’ve thought about several reasons why we ought to use devotional books to help us walk with God, but how do we actually put these tools to use in realistic ways? In this episode, I’ll give you six practical ways to make devotional books a genuine benefit to your fellowship with the Lord.

—Nathan

📖 Job 23:12 “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.”

📖 Deuteronomy 33:25b “…and as thy days, so shall thy strength be.”

📖 Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”

📚 Morning and Evening, by Charles Spurgeon

📚 Daily Light on the Daily Path, by Jonathan Bagster & Robert Bagster

“Make heaven crowded.” —Charlie Kirk

“I admit, I’m guilty of having far more books than I’ll ever have time enough to read—here on my desk, next to my desk on a bookshelf, and on my nightstand, I’ve got devotional books I’m slowly working through.

“If I could go back 15 years and give myself advice that I should listen to, concerning devotional books, I think it would be, get one or two books that godly men you respect recommend, and read them, systematically, day-by-day.” —Nathan

“[It’s] for you to figure out how God leads you—individually.

After all, the point is to use tools that aid you in your fellowship with God.” —Nathan

“Just like eating is necessary every day (unless we’re fasting), we must spend some time each day in God’s word. For a Christian who wants to walk with God—especially for a dad who is striving to lead his family in God’s way—spending time in God’s word every day is a non-negotiable.” —Nathan

“…if we don’t consciously make time every day to read, we probably won’t. And that’s true for everything we ought to be reading, whether it be the Bible itself, or devotional books, or biographies, or civics, or whatever. We’ve got to make time, and that probably includes writing down on a daily to-do list—and holding ourselves to it.” —Nathan

“We live in a time when we are used to scrolling through short posts, laughing at memes, watching short videos, and then forgetting about them.

“Reading devotional books can help us to train our brains in the lost art of meditation, and if they’re the right kind of devotional literature, they can give us nourishing material to feed our souls.” —Nathan

“Do not mistake feeling moved by a motivating truth for actual action in response to that truth.” —Nathan

1. Start by using only one or two devotional books.
2. Carve out some time, regularly, to read them.
3. Read the selection or amount you need to read for the season of life you’re currently in.
4. After you have read a selection, meditate on what you’ve read.
5. Look for a practical way to live out whatever truth God teaches you.
6. Share nuggets of truth with others.

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