2018 IS ABOUT TO START AND YOU WANT TO MAKE SURE YOUR FRIENDS GET THE RIGHT DEVOTIONAL LITERATURE FOR IT.
We are about to leave 2017 for 2018 and many of us are probably on a hunt for a new devotional material to use for 2018. If you have girlfriends you are thinking to give them to, here are some of my recommendations.
ONE // My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers
- This was my first ever devotional book. It never grows old and I still give it as a gift to my friends until this day. It is great for new believers and long time believers alike. It helped me to think deeply about God’s word when I was just starting out, and still did so even as I’ve grown to be more mature in the faith. That is perhaps its unique feature, aside from that the author was converted under the ministry of Charles Spurgeon.
TWO // Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman
- Get this for the same reasons stated above, except for that it was my third devotional book. Even after all these newer and savvier options for devotional reads, Mrs. Cowman’s really still ranks in my top 3! Christianbook.com says it perfectly, “Few books ever attain such a widespread recognition and perennial appeal as Streams in the Desert. Now over seventy years since its first publication, this marvelous devotional by Mrs. Charles E. Cowman has established itself firmly in the ranks of the Christian classics.” Yes to both Christian classic and perennial appeal!!!
- Unique features of it would be that a woman wrote it, and she includes poetry as part of many of her entries.
THREE // One Year Book of Psalms by Randy Petersen and William J. Petersen
- I actually started with the One Year Bible, and found a copy of the One Year Book of Psalms in a used-books store in Baguio. I actually got it for only 85 Pesos, and it has been one of the most fantastic devotional literature I’ve ever had in my life.
- Its unique features include awesome intertext or a play of information all across the board of evangelical history, Bible, and Christian literature that exposits one part of the Psalm every single day! The curation of quotes also deserves a slow clap, if you ask me!
FOUR // The One Year Women in Christian History Devotional: Daily Inspirations from God’s Work in the Lives of Women (One Year Book) by Randy Petersen and Robin Shreeves
- This One Year group makes it to my list again. This is the third time I am encountering them in the last ten years and all I can say is that take after God in making things very, very, very well! This is just as rich as the one they made on Psalms, only that it focuses on women alone – those from the Bible and Christian women from our own history.
FIVE // Better Than Jewels by Rica Peralejo-Bonifacio
- Yup, it’s my book so this is sort of a shameless plug! But also, because I really believe it’s a great material especially for new believers.
- What’s unique about it is that of all in this list, it is the only one that doesn’t ask to read daily. This is also why I say it’s a great intro for those who have never read the Bible before or never had any habit of reading daily. It’s great for whetting their appetite, plus each entry is an in-depth discussion of each part of a monthly series. Also, it explores life as it goes by a calendar. I.e., January is about the New Year, February is about love, March is on Lent, July is for a touch up since we’ve reached half the year, December is for Christmas. It covers an entire year by its seasons.
- Other recommendations to do along with this book would be 1) read portions of the Bible daily and make this a once week supplement, and/or 2) read it together with a group and meet once a week to answer the questions together!