Shaping Devotional Destiny Through Self-Examination

When it comes to our devotional and spiritual journey, the words of the Bible are to serve as both a guide and a mirror reflecting the essence of our conversation’s character. This reflection only takes place as the saying, as it is found in 2 Corinthians 13:5, is followed, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves."

Self-examination, as Paul advocates, is not merely a routine but a strict dialogue with oneself. It is a conscious effort to scrutinize our beliefs, actions, and the alignment of our faith. The Bible becomes the instrument through which we conduct this examination, providing a standard against which we measure our spiritual journey.

As we dive into the pages of the Bible, we encounter a reservoir of wisdom. Each verse, each narrative, holds the potential to transform our understanding of faith and guide the character of our devotional conversation. The act of personally handling these words is akin to holding the keys to our destiny, unlocking the door to a deeper, more meaningful connection with the Bible’s mind and personality.

To truly shape the destiny of our devotional conversation, we must engage in a philosophical exploration of the conversation’s self. How do our beliefs influence our actions? Are we walking in alignment with the principles laid out in the Bible? These questions form the foundation of the examination process, encouraging us to ponder the very essence of our spiritual existence.

Our devotional conversation is destined for a unique and transformative experience. It is through the examination of self, guided by the wisdom retained from the Bible, that we unlock the true potential of this journey. The Bible serves not only as a source of knowledge but as a catalyst for self-discovery, inviting us to confront our doubts, strengthen our convictions, and deepen our connection with it.

In examining ourselves, we cultivate authentic faith. This is what the Bible is after. We move beyond mere adherence to religious practices and rituals, advancing into the living truths that shape our spiritual identity. The destiny of our devotional conversation lies in our willingness to engage in this introspective journey, armed with the wisdom bestowed by the Bible.

Let the Bible in. The shaping of our devotional conversation is a deeply personal and intentional process. By handling and exercising the words of the Bible, we embark on a journey of self-examination that not only defines our faith but also shapes the destiny of our spiritual experience. As we heed Paul's call to "prove your own selves," we unlock the transformative power within, paving the way for an authentic and enriching devotional journey.

Care For Your Faith

How weird would it be to see a car driving on the ground without any wheels? We see the car moving. We hear the sound of it moving. But there are no wheels.

How weird would it be to see people swimming in a pool that has no water? These people are swimming. They are doing all of the swimming motions. These people are even diving into the pool. They are laughing, smiling, and behaving as though they are swimming and are having fun. But they are in an empty pool and are floating in the air. They are swimming in complete nothingness.

Trippy right? This is the kind of scene our devotional conversation, when it begins its journey, entertains.

We don't know it, but our conversation, when first conceived, is swimming in a pool of nothingness and is moving without wheels. Our conversation is moving, but it is moving without right control. It is because the character of our faith moves without right control that the Bible encourages us to ask our self a simple question: "Why is my liberty judged of another man’s conscience?" 1 Corinthians 10:29

The mind inspiring the Bible's philosophy would have us understand that no other conscience should guide our conversation's conscience. The ideal experience for our conversation is it possessing an atmosphere where no conception, drawn from outside of it, rules its temperament, feeling, expression, or behavior.

The Bible's number one concern is that our conversation learns how to walk on its own. This is why it says, "Whether is it easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk?" Mark 2:9

The proper context of this scene is not of an individual talking to and mysteriously bettering another individual plagued with leprosy. This is a scene explaining the essence of a philosophy entering into the heart of a diseased conversation and encouraging that conversation to live on its own.

Are you leprous? If you are, then we may say that only if having literal leprosy, or a literal malady, can what you are reading benefit you. And where is the healer of leprosy? Where is the healer of literal disease? Can you find him? Can you go to them right now if you wanted? If you call, will they come to you quickly? If you are not diseased, but take a trip to a place where diseased people are, if you call this healer from the book of Mark, will they show up?

This healer healed only 1. the sick 2. the sick only in and around the land of the Jews 3. when he was alive. Do you fit the qualifications to presently receive the physical rejuvenation here spoken of? I definitely do adopt an ignorant tone in what I am saying, but should we hold what we are reading to a literal context, we do miss the point, that what is written is stated to give the reader an idea of what is truly to be healed.

Do we trust that "God is a Spirit"? John 4:24. Do we trust that "a spirit hath not flesh and bones"? Luke 24:39. If we trust these things, then we ought to trust that what we review in the scriptures is not primarily written for any physical thing, but for an inward benefit. What is to walk is not the leprous human being, but rather the leprous devotional conversation.

The living God will heal that nature closest in association. What is closest in association to the living God is the spirit of our mind. This is why it says, "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit," John 3:6, and, “Be renewed in the spirit of your mind,” Ephesians 4:23.

Our task is to add consciousness to our conversation. Our task is to have our conversation bettered. Is it such a wrong thing to let the Creator create our conversation anew? Is it such a wrong thing to actually learn that our denominationally supported conversation is erroneous? Are we truly content with the aimless direction of a scripted religious conversation? If you are tuning in to this post, I know you are not content. Take care of your faith so that your faith can take care of you.

Be Happy

There is something you need to know: You deserve to be happy.

Here is something, concerning your right to happiness, that you may not know, and it is found in the saying, "Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding," Proverbs 3:13.

The main concern of the Bible's philosophy is the happiness of its student. To the Bible's mind, happiness is retained, or is claimed, or is experienced through both finding wisdom and getting understanding. But why? Why is it that wisdom is, to the Bible, the pre-requisite for happiness? The answer is found in the saying, "The excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it," Ecclesiastes 7:12.

You deserve to be happy. You deserve the best human experience. You deserve to enjoy your thoughts and feelings in peace. We all, being alive, deserve this, but to have this kind of happiness, our devotional mind must first be happy.

The Bible, in the previously quoted book of Proverbs, verse thirteen, states that the happy soul finds wisdom and gets understanding. In order to "find" and "get," a field for finding and getting is implied, even like it says, "He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread," Proverbs 28:19.

The "field" for finding and getting wisdom and understanding is the field of our heart and mind, but if the field should be tilled, then an instrument for tilling is needed. Here is where the Bible's philosophy, and it's experience, comes in, seeing as how "the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart," Hebrews 4:12.

The instrument for tilling our thoughts and feelings for wisdom and understanding is, quite vaguely put, "The word of God." What is the "word of God"? Whatever it is, it is to cause a division within the person, encouraging a self-reflection for a resurrection. This "resurrection," being the main factor for a wisdom and understanding stirring up and maintaining love for self's character, is the key to our happiness.

The "word of God" is , as we can make out from Paul's statement in the book of Hebrews, a counsel for personal and devotional enlightenment. This enlightenment is best illustrated through the portrait of the living God's chief apostle suffering between heaven and earth.

With it written, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law," Galatians 3:13, and, "The strength of sin is the law," 1 Corinthians 15:56, Paul is laying out a principle for interpreting what we are seeing when observing this particular individual crucified. That crucified body, representing a religious philosophy pronouncing personal and devotional righteousness, beauty, and piety from doing handwritten religious laws, represents the annihilation of such a philosophy. This is why it says, for example, "By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight," Romans 3:20.

Being crucified, and later reading that this body "was caught up unto God, and to his throne," Revelation 12:5, separated from the scene of its crucifixion, figuratively illustrates the existence of second and better philosophy for the conversation's conscience. This second and better philosophy is one calling into action the thoughts and the feelings for acquiring knowledge to regulate the conversation’s conscience, which is why it says, concerning the present devotional experience, "By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many," Isaiah 53:11.

The instrument to till the ground of our personal and devotional heart with is the understanding taught through the illustration of the living God's minister suffering crucifixion. Applying self to the philosophy contained within this illustration will, because of its ability to challenge the character, add wisdom and understanding to the person. This addition, due to it edifying self's thoughts and feelings, is what increases practical happiness, the lesson being that with devotional clarity, and with the person willingly experiencing internal turmoil from the challenging science of the Bible's wisdom, acceptance, contentment, patience, and love of self, will take place.

You deserve happiness. You deserve to be loved. But to be happy, and to be loved, we have to first love our self. So that we do not manipulate the affection of another, taking their affection to be a prescription for the love we will not first bring our self to demonstrate to its self, we have to break up the ground of our heart, challenging our beliefs and questioning our reality. The greatest route to do so, because we are not primarily natural or physical creatures, is through the mind of our personal devotional, religious, or spiritual philosophy. Doing so will enlighten us to our peculiar inward person, leading us to appreciate the character hidden within it.

So be happy. I know I want to be happy, and I do what I publicly do so that even one mind can understand that happiness isn't given, but is rather grown. We are happier when our mind is sober, so, for the sake of your human condition, grow in knowledge of the Bible's present wisdom for happiness.