SUREFIRE IDEAS

FOR

DEVOTIONALS
AND SELL
YOU CA N W R I T E . . .

INTRODUCTION

r. Dennis E. Hensley, the dean of devotional writing, advises starting a file with a this title at
the upper left:

Emotional Hurts
Below it list every painful experience you believe people face today.
Your list may include loneliness, grief, depression, fear, anger, frustration, shame, abandonment, hopelessness, prejudice, confusion, exhaustion, anxiety, rejection, you name it.
That may sound depressing, but you know its only a start. Lets face it, people are hurting. They
need help, encouragement, hope.
Thats where you come in. If you feel the nudge, the urge, maybe even a calling to reach such people with your writing, you could be a writer of devotionals.
When youve exhausted the list of emotional maladies that might afflict a person, at the upper
right, write Spiritual Growth.
This is where youll jot notes about how you might help someone cope with those emotional hurts.
Opposite Loneliness, you might write Learn to pray.
Opposite grief, you might write, Learn to seek solace in Scripture or Find comfort from a
trusted friend.
Once your lists are complete, pray and study the Bible, looking for pertinent verses and passages
to support the short messages youll write as a series of helpful devotionals.
Just the right anecdote, illustration, and verse for each will make these come to life.

Preparing Yourself For Devotional Writing

1. Youll want to be very familiar with the Bible, so God can speak to you through it in special
ways. Devotionals written from the overflow of your own spiritual life are the most effective.
2. Get in the right state of mind. Meditate, reflect, pray.
3. Read and study other devotional writers. But...
4. Strive for originality. Develop your own ideas and lessons and write in your own voice.
5. Maintain a personal journal to record how God is working in your life.
6. Ask God to give you a devotional heart, making you especially sensitive to others.

How to Mine Your Best Devotional Ideas

1. Note times when God made Himself clearly known to you.
2. Recall incidents when God used a specific Bible verse or passage to impact your life.
3. Remember when God sent a special person to make a difference for you.
4. Reflect on when He allowed you to suffer deep pain to teach you to trust in Him.
5. Admit when God allowed you to suffer the consequences of your own failures.
6. Write about when God guided you to help someone in need.
Ask These Questions to Brainstorm Devotional Topics:

What sad or funny experience have you had in the past year?

Do you have any challenging relationships with people at work, home, or school?

How have you handled a difficult relationship recently?

What are you are an expert on?

Was there an item in a newspaper or magazine that fascinated you?

What editorial or column have you strongly disagreed with?

What opinion do you hold based on years of experience?

Whats something startling or insightful you recently learned from TV or a book?

What new perspective have you gained from a sermon?

What societal trends concern you?

What event has restored your faith in mankind?

Has something related to science, nature, weather, or time stunned you?

Did you take a trip to a museum that awakened a new appreciation for nature?

Was there new job assignment that has stretched you?

Has a family picnic or class reunion given you a special perspective?

Have you you recently discovered letters or diaries?

What observations about life have you made lately?

What unique thing have you learned from reading?

What challenges have you overcome?

What unusual hobby do you have?

What have you learned while traveling?

All these can make for powerful devotionals with which

many can identify.

SAMPLE DEVOTIONALS
Read James 3:1-7

Careful Words

February is clearly the most difficult month to pronounce. People often

skip the first R and simply say, Febuary. Everyone knows what the speaker
means, but such carelessness sends a subtle message about his education or
lack of attention to detail.
February is not the only thing we struggle to pronounce. Sometimes we
cant even say, Im sorry, I was wrong, or Will you forgive me? Tongues
also trip when we make rash promises or spill secrets. In Psalm 141:3, we
read, Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord; keep watch over the door of my
lips.
The apostle James warned that an untamed tongue can set the whole
course of ones life on fire: The tongue is a small part of the body, but it
makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small
spark (James 3:5). Failing to say the first R in February seldom results in
such dire consequences, but gossip and critical words arent as lenient.
During this shortest month of the year, lets resolve to pay attention daily
to everything we sayfrom Rs, to arguments, to edifying speech.
Prayer: Lord, let my words be gracious, loving, and encouraging. In Jesus
name, amen.

Dennis E. HensleyFort Wayne, Indiana

Read Luke 2:1-10

Unpayable Debt

Since the financial crash of 2008, many Americans have scrambled to cope
with mountains of debts. Not long later, USA Today reported that 20 percent
of mortgage holders had mortgage debts exceeding the current value of their
homes. It was also reported that demand for Food Stamps was at an all-time
high, and that the national debt has continued to exceed trillions of dollars.
Many wring their hands and wonder if they will ever get out of debt.
A far greater debt has already been paid for us by Jesus Christ. We were
lost in sin, and Christ sacrificed himself on our behalf to wipe the slate clean.
The old hymn tells us, Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe; sin had left a crimson
stain, He washed it white as snow.
Whereas it is possible through diligent labor and frugality to work ourselves
out of financial debt, it is not possible to work ourselves out of our debt of
sin. Fortunately, we dont have to. All we have to do is call on the name of the
Lord and confess Christ as our Redeemer. He then stamps our debt Paid in
Full.
Praise God daily for paying a debt we could never pay ourselves.
Prayer: Lord, let me be continually mindful of the debt of love I owe you. In
Christs name, amen.

Dennis E. HensleyFort Wayne, Indiana

SUREFIRE IDEAS FOR DEVOTIONALS YOU CAN WRITE... AND SELL

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