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'Closer to God' is the Scripture Union devotional series for ordinary Bible readers - established Christian or new to faith, and looking to grow with God in a way that shows in your daily life.
Scripture Union’s Closer to God quarterly series gives you an easy to follow, creative, reflective and flexible approach to your daily Bible reading and personal time of prayer.
Page layout is crucial to whether or not you stay with a daily devotional beyond the first day. As most of the devotional experience is in your heart and mind, a well written guide needs only enough text to prompt you to open up to the Word and the Spirit; too much text and too many images on a page would be merely diverting and distracting.
At the top of each day’s page, Closer to God gives you a short Bible reference - rarely more than one verse, in bold print. It’s the first thing that takes your eye, and so it should. Next you find a few lines that open up the reference and put it in the context of the greater Bible passage. Immediately after that you get a sentence or two connecting the Bible to your daily life. If that’s enough for you, you can stop there – and some days it will be.
But often you'll want to go a little further; maybe because the Bible text stirs something in you, or because of the kind of day you’re having or have in prospect. Whatever your need, you’re given the Bible reference for a more complete scriptural view, and a couple of deeper, more searching questions.
As the title implies, the series' authors view devotion as a two way, developing relationship. Marked with the symbol of an upward arrow, each page encourages you to respond to what you've read. Sometimes you're offered an outline for a spoken or silent prayer, and sometimes an opportunity to put your response in writing. Writing your response gives you the chance to review your spiritual progress week by week.
There’s an added bonus to this Scripture Union series. At the bottom of each page there’s the reference you need to turn your Bible study into a read-the-Bible-in-one-year guide. This means you can use the devotional in the morning to prepare you for the day, and open it again in the evening to lead you through the whole Bible in small, easily digested readings.
With its contemporary covers and input from devotional writers and teachers with a breadth of experience in living out the gospel, Closer to God gives you a daily study that translates into real life. Try it for this quarter - or the Easter Quarter (April, May, June) with Jo Swinney, and out now; see how well it works for you. – Les Ellison
