FALL 2011 Large Print Southern Baptist Guide for Personal Devotions
HOWTO BECOME A CHRISTIAN Before you were born, God wanted you to know Him personally. He chose to show you how much He loves you. But to accept His offer, you need to know the ABC s of Salvation. Admit to God you re a sinner. Sin is refusing to acknowledge God s authority over your life. Everyone sins. The result of sin is spiritual death or eternal separation from God when you die. Repent; turn away from your sin and toward God. (See Acts 3:19; Romans 3:23; 6:23.) Believe in Jesus Christ as God s Son and accept Jesus gift of forgiveness from sin. Jesus took the penalty for your sin by dying on the cross because you could not meet God s requirement for a perfect sacrifice for your sins. (See John 3:16.) Confess to God your faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. As Lord, Jesus has earned the right to be obeyed as a sheep obeys his shepherd. (See Romans 10:9-10,13; 1 John 1:9.) You may pray a prayer similar to this: Dear God, I know that You love me. I admit I am a sinner. Please forgive me for my sin. I place my faith in Jesus as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for saving me. In Jesus name I pray, amen. If you sincerely asked Jesus to be your Savior, tell a pastor or another Christian about your decision. Show your faith in Christ by asking a Bible-believing church for baptism by immersion. (See Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:41.) To find a church, call the church or person who provided you with this copy of Open Windows. Read the Bible Through Each daily devotional includes the Read the Bible Through Scripture, which allows you to read the entire Bible in one year.
FALL 2011 Volume 76 Number 1 his windows being open... toward Jerusalem. Daniel 6:10 Open Windows devotional magazine motivates adult disciples to grow in Christ through daily Scripture reading, biblical insights, prayer starters, and a missionary prayer calendar. Open Windows (Large Print) (ISSN 0162-4296, Item 005075106) is published quarterly by Life- Way Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234, Thom S. Rainer, President. 2011 LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. For ordering or inquiries, visit www.lifeway.com, or write LifeWay Church Resources Customer Service, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234-0113. For subscriptions or subscription address changes, e-mail subscribe@lifeway.com, fax 615-251-5818, or write to the above address. For bulk shipments mailed quarterly to one address, e-mail orderentry@lifeway.com, fax 615-251-5933 or write to the above address. We believe that the Bible has God for its author; salvation for its end; and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter and that all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. The 2000 statement of The Baptist Faith and Message is our doctrinal guideline. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version. Printed in the United States of America Cover photo: Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, KY Production & Ministry Team Betty Hassler Content Editor Dale Royalty Graphic Designer Laura Allison Production Editor Woody Parker Editorial Project Leader Alan Raughton Lead Adult Ministry Specialist David Apple Adult Ministry Specialist Management Personnel Bret Robbe Director Leadership and Adult Publishing Ken Braddy, Debbie Johnson, Ron Keck Managing Directors Leadership and Adult Publishing Bill Craig Director Leadership and Adult Ministry Gary H. Hauk Director, Publishing LifeWay Church Resources Send questions or comments to: Editor, Open Windows, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234-0175. Or make comments on the web at www.lifeway.com.
This fall issue of 2011 is dedicated to the men and women who have taught or presently teach at or lead our Southern Baptist universities and seminaries and who have sent thousands of students into our world firmly grounded in their faith. Most readers don t look at a magazine s masthead (or for that matter, the editor s column!). If you did, you would find our theme Scripture: his windows being open toward Jerusalem, taken from Daniel 6:10 and the reason for our magazine s name. Hopefully, you have noticed that Daniel 6:6-10 has been the featured Scripture and key verse (v. 10) several times during this 75th celebratory year. You have also discovered no two writers had the same message or drew the same conclusions! That reflects the wealth to be found in God s Word. In this issue the first day of each month s readings focuses on keeping the windows of our hearts open toward God. The devotion for November 1 was written by retired Open Windows editor Sam Brents of Kentucky, who chose to convey his thoughts in a poem. I pray Daniel s commitment to prayer inspires you to pray daily, despite distractions and adversity, opening the windows of your heart to God s counsel for His glory. Visit us at Facebook/openwindowsdevotions.
Writers This Quarter *J. R. Grant (Sept. 1) deceased; pastored several churches in Texas including First Baptist Church of Lubbock beginning in 1946; served as member of executive committee, SBC *C. Ferris Jordan (Sept. 2-6) retired professor of adult education, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; Istrouma Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana Jeff Iorg (Sept. 7-11) president of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, Mill Valley, California; author of numerous books Morlee Maynard (Sept. 12-16) assistant professor of Christian education, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Missouri *John Drakeford (Sept. 17-20) deceased; professor of psychology and counseling, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas; director of Baptist Marriage and Family Counseling Center; authored or coauthored 41 books *Roland Q. Leavell (Sept. 21-24) deceased; president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary 1946-58; vice president, SBC Daniel Sanchez (Sept. 25-29) professor of missions, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas David Dockrey (Sept. 30-Oct. 4) president, Union University, Jackson, Tennessee; author of numerous books *T. B. Maston (Oct. 5-9) deceased; professor at Southern Seminary, Southeastern Seminary, Midwestern Seminary, and Arab Baptist Seminary; professor of ethics, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, TX; author Wayne McDill (Oct. 10-14) senior professor of preaching, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, North Carolina Stephen Andrews (Oct. 15-19) professor of Old Testament, Hebrew, and Archaeology, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City, Missouri
Writers This Quarter *Grady Nutt (Oct. 20-23) deceased; noted Southern Baptist entertainer; assistant to the president, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky Jeanine Bozeman (Oct. 24-28) professor of social work, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans, Louisiana *Gaines S. Dobbins (Oct. 29-31) deceased; professor of religious education and church administration at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, from 1920-56; served as interim president; became professor of church administration at Golden Gate Seminary at age 70; prolific Christian author, 32 books and 5,000 articles, taught more than 12,000 students Sam Brents (Nov. 1) former editor Open Windows, 1971-1984; now resides in Burkesville, Kentucky Daniel Akin (Nov. 2-6) president, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest, North Carolina Ronald Ellis (Nov. 7-11) president, California Baptist University, Riverside, California *Sybil Townsend (Nov. 12-16) deceased; English instructor, Blue Mountain College; served as dean of women and dean of students at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans, Louisiana *Lucien Coleman (Nov. 17-21) retired; professor of religious education at both Southern and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminaries; Weatherford, Texas *Chester Swor (Nov. 22-25) deceased; evangelist and popular speaker at student events; dean of men and assistant professor, Mississippi College; author Jaye Martin (Nov. 26-30) director of women s programs, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky *Previously published devotions
Thursday, September 1 Opening Closed Windows* Devotional Passage: Luke 22:54-62 Read the Bible Through: Proverbs 21 23 1 Corinthians 6 Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest s house. And Peter followed afar off. Luke 22:54 Millions follow Jesus some close and some afar off. Peter, for a time, followed afar off. He was with the enemies of Jesus warming by their fire. His window toward the Savior was not open. These things may close our windows to Jesus: the glare and glitter of things that perish, the jeers of those who follow Satan, the craving for money and things it will buy, people who would sell their souls for power and fame, and the crowds going in the wrong direction. There are dangers in closing our windows to Jesus even for a short time. Closing puts one in the wrong crowd, leads one into temptation, and causes one to deny Jesus, to swear, and to commit other sins. Things that help keep our windows open include knowledge of God s Word, our daily road map and guide book; prayer, which helps us to help others; associating with good company; and a good life work that keeps one on higher ground. Father, give me courage to open my windows to the good and to keep them closed to the evil. *Originally published June 1, 1937