[Friday's Devotional] - VAKs

This week we have considered how we learn and can learn about God; in what we see (visual), what we hear and say (auditory) and what we do (kinaesthetic). In the teaching world this is a learning theory often shortened to ‘VAKs’. It suggests that people have a preference of one of these for the most effective learning.

 

-       Read, listen, do: How do you best learn about God?

-       Does it change depending on your circumstances?

 

But, many people make the mistake of focussing on the preference and ignoring the other two. In doing this they encourage the preferred way of learning, but limit their learning by excluding the others.

 

Naturally you might be a reader, a listener or a doer. But, you should not limit yourself to that. God calls us to grow, and grow as an entire person. We need to be willing to learn from God’s word and listen to those with wisdom, but we also need to be able to act and learn through experience. We need to be willing to jump in, but we will need a strong foundation found in God’s word and supportive listeners for moments it is not easy.

 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 [NIV]

 

Do not dwell only in a part of God, but learn and grow in all the fullness he can offer.

 

Today and over the weekend try spending time reading God’s Word, time listening to music or a Christian speaker, and do something active to develop a part of yourself for God. Do stretch yourself, but make it manageable. Focus a little more time on the area you think is your least favourite way.

 

These are only suggestions, feel free to do something different, but do include reading, hearing and doing.

 

 

Anna Naish

[Thursday's Devotional] - Kinaesthetic: Do

There are some who feel itchy in the classroom if they have to spend too long reading or too long listening. I was not one of those pupils; I love reading and I loved lectures. That doesn’t mean I love learning more than those who want to be out and busy though!

 

“When you hear them sound a long blast on the trumpets, have the whole army give a loud shout; then the wall of the city will collapse…” Joshua 6:5 [NIV]

 

God gave Joshua a command, it was clear and simple, even if it didn’t seem logical. Joshua did not delay while he read the Scriptures for proof or to ask advice of everyone around him. God was clear and he acted immediately. And the walls did come down and through his decisive action he learnt, along with those who were present and everyone who have heard, the great power of God.

 

- How do you see God in your day to day life?

- How do you act in a way that shows God?

 

We need to be active and doing Christians. It should be clear from our actions that we live our lives for someone else, and that someone else is God. We often hear that we should act to show others that we follow God, and that is important. But more importantly, we should act for God because it leads us towards what we are meant to do and along the way we learn and grow in ourselves and in our faith.

 

 - Think of an area of your life that you need God to speak into and develop into something that looks more like God.

 - Jot down/set a reminder one or two things you can ‘do’ to start.

 

Anna Naish

[Wednesday's Devotional] - Auditory: Listen

Yesterday we thought about how we can find God by opening up the Bible and reading from it. But, God can also speak to us in other ways. God has watched and cared for the world since the beginning of time, but he hasn’t usually had a pen handy to write notes for us. He speaks using his voice and the voices of others.

Just look at the first Pentecost:

“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues…Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” Acts 2:4, 41 [NIV]

God spoke not just to the scholars but to everyone who came forward to hear. We can learn so much about God in the discussions we have with people at church, our friends and our families. We can learn more about God’s love, his comfort and his power. As long as we are willing to stop and take time to have those discussions with one another.

-      When did you last ask a fellow Christian about their walk with God?

But, just as we can learn more about God through the things others say, others can also learn about God through the things that we say.

-      When was the last time you were truly honest about your faith?

Today, is not about creating guilt for not sharing the personal details, the trials and the joys that we do not wish to share with the world. But, it is a reminder that we should all have someone who we can be open with and they can be open with you. But it is also a time to just be open, to listen and to learn.

-       When you are near a computer or phone follow this link and simply listen (without doing anything else:
Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) – Hillsong UNITED

-      Or put a worship CD/music on in the house or on your commute.

Anna Naish

[Tuesday's Devotional] - Visual: Read

Some people learn best by the things they see and read. The Book of Acts tells us about those who came to faith through studying and reading God’s Word.

 

“Now the Berean Jews…received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.” Acts 17:11-12 [NIV]

 

These people had been given Paul’s message that their saviour had come, but they did not believe it blindly. They wanted to ensure that all his promises of fulfilment were actually fulfilments. This does not mean that they did not have faith, but their faith was supported and strengthened by their time spent looking and studying God’s Word.

 

-          When was the last time you read directly from the Bible and spent time trying to understand what it meant for you?

-          When was the last time you read a Christian book that taught you something important for your faith?

 

It is easy to believe and trust prominent Christian writers and speakers, after all they have often spent a lot of time themselves studying and learning the nuances of the Bible and what it says. They are a brilliant asset to help us draw out meaning that we wouldn’t recognise without knowing the original language or culture. To read such books is fantastic to learn about our faith and how to live it. But, that does not give us an excuse to leave our Bibles closed. God wants us as individual believers to wrap ourselves in his Word.

 

-          At some point today take five minutes to read directly from the Bible. If you don’t know what to read, try Acts 17:10-15 and see what message you get from that passage.

 

 

Anna Naish

[Monday's Devotional] - Learn to Grow

I have just completed my initial training to become a teacher.  After only 6 weeks of training, I have started my teaching career (although there will be much more training along the way). During this time I have thought a lot about the way we learn, not just the teenagers I am about to teach, but everyone, including myself.

To grow as a Christian we need to learn and develop:

“We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will…so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God” Colossians 1:9-10 [NIV]

There are many parts to this passage that are vital to that development.

Firstly, continually asking for knowledge, to thirst for God to reveal himself and to help us understand.

Secondly, that we live a life that will reflect God’s glory to the best of our ability.

Thirdly, that our lives are increasingly in line with God’s way as we understand more about what God wants for us.

-          What is the last thing you learnt about God that affected the way you live?

-          How do you learn best?

There may be plateaus and dips through our journey, but often the time we are closest to God is during our times of learning. We can learn without growing, but then it is not impacting on our relationship with God. We can grow without learning but then there is little to secure that growth.

-          Are you in a period of growth or of plateau?   How do you know?

-          What area of your life with God do you feel God wants you to develop?

 Anna Naish