Devotional | free Christian resources

Nov 15

Free Christian advent calendars

With the beginning of December just a few weeks away thoughts may be turning to getting hold of a good advent calendar. Advent calendars where first used by German Lutherans in the early 19th century, often by simply drawing chalk lines on their doors each day. Now they are often used for children as a great way to count down to Christmas Day when we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Sadly most advent calendars these days are stuffed with chocolate and may not contain any references to Jesus. Here though are some of the best free online sources of Christian advent calendars, please leave a comment if you know any better ones!

The Nativity advent calendar

The Nativity advent calendar is provided by New Line Cinema who created the Nativity film. You need to download the software (Mac and PC versions are available) and you can then run it each day. Every day you get a picture from the film and a verse from the bible by clicking on the stars. I’m assuming once it actually gets to December the correct star for the day will flash otherwise it is quite tricky to work out which one to press!

Graphically the Nativity calendar is impressive, and it is clear Christian too.

Make it from scratch!

If you’re artistic and creative then you may want to make the entire advent calendar yourself. St Luke’s Episcopal Church has a simple to follow guide.

If that all seems at bit much then the advent calendar template used at Presentation Helper may be of use. It is not actually Christian as you can see from the image to the right. However it would be easy to tweak it to have a Christian theme. It comes in a powerpoint format that you can use on your computer, or you can print it off to make it more of a traditional advent calendar.

Advent calendars for your website

Sean McManus’s javascript advent calendar is only for the brave! If you own your own website you can create your own advent calendar page that gives a message when you click on a given box. Obviously this can be made as Christian (or not) as you like.

The example provided works, but I’d imagine it would take a little bit of effort to get this advent calendar looking good for your website.

Advent devotions

The American Bible Societies advent page is not strictly an advent calendar, but it does have lots of devotional materials with a particular focus on the gospels.

Other advent calendars

The Jesse tree is an online version of the tradition of hanging symbolic ornaments on Christmas tress that represented the Messianic prophecies.
Artcyclopedia 2004 advent calendar is very good if you like traditional Christian images and Renaissance art.

Jun 27

the best free modern Christian devotions

devotional No Comments »

Christian daily devotions can be the perfect way to continually be both challenged and reminded of what Jesus has done for us. Some of the best classic Christian literature has been in the form of devotions, but if you want to guarantee to have a new reading every day of every year then you need to choose a modern devotion. With so many great choices available though, which do you pick to read? To help you, here are the pick of the modern Christian devotions:

The Word for Today

word for today devotion The Word for Today is superb modern devotion that is available both online (RSS or web page) or in printed copy in many countries. It is very professionally written and covers a variety of topics which helps ensure you are always being challenged.

word for you today devotion There is even a separate version written for youth which can also be listened to via a podcast as well as read online or posted to you. This version is called The Word 4U 2DAY and is focused more on the issues that younger Christians may face.

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread is of a similar ilk to the Word for Today and is also very well written.
If you live in the United States or Canada you can also receive a hard copy of the devotion in the post. You can even listen to the devotion via a podcast.

Strength for the Journey

Strength for the Journey is written by Joe Stowell and is a longer and more involved than most devotions. Every day there are application questions that make sure you don’t let the devotion float over your head without it impacting you.

You can either read Strength for the Journey online or via a podcast.

You can find more great Christian devotions here… What is your favorite devotion?

Mar 18

The best 3 classic Christian devotions

devotional 2 Comments »

There are many superb free modern Christian daily devotions available, but none every quite seem to reach the levels of richness achieved by some of the great classic devotions. Here are the top three classic Christian devotions available that have inspired generations of Christians in their walk with God:

Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

Charles Spurgeon

Your votes(0): 1 Star

Loading ...

If one daily devotion just isn’t enough for you then Spurgeon (1834-1892) had the answer – have one devotion in the morning and one in the evening! If that still isn’t enough daily Spurgeon devotionals you might also consider reading Spurgeon’s Faith Checkbook. Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening is a superb devotion that is so rich in content it it can but draw you closer to Jesus.

Charles Spurgeon was a popular preacher, often attracting over ten thousand people to his London church on Sundays. He was also prolific and preached almost thirty-six hundred sermons (most of which were published in newspapers after they were preached) and published forty-nine volumes of commentaries, sayings, anecdotes, illustrations, and devotions.

Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest

Oswald Chambers

Your votes(0): 1 Star

Loading ...

fCr review | fCr rating: 5 out of 5
Formats available: RSS | email | web current day(link to archives)

Oswald Chambers’ (1974-1917) ‘My Utmost for his Highest’ remains one of the most popular pieces of Christian literate almost one century after it was first produced. The devotion was compiled from Oswald Chambers’ works by his wife Gertrude after his death in 1917. The writings and observations are deep and full of impact and barely a days reading will pass without you being compelled to pray to God.

Interestingly it was after a Charles Spurgeon preach that Oswald Chambers became a Christian. You may also want to look at the official Oswald Chambers website for additional works or information.

Streams in the Desert

Streams in the Desert Cowman

Your votes(0): 1 Star

Loading ...

fCr review | fCr rating: 4 out of 5
Formats available: RSS | email | web current day | web archives

L.B. Cowman’s daily devotion ‘Streams in the Desert’ is a fantastic collection of writings from many Christian authors, and was first published in the same year ‘My Utmost for his Highest’. Streams in the Desert is renowned for being perfect for helping you when you are spiritually dry and when you need to draw closer to God.

L.B. Cowman was inspired to the write Streams in the Desert both after looking after her dying husband in his last six years, and also from the sixteen years she spent as a missionary in China and Japan.

Free Streams in the Desert devotion by L.B. Cowman

devotional 1 Comment »

fCr rating:

Your votes(3): 1 Star

Loading ...

Streams in the Desert - L.B. Cowman
main website

Streams in the Desert daily devotion has stood the test of time and stands tall as a superb collection of thoughts and writings to help us draw nearer to God.

Streams in the Desert is a great classic devotion by L.B. Cowman initially published in 1925. Mrs L.B. Cowman was a missionary in China and Japan between 1901 and 1917. Streams in the desert was inspired both by this time, and as she looked after her dying husband for six years.

Streams in the Desert is renowned for being perfect for helping you when you are spiritually dry and when you need to draw closer to God. It is not just L.B. Cowman’s writings though, and comprises daily reading taken from the bible, hymns, poems and the writings of many Christians.

As with the other classic devotions that are still read today, it is beautifully rich and certainly not “bible-lite”.

Getting the devotion

If you go to the Crosswalk website you can read the entry for the day, or sign up for an email to be sent to you every day. You can also read the Streams in the Desert daily devotion by RSS at the Crosswalk website..

Here is an excerpt from the 1st January:

All our supply is to come from the Lord. Here are springs that shall never dry; here are fountains and streams that shall never be cut off. Here, anxious one, is the gracious pledge of the heavenly Father. If He be the source of our mercies they can never fail us. No heat, no drought can parch that river, “the streams whereof make glad the city of God.

Summary

Streams in the Desert daily devotion has stood the test of time and stands tall as a superb collection of thoughts and writings to help us draw nearer to God.

Strengths

Superb quality of rich, deep writing
Available via email and RSS

Weaknesses

None

Links

Website: http://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/desert/

Feb 23

Free Purpose Driven Life devotional

devotional 1 Comment »

Purpose Driven Life Devotional Purpose Driven Life is a modern daily devotion based around Rick Warren’s well known book of the same name. Indeed Rick Warren even writes some of the devotional entries.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Feb 19

Free Strength for the Journey Daily Devotional

devotional No Comments »

Strength for the Journey is a modern daily devotion from Joe Stowell provided by RBC ministries (who also provide the Our Daily Bread daily devotional). It is very well written, and perfect for those who want a devotion with a ‘bit more meat’.

Joe Stowell serves as teaching pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel and the RBC website says of him:

His prevailing passions are to express the heart of the gospel by keeping Christ preeminent in all of life; to embrace the body of Christ across color and class distinctions; and to focus attention on ministry needs in the urban centers, as well as on global needs and trends.

The daily devotions are relatively long, about 2-3 times as long as your normal devotion. So if you feel most devotions are just too short this would be a good choice.

One of the real strong points of Strength for the Journey is the application questions at the end. This is a key part to getting the most out of any devotion, and the questions are always well written by Joe Stowell.

Getting the devotion

The easiest way to access the devotion is to go to the main page of the website each day.

What sets Strength of the Journey apart from most other daily devotions is that the message is provided via podcast. Alternatively you can download it in mp3 format, should you want to listen to an older message – or to listen to a current message online.

Here is the shortcut for the message given today if you want to listen:

You can also subscribe to the RSS feed, although as with Our Daily Bread the feed only shows the first paragraph of the text so it cannot be used as a method of actually reading the devotion. Also in keeping with Our Daily Bread there is no email version available – so lots of people won’t be able to access the devotion in a format they like and will use.

Summary

Strength for the Journey is a really good devotion that is more in depth than many daily devotions with great application questions included. With a podcast and mp3 version available, Strength for the Journey is great choice of devotion.

Ratings:

fCr rating: 4 out of 5

Your votes(0): 1 Star

Loading ...

Strengths

Well written articles
Good application questions
Available via podcast or mp3

Weaknesses

No email format and the RSS format is not the full article

Links

Website: http://www.rbc.org/bible-study/strength-for-the-journey/daily-strength.aspx
Podcast: http://www.rbc.org/podcast.ashx?id=50452

Feb 17

Free Our Daily Bread Devotional Review

devotional 1 Comment »

fCr rating:

Your votes(2): 1 Star

Loading ...

Our Daily Bread
main website | Podcast

Our Daily Bread is a high quality modern daily devotional let down by limited availability.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Jan 22

Free daily devotional for teenagers

devotional 2 Comments »

fCr rating:

Your votes(3): 1 Star

Loading ...

Teen Daily Devotion Ministry
main website

A good quality daily devotional for teenagers, including a chat room and forum.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Jan 16

Free devotional - The Upper Room

devotional No Comments »

white room The Upper Room is a modern daily devotion which follows the normal structure of starting with a verse before writing a short and thought provoking article.

As well as the main devotion, each day also has a ‘thought for the day’, a prayer, a prayer focus and a related reading. These really help to make sure you don’t just read the devotion and stop there as it leads you into prayer.

Getting the devotion

The Upper Room is accessible either directly on the web page, via email or on a mobile device. You can get a printed copy, but unlike The Word for Today, there is a charge for this.

Summary

The Upper Room is a good, modern daily devotional.

Ratings:

fCr rating: 3.5 out of 5
Your votes(0): 1 Star 2 Stars 3 Stars 4 Stars 5 Stars Loading ...

Strengths

Well written articles
Simple to use website

Weaknesses

Podcast and RSS formats would be good additions

Links

Website: http://www.upperroom.org/Devotional/

Jan 14

Free Spurgeon devotionals in all formats!

devotional 1 Comment »

Charles Spurgeon’s ‘Morning and Evening’ devotional is one of the best read Christian books. As well as a raft of other books he also wrote ‘Faith’ Checkbook’, another daily devotional. In his lifetime Charles Spurgeon was popular and drew huge crowds to his sermons. Now, he is even better known with his many books read across the world.

Spurgeon’s devotionals are rewarding and challenging to read, and if you’re considering beginning reading a daily devotional I suggest you start here!

If you are not familiar with Charles Spurgeon then the following synopsis from answers.com gives an idea why he is still so popular today.

With no formal theological training, British Baptist preacher Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834 - 1892) became the most popular minister of the nineteenth century, regularly attracting crowds of 6,000 each Sunday to his London - based Metropolitan Tabernacle church. In the history of Christianity, no other cleric is more widely read - after Biblical ones - than Spurgeon. He has more material available to readers than any other Christian author, dead or alive.

There is no one website that has either of the devotionals in all of the formats you may want it. However, below I have split out each of the main formats you can access them free:

Morning and Evening + Checkbook : current day reading on website
If you simply want to see the reading for the current day then the Spurgeon Archive is the place to go. Every day the simply presented entry is automatically updated for the current day.

Morning and Evening : index on website
For an index where you can click on any entry for any day of the year then Brandon Staggs’ website is perfect. From this page every Morning and Evening entry is just one click away!