Tuesday – Revived Life
Read Psalm 85:1-7
Pray for a growing passion for God, His Word, and prayer.
Pray for a growing hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Pray for a growing passion for evangelism and missions.
Pray for revival in our churches.
Author: Brian
Follower of Jesus, Husband, Dad, Grandpa, and Pastor
Prayer Week – Monday
My church and our sister churches are having a week of prayer this week. Our theme is “Pray for Life!” I thought I might invite you to join us. For Monday our focus is on praising the Source of Life:
Monday – Source of Life
Read Psalm 8
Praise the Lord for his majesty, beauty, splendor, and glory.
Praise the Lord for his beautiful creation.
Praise the Lord for his amazing love towards us.
Praise the Lord for his great salvation for us in Jesus.
What We Were Made For
Urgently, incessantly, Jesus drew people to God. Seek first the kingdom and righteousness of God, he said (Matt. 6:33). For this we were made. Nothing else satisfies the longings of the heart. Nothing but the source of joy can give us joy.
So Jesus invites us to follow him, to hunger and thirst for God,
and to feast on the goodness that comes from God alone.
– Arthur Simon in How Much Is Enough?
Passion Points
Here are some good posts for your end of the year weekend consideration.
I suggested a Bible reading plan a few days ago; here are some more possible Bible reading plans:
The Bible Eater – Trent Hunter at Gospel Coalition
Combines daily readings from Old and New Testaments with one longer Old Testament reading each quarter. Plus a few days off each month are built in to keep you from falling behind.
Two Year Bible Reading Plan – Stephen Witmer at Gospel Coalition
If trying to get through the Bible in one year is too much for you, here is a plan to do it in two years. More focus; less rush. My biggest dislike is that you won’t get to the New Testament until mid-second year. Regular catch-up days keep you from falling behind.
Three Year Weekly Reading Plan – Tim Chester
Takes you through the Old Testament once and the New Testament twice in three years. One passage a week divided however you like in whichever days you like. Goes back and forth between Old and New Testament books.
And then a few more end of the year posts:
A Smorgasbord of Bible Memorization Methods – Matthias Media
Here are some helpful ideas for memorizing Scripture in 2013.
Where Was God in All the Goodness of 2012 – John Piper at Desiring God
We wonder where God is in the midst of suffering, but what about in the midst of all the goodness we don’t deserve?
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshiping our good God!
Resolutions Resources
Tis that time of year when many, myself included, make New Year resolutions. How do we want the coming year to look different from the past? Below are several helpful links.
Questions for the New Year – Donald Whitney provides several questions to help us think about the new year.
New Years Resolutions – Here are the categories I use as I think about the coming year.
Jonathan Edwards’ Resolutions – Sometimes it helps to see what others resolved to do.
A New Years Day Challenge – A good challenge from R. C. Ryle for any day of the year.
Resolution Principles – Ten helpful principles for making and keeping resolutions.
How to Make Your Resolutions Stick – Mike Cosper offers four very good principles for actually keeping your resolutions.
My we press forward this year in following Christ for the glory of God!
Best Books of the Year
I have collected several lists of the best books of the year from around the web. There are lots of good books to consider reading! If you don’t feel like wading through the lists, here are the top two choices. Three lists included these two books:
- Puritan Theology by Joel Beeke and Mark Jones
- Delighting in the Trinity by Michael Reeves
Several books had mention on two lists; I’ll let you discover them:
Top Ten Books of 2012 – Kevin DeYoung
TGC Staff Cite Best Books from 2012 – Gospel Coalition
My Ten Favorite Reads of 2012 – Trevin Wax
Top 12 Books of 2012 – Tony Reinke at Desiring God
My Top Books of 2012 – Tim Challies
Best of 2012 – Andreas Kostenberger
Crossway also compiled some top book recommendations from their staff and some of their authors. These lists are broader than 2012 reads.
Books of the Year
Tis the time of year to make lists of the best books of the year. Of all the books I read, three stood out as the best. They are:
Holy Available
by Gary Thomas
The basic idea is that Jesus is still active today, and we need to be available to be used by him. You can read my Book Look for a fuller summary. It is incredibly quotable. I quoted from it several times here on the blog:
- Keep Your Heart
- Rest in Being Used
- Lost in Wonder
- Growing Dim?
- All About Christ or Me?
- Christ Working Through Us
- A Compelling Life
Humility: The Forgotten Virtue
by Wayne Mack
I read two books on humility this year which complemented each other well. This one digs into the Scriptures to explore our humility before God and with one another. You can read my Book Look for further information. This book also provided some good quotes:
Humility: True Greatness
by C. J. Mahaney
This one briefly looks at our humility before God, and then at the humility of Jesus. Half of the book then explores practical ways to grow in humility. This last section was especially helpful. Here is the Book Look for more information. A few quotes:
Meditate on the Word
Last week, we talked about delighting in the Word. If we delight in the Word, we will want to spend time in it. We will want to read it. We will want to meditate on it. I have added a new page to the site with a Bible Reading Plan. You read from different portions of the Bible six days a week. Day seven is to catch up on a day you missed or to review ways that God has challenged you during the last six days.
There are of course a lot of reading plans out there. This one works for me, because the review/catch-up day helps keep me from falling behind. But whatever approach you take, the important thing is to read and meditate on the Word. With that in mind, here are a few ideas for meditating on the Word:
- Pray your way through the passage as you read it.
- Read slowly. Ponder what God is saying to you.
- Record what you are learning in a journal.
- Look for repeated words or ideas.
- Ask: What is the main idea of this passage?
- Write down the main points of the passage.
- Ask: What does this mean? And How should I respond?
- Use a study Bible to explain things you don’t understand.
- Ask more questions:
- What does this passage teach me about God?
- What examples do I see of God’s grace?
- What does this passage teach me about ____? (any theme)
10. Ask more application questions:
- Is there a truth to believe?
- Is there a promise to claim?
- Is there an example to follow (or not follow)?
- Is there a command to obey?
- Is there a sin to confess?
11. Try Luther’s contemplative method by asking three questions:
- How does this show me something about God to praise?
- How does this show me something about myself to confess?
- How does this show me something I need to ask God for?
(Adoration, Confession, Supplication)
Merry Christmas!
I hope you all have a merry Christmas tomorrow. Here are a few good Christmas posts:
God Became a Man – Justin Taylor
Some good classic quotes on the incarnation from Spurgeon, Augustine, and more.
Why a Virgin Birth? – Douglas Wilson
Good answer to the question…
5 Ways to Play With Your Kids This Christmas – Trevin Wax
Dads, this one is for us. You may not like every idea, but the post gets us thinking in the right direction.
Passion Points
Here are some good posts on afflictions and prayer:
Eight Helps for Coping with Affliction – Arthur Hildersham (via Joel Beeke)Acquaint yourself thoroughly with the Scriptures, for they prepare people for affliction, and teach us patience and comfort in affliction, like no other book can.
Leading Our Emotions: Depression – Chris Brauns
Only Christ satisfies the needs of our soul (though we often idolize other things such as children and believe they will satisfy). Does the use of your time indicate that you believe only Christ will satisfy the thirst of your soul?
Spiritual Depression: A Strategy for Defeating It – Chris Brauns
A central strategy in the battle depression must be to turn from a private focus on self, to a corporate worship of Christ.
You Asked: Can I Pray to Jesus? – Graham Cole (via Gospel Coalition)
So can you pray to Jesus? Of course you can. But let me suggest if this is the predominant way we pray we may lose something of enormous importance. We may lose sight of the glorious gospel with the Father as the architect of our salvation, the Son as the achiever, and the Spirit as the applier.
To Hell with the Devil and His Destructive Lies – John Piper (via Justin Taylor)
I hate the devil, and the way he is killing some of you by persuading you it is legalistic to be as regular in your prayers as you are in your eating and sleeping and Internet use. Do you not see what a sucker he his making out of you? He is laughing up his sleeve at how easy it is to deceive Christians about the importance of prayer.
Hope you have a great Lord’s Day celebrating our great Savior!
Brian J. Mikul 