Tag: Bible

Morning by Morning

On By BrianIn Book of Isaiah, Habit of Scripture1 Comment

Morning by morning he awakens;
he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
– Isaiah 50:4b

This verse is found in the third Servant Song speaking of the coming Servant of the Lord, our Lord Jesus Christ. And morning by morning he listened to God. It was a regular habit – a daily habit – listening to God.

Now the verse gives us a description of the Servant. It is not a command. And yet it is a good example for us to follow, even more so because it is the example of our Lord whom we follow. Morning by morning, he listened to God.

I love to read Christians biographies of men who were close to God and did great things in the kingdom. And the recurring testimony of these men is that they spent time with God morning by morning. If we want to be close to God and be used by God in his kingdom, we ought to consider their testimony and follow their example.

Morning by morning – listen to God.

Bible Reading Plans

On By BrianIn Holidays

The new year is a great time to commit to start reading through the Bible.  There are many plans out there, and Tim Challies gives us a good list of options.

The one I tend to use can be found in the menu bar above.  It gives you one chapter from the New Testament for 5 days each week, and one Psalm and 2-3 chapter from the Old Testament for 6 days each week.  That gives you one day each week to catch up or review what you learned during the week.

Another approach is to focus on a specific book of the Bible for an extended time by reading it over and over again until you really know the book.  Joe Carter explains this approach here.

Whatever you do, I hope that the coming year will be a year of growth for you in knowing and living out the Word of our Lord!

 

Passion Points

On By BrianIn Idolatry, PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Don’t Waste Your Beach Vacation – Steve Dewitt (Via Trevin Wax)

Three Tips for Better Bible Reading – Andy Naselli (DG)

5 Insights Into Idolatry – J. D. Greear

8 Ways to Beat Temptation – Mark Altrogge

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshiping our glorious and gracious God with your local church!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn Idolatry, PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

How to Grow Spiritually – William Boekestein (Ligonier)
Participating in preaching, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and prayer must regulate the routine of any healthy Christian.

When We Best Learn the Bible – Jen Wilkin (DG)
But sound Bible study is rooted in a celebration of delayed gratification. Gaining Bible literacy requires allowing our study to have a cumulative effect — across weeks, months, years — so that the interrelation of one part of Scripture to another reveals itself slowly and gracefully, like a dust cloth slipping inch by inch from the face of a masterpiece.

What Is Your Mud Pie? – Tim Challies
It is one of C.S. Lewis’ most powerful and most enduring illustrations: An ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. It is a vivid illustration and one that is simple enough to see in the lives of other people—those people who settle for lesser pleasures when the greatest of all pleasures awaits. But I, at least, find it far more difficult to see in my own life. You may find it just as difficult.  It is worth asking: What is your mud pie?

Success is Dangerous – Jared Wilson
We all prefer success to failure but, really, success is more dangerous. In failure, we know we rely totally on God’s approval and sustaining arm. In success, it is easy to begin looking around, surveying all the territories claimed, all the peoples gathered, all the ministry renown redounding, and we think, “Well, lookee here. Look what has been built with my talents, my gifts, my skills, my strategies, my visions, my sweat, my sacrifice.”

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day with your local church worshiping our great God!

Ministry Monday

On By BrianIn Ministry Moments

Here are some good posts on preaching and the public reading of God’s Word:

Be More Specific Than “Points” or “Things” – Andy Naselli
McDill lists 265 words that communicate more clearly that the ambiguous words “points” and “things” – Good practical stuff here!

4 Reasons Why Pastors Should Talk Regularly About Money – Dave Anderson (Generis)
It is understandable why pastors are uncomfortable to talk about money. But, it’s not all right to let that discomfort become an excuse for failing to disciple people in this area.

A Cost of All This Preaching? – Tim Challies
So here’s the question: Do you commit yourself to the public reading of Scripture?

Passion Passages

On By BrianIn Uncategorized

The Lord’s Passion For Us

The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him.

But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting
on those who fear him.

– Psalm 103:8, 11, 17 (ESV)

 

 

 

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

How to Fill Your Life with Joy – Matt Chandler via Jonathan Parnell (DG)
For years I tried to figure out what’s the best way for me to flourish in my relationship with Christ. And when all is said and done, I learned I needed to fill my life with things that stir my affections for Jesus. And then pay attention and keep away from my heart the things that rob me of my affections, even if those things are morally neutral.

Warm Yourself at the Fires of Meditation – David Mathis (DG)
In meditation, we pause and reflect over his words. We roll them over in our minds and let them ignite our hearts — we “warm ourselves at the fires of meditation.” We pose questions and seek answers. We go deep in God’s revelation, take it into our very souls, and as we are being changed by his truth, we respond to him in prayer.

How to Memorize Entire Books of the Bible – Jemar Tisby
You don’t have to start by memorizing an entire book.  Commit to memorizing a single chapter.  If you’re like me, you’ll be hooked and want to keep going.  And pray that God would bless your efforts.  He wants you to know His word. 

Where Preferences Go to Die – Trillia Newbell (GC)
I’m convinced many of our problems with the church result from running away from difficult or uncomfortable situations rather than persevering through them. Since we don’t enjoy facing our fears or finding ourselves in challenging circumstances, the thought of escape brings great comfort.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day with your local church worshiping our glorious and gracious God!

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Here are some good posts for your weekend reading:

Your Most Courageous Resolution for 2014 – Jon Bloom (Desiring God)
Let this be the year that we pursue love. Let this be the year that we stop talking about love, that we do less regretful moaning about how little we love and how much we need to grow in love and actually be determined to love more the way Jesus loved…

True Freedom is Freedom to Be My True Self – John Stott (via Trevin Wax)
True freedom is freedom to be my true self, as God made me and meant me to be. And God made me for loving. But loving is giving, self-giving. Therefore, in order to be myself, I have to deny myself and give myself….

Why Real Christians Are So Odd – A. W. Tozer (via Justin Taylor)
A real Christian is an odd number, anyway.
He feels supreme love for One whom he has never seen;
talks familiarly everyday to someone he cannot see;
expects to go to heaven on the virtue of another….

The Centerpiece of Sunday Worship – Marshall Segal (Desiring God)
Even in corporate worship, with sermons every week, we can too easily wander from our wonder at all that we have in Scripture. What if we came to church hungry, even starving, for the word of God (Matthew 4:4)? What if we expected God to inspire, change, and commission us in the sacred moments we spend together over these pages? What if we thought we’d become more like him — undeserving sinners wading into the divine nature — when his words wash over us as the Bible is read and explained (2 Peter 1:3–4)?

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day being incredibly odd as you love your brothers and sisters in Christ and hungrily dig into His Word!