Tag: Christianity

Best Books of the Year

On By BrianIn Book Look

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:

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

On By BrianIn Book Look

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:

HolyAvailableHoly 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:

Humility-02Humility: 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-05Humility: 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

On By BrianIn Habit of Scripture

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:

  1. Pray your way through the passage as you read it.
  2. Read slowly.  Ponder what God is saying to you.
  3. Record what you are learning in a journal.
  4. Look for repeated words or ideas.
  5. Ask: What is the main idea of this passage?
  6. Write down the main points of the passage.
  7. Ask: What does this mean? And How should I respond?
  8. Use a study Bible to explain things you don’t understand.
  9. 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!

On By BrianIn Family Collection, Holidays

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

On By BrianIn 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!

Fighter Verses

On By BrianIn PASSION Resources

FighterVersesYesterday we said that one application of delighting in the Word was to memorize it.  I have been reading the Redwall series to my kids.  They love it, and so naturally they have memorized some of the lines.  They love Narnia, and can quote lines from the books and the movies.  If we delight in the Word, shouldn’t we be able to quote lines from it?

But the Bible is a big book!  What verses should we memorize?  One good approach is to memorize verses that you have been reading and meditating on.  Which verses seem to jump out at you as a special challenge or comfort from God?  Memorize those verses.

But there are also some basic passages that touch on the basic teachings of the Bible, and basic issues that everyone of us face as we fight the good fight of faith.  The folks at Children Desiring God have chosen 260 passages as basic passages which they call Fighter Verses.  They have created a five year program that has you learning one passage a week.  Many churches use this program to encourage each other to memorize Scripture together.  I encouraged the folks at my church last week to try it in the coming year.  I just started working through it myself.  Perhaps you might want to try it too.

I encourage you to visit their site.  It is packed with helpful Scripture memory resources.  They have a bookmark with all of the 2013 verses on it, plus a strategy for learning and remembering them.  If you want to create memory verse cards, they have a link to easily do that.  They also have a blog post each week reflecting on the verse you will be learning.  Plus there are apps for your tablet or smartphone to help you learn the verses.  They have audio resources and more.  Explore their site, and ask God if he might have you use this resource in the coming year.  And if not, how else might he be calling you to memorize his Word in 2013?

Applying Our Delight in the Word

On By BrianIn Habit of Scripture, Virtue of Joy

In the last post we looked at three reasons from Psalm 119 regarding why we should delight in the Word.  Today, I want to consider three ways we should apply our delight in the Word:

  • Meditate on the Word.  If we delight in the Word, we will want to meditate on it, or fix our eyes on it (v14-15).  To meditate is to think about the passage, to ponder it, to chew on it.  If we delight in the Word, we will regularly read it, meditating on its meaning, and its application in our lives.  Do you regularly meditate on God’s Word?
  • Memorize the Word.  The Psalmist says he delights in God’s Word and will not forget it (v16).  Rather he has stored up the Word in his heart (v11).  We too need to regularly memorize the Word, so that we might always have it available in times of need or temptation.  Are you memorizing God’s Word?
  • Live the Word.  It is not enough to merely meditate on and memorize the Word.  We must also walk in it; we must keep it (v1-2).  You can’t tell me you delight in God’s Word if you are not following it.  Are you seeking to live out the Word?

If we delight in the Word, we will mediate on it, memorize it, and live it.  As the New Year approaches, this is a good time to reconfirm your commitment to God’s Word.  And if God’s Word has not been a commitment in your life, now is a great time to commit yourself to the Word for 2013.

Delight in the Word

On By BrianIn Habit of Scripture, Virtue of Joy

Psalm 119 is a psalm of delight in the Word.  Again and again the Psalmist declares his delight in God’s Word (v14, 16, 24, 70, 77, 92, 111, 143, 162, 174).  He also gives us at least three reasons why we should find joy in God’s Word.  God’s Word is:

  • A Guide to Life.  We should delight in God’s Word because it gives us counsel (v24).  The Word gives light for our paths (v105).  It shows us how to live a pure right life (v9).  It teaches us to lives as we were created to live.  How many messes in our lives could have been avoided if we had simply followed the Word?  We should find joy in God’s Word because it is a guide for our lives.
  • A Help In Trials.  In the midst of his affliction, the Word of God gave him life; it kept him from perishing.  In our trials, the Word gives us something to hold onto, to cling to.  It gives us hope, peace, comfort, strength, encouragement, joy.  It gives us life.  Even in our afflictions, we can find joy in God’s Word.  We should delight in God’s Word because it is a help in our trials.
  • A Word from the Lord.  The law is not just any law.  It is the law of the Lord (v1).  It comes from God.  He has written us a letter.  God speaks to us in his Word.  If we love God, we will love his Word – we will delight in it as we delight in Him.  We should delight in God’s Word because it is from God.

As we ponder these three reasons, and use the Word as our guide and help and word from God, may God cause our delight in His Word to grow!

Finding Joy

On By BrianIn Virtue of Joy

Christmas is a time of joy, yet many struggle to find it.  In the midst of the trials and sufferings of life, where can we find joy?  The writers of the Psalms tell us places where they found joy – places where we too can find joy even in the midst of the struggles of life.  We can find joy in:

  • God’s love (90:14)
  • God’s salvation (51:12)
  • God’s deliverance (126)
  • God’s protection (63:7)
  • God’s reign (97:1)
  • God’s people (16:3)
  • God’s Word (119:14-16)

It is not hard to see what all of these joy-bringers have in common.  All come from God.  Every good thing that brings us joy comes from God.  Each joyful blessing comes from the river of his delights (Psalm 36:8).  God is the source of joy.  We find our joy ultimately in him:

You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.
– Psalm 4:7

You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
– Psalm 16:11

For you make him most blessed forever;
you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
– Psalm 21:6

Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.
– Psalm 43:4

In the presence of God, we find exceeding joy beyond any other joy.  The joy found in God’s blessings is good; the joy found in God himself is better.  This Christmas, no matter what struggles you are facing, you can find joy in the presence of the Lord.  Won’t you draw near to him?

Quotes To Ponder: Joy 2

On By BrianIn PASSION Quotes

Christian joy is the proper response to the presence of something desirable: God.
– Philip Kenneson

The joy of the Lord will arm us against the assaults of our spiritual enemies, and put our mouths out of taste for those pleasures with which the tempter baits his hooks.
– Matthew Henry

Joy is diminished…by walking at a distance from God. 
If you get away from the fire you will grow cold.
– Charles Spurgeon

Christ being present with you, this is your main joy.  Enjoy the feast for yourselves,
or you will not be strong to hand out the living bread to others.
– Charles Spurgeon

Search the Scriptures diligently, and your joy shall spread and deepen.
– Charles Spurgeon

All the writings of Scripture, doctrinal, experimental, or practical, all have for their object, that which John declares in these words – “that your (our) joy may be full.”
– Charles Spurgeon