Desiring God Blog : Posts from 2010

Last year David Mathis outlined several good plans for people wanting to read through the Bible in a year. They're worth mentioning again, so I have reproduced the list (with minor updates) below.

Of course, there are tons of other plans out there. Just google "Bible reading plan" and you'll get pages of results of all different kinds, for personalities and lifestyles and needs of all different kinds.

[Update: Justin Taylor's post today brings together some great content on Bible reading plans and offers more detail on a few of them in particular.]

Bible Reading Plans

Discipleship Journal
NavPress’s Discipleship Journal plan has been the most used at Bethlehem for years. There are four daily readings (the year starts with Genesis, Psalms, Matthew, and Acts), but it’s only 25 days each month—which leaves some margin for missing here and there when life gets b…

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I've told the story many times of talking impatiently with my wife one Sunday morning and having my nine year old son interject—

Daddy, is this the way a Christian man should be talking to his wife?

Rather sarcastically I said,

What do you think?

and he replied,

It doesn't make any difference what I think, what does God think?

I went to my bedroom and two thoughts immediately hit me. First, my pride reared up. I want to be a hero to my son and I was embarrassed that he had been troubled by my attitude and words. But that didn't last very long. I soon thought, "How could it be that God could love me so much that he would give a twit of care about this mundane little moment in the Tripp bathroom?"

That's love at a level of magnificence that I am unable to capture with words. This was but one moment in one room in one house of one family, on one block…

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This is the second question we put to Joel Beeke, upcoming speaker at our 2011 Conference for Pastors. (Read his answer to our first question.)

You wear many hats: seminary president, publisher, author, pastor, husband, father, etc. Such a heavy load must make prayer a difficult thing to fit into your schedule. What has been your experience? And what counsel would you give to those who feel too busy to pray?

Like every other Christian, I suppose, my experience has been that the more I am given to truly pray in my prayers the more keenly I feel how little I truly pray.

My mother is the greatest prayer warrior I know; for decades, she has regularly spent two or more hours per day in earnest prayer. When she turned 85, I asked her, “Mother, if you had your entire life to live over, what would you do differently?” “Oh dear,” she said immediately, “I’d pray more, of c…

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At the end of every Passover Seder, the Jewish diaspora pronounce the wistful prayer: “Next year in Jerusalem.” It is the deep longing for the promised, peaceful Messianic Jerusalem with a restored Temple—a profound wish that the next year be a happy one.

It seems to me that Christians ought also to say, “Next year in Jerusalem!” rather than wishing one another a “Happy New Year.” For we have come to know the Messiah and he has given us a glimpse of what we long for:

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither s…

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In reflecting back on 2010 at year’s end, here are what I’d call “the top 5 books I read” (in order of author’s last name):

 

	Gospel in Life by Tim Keller
	It’s not a typical read-it-on-your-own book, but specially designed for small-group study. Our weekly small group tackled the 8 sessions together this Fall. Each session has a “home study” (nice way of saying “homework”) and a 10-minute video lesson by Keller on the accompanying DVD. The topics are great, the content is outstanding, and the study guide is very well done.
	The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses by C. S. Lewis
	This was a re-read, but I couldn’t help mentioning it here. And it’s not just “The Weight of Glory” essay that is excellent, but also “Transposition” and “Learning in War-Time.” If you haven’t read them, let me recommend it. If you haven’t re-read them recently, let me recommend that to…

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This is the first post in a series of questions and answers with those who will be speaking at our 2011 Conference for Pastors. The questions will address a variety of topics, at times focusing more on prayer, which is the conference theme.

The following question was put to Joel Beeke.

You have written much on the lives and thoughts of the Puritans. Which Puritan do you think has the most to teach us about prayer? What would he teach us?

His response:

I’m sending a book to the printer this week, Taking Hold of God: Reformed and Puritan Perspectives on Prayer, which should be available in time for the conference. Three chapters are devoted to the Reformers: Luther, Calvin, and Knox. Six chapters are devoted to individual Puritans.

William Perkins is the best at unfolding the meaning of the Lord’s Prayer, Anthony Burgess excels in expounding Christ’s mediatoria…

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Wrapping up our discussion of the importance of the written word in the cause of spreading truth to the nations, here is a concluding quote with helpful insight.

The Sanctifying Power of Books

John Piper—

[I do not] want to leave the impression that reading many books is important. Reading great books and reading them well is what is important. Meditative reading, reading which stops and ponders, reading which sees deep into reality—that is the kind of reading which profits. That kind of reading should never end for you. Growth and stimulation and transformation will never end for you. You will be in the company of the greatest minds and hearts for the rest of your life, and you will become their peers if you read for understanding and for life.

Learn more about our One Percent Campaign and our mission of theological famine relief for the global church.

Th…

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December is an important donations month for Desiring God as the amount that God provides this month is used to meet our year-end financial need and to guide our planning for the next six months. We are praying for $823,000 in donations in December and as of Wednesday morning we still need about $400,000 to meet that goal.

If God has placed us on your heart to help us meet year-end financial goal, and you want your gift to count for tax purposes in 2010, here's important information for you:

• Until 11:59 p.m. CT on Friday, December 31 you can give through Desiring God’s website.  You can also join the 1% Campaign as a monthly or one-time donor.

• Until 4:00 p.m. CT on Thursday, December 30 you can give by calling Desiring God at 888-346-4700. NOTE: our office is closed on Friday, December 31st, so you will not be able to give by phone that day.

• Checks can be mailed t…

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Continuing in our discussion of the importance of the written word in the cause of spreading truth to the nations, here is another insightful quote.

The Penetration of Books

Samuel Zwemer—

The printed page is a missionary that can go anywhere and do so at minimum cost. It enters closed lands and reaches all strata of society. It does not grow weary. It needs no furlough.  It lives longer than any missionary. It never gets ill. It penetrates through the mind to the heart and conscience.  It has and is producing results everywhere. It has often lain dormant yet retained its life and bloomed years later.

Learn more about our One Percent Campaign and our mission of theological famine relief for the global church.

Watch for Part Three tomorrow. The entire article that includes all the quotes can be read in our Resource Library.

Heads up about the deadline of our discounted rate for the 2011 Conference for Pastors.

The last day to get the rate of $120.00 per person is December 31, 2010.

The rate will increase to $135.00 on January 1, 2011.

Register online for the conference or call 1.888.346.4700.

The speakers this year are Joel Beeke, Paul Miller, Jerry Rankin, Francis Chan, and John Piper.