Having a Devotional Plan in 2010

Here is a very useful post from JR Vassar, Pastor of The Apostle's Church NYC (who JFBC helped support during their launch as a new church plant a few years ago) to assist us in having an intentional personal devotional plan in 2010. Here is a summary of his points:

(italics mine)

1. Have a no exemption time and place to meet with God
2. Have a plan (here's where our ESV Study Bible Reading Plan comes in, which he recommends)
3. Begin your time with prayer and confession
4. Read out loud
5. Look for Gospel patterns
6. Journal your thoughts and prayers
7. Realize that this is a community project (like we are doing together as a class)
8. Don't give up

Read the whole post here. I'm including below the section under point 5 above as it is very good and illustrates why we spent so much time on the storyline of the Bible this Fall. Here it is:

"As you read, realize that Jesus and the Gospel is The One Story of the Bible. Look for Gospel patterns, grace on display, as you read. Especially in the OT. Every story has Christ as the ultimate hero. For example, don't read the story of David and Goliath and leave your devotional time "ready to face your giants." Realize that you are Israel in the story, not David. You are weak, powerless, cowering before your enemies of sin, Satan, and death, and you need an anointed King to defeat your enemies and cause you to rise up in hope and courage. Jesus is the true and better David, and he is the point of the story of David and Goliath. Look for these patterns in everything you read and rejoice in what God has accomplished for you in Jesus. We don't have devotions and pray in order to avoid the guilt of not having devotions and not praying. We have devotions and pray to know Jesus and his Gospel, and revel in all that he is for us and all that he has won for us."

I'll be posting soon specifically on our daily Bible reading plan so we can get re-acquainted with it and all of the ways we can follow along (via email, printed bookmarks, twitter, audio podcast, etc.) More to come...

Book Recommendations...Favorite Reads from 2009

I love to read and pass on recommendations when I think a book would be edifying for others. Here are a few of my personal favorites from 2009...

Why We Love the Church by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck

I recent years some have challenged the need for and continued viability of the organized church. This book is an entertaining, sometimes even funny, read, with theological depth that provides a biblical defense of the church. Very enjoyable read by two engaging writers.

Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung

One of the most refreshing books I've read on discerning the will of God. This one can be given to teens and up (its a short read). Another enjoyable book with depth by DeYoung, who's becoming one of my favorite Christian writers.

Finally Alive by John Piper

An in-depth biblical study on the new birth, being "born again". One of Piper's best books in my opinion.

Adopted for Life by Russell Moore

A call to the church to look at adoption as a missionary enterprise. This book shows that you cannot look at the biblical doctrine of adoption without thinking of the adoption of children, and vice versa. An emotional and theologically rich book that was a wake up call to me re: our responsibility as individuals and the church towards orphan care.

Counterfeit Gods by Tim Keller

I would rank this my favorite overall book from 2009. This book challenges us to discover and deal with the idols in our hearts that compete with God for allegiance. This book shook me up, dug deep and helped me discover things about myself that I had been blind to previously. Big "aha' truth from this book...our idols are probably good things that we have turned into ultimate things.

A Praying Life by Paul Miller

One of the best books I've ever read on prayer. Just read it. And then read it again. I will most likely revisit frequently as I have continually struggled to have a vibrant prayer life.

Jesus Christ, the God-Man

On Christmas Eve, some thoughts to ponder from J.I. Packer's Knowing God, on the wonder of the incarnation:

"The crucial significance of the cradle at Bethlehem lies in its place in the sequence of steps down that led the Son of God to the cross of Calvary. The key text in the New Testament for interpreting the Incarnation is not, therefore, the bare statement in John 1:14. ‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us,’ but rather the more comprehensive statement of 2 Corinthians 8:9, ‘You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.’ Here is stated not the fact of the Incarnation only, but also its meaning; the taking of manhood by the Son is set before us in a way which shows how we should ever view it — not simply as a marvel of nature, but as a wonder of grace.” (pp.58-59)

We now see what it meant for the Son of God to empty himself and become poor. It meant a laying aside of glory; a voluntary restraint of power; an acceptance of hardship, isolation, ill-treatment, malice and misunderstanding; finally a death that involved such agony – spiritual even more than physical – that his mind nearly broke under the prospect of it. (See Luke 12:50 and the Gethsemane story.) It meant love to the uttermost for unlovely human beings, that they through his poverty might become rich.

The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity — hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory — because at the Father’s will Jesus Christ became poor and was born in a stable so that thirty years later he might hang on a cross. It is the most wonderful message that the world has ever heard, or will hear.” (p.63)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas: God on the Move

Here are some encouraging words from Tullian Tchividjian (Billy Graham's grandson and pastor) on how to think about God's plan for mankind and all of creation as Christmas:

"In C.S. Lewis’s masterful children’s story The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, he tells of a country, Narnia, which is under the curse of the White Witch. This evil queen places a spell on the land so that it’s “always winter and never Christmas.” Under her control, the future of Narnia looks bleak until word gets out that “Aslan is on the move.” In the story, Aslan is a noble lion who represents Christ. He’s coming to set things straight. He’s coming to destroy the White Witch and thus reverse the curse on Narnia. The first sign of Aslan’s movement toward this cursed land is that the snow begins to melt–“spring is in the air.” The cold begins to fade as the sun rays peer through the dark clouds, promising the dawn of a new day. Everything in Narnia begins to change.

You’ll have to read the book to see how the story ends, but when I’m asked to describe the true meaning of Christmas, I like to say that the birth of Christ is the sure and certain sign that “God is on the move.” The arrival of Jesus two-thousand years ago ensured that God had begun the process of reversing the curse of sin and recreating all things. In Jesus, God was moving in a new way and, in the words of C.S. Lewis, “winter began stirring backwards.”

Read the rest of the post here.

Christmas and Sharing Christ with Family

Read this helpful post on sharing the Gospel this Christmas, in particular with family members as we gather with our loved ones over the next couple of weeks. Here's the intro:

"Many of us approach Christmas dinner brimming with fear. Such anxiety doesn’t come from Aunt Mary’s liver sausage pate or her sour-apple fruitcake so much as our sense of the challenge of trying to direct conversation toward the gospel. After all, last year’s attempt was a proverbial train wreck. How can this year be any different?

If I were to give one piece of advice, it would be to understand what evangelism is, and what it is not. The following definition and subsequent explication are intended to provide this sort of perspective, to help us approach Christmas dinner with a greater measure of optimism and hope."

Tiger's travails and the Gospel

Al Mohler on what we can learn from the Tiger Woods story:

Lesson One: Acts done in private can and will have public consequences
Lesson Two: The public still believes that adultery is a big deal.
Lesson Three: A fall from public favor can happen in an instant.

Mohler closes the post with these words, a prayer for Woods and a reminder for all Christians:

"For Christians, there is an even deeper concern. The current travail of Tiger Woods points far beyond his need for marital recovery, career consultation, or brand management. Tiger Woods needs a Savior. I am praying that this devastating experience, caused so classically by his own sin, will lead Tiger Woods to understand that he is not so self-sufficient as he thinks. Tiger Woods now faces a problem that he cannot solve. Though he can do much to repair his marriage, his family, and his public image, he cannot atone for his own sins. My prayer is that there is someone who can reach Tiger Woods with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the end, all this must remind Christians of the universal need for the Gospel. We must remember our own sin and our utter dependence upon the grace and mercy of God made ours in Jesus Christ. Without question, this is the most important lesson drawn from the travail of Tiger Woods.

On his deathbed, Martin Luther offered these last words: "We are sinners, it is true." Tiger Woods is one of us, after all."

Read the whole commentary here.

An Uncluttered Advent

Ed Stetzer on the Advent season:

"From all of the research compiled and our collective anecdotal experiences, those outside of the church will show an interest in the life of Jesus during the advent season.

But we must show them the real Jesus. The tidy Anglo version will never connect. The perpetually smiling Jesus is not realistic nor biblical. They deserve to see the gritty moment of the advent. Though we are enamored with what is pretty, they need to hear that Jesus' entrance into the world was done through a working-class Jewish family in the backwaters of the Roman Empire. It was a moment of struggle—like most of life seems to be.

There is no need to hide our message. We should feel free to be obvious."

Read this challenging article in is entirety here.

The Jesus Storybook Bible

Here's the website for the The Jesus Storybook Bible which I read from this morning in class. You will be blessed by this book.

Behold the Lamb of God

Here is the link where you can listen to Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God, and also read the lyrics. As I mentioned in class today, this is a great Christmas album that also fits in with our recent "God's Big Picture" series, as it tells how the Bible points to the coming of Christ, even in the OT. One of my favorites....check it out.

Advent

The Desiring God blog has this useful post on Advent:

(Author: Noel Piper)

We are a people of promise. For centuries, God prepared people for the coming of his Son, our only hope for life. At Christmas we celebrate the fulfillment of the promises God made—that he would give a way to draw near to him.

Advent is what we call the season leading up to Christmas. It begins four Sundays before December 25, sometimes in the last weekend of November, sometimes on the first Sunday in December. This year it was November 29.

1 Peter 1:10-12 is a clear description of what we look back to during Advent.

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look. (1 Peter 1:10-12 )

For four weeks, it's as if we're re-enacting, remembering the thousands of years God's people were anticipating and longing for the coming of God's salvation, for Jesus. That's what advent means—coming. Even God's men who foretold the grace that was to come didn't know "what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating." They were waiting, but they didn't know what God's salvation would look like.

In fact, God revealed to them that they were not the ones who would see the sufferings and glory of God's Christ:

They were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven.

They were serving us. We Christians on this side of Jesus' birth are a God-blessed, happy people because we know God's plan. The ancient waiting is over. We have the greatest reason to celebrate.

(Adapted from Treasuring God in Our Traditions)