Bible Reading Checklist

If you want to read the Bible at your own pace and have some flexibility in which books you read when, here is a chart that may help. It basically just lists each book with the chapters so that you can check off what you have read. You could alternate back and forth between Old and New Testaments. Or you can read the Old Testament books in historical order.

There is no one perfect plan. The key is to have a plan. You should know before each day what you are planning to read. Don't just open the Bible each morning and randomly pick somewhere to read. Read entire books at a time.

The Gift of a Prayer Closet

Earlier this year, I posted a picture tour of my office in which I had a picture of my prayer bench.
Well, I was mightly encouraged to get an e-mail from a reader of this blog who recieved a very meaningful and unique Christmas gift inspired by that post. For Christmas, his wife cleaned out a storage closet and made it into a family prayer closet (picture below).

Now that's a gift that will keep on giving!!

James, thanks for increasing my joy by sharing this with me. Enjoy the prayer closet!

Ten Questions for the Start of a New Year

Every year, during the week between Christmas and New Year, I use Don Whitney's "10 Questions" (actually 31 questions) to help me evaluate the past year and look forward with resolve to the next year.

Spend some time with these questions this week.

DJ Bible Reading Plan

The Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan is one of the best available. Consider if 2011 might be the year you read through the entire Bible. Or, take the challenge to print some of these off and give them to others. At least share the link on Facebook or Twitter to encourage others to read the Bible this year.

Battling Idolatry Through Prayer

The prayer I plan to pray with my family before we open gifts tonight:

"God, You are the giver of all good gifts. From Your hand come all good things. So, we pause to thank You for Your kindness to us today. And we recognize that the best gifts cannot be wrapped and put under a tree. The best gifts You have given are Your promises purchased by Christ. You have promised to give us eternal life if we trust Christ. You have promised to never leave or forsake us. You have promised to forgive our sins. Help us to value Your promises more than any of these physical presents. So, Father, keep us from idolatry now. Help us not love the gifts more than the Giver. But help us to enjoy these gifts as an expression of our joy in You. And, Father, help us also not be discouraged if we don't get everything we want. We know that we already have everything we need in Christ. In Jesus Name, Amen."

Merry CHRISTmas!

I hope you have a wonderful, Christ-filled Christmas.

A Lamb in a Manger

Paul said, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15). The incarnation is really about the redemption.

Far too many Christmas songs and celebrations focus on a baby in a manger. But, as amazing as His birth was, it was never the goal. He came to lay down His life for sinners.

Paul Tripp wrote, “You don’t understand the Christmas story unless you look into that manger and see a Lamb.”

Music: Gift or God?

Here is a great article by Bob Kauflin about how a gift from God (like music) can become an idol.

Top 15 Books of 2010

Here is how I would rank the top 15 books published in 2010 (that I read). It was very difficult to put the top 3 in order. They are really 1A, 1B, and 1C. While I put For the Fame of God's Name first (because of the incredible wealth of helpful stuff in it), I would actually recommend that you read #2 and #3 first.

1. For the Fame of God's Name: Essays in Honor of John Piper by Storms and Taylor.

2. Dug Down Deep by Josh Harris

3. Radical by David Platt

4. Hebrews Pillar Commentary by PT O'Brien

5. Think by John Piper

6. Church Planting is for Wimps by Mike Mckinley

7. Rescuring Ambition by Dave Harvey

8. What is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert

9. The Shepherd Leader by Timothy Witmer

10. Scandalous by DA Carson

11. It is Well by Dever and Lawrence

12. Marks of the Messenger by Mack Stiles

13. Church Planter by Darrin Patrick

14. Be Still, My Soul, edited by Guthrie

15. The Archer and the Arrow by Phillip Jensen

Top 15

In preparation for my top 15 books of 2010 (that I read), here are the previous few years:

Top 15 books of 2007

Top 15 books of 2008

Top 15 books of 2009

The Equipment of Prayer

David McIntyre gives us the essential equipmnet of a life of prayer:

-A quiet place
-A quiet hour
-A quiet heart

The Hidden Life of Prayer, chapter 2.

The last one is by far the most difficult to find.

Packer on The Christmas Spirit

"The Christmas spirit is the spirit of those who, like their Master, live their whole lives on the principle of making themselves poor--spending and being spent-- to enrich their fellow men, giving time, trouble, care, and concern, to do good to others--and not just their own friends--in whatever way there seems need. There are not as many who show this spirit as there should be."

-JI Packer, Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus, p. 72.

Tips for Reading Well

Here are a few tips for growing in your ability to read:

• Learn to mark up your books - Outline, underline, index, highlight, summarize, and do whatever else it takes to engage a book. Always read with a pen in hand. You are not just passing your eyes over a page. You are engaging with the book.
• Set reading goals for yourself - He who fails to plan, plans to fail. If you don't plan to read good books, you won't.
• Don't just buy books, build a library - A library is a place to go for helpful information. Build a library of different types of resources that you can rely on when you need good information.
• Vary your reading between old and new books - CS Lewis counseled us to read an old book after ever new book. This is wise counsel indeed.
• Read only the best books - There is simply not enough time to read a bunch of second-rate stuff. Read what has stood the test of time. Read what people you trust say is good.
• Utilize "free" moments by reading - Always have a book with you. If you utilize the "free" moments of your day by reading a few pages in a good book, you will be able to read a lot more.
• Be willing to stop reading a book that is unhelpful - It feels good to finish a book. However, if the book is unhelpful, it is a waste of time. Swallow your pride and just put the book back on the shelf.
• Don't be discouraged if you don't remember most of what you read - Here is what John Piper has said:

“What I have learned from about twenty-years of serious reading is this. It is sentences that change my life, not books. What changes my life is some new glimpse of truth, some powerful challenge, some resolution to a long-standing dilemma, and these usually come concentrated in a sentence or two. I do not remember 99% of what I read, but if the 1% of each book or article I do remember is a life-changing insight, then I don’t begrudge the 99%.”

Benefits Good Books Bring

When asked, "What does reading good books accomplish in your life?" here are a few benefits that came to mind:

• Reading good books cultivates humility and teachability. It says, "I have not yet arrived."
• Reading good books cultivates affections for the Savior.
• Reading good books is often the means of understanding the Scripture better.
• Reading good books sharpens our minds (helps us think).
• Reading good books exposes us to truths that we would have never considered on our own.
• Reading good books challenge us to obey God in particular ways.
• Reading good books helps us grow in godliness.

What else would you add?