As 2009 comes to a close, it is very tempting to press toward the end of the year as if finishing this decade is an admirable goal. It is funny how easily we can aim at finishing one year and forget that there is another following right behind it.
One category that can really sneak up on us toward the beginning of a new year is planning for your Bible reading. In my life, the simple truth is that I will fail to read well and study well if I do not discipline myself to read in a scheduled and systematic way. So, I have been pondering what I will do to make sure that I read through the Bible in an orderly fashion in 2010.
For the last two years, I have used a plan that takes me through the entire text of Scripture in the year. There are several things that I particularly like about the way this plan works:
· It covers all of the Bible in the year.
· It includes 25 readings per month, thus allowing for days to catch up.
· It is used by several people I know, so I am often reading something that others are reading as well.
· It has me reading from different sections of the Bible at once, thus helping me not to get bogged down.
· It is a plan, thus being better than trying to haphazardly keep myself going.
I hope that, in 2010, you will make it a point to read through the Bible. Perhaps, if you are not much of a reader, you will at least be able to plan to make it through the New Testament. I don’t think that there is any spiritual discipline more important for the Christian than to intentionally spend time in the word of God.
I’d be thrilled if you would join me in reading through the Bible in 2010. Often, my blog posts will come from what I have just run across in the daily readings. It is always wonderful to hear from others who are reading and thinking about the same passages.
If you would like to use the plan I am using, you can find it here.
If you would like to use a different plan that I have used in the past, you might check out Crosswalk.com’s Bible-in-a-Year page which will allow you to do your reading on-line and chart your progress on the site.
The ESV website has a list of several reading plans that also might interest you.
Regardless of what plan you use to read through the Bible in 2010, I urge you to pick a plan, stick with it, and enjoy time well spent in the word of God in the year to come.
Calvin on Trusting God.
While reading Calvin on Psalm 62, I ran across the following:
“We may throw out a passing and occasional acknowledgement, that our only help is to be found in God, and yet shortly display our distrust in him by busying ourselves in all directions to supplement what we consider defective in his aid.”
Then, 6 pages later:
“Does danger, in short, spring up from any quarter, then just let us call to remembrance that divine power which can bid away all harms, and as this sentiment prevails in our minds, our troubles cannot fail to fall prostrate before it. Why should we fear — how can we be afraid, when the God who covers us with the shadow of
his wings, is the same who rules the universe with his nod, holds in secret chains the devil and all the wicked, and effectually overrules their designs and intrigues?”
Spurgeon on Reading
Below is the Spurgeon quote from Sunday’s message:
Spurgeon on Paul and reading.
Paul, His Cloak, and His Books
http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0542.htm
Delivered on Sunday Morning, November 29th, 1863, by the Rev. C. H. SPURGEON, At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington
We do not know what the books were about, and we can only form some guess as to what the parchments were. Paul had a few books which were left, perhaps wrapped up in the cloak, and Timothy was to be careful to bring them.
Even an apostle must read. Some of our very ultra Calvinistic brethren think that a minister who reads books and studies his sermon must be a very deplorable specimen of a preacher. A man who comes up into the pulpit, professes to take his text on the spot, and talks any quantity of nonsense, is the idol of many. If he will speak without premeditation, or pretend to do so, and never produce what they call a dish of dead men’s brains—oh! that is the preacher.
How rebuked are they by the apostle! He is inspired, and yet he wants books! He has been preaching at least for thirty years, and yet he wants books! He had seen the Lord, and yet he wants books! He had had a wider experience than most men, and yet he wants books! He had been caught up into the third heaven, and had heard things which it was unlawful for a man to utter, yet he wants books! He had written the major part of the New Testament, and yet he wants books!
The apostle says to Timothy and so he says to every preacher, “Give thyself unto reading.” The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains, proves that he has no brains of his own.
Brethren, what is true of ministers is true of all our people. You need to read. Renounce as much as you will all light literature, but study as much as possible sound theological works, especially the Puritanic writers, and expositions of the Bible. We are quite persuaded that the very best way for you to be spending your leisure, is to be either reading or praying. You may get much instruction from books which afterwards you may use as a true weapon in your Lord and Master’s service. Paul cries, “Bring the books”—join in the cry.
Bibliography from Holiness Presentation
Below are some books related to holiness and sanctification:
Adams, Jay E. Christ and Your Problems. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 1971.
_________. How to Help People Change: The Biblical Four-Step Process. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986.
Bridges, Jerry. The Practice of Godliness. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1996.
_________. The Pursuit of Holiness. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2006.
Lundgaard, Chris. The Enemy Within: Straight Talk About the Power and Defeat of Sin. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 1998.
MacArthur, John. Our Sufficiency in Christ. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 1998.
Mahaney, C.J. Living the Cross Centered Life. Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2006.
Miller, C. John. Repentance and Twentieth Century Man. Philadelphia, PA: Christian Literature Crusade, 1980.
Owen, John, the Mortification of Sin in Believers. 1656 [book on-line]. Accessed 1 September 2009. Available from http://www.ccel.org/ccel/owen/mort.html; Internet.
Owen, John, Kelly M. Kapic, Justin Taylor, and John Piper. Overcoming Sin and Temptation. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2006.
Piper, John. The Dangerous Duty of Delight. Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2001.
_________. When I Don’t Desire God: How to Fight for Joy. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2004.
Sproul, R.C. The Holiness of God. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1985.
Tripp, Paul David. Insturments in the Redeemer’s Hands. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2002.
Calvin on the Sufficiency of Scripture
John Calvin on 2 Timothy 3:16-17, which argues that the Scripture is inspired by God and useful to make us perfectly equipped to do God’s will:
“Perfect means here a blameless person, one in whom there is nothing defective; for he asserts absolutely, that the Scripture is sufficient for perfection. Accordingly, he who is not satisfied with Scripture desires to be wiser than is either proper or desirable.”
William Borden
In 1904 William Borden graduated from a Chicago high school. As heir to the Borden family fortune, he was already a millionaire. For his high school graduation present, his parents gave 16-year-old Borden a trip around the world. As the young man traveled through Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, he felt a growing burden for the lost. Finally, Bill Borden wrote home about his desire to be a missionary. Eventually, Borden’s missionary call narrowed to the Muslim Kansu people in China. One friend expressed surprise that he was “throwing himself away as a missionary.” In response, Bill wrote two words in the back of his Bible: “No reserves.”
Borden spent the next few years of his young life at Yale University. There he was responsible for starting a very influential prayer and Bible study group among students. Borden’s small morning prayer group gave birth to a movement that spread across the campus. By the end of his first year, 150 freshman were meeting for weekly Bible study and prayer. By the time Bill Borden was a senior, one thousand of Yale’s 1,300 students were meeting in such groups.
Upon graduation from Yale, Borden turned down some high paying job offers. In his Bible, he wrote two more words: “No retreats.” He then went on to graduate work at Princeton Seminary in New Jersey.
When William Borden finished his studies at Princeton, he sailed for China. Because he was hoping to work with Muslims, he stopped first in Egypt to study Arabic. While there, he contracted spinal meningitis. Within a month, 25-year-old William Borden was dead.
When news of William Borden’s death was cabled back to the US., the story was carried by nearly every American newspaper. Mary Taylor wrote in her introduction to Borden’s biography, “A wave of sorrow went round the world . . . Borden not only gave (away) his wealth, but himself, in a way so joyous and natural that it (seemed) a privilege rather than a sacrifice.”
See
Howard Culbertson, “William Borden: No Reserves. No Retreats. No Regrets.” Bethany, OK: Southern Nazarene University, 2002. Accessed 2 September 2009. Available from http://home.snu.edu/~HCULBERT/regret.htm; Internet.
John MacArthur. 2 Timothy. Chicago: Moody Press, 1996, 197 (comments on 4:7).
Grudem on Prayer
Grudem, Wayne A, Systematic Theology: Introduction to Bible Doctrine (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994), 377.
James tells us, “You do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:2). He implies that failure to ask deprives us of what God would otherwise have given to us
If we were really convinced that prayer changes the way God acts, and that God does bring about remarkable changes in the world in response to prayer, as Scripture repeatedly teaches that he does, then we would pray much more than we do. If we pray little, it is probably because we do not really believe that prayer accomplishes much at all.
One more Thought on Is the Possibility of Sin Necessary for Choices to be Real and Loving
Corey Reynolds posted a note that describes his own frustration with how the concept that the possibility of choosing sin is required for a choice to be loving has made its way into Christian fiction.
Must Sin be Possible for Choices to be Genuine and Loving?
One of the common points that we hear people make when trying to explain the existence of evil or the fall of man is that mankind, in order to be truly free, to make real choices, or to experience genuine love, must have the possibility of sin. Often, people go even further to argue that God cannot influence man or change his heart toward love, because that love would not be genuine. Put another way, these people say that, if we do not have the possibility of sin, we are the same as puppets or robots.
In reading through Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology, I came across the following few paragraphs in his discussion of God’s providence. I found them very helpful, because they show the failure of the logic that states that for
man’s choices to be real and loving, they must be free enough to include the possibility of sin.
[Disclaimer: Grudem uses the terms Calvinism and Arminianism to describe these two views of God’s providence. My point here is not to argue Calvinism or Arminianism, but to simply display from a well-reasoned scholar the fault in the reasoning that declares that sin must be possible in order for choices to be real.]
From: Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology : An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Leicester, England; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Inter-Varsity Press; Zondervan Pub. House, 1994), 349-350.
The common Arminian response is to say that God was able to prevent evil but he chose to allow for the possibility of evil in order to guarantee that angels and humans would have the freedom necessary for meaningful choices. In other words, God had to allow for the possibility of sinful choices in order to allow genuine human choices. Cottrell says, “This God-given freedom includes human freedom to rebel and to sin against the Creator himself. By creating a world in which sin was possible, God thereby bound himself to react in certain specific ways should sin become a reality.”
But this is not a satisfactory response either, for it implies that God will have to allow for the possibility of sinful choices in heaven eternally. On the Arminian position, if any of our choices and actions in heaven are to be genuine and real, then they will have to include the possibility of sinful choices. But this implies that even in heaven, for all eternity, we will face the real possibility of choosing evil—and therefore the possibility of rebelling against God and losing our salvation and being cast out of heaven! This is a terrifying thought, but it seems a necessary implication of the Arminian view.
Yet there is an implication that is more troubling: If real choices have to allow for the possibility of choosing evil, then (1) God’s choices are not real, since he cannot choose evil, or (2) God’s choices are real, and there is the genuine possibility that God might someday choose to do evil—perhaps a little, and perhaps a great deal. If we ponder the second implication it becomes terrifying. But it is contrary to the abundant testimony of Scripture. On the other hand, the first implication is clearly false: God is the definition of what is real, and it is clearly an error to say that his choices are not real. Both implications therefore provide good reason for rejecting the Arminian position that real choices must allow the possibility of choosing evil. But this puts us back to the earlier question for which there does not seem to be a satisfactory answer from the Arminian position: How can evil exist if God did not want it to exist?
Nine Years Ago Today
Proverbs 18:22 – He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord.
As strange as it is for me to recognize, it has been nine years since Mitzi and I were married. In nine years, we have lived in Bolingbrook, in Louisville, in Dongola, in South Korea, and in Olney. In nine years we have welcomed two wonderful children into the world. In nine years we have served in a variety of ministries, ministered to a variety of people, and visited a variety of places.
One thing that I am certain of, as we enter into our tenth year of marriage, is that Proverbs 18:22 is absolutely true. In my wife, God has blessed me with something good. In my wife, God has shown me his favor. In my wife, God has given me more grace and more mercy than I could ever deserve.
Why do I think this? My wife is lovely in every way. She is committed to ministry with me in a way that I seldom see among pastors and their wives. She is always learning, reading and studying even when it is hard or when time is thin. She cares for others. She is always looking for ways to give, to serve, to support, or to make others feel special.
In my wife, I have a true partner in ministry and in life. She is not someone who is only willing to go so far or take small risks to glorify God. My wife has shown a willingness to move to a foreign country or to rural America in order to follow God’s leading. She does not draw lines and say she is unwilling to serve God if it costs too much. She gives, loves, and serves for God’s glory.
In my wife, my children have a wonderful mother. She plays with them, prays with them, snuggles with them, and teaches them. She reads to them, cares for their needs, and looks for ways to make them feel special. She is not afraid to discipline the children, but she is always there to love them and to make sure that they know that all discipline is for the purpose of teaching them to follow their God in a way that pleases Him.
I could write page after page to describe how wonderful my wife is, but she’d never have time to sit and read through it all. But let me say this: If I had everything to do over, from beginning to end, I could not ask for a better wife, better friend, better mother for my children than Mitzi. I would not trade her for anything in the world. Nine years ago, today, is one of the best moments in my life, as it began a great journey that I am totally committed to until death parts us.
What is true of my wife?
Proverbs 31:26-29
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
“Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.”
Pastor Travis Peterson 