A Prayer for New Year’s Day

This morning, Tony Reinke quoted this prayer from one of my favorite devotional books, The Valley of Vision. It is fitting for the advent of a new year: O Lord, Length of days does not profit me except the days are passed in thy presence, in thy service, to thy glory. Give me a grace […]

The end of the year — a spiritual summary

This year, our church has read through the New Testament and Psalms. (In the coming year, the plan is to read the Old Testament, though we’ve also provided the NT plan coordinated with the 2013 dates.) Part of my desire was not only to read through the plan, but to blog every day about what […]

Resolved to change?

Are you think about some things that need changing in the coming year? Here are some resources to help you think through some resolutions for next week: There are many Bible reading plans to help order your Bible intake. Here are some I’ve accumulated over the years. (UPDATE: Here are also two chronological plans I’ve […]

The path

Like planning a route with Google maps, many people today are designing and outlining the moral pathway they will take this year. Out with the old, in with the new. All the well-worn, dead-end paths of the past will be forsaken and a new route will be followed. Whether we will or will not succeed […]

This will happen in the coming year

Call these among the worst predictions made: “There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” [Ken Olsen, Founder, Chairman and President of Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977.] “640KB (of memory) ought to be enough for anyone.” [Bill Gates.] “I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” [Thomas Watson, Chairman […]

Resolved, like Jonathan Edwards

In this season of resolutions — before all our promises are undone by the realities of weak commitments — we do well to hear the words of Jonathan Edwards about resolutions and the need for them to arise from a quest for God’s mercy and grace, as well as our own heart desire for transformation: […]

Resolutions, moment-by-moment

Paul Tripp has noted that the effectiveness of resolutions is not in the decisiveness of one moment (e.g., January 1 resolutions), but in the 10,000 moment-by-moment decisions we make to reinforce those resolutions — You and I live in little moments, and if God doesn’t rule our little moments and doesn’t work to recreate us […]

Resolved to read and pray

Today many people will make resolutions for the coming year. Even believers will make resolutions concerning their spiritual lives. Setting spiritual goals is a worthy enterprise. But the task of spiritual growth is often overwhelming: where shall we start and what shall we do? We know we need more biblical reading and study and memorization […]

What will God do in 2011?

What will God do in the coming year? What will life be like in the next 12 months? What changes or additions will be made in your life? It’s impossible to tell. No man knows the future — no palm reader, no crystal ball, no horoscope, and no biorhythm chart. Many will be attempting today […]

The top 10 events of 2009

A couple days ago, Al Mohler compiled a list of the “Ten Most Newsworthy Events of 2009.” His list is as follows: The Inauguration of Barack Obama as President of the United States The Uprising in Iran The Travail of the Global Economy The Death of Michael Jackson and the Nation’s Addiction to Celebrity The […]

A couple more thoughts about New Year’s Day

New Year’s Day is a time when I commonly reflect on what God might do in my life in the coming year. Here are some posts from the past couple of years to help you (and me) plan for this coming year. Additionally, here are a couple more reflections from around the Internet: John Piper, […]

On reading your Bible this year

Here is an encouragement to not only read the Bible this year, but also a motivation for reading the Bible — because it is worth knowing more than any other book or truth — For some years now I have read through the Bible twice every year. If you picture the Bible to be a […]

One sure thing for this year

“The steps of a man are established by the Lord; And He delights in his way. When he falls, he shall not be hurled headlong; Because the Lord is the One who holds his hand” (Ps. 37:23-24; NASB). Today is New Year’s Day — a day to watch football bowl games, eat black-eyed peas and […]

Looking back to look forward

Is there a benefit to looking backwards — to evaluating the past in anticipation of setting goals for the future? Thinking not of individuals, but of the church, Stephen Nichols offers this insightful thought — The study of church history may be best viewed as a second-order discipline. It is subservient to our study of […]

Questions to start the new year

As Don Whitney notes, “The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God.” What’s one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God? What’s the most humanly […]