Glenn Teal makes some admirable resolutions for 2003. I especially appreciate his 6th, he says;

“Covey challenges us to live in the realm of the important but not urgent. Planning, praying, relating, strategizing. Once a week — twice a month — four times a year I will push back the craziness and be alone with God.”

My older brother Ken shared some thoughts about resolutions I really found helpful yesterday in his weekly Stonebridge Newsletter (subscribe for free at his site);

“Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. Usually we start the New Year with big plans. We make resolutions and have aspirations. For most of us resolutions are not that helpful. A few years ago it occurred to me that we have it all wrong. Rather than big aspirations to greatness at the beginning of the year maybe it would be better to begin the year by admissions of need and appeals for help from God. Humble prayer requests rather than big promises. The way to true achievement and true accomplishment is to admit your lack and deeply depend on the Lord to form in you anything that is good or truly great.”

One of the things I’d like to do better in 2003 is read more, quite a bit more. I’ve been considering making a larger part of my reading, than has been customary, Christian biography. While poking around a bit today at DesirngGod.org I came across the Biography section where John Piper has shared from years past some of the material from the Bethlehem Conference for pastors. Each year he “examines the life of a notable Christian figure from history.” During some of the pastors conferences Piper has examined the lives of men like John Bunyan, John Calvin, Martin Luther, Charles Spurgeon and Jonathan Edwards, just to name a few.

I especially found this article by Piper most encouraging in my goal to read more Christian biography. He notes;

Christian biography, well chosen, combines all sorts of things pastors need but have so little time to pursue. Good biography is history and guards us against chronological snobbery (as C.S. Lewis calls it). It is also theology - the most powerful kind - because it burst forth from the lives of people like us. It is also adventure and suspense, for which we have a natural hunger. It is psychology and personal experience, which deepen our understanding of human nature (especially ourselves). Good biographies of great Christians make for remarkably efficient reading.

So there’s my suggestion for your resolution and reading lists for 2003–more Christian biography. But while I have your attention let me point you to two more resources at DesiringGod.org;
What are some books that DGM recommends?
and
Piper’s Books that Have Influenced Me Most.

Christmas is almost gone and that time of year is nearly upon us–and for some it’s already here–when we begin thinking of setting New Years resolutions for ourselves. Maybe this is something you do much earlier than the last week of the year. I tend to get a bit more serious in my attitude, with just a few days remaining in the year, about what I will do different in the year ahead but I don’t often call this resolution making. Yes, I’ll set a few “goals” for myself but I doubt I’ll tell you what they are until I’ve arrived at 2004 having successfully achieved my goals–then I’ll gloat.

Johnathan Edwards was a pretty serious maker of resolutions. Here are just a few from this list of seventy resolutions he made during his lifetime that challenges me to consider setting loftier goals for myself this year.

5. Resolved, Never to lose one moment of time, but to improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can.

7. Resolved, Never to do anything, which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.

14. Resolved, Never to do anything out of revenge.

16. Resolved, Never to speak evil of any one, so that it shall tend to his dishonour, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.

28. Resolved, To study the Scriptures so steadily, constantly, and frequently, as that I may find, and plainly perceive, myself to grow in the knowledge of the same.

41. Resolved, To ask myself, at the end of every day, week, month, and year, wherein I could possibly, in any respect, have done better.

56. Resolved, Never to give over, nor in the least to slacken, my fight with my corruptions, however unsuccessful I may be.

67. Resolved, After afflictions, to inquire, what I am the better for them; what good I have got by them, and what I might have got by them.

69. Resolved, Always to do that which I shall wish I had done when I see others do it.

70. Let there be something of benevolence in all that I speak.

Discipleship Journal magazine has available a couple of great Bible reading plans. I’ve used the original Discipleship Journal Bible Reading Plan and have really enjoyed it. They’ve added a new Book-at-a-Time Bible Reading Plan which also looks helpful. There are also chronological Bible reading plans available elsewhere.

Gary Petersen at Country Keepers is onto an idea and wants your input. Gary would like to put together a service that emails a portion of scriptures each day that keeps you on track to read through the Bible in a year. Great idea! Now go tell him what you think.

I’m trying something new. I’ve posted my sermon audio in MP3 format from yesterday’s Christmas service at Jonesville Baptist. Note: This audio resource is no longer available.

Dr. Jay Adams, well known pastor, author and Biblical counselor, has created the Institute for Nouthetic Studies a Biblical counseling training center. What’s unique about this endeavor is the fact that all the training will be available by distance learning on video tape. Fees are very reasonable for the 200 hours of training they plan to have completely available within the next two years.

This is a great tool for many pastors who until now have been unable to physically attend this type of training because of financial limitations due to the cost of lodging and travel expenses.

I hope Dr. Adam’s new organization is successful in it’s efforts at making this training to Pastors and Christian workers available world-wide.

Carolyn and the children decorated the tree last night. I always over do it on tree size. The tree always looks much smaller outside. This year the children and I drove to get the tree and I was set on going small. We did pretty good this year. At least I didn’t have to cram it through the front door knocking over everything in my path.

Good article on “the real reason the state opposes homeschooling.”

David Heddle has a couple of very good pieces on evangelism and God’s sovereignty.

So I’m checking out Joshua Claybourn’s site who recomends I go check out The Agitator who got this link to the Social Security administration’s list of top baby names for 2001 from the Beltway blogger and I discover two of my boys are on the list. They weren’t born in 2001 but that’s beside the point. Gotta love the internet.

It’s been a while since I’ve been here to share my thoughts. Let’s just say I’ve been busy enjoying life, family and ministry–and getting over a cold that turned all kinds of ugly.

Bear with me while I share a bit of what I’ve found interesting today…

Here are a couple thoughts from Doc Searls on blogging…

“On most days I don’t put much more than half an hour, total, into my blog. Sometimes it’s more, sure; but often it’s less. I see my blog as a kind of fireplace. Each post is a log I throw on top of the fire to keep it burning.”

“In spite (or perhaps because) of the private and personal nature of my blog, it has given me a much larger public persona. Google finds 76,900 documents on the Web that contain my name; the majority point to my blog. That’s a rather spectacular ROI.”

Blogs May Pierce the Fogs of War

“A war in Iraq could be a blog watershed. Just as CNN made its reputation with live coverage from Baghdad, blogs may be uniquely suited to help cut through the fog of war by showcasing diverse accounts and opinions.”

“One blog created by soldiers in Afghanistan, initially located at www.172med.org, had to relocate after being swamped with readers from all over the world. Now located at logwarrior.com (http://www.logwarrior.com), the site tells the story of day-to-day life for the soldiers, including subjects such as their Thanksgiving dinners and shopping expeditions into nearby towns.”

One correction from the article; it’s not logwarrior.com it’s logwarrior.org.

And last but certainly not least…
I had to laugh with agreement when Rush Limbaugh said this today on his program about democrats such as Al Gore, Tom Daschle and Maxine Waters…

“This is all phony-baloney, plastic-banana, good-time rock ‘n’ roll outrage because these people all know Lott’s not really a racist. What he said was stupid. You can’t defend the remark. But there’s no evidence in his behavior, his voting record or in legislation that he’s authored to suggest that he’s racist at all or segregationist. So this is all politics passing as moral outrage”