How Are We to Labor?

Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. – John 6:27

"We should mark ... in this passage, what Christ advises. He tells us to "labor for the food that endures to everlasting life." He would have us take pains to find food and satisfaction for our souls. That food is provided in rich abundance in Him. But he that would have it must diligently seek it.

How are we to Labor? There is but one answer. We must labor in the use of all appointed means. We must read our Bibles, like men digging for hidden treasure. We must wrestle earnestly in prayer, like men contending with a deadly enemy for life. We must take our whole heart to the house of God, and worship and hear like those who listen to the reading of a benefactor's will. We must fight daily against sin, the world, and the devil., like those who fight for liberty, and must conquer, or be slaves. these are the ways we must walk in if we would find Christ, and be found in Him. This is "laboring." This is the secret of getting on about our souls.

Labor like this no doubt is very uncommon. In carrying it on we shall have little encouragement from man, and shall often be told that we are "extreme," and go too far. Strange and absurd as it is, the natural man is always fancying that we many take too much thought about religion, and refusing to see that we are far more likely to take too much thought about the world. But whatever man may say, the soul will never get spiritual food without labor. We must "strive," we must "run," we must "fight," we must throw our whole heart into our soul's affairs. It is the violent who take the kingdom. (Matt. 11:12)"

—J.C. Ryle, The Gospel of John

2012 Bible Scripture Memory Plan

In 2011, I developed the habit of daily Bible reading. In 2012, by the grace of God, I hope to develop the habit of always being in the process of memorizing a passage of scripture. For now, I will choose passages as God directs, and I plan to focus on chapters and books. Yes, books!

I have set up a page, which can be accessed in the sidebar, where I will list the passages I am working on and when I complete them. I am starting with Psalm 16.

Following are several online resources I encountered in the past year that have prompted this plan. I encourage you to check them out:

• John Piper's sermon, Why Memorize Scripture?
• "The Importance of Filling Your Life with Scripture" at Provocations and Pantings blog.
• Another post by Timmy Brister on his plan to memorize the book of Ephesians.
• I also watched a great online message by John Piper, which he gave to a group of students several years ago, but I cannot find it! If anyone knows of the video to which I am referring, PLEASE let me know! Piper begins his message by quoting Psalm 130.

I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Psalm 119:11

2012 Bible Reading Plan

In just a few days, I will have completed my first yearly Bible reading plan. I have read through the Old Testament once and the New Testament twice. This is an endeavor I have attempted many times in the past, but this year I was successful for several reasons, including:

• Our church undertook to read through the Bible together as a Body using the same plan.
• Therefore, many of my friends were reading through the plan, which gave us common ground for spiritual discussion and encouragement.
• At the beginning of the year, I prayed to God for grace to complete the reading. I didn't want to fail again, and I knew I could only do it if He enabled me to.
• As a teacher, I know that it is my responsibility to always be reading through the Bible using a plan. For the rest of my life, by the grace of God, I intend to read through the Bible at least once every year.

So, what have I learned through this process?

• God's Providence has never ceased to amaze and encourage me. More often than I can count, my reading for the day lined up with my Tabletalk devotional or my Sunday school preparation or some teaching I was being exposed to online or via audio. This is miraculous!
• The more I read the Bible, the more I want to read the Bible. I usually begin the day with my reading, but I often now read before bedtime as well—usually an Epistle or the Psalms and Proverb for the day.
• I have seen how the Holy Spirit works through the application of the Word. In some inexplicable existential way, I have seen Him change me in a way He never has before simply through reading the Bible every day.
• My desire for the things of God and to grow in my knowledge of Him has increased. Other things matter less and less to me.
• I now turn to the Word for comfort in times of distress rather than pursuing temporary distractions that do not satisfy. God has been faithful in this and has never failed to speak to me or to meet my needs in Him.

I don't want to mislead anyone who may be reading this into thinking I have "arrived" spiritually simply by reading my Bible every day for a year. Indeed, I have not! I am extremely weak and needy still, and my sin is ever before me. However, I have been greatly encouraged by how God has been working in my life this year, and I am convinced more than ever that God's Word is sufficient for my every need. The struggle is in applying and appropriating this truth. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak!

In light of these revelations, for several months now I have been contemplating which Bible reading plan to use for 2012. This post was very helpful to me, and I strongly recommend it, along with the articles linked within the post. I kept going back and forth between Professor Grant Horner's plan and the M'Cheyne plan. Finally, this morning, after reading this post by John Piper, which I took to be confirmation from God ;), I decided to go with the M'Cheyne plan. Several reasons for this...

• I'm still not sure reading ten chapters a day as required by the Horner plan is realistic at this stage in my life. Four chapters a day is what I have been doing this year, so I know it is doable.
• I prefer the idea of reading in four different sections a day rather than ten.
• I want to encourage the class to read along with me, and the only way to do this is through a daily reading plan. Everyone would end up in different places using the Horner plan, which would defeat the purpose of our reading along together.
• I want to use the supplementary devotional by D.A. Carson that uses the M'Cheyne plan. For the Love of God is available free online, or you can purchase it through Amazon.com in several different formats. I plan to buy it for Kindle. Carson's devotional is Christ-focused and substantive and will greatly enhance your understanding of Scripture.

I hope you will plan to join me in committing to this Bible reading plan for 2012. Please let me know either via comment or email, so we can encourage one another! You can access a PDF file of the M'Cheyne plan here.

May you grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in 2012!

Discerning the Good

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. –Philippians 4:8

From the Tabletalk devotional for December 21, 2011:

...Paul is telling Christians to think on excellent things they find in the surrounding culture. We have an explicit teaching here that believers are free to enjoy the good things around us even if they do not come from an explicitly Christian source. We are to appreciate the truth and beauty we see even in the art, literature, science, science, politics, music, technology, and so forth produced by unbelievers. All human beings are made in the image of a true and beautiful God, and though this image was marred in the fall, it was not totally eradicated (Gen. 1:26-27; 9:6). Thus, although God-haters try to suppress the truth, they are never totally successful. Despite their best efforts, they do arrive at the knowledge of at least some truth from God's revelation in nature (Rom. 1:18-32). The hearts of unconverted people may be ugly in sin, but can and do often see and create beauty.

What is true, good, excellent, and so forth, however, is not merely in the eyes of the beholder. The which we are to approve and think on must measure up to the Gospel of God and His work to make all things new. That which is true and beautiful does not contradict the image of Christ...

...We are to live in a manner that is distinct from the world, but we are not to be separatistic in that we are allowed to enjoy only self-consciously Christian authors, musicians, artists, and so forth. If it is true and beautiful, it is worth think on, no matter its source.

What is Life?

In the midst of the holiday busyness and the diversion from our usual routine, I got behind on my daily Bible reading over the past several days, so I caught up this morning. As always, God foreordained this circumstance so that I would have an extended period of time in the Word focused on passages in which I needed to be immersed. Therefore, this morning, I have been reading in the Gospel of John chapters nine through eighteen. I took many notes, pondered extensively, and have been exceedingly blessed, but one verse in particular stood out and remains foremost in my mind: I am the resurrection and the life. -John 11:25a

I have been exposed to enough teaching to guess that the word for "life" used in this passage is the Greek word, zoe. I went to Blue Letter Bible to confirm this and to look further into its meaning. This is what I found; and rather than write it in definition form, it seems appropriate to convey the meaning as poetry.

Of the absolute fullness of life
Which belongs to God
And to the Logos—
The One who is eternal and who put on human nature
Life real and genuine
Active and vigorous
Devoted to God
Blessed
In this world
And in the world to come
Lasting forever.

I want that kind of life. Don't you? The reality is that we have that life, if we are in Christ, but we are easily distracted by the world and all that it has to offer, so we continually pursue the counterfeit rather than the real. Even things we pursue that are not inherently bad or sinful distract us from zoe. The challenge is to  discern what gives life and what does not and to single-mindedly pursue the former.

My prayer for us all this Christmas is that God would give us the wisdom and discernment to know what is life-giving and what is counterfeit and that He would empower us to pursue these things in single-minded devotion to Him.