To Mom and Dad,

Like every Christian parent, I want my children to read the Bible. However, although I’ve found numerous Bible reading plans for adults, I couldn’t find what I wanted for my kids.

Some plans were way too ambitious and time-consuming; others just had random verses from here, there, and everywhere. Some had too much interactivity; others had too little. Some had one verse of Bible and one page of commentary!

I wanted my children to have a Bible reading plan that would be simple, systematic, interactive, do-able, and full of Bible. So…I wrote one myself. And when I shared the handouts on social media a couple of years ago, I was taken aback by how many families used and appreciated them. Many asked for a book version, and I’m delighted to say that the first five volumes are now available on Amazon.

Each book has about 100 days of Bible reading, each day has a brief question, and each week has an area for prayer points. Here are some sample pages from Genesis and from Matthew to help you judge whether this would be suitable for your children. They work with every version of the Bible, and I’ve used them successfully with with ages 7-14.

It shouldn’t require more than five minutes a day, but, over a few years, your children will read and interact with much of the Bible. And they will end up not only with a memorable collection of Bible workbooks, but also a blessed habit of daily, systematic, interactive, and prayerful Bible reading.

I hope you will also talk to your children about the books. Why not have a weekly discussion about the readings and answers, and use the opportunity to not only keep them accountable but to develop another holy habit, that of freely discussing the Word of God with one another.

The focus of the first five volumes is on covering the biblical narratives, although we do skip a few stories here and there that may be especially difficult for younger children. They can be read and studied when the children are older and better able to profit from them.

May God bless these plans so that it may be said of all our children: “From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Tim. 3:15).

A website will soon be up and running with hints and tips on how to help your children read the Bible, and also an opportunity to bulk order at lower prices for churches and schools. In the meantime, here’s the Amazon link.

Thank you to my assistant, Sarah Perez, for all her work on these books. Big thanks, as usual, to Cameron Morgan for his work on the covers, and thanks to Esther Engelsma for proofing.

Blogs

The Thorns and Thistles of this Life | Right With God
Another blog from my Dad: “This is a very important subject. It explains so much of why life is the way it is for man. If we try to cope with the difficulties of our daily labour without a biblical understanding of it, we are going to feel quite dissatisfied and discontent in our daily work.”

Women in Combat and the Undoing of Civilization | Denny Burk
“Our civilization just took a gigantic leap backward yesterday, though I’m wondering if anyone will notice. Yesterday, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter removed final obstacles restricting women from serving in combat units in the United States military.”

3 Reasons Your Team Needs Shepherd Leadership
“Boss is the term most often used in our culture to represent the authority or leader over you. Boss means a person who exercises control or authority, directing and supervising work. Sometimes, your team does need a boss. The responsibility of leadership will require your direct authority. But, more often, your team needs a shepherd leader.”

Is your church racist? | Dane Ortlund
Long extract here because this is such an important and challenging subject:

Here are some diagnostic questions I ask myself, to press into deeper insight.  Is your church a white church where black people are welcome, or is your church a Christian church where all who love Jesus are equally accepted and equally influential?  Are the black people in your church receiving and adapting to your church’s culture, or are they, with you, shaping and reshaping your church’s culture?  Are there two circles of belonging in your church?  Is there an inner circle of “us” and an outer circle of “them” – the latter belonging too, but not in the same way, not with the same embrace, the same identity, the same “us”?  Does the “us-ness” in your church need to be broken and re-created, according to the parameters of the one gospel for all sinners who are standing equally on the same footing before the one Savior of all?  Or are the unspoken ground rules for the outer circle more demanding than the ground rules for the inner circle?  Do the outer-circle members have something to prove that the inner-circle members don’t have to prove?  Is there any emotional aloofness dividing your church, or are you loving every member with the same emotional intensity?  Finally, are the black members of your church on the same paths of growth and discipleship such that they too are on their way toward becoming leaders, deacons, elders and pastors?  Or is it inconceivable that you could receive, rejoice over and submit to a black lead pastor in your church?

Kindle Deals

The Story of the Jews: Finding the Words 1000 BC-1492 AD by Simon Schama $1.99.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit: Relationships, Roles, and Relevance by Bruce Ware $4.41.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About God: Jesus Ed.: But Were Afraid to Ask by Eric Metaxes $1.99.

New Books

Here are a few new books from Evangelical Press.

Ann Judson: A Missionary Life for Burma (new edition) by Sharon James $13.99.

A Lost God in a Lost World by Melvin Tinker $13.99.

The Incarnation and Beyond by Adolphe Monod $14.99.

Video

One Voice on Christian Social Media | Desiring God
I love what Rosaria does when she receives an angry email. Click the link above for more of this interview.

There’s one characteristic that separates the successful from the unsuccessful in every walk of life: teachability.

Those who are teachable, and remain so, usually succeed. The unteachable usually fail. I’ve seen that in business, I’ve seen it in the ministry, I’ve seen it among students, and I’ve seen it in my children.

No matter how much talent and gifting we have, if we are, or become, unteachable, we will never reach anywhere near our full potential in our careers, our callings, or our relationships.

The Distinguishing Difference
Think of all the successful people you know, what is it that distinguishes them all? It’s teachability, isn’t it? Think of all the people you know that never really made the most of the gifts and opportunities God gave them. Unteachability is the common thread, isn’t it?

If there’s one thing I want to to teach my children and students, it’s teachability.

When I speak to young people or students, I can usually tell quite quickly the ones who will do well in their lives and callings… and those who won’t. Teachability makes the difference.

Teachability gets people to the top. But if you lose teachability at the top, you won’t be at the top for long.

So what does unteachabilty look like?

• Doesn’t take notes, read books, or learn anything unless it’s the bare minimum or what’s essential for exam purposes.
• Doesn’t ask questions or attempt anything that might reveal ignorance or risk looking stupid.
• Doesn’t accept responsibility for failures but blames anyone and everyone else.
• Doesn’t seek or accept one-to-one personal guidance or mentoring from parents, teachers, pastors, elders, etc.
• Doesn’t listen, but talks, talks, talks about self, especially when with someone you could learn a lot from.
• Doesn’t take criticism or correction without resentment or retaliation.
• Resists moving out of personal comfort zones in work, study, ministry, or relationships, but always looks for the easy and familiar route.
• Doesn’t read, listen to, or learn anything that challenges existing presuppositions, practices, and prejudices.

In contrast, teachability means:

• You’re aware of the limitations of your own knowledge and abilities.
• You admit limitation, inability, and ignorance to others who can teach and help.
• You regularly ask for help, instruction, guidance, and advice (before the event, not after disaster strikes).
• You learn from anyone and everyone you can (the best educated pastor I know writes notes for his own benefit even when listening to a novice preacher).
• You listen to others carefully and patiently with a desire to learn from everyone.
• You’re prepared to move out of your comfort zone, try something different, make mistakes, look stupid, answer wrongly, etc.
• You don’t give up when you fail at something, but seek help, and try again and again until you get it right.
• You’re willing to change your views and practices when convincing evidence is presented to you, even if it means admitting you were wrong.

There’s another word for teachability.

Humility.

Extracted from The Christian Life by David Murray, $0.99.

Blogs

A Modest Proposal: Don’t Tell Everyone about Every Shooting | Kevin DeYoung
“I have a modest proposal for our networks and news shows and the rest of our 24 hour media: don’t tell everyone about every shooting. Seriously. Make a pact to hold your peace. Be rogue and go silent. Decide ahead of time to treat the next story as a non-story. We don’t need to know every bad thing that happens everywhere.”

San Bernardino, Prayer Shaming, and a Better Way | Ed Stetzer
“This shooting also reminded us of a cultural moment we are in, as the New York Daily News sought to highlight that Republicans were calling for prayer while Democrats were calling for action.”

God Responds To The New York Daily News
“God’s not fixing this,” the New York Daily News declared. Here is God’s response.”

Christmas means that God IS fixing this | Denny Burk
“I want to comment briefly on the irony of the headline “God is not fixing this” in light of the Christmas season. The idea that we have to do what God has failed to do is at best out of step with Christmas and is at worst blasphemous. Christmas is the one time of year that is supposed to remind us that God is fixing this.”

How to Pray the News | TGC
“To keep from letting the news cycle rob our joy, we can redeem the news through prayer. “Praying the news” can be a practical way to shift our focus from the temporal events of our fallen creation to our eternal Creator who can heal our broken world.”

The Pleasure of Praising Others | Desiring God
“Great persons commend great things. The greatest individuals commend the greatest things. They search for that which is most commendable and then set out to magnify it with speech, enjoy it with praise, and invite others to join them in glad admiration by calling attention to its superior qualities.”

God or Transcripts: Where Do You Put Your Trust? | The Exchange | A Blog by Ed Stetzer
“Too many students (and parents) make idols of grade point averages. Find your hope in Jesus.”

Grief and Gratitude in the Ashes of Life | TGC
“Monday was a bittersweet day our family will never forget. While my youngest brother and his wife were at the hospital, awaiting the arrival of their second son, my younger sister and her husband were escaping a fire that consumed their house and all their belongings.”

Four Propositions on Homosexuality and Holiness | Rick Phillips
“Tender-hearted Christians can only sympathize with our brothers and sisters who have and do struggle with homosexual desires.  Yet we do no actual good in offering false comfort to weary strugglers.  Yes, we must not make heterosexuality the be-all and end-all of godliness, as if heterosexuality = holiness.  Yet we cannot be true to Scripture and yet deny that godliness must include holy heterosexuality, so that the pursuit of holiness will include for many a bitter struggle against homosexual desires. ”

2015 Magnify Conference Now Available | TGC
“The six sessions from the 2015 Magnify Conference are now available on both the Magnify site and on our church’s webpage. I was especially helped by the conversation Ligon and I had on Friday evening. The last ten minutes (starting at 46:00) were deeply moving as Ligon talked ab out the Lord’s work to sanctify him over the past several years.”

Children’s Books Sale at Ligonier
“In time for Christmas, we are having a special sale on select children’s books. For the next 3 days, purchase the following books for only $8 each-that’s a discount of at least 50% off retail.”

Kindle Books

Church with Jesus as the Hero by David Prince, $3.99.

50 Women Every Christian Should Know: Learning from Heroines of the Faith $1.99. I wouldn’t call all of them heroines of the faith, but most of them certainly qualify.

And a couple of books you’ll learn a lot from, but you’ll need to read with a good biblical filter on.

Be A People Person: Effective Leadership Through Effective Relationships by John Maxwell, $0.99.

Courageous Leadership: Field-Tested Strategy for the 360° Leader by Bill Hybels., $2.99.

Video

Wild Scotland (HT: Tim Challies)
Permit me a little indulgence. Sometimes the pull is strong and deep.

A couple of days ago I wrote about the struggle many of us have with “plate-spinning.” A young Christian woman read it and wrote to me with her testimony about how God had helped her to move from a life of stressful plate-spinning to a life of peace and calm. I hope what she has written blesses you as much as it did me. 

A couple years ago I came to the realization that my fast paced life and high stress levels were beginning to take a toll on me physically, mentally, and most of all spiritually.  My plates were spinning out of control and I desperately needed to slow them down.  I began counseling shortly after.  During the first sessions, I was very focused on implementing the tools I was given.  Little did I realize these tools would become a lifestyle over the next few years.  It’s been a long road and here, by the grace of God, are 3 blessings that he has used and is using:

Sunday Worship

Sunday worship became a lot more than simply going to church, it was a taste of an eternal rest.  On Sundays I intentionally spend time slowing my mind down.  I will often sit in a quiet environment and listen to psalms/hymns for 20-30 minutes.  Nothing else but the meditation of scripture through music is filling my mind and I find it helpful as I prepare for worship as well.  This may seem a strange way to slow my spinning plates, but each Monday my mind is refreshed with the gospel and relaxed for the tasks of the week.

Morning Exercise

Most often when I mention to someone how this has helped me, they will respond with “Well, you are an athlete so it is easier for you.”  Truth is, I still wake up early most mornings to take a short jog.  I find it very relaxing and it wakes up my brain allowing me to think more clearly and be more efficient with my day. I’m not so sure about the science behind it, but days when I choose to exercise in the morning compared to those when I don’t, are noticeably different. Our bodies are so complex and fascinating.

Practical Tools

Re-training my mind has been the most difficult and tedious part of it all.  On a daily (and even hourly) basis, when I am faced with stressful situations or my mind is going in a thousand directions, one of two phrases will come to mind.  The first; “Facts, Thoughts, Feelings” (from a sermon based on Psalm 77) and the second, “Peanut Butter Pie” (Pause, Breathe, Pray). It’s amazing how the Lord has used these two simple mnemonic phrases to change how I approach most everything. Ultimately, it is putting life’s stressors into Kingdom perspective.

Blogs

To Get More Creative, Become Less Productive
“There is a fundamental tension between productivity and creativity, and managers won’t get more of the latter until they recognize it.”

Credo Magazine » A very cool John Owen chronology by Lee Comings

Do I Need My iPhone? | Tony Reinke
Challenging questions from Tony about whether we all really need a smartphone.

Is Worry Killing Us? | Tim Lane
“Statistics reveal that nearly 20% of people living in the United States will experience life debilitating anxiety annually. That is nearly 65 million people! In 2008, American physicians wrote more than 50 million prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications and more than 150 million prescriptions for antidepressants, many of which were used for anxiety-related conditions. It is no over-statement to say that we have a problem of epidemic proportions.”

The Faith of the Candidates: An Interview with Jeb Bush |Ed Stetzer
“Governor Bush is a convert to Catholicism and a practicing Catholic. He speaks regularly and freely of his faith and conversion experience. In this brief interview, I ask him about his faith and its implications for his approach to governance.”

America the Indispensable | WSJ
Rupert Murdoch’s address at the recent Global Leadership dinner.

Why It Is Unfair to Treat Everyone the Same | Eric Geiger
“It is not fair to lead everyone the same way because every person on the team is different and needs different leadership. Here are eight ways the people on your team are different:”

Discouragement in Ministry | TGC
“After conducting an informal survey with a few dozen pastors and lay-people over the past few months, the following are the top five reasons given for discouragement in ministry along with a few encouragements about how to battle through these struggles.”

Is Social Media Scraping You Too Thin? | The Blazing Center
“Social media has a way of erasing the natural, creaturely boundaries God has put into place throughout creation. It puts me in too many places at a time.”

Should You Preach from a Full Manuscript? | Canon Fodder
“The benefits of writing out a full manuscript are many.  It forces the preacher to think clearly about each of their points and how to develop them, it helps the preacher think through transitions between points (something often overlooked), it helps keep the sermon within the desired time limit, and the exact wording allows for more theological prec ision. And, on top of all of this, a full manuscript allows a preacher to retrieve their sermon several years later and preach it again without wondering what he originally said. But, when it comes to using a manuscript in the pulpit, there are serious drawbacks.”

Kindle Books

Depression: Looking Up from the Stubborn Darkness by Ed Welch, $1.99.

When the Darkness Will Not Lift by John Piper, $2.99.

Love Walked among Us: Learning to Love Like Jesus by Paul Miller, $4.72.

Video

Marco Rubio was asked about his faith: his answer blew everyone away