Last year David Mathis outlined several good plans for people wanting to read through the Bible in a year. They're worth mentioning again, so I have reproduced the list (with minor updates) below.

Of course, there are tons of other plans out there. Just google "Bible reading plan" and you'll get pages of results of all different kinds, for personalities and lifestyles and needs of all different kinds.

[Update: Justin Taylor's post today brings together some great content on Bible reading plans and offers more detail on a few of them in particular.]

Bible Reading Plans

Discipleship Journal
NavPress’s Discipleship Journal plan has been the most used at Bethlehem for years. There are …

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I've told the story many times of talking impatiently with my wife one Sunday morning and having my nine year old son interject—

Daddy, is this the way a Christian man should be talking to his wife?

Rather sarcastically I said,

What do you think?

and he replied,

It doesn't make any difference what I think, what does God think?

I went to my bedroom and two thoughts immediately hit me. First, my pride reared up. I want to be a hero to my son and I was embarrassed that he had been troubled by my attitude and words. But that didn't last very long. I soon thought, "How could it be that God could love me so much that he would give a twit of care about this mundane little moment i…

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This is the second question we put to Joel Beeke, upcoming speaker at our 2011 Conference for Pastors. (Read his answer to our first question.)

You wear many hats: seminary president, publisher, author, pastor, husband, father, etc. Such a heavy load must make prayer a difficult thing to fit into your schedule. What has been your experience? And what counsel would you give to those who feel too busy to pray?

Like every other Christian, I suppose, my experience has been that the more I am given to truly pray in my prayers the more keenly I feel how little I truly pray.

My mother is the greatest prayer warrior I know; for decades, she has regularly spent two or more hours per day in earne…

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At the end of every Passover Seder, the Jewish diaspora pronounce the wistful prayer: “Next year in Jerusalem.” It is the deep longing for the promised, peaceful Messianic Jerusalem with a restored Temple—a profound wish that the next year be a happy one.

It seems to me that Christians ought also to say, “Next year in Jerusalem!” rather than wishing one another a “Happy New Year.” For we have come to know the Messiah and he has given us a glimpse of what we long for:

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He wi…

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In reflecting back on 2010 at year’s end, here are what I’d call “the top 5 books I read” (in order of author’s last name):

 

	Gospel in Life by Tim Keller
	It’s not a typical read-it-on-your-own book, but specially designed for small-group study. Our weekly small group tackled the 8 sessions together this Fall. Each session has a “home study” (nice way of saying “homework”) and a 10-minute video lesson by Keller on the accompanying DVD. The topics are great, the content is outstanding, and the study guide is very well done.
	The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses by C. S. Lewis
	This was a re-read, but I couldn’t help mentioning it here. And it’s not just “The Weight of Glory” essay t…

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This is the first post in a series of questions and answers with those who will be speaking at our 2011 Conference for Pastors. The questions will address a variety of topics, at times focusing more on prayer, which is the conference theme.

The following question was put to Joel Beeke.

You have written much on the lives and thoughts of the Puritans. Which Puritan do you think has the most to teach us about prayer? What would he teach us?

His response:

I’m sending a book to the printer this week, Taking Hold of God: Reformed and Puritan Perspectives on Prayer, which should be available in time for the conference. Three chapters are devoted to the Reformers: Luther, Calvin, and Knox. …

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Like most non-profits in the U.S., December is a crucial month of financial support for us at DG. Historically, we receive about 30% of our annual gifts in December. This year we’re praying for $823,000 to help us meet budget.

To date we have received $327,000 toward that goal. Historically, the last day of the year is our largest receipting day. The Lord provided $226,500 on December 31, 2009. The Lord seems to like to supply in this way, since he does it so often.

We know the Lord will provide what we need. Our confidence is in him. We’re simply letting the need be known to those who care about our outreach.

Would you prayerfully consider helping us meet our year-end budget goal?

The last week of the year is a good time—with God's help—to reflect on the past 12 months, do a little self-assessment, and decide what things to repent of and reach for in the next lap around the sun.

At the end of his first year as pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, John Piper led his people in doing this through his sermon "I Have Kept the Faith."

Below is the conclusion of that sermon. Just plug in "2010" and "2011" where you read "1980" and "1981," and the content is still relevant 30 years later.

So, how did we do in 1980? If 1980 were the whole of our life, could we say with Paul, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth ther…

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In Miscellanies #191, Jonathan Edwards defines free grace as the kind of grace in which "the abundance of the benevolence of the giver is expressed, and gratitude in the receiver is obliged." Then he outlines three ways through which this kind of grace—which he also calls gospel grace—is realized (spacing and italics added):

Now I think these three things do constitute the freedom of grace. . .

(1) When the gift is to an offender, without satisfaction paid by him. . . .

(2) When 'tis given without retribution by way of condition, or without the receiver's profiting or pleasuring the giver. . . .

(3) When 'tis given without our worthiness; I mean without that excellency in our persons or …

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