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Nothing is more helpful and practical in
Christian living than the habit of getting
a verse or phrase of Scripture into the mind
and heart in the morning. Its influence stays
through the day, weaving itself into all the
day’s thoughts and words and experiences.
Every verse in the Bible is meant to help us
to live—and a good devotional book opens
up the precious teachings which are folded
up in Scripture.
A devotional book, which takes a Scripture
text, and so opens it for us in the morning—
that all day long it helps us to live, becoming
a true lamp for our feet, and a staff to lean
upon when the way is rough—is the very best
help we can possibly have. What we need in
a devotional book which will bless our lives—
is the application of the great teachings of
Scripture—to common, daily, practical life.
“Make careful choice of the books which you read: let the holy scriptures ever have the pre-eminence, and, next to them, those solid, lively, heavenly treatises which best expound and apply the scriptures, and next, credible histories, especially of the Church . . . but take heed of false teachers who would corrupt your understandings.”
1. As there is a more excellent appearance of the Spirit of God in the holy scripture, than in any other book whatever, so it has more power and fitness to convey the Spirit, and make us spiritual, by imprinting itself upon our hearts. As there is more of God in it, so it will acquaint us more with God, and bring us nearer Him, and make the reader more reverent, serious and divine. Let scripture be first and most in your hearts and hands and other books be used as subservient to it. The endeavours of the devil and papists to keep it from you, doth shew that it is most necessary and desirable to you.
2. The writings of divines are nothing else but a preaching of the gospel to the eye, as the voice preaches it to the ear. Vocal preaching has the pre-eminence in moving the affections, and being diversified according to the state of the congregation which attend it: this way the milk comes warmest from the breast. But books have the advantage in many other respects: you may read an able preacher when you have but a average one to hear. Every congregation cannot hear the most judicious or powerful preachers: but every single person may read the books of the most powerful and judicious; preachers may be silenced or banished, when books may be at hand: books may be kept at a smaller charge than preachers: we may choose books which treat of that, very subject which we desire to hear of; but we cannot choose what subject the preacher shall treat of. Books we may have at hand every day. and hour; when we can have sermons but seldom, and at set times. If sermons be forgotten, they are gone; but a book we may read over and over, till we remember it: and if we forget it, may again peruse it at our pleasure, or at our leisure. So that good books are a very great mercy to the world: the Holy Ghost chose the way of writing, to preserve His doctrine and laws to the ‘Church, as knowing how easy and sure a way it is of keeping it safe to all generations, in comparison of mere verbal traditions.
3. You have need of a judicious teacher at hand, to direct you what books to use or to refuse: for among good books there are some very good that are sound and lively; and some good, but mediocre, and weak and somewhat dull; and some are very good in part, but have mixtures of error, or else of incautious, injudicious expressions, fitter to puzzle than edify the weak.
Baxter’s Guide To The Value Of A Book
While reading ask oneself:
1. Could I spend this time no better?
2. Are there better books that would edify me more?
3. Are the lovers of such a book as this the greatest lovers of the Book of God and of a holy life?
4. Does this book increase my love to the Word of God, kill my sin, and prepare me for the life to come?
If you sign up with the Westminster Theological Seminary bookstore’s blog partners program, you can earn strore credit. Simply provide links to items in their store and every click readers of your blog submit in your post gets credited to your account. FREE BOOKS! Who wouldn’t sign up?
I recently began reading “Growning in Christ” by J.I. Packer and remembering Tony Reinke’s review at The Shepherds Scrapbook, I thought I’d echo his sentiment of the broad brush stroke of the Christian life as stated by Packer:
“Being a Christian is a blend of doctrine, experience, and practice. Head, heart, and legs are all involved. Doctrine and experience without practice would turn me into a knowledgeable spiritual paralytic; experience and practice without doctrine would leave me a restless sleepwalker. If Christ is to be formed in me, doctrine, experience, and practice must all be there together” (p. 127).
Also, Packers exposition of the Lords Prayer and how to implement it into your daily prayer time is second to none.
For those of us who have a nasty tendency for morbid self introspection, I’d simply love to recommend a short book from John Piper called “When the Darkness Doesn’t Lift”. You can obtain the free downloadable .pdf here.
Not only is this habit of constantly dwelling on ourselves and our own utter lack of sufficiency to walk the Christian walk detrimental to our growth and development as believers, but it is downright sinful. To be so utterly amazed at our own sinfulness, though helpful to a point, can throw us into a never ending slough of despond that is almost impossible to dig ourselves out of. I know this because I’ve written the book on it as it were. It’s really a catch 22. To constantly pound yourself over the noggin with your sin makes you feel all the more unworthy to come before him in prayer and bible reading and as a result, growth ceases and your walk becomes a full fledged halt.
But our utter sinfulness and total insufficiency is the point of it all, isn’t it? That He is the complete sufficiency to match our utter insufficiency and He is what the Father looks upon since we be in Christ. It’s Christianity 101 really, but for people like us, it’s thousands of miles away at times.
He is our rest. He is our sufficiency. He is our righteousness. He is our all in all. Not ourselves.
Ah the radical nature of grace.
“Feeling sorry for yourself is one of the strongest, most addictive narcotics known to man. It feels so good to feel so bad. Self-pity arises so easily, seems so plausible, and proves so hard to shake off.”
- David Powlison in the newest Journal of Biblical Counseling (Summer 2007, Vol. 25, No. 3) p. 7.
