spurgeon

‘Everyone who acknowledges me before men…’

Tony Reinke spurgeon

Notwithstanding your opinion of these men, their political leanings, the flavor of this show, the topic at hand, or how the topic was handled, it is marvelous to hear the name of Christ “acknowledged before men” on television. Jesus promised that “everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32). That is no easy achievement (vv. 16–25). But it’s a stunning promise.

Looking for a read-through-the-Bible Bible?

Tony Reinke BR > Crossway, ESV, spurgeon


Each January Christians renew their commitment to read the Bible from cover-to-cover. It’s an admirable goal for such a large and ancient book.

For my money, the best suited Bible for this goal is the ESV Literary Study Bible (Crossway, 2007). I appreciate this Bible because the editors–Leland and Philip Graham Ryken–have written brief notes to help the reader along at a pace of about one note per chapter of Scripture. Those little notes set the stage for what the reader is about to encounter in their reading. And a daily reading plan in the back of the book provides readers with a thoughtful annual reading plan. Readers are encouraged to read daily from four different portions of the Bible: (1) the Psalms and Wisdom Literature, (2) the Pentateuch and History of Israel, (3) Chronicles and Prophets, and (4) the Gospels and Epistles. And in the plan, four major books are read twice in the year (Psalms, Isaiah, Luke, and Romans). Added to this, the wealth of information you will learn about the literary features of the Bible is also quite stunning.

So if you are looking for the kind of a Bible you can read from cover to cover, I recommend the ESV Literary Study Bible. It is available in two editions: hardcover ($30) and TruTone ($39).

Back in 2007 I sat down with Leland Ryken in his office at Wheaton to discuss the ESVLSB. You can learn more about the Bible in my interview with Dr. Ryken here.

You Digg?

Tony Reinke BR > Multnomah, spurgeon

My pastor Joshua Harris has a new book—Dug Down Deep: Unearthing What I Believe and Why It Matters (Multnomah, 2010). I’m only a couple chapters in but it’s very good thus far.

Here are three that have finished it:

J. I. Packer: “Via vivid autobiography, Pastor Harris takes readers on a personal journey into the biblical theology that, belatedly, he found he could not manage without. A humbling, compelling, invigorating read.”

John Piper: “When the apostle Peter says, ‘Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God…casting all your anxiety on Him,’ he implies that humble people are fearless. They have the courage to stand up for truth humbly. I love the term ‘humble orthodoxy.’ And I love Josh Harris. When they come together (Josh and humble orthodoxy), as they do in this book, you get a humble, helpful, courageous testimony to biblical truth.”

Joni Eareckson Tada: “More than forty years of quadriplegia has underscored to me the matchless value of knowing—really knowing—the doctrines of the Christian faith. Dug Down Deep reveals how biblical doctrine provides a pathway to understanding the heart and mind of God. If you’re looking for ‘that one book’ that will push you farther down the road to faith than you’ve ever journeyed before, Dug Down Deep is it. I highly recommend it!”

Life Before Kindle

Tony Reinke spurgeon

“In the tenth century…the Grand Vizier of Persia, Abdul Kassem Ismael, in order not to part with his collection of 117,000 volumes when traveling, had them carried by a caravan of four hundred camels trained to walk in alphabetical order.” [Alberto Manguel, A History of Reading (Penguin, 1996), p. 193]

Family Update Letter 2009

Tony Reinke spurgeon

So you mailed the family update letter for 2009. You laid out a few color pictures of the kids and typed out some short updates, wrote it all from the voice of the family dog, and printed the letter from your cartridge-hungry home printer on some special Christmas paper with a green holly banner across the top.

I’ve done that.

I’ve never tried this:

For 2009 were mailing photo postcards. Note the future tense.