At the NEXT conference in Baltimore this weekend, C.J. preached from Philippians 2:12-13. You can download the message—“Sanctification”—as an mp3 here.
 
During his message C.J. shared the following quote from John Murray, a fitting summary of the passage and the message:

God’s working in us is not suspended because we work,
nor our working suspended because God works.
Neither is the relation strictly one of co-operation
    as if God did his part and we did ours
    so that the conjunction or coordination of both
    produced the required result.
God works in us and we also work.
But the relation is that
    because God works
    we work.
All working out of salvation on our part
is the effect of God’s working in us,
    not the willing to the exclusion of the doing
    and not the doing to the exclusion of the willing,
        but both the willing and the doing....
The more persistently active we are in working,
the more persuaded we may be
    that all the energizing grace and power is of God.

[source: Redemption Accomplished and Applied (Eerdmans, 1955), pp. 148-149. Line breaks added.] 

‘Tis the season for New Year’s resolutions—for examination, for new beginnings, for fresh resolve, for (at least momentarily) facing things we’re dissatisfied with and want changed. Ah, that’s it, isn’t it? So much of what captures our culture’s collective imagination at the annual turning of the calendar is the hope of change. Few things animate our imaginations like the prospects of a better future.

There is surely a biblical warrant for such impulses. Following Christ involves a constant process of self examination, of “putting off the old self” and “putting on the new self.” And obedience to the imperatives of Scripture inherently involves a Spirit-born resolve. Much of Paul’s prayer life was apparently taken up with requests that God “fulfill every resolve for good” in the lives of those he served (2 Thessalonians 1:11).

As I reflected upon the new year and my own hopes for change, my annual exercise was interrupted by a stark reminder of the difference between myself and God: I change, but God does not. “All flesh is grass,” Isaiah proclaimed, barely sprouting up before it withers and dies, but “I the LORD do not change” (Malachi 3:6). Regardless of my resolutions for the new year, it is only “the purpose of the LORD that will stand” (Proverbs 19:21). I have no idea what tomorrow holds, but “the word of our God will stand forever” (Isaiah 40:6-8).

For a pastor all too aware of his own sin and deficiencies (though surely underestimating the extent of both), this news was beyond good—it was transforming, and it was bracing. I then emerged from my study and entered the classroom to teach homiletics to a group of future pastors; I did so with a treasured conviction newly strengthened.

Let me ask a question I asked those men concerning the preaching of God’s Word: “What do you believe about how God works in his church and in the world?” Not, mind you, “What do you believe about Scripture’s truthfulness, or sufficiency, or inerrancy…?”—all important attributes of Scripture which it certainly claims for itself. But one can produce orthodox formulations of all of these and still lack confidence in the power of God’s Word to convert hearts, to change lives, and to build the church.

So at the outset of this new year, here’s an invitation to pastors charged with preaching and teaching God’s Word. We may be in the process of evaluating our ministries, identifying areas that need change, seeking to learn and change and grow, and so we should. But let there be one area—one cluster of convictions—that does not change. Let’s not waver in our conviction that God brings about his sovereign purposes through his Word. As in creation and throughout salvation-history, so it is now in the church and in the world: God’s Word is uniquely his creating, preserving, governing, saving, and sanctifying instrument—as Calvin put it, it is his scepter by which he rules creation and his people.

Let’s not waver in our conviction that the preached Word is living and active. It’s not merely information to interest the mind or spiritual principles to apply to life: God’s Word personally addresses us, illuminating eyes and eliciting faith and transforming hearts, affections, and perspectives.

Let’s not waver in our conviction that the pastor’s peculiar call is to bring God’s Word to bear upon his people. Amidst all the responsibilities and duties that clamor for the pastor’s attention, none transcends the call to teach God’s Word. If you are a pastor, your governing priority, whatever your specific responsibilities are, is an unflagging, ever-strengthening, ever-growing devotion to the teaching of God’s Word, be it in the pulpit, the Bible class, the training seminar, or the counseling room.

There’s much I’d love to see change in my life this year. However, my primary resolve at the outset of 2010 is to bind myself to the unchanging—to the immutable purposes of our God whose has pledged his power to his unfailing Word.

----------

Jeff Purswell serves as the Dean of the Sovereign Grace Pastors College and a pastor at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, MD.

 

Welcome to the second part of my interview with biblical counselor and author Dr. David Powlison (part one here).

David, apart from Scripture, what book do you most frequently re-read and why?

Two books are nearly as marked up as my Bible: Valley of Vision and Luther’s Prayers. I don’t read them straight through, but I frequently return to them, dipping in here and there, returning to favorite places. Why? They freshly express how faith lives, thinks, feels, talks. They struggle, they delight, they need God, they see God.

I extensively annotate, add, reword, update, personalize VoV prayers to make them my own. For example, simply turning “thee/thou” into “You” makes a prayer sing more pointedly and personally. I find that I often add two strands to VoV prayers:

[1] a brighter note of joy, gratitude and meditation on the mercies of Christ (so the prayers don’t turn introspective regarding a sense of sinfulness);

[2] a more candid awareness of and expression of our experience of sufferings (so the prayers don’t turn stoic, as if spirituality rises “above” our life situation). To my ears, the Puritans can have a slight drift towards sin-centricity and stoicism, somewhat slipping from the grace-centricity and humanity of Scripture. But that said, these prayers are a gold mine of living wisdom.

Luther’s way of engaging God and Scripture has deeply shaped me. He takes Scripture (and the Creeds) and puts it to work in a “four-stranded wreath”:

[1] as a textbook, revealing God and His will, wisdom and work;

[2] as a hymnbook, giving reasons that call forth gratitude and joy;

[3] as a book of confession, teaching me where to repent, where I need forgiveness, mercy, and awakening;

[4] as a prayerbook, guiding intercession into rich paths, rather than the “list” mentality that can make prayer so dull and man-centered.

When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?

For many years I used the EndNote bibliography program to track what I read. I’d make summaries, take notes, and write out key quotations. I’ve not been as diligent with it in recent years, as I’ve tended to re-read choice books more often than read new books. I mark up books extensively with highlighting and marginal notes, and I write notes in the front pages that direct me to the page numbers of significant quotes and discussions.

If you could study under any theologian in church history (excluding those men in Scripture), who would it be and why?

I can’t decide on only one! But I can settle on two: Augustine and Calvin. These men lived, breathed, prayed, thought, felt, and communicated so very well all that they understood of Jesus Christ and the Word of God. Both men were mastered by the Psalms, and so their humanity and their ministries flourished in the ways of God.

What single piece of counsel (or constructive criticism) has most improved your preaching?

Live your message for a day, a week, a month, a lifetime. Then aim low, and you’re sure to hit something.

What books on preaching, or examples of it, have you found most influential in your own preaching?

I don’t preach very often, but THE influence has been the model of how Scripture brings truth to bear. The Lord and His prophets and apostles always speak TO human beings and what they were facing, and they always speak personally, rather than speaking ABOUT topics and speaking impersonally. Jay Adams calls such I-you directness and relevance in communicating God’s truth “the preacher’s stance.” The Bible is not just “normative” truth about God, but enters into the “situational” realities and “existential” choices of the people to whom God speaks. (That way of putting it comes from John Frame.) Ministry must do the same, afresh, entering people’s experience of troubles (external) and struggles (internal).

Please join me next time for part three of my interview with David.
 

Meet David Powlison.

Dr. Powlison is a graduate of Harvard (A.B.), Westminster Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and the University of Pennsylvania (Ph.D.).

Dr. Powlison is the author of two excellent books:

• Seeing with New Eyes: Counseling and the Human Condition through the Lens of Scripture
• Speaking Truth in Love
  

Since 1977 Powlison has served as a counselor and teacher at the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF). Since 1992, he has been the editor of the Journal of Biblical Counseling. He also is an adjunct lecturer at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia.

But you probably know all this already.

So who is David Powlison? What does he read for fun? What role do his friends play in his life and ministry? And how can he possibly think that “wasting” time actually makes him more productive? Let’s find out.

Thanks for your time, David! Please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading?

For the past several years I’ve been sleeping well, after many years of an erratic and disabling sleep pattern. It is a great joy to awaken feeling refreshed at 6:30 or 7:00, after so many years of exhaustion. On a typical day I spend about an hour reading Scripture, meditating, praying, singing – 1/3 to 2/3 of the time on my own, 1/3 to 2/3 of the time with Nan, depending.

I am currently reading through Scripture looking for and highlighting every expression of faith, every faithful response to God. (The last time through I was noticing everything about God Himself – His names, actions, attributes….).

Depending on the day’s responsibilities, I may spend more time, even much more time, in study, meditation, reflection, prayer. I like reading entire chunks of Scripture. This past week I’ve spent 4-5 “extra” hours working through, pondering, visiting and revisiting Psalm 63 and 1 John. This morning I read and highlighted Colossians, making it both my meditation and prayer.

On good, lively days, meditation and prayer consistently arise at key junctures, at points of need, at moments of transition. These living moments, when Scripture “reappears” in the flow of my day, when I am consciously aware of both God and current need, are the proof of living faith, when I am awake to God and to His immediate call.

I don’t only meditate on Scripture, but also on my life and the circle of relationships and responsibilities. Where am I anxious? Irritated? Pressured? Called to love? Thankful? Tempted? Suffering? Where do I need God’s immediate mercies and help? Where are family and friends struggling, and in need of mercies and help? I think about the joys and blessings; about the burdens, troubles, and struggles; about the responsibilities of the day.

This dual meditation brings prayer to life, brings real need to real God, gives shape to the day, and forms the attitudes I bring into the day.

What book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, or (c) for personal enjoyment?

[a] Devotions and Prayers of John Calvin (Charles Edwards, compiler, Baker Books, 1960); Calvin on Scripture and Divine Sovereignty (John Murray, Baker Books, 1960); “The Great Thanksgiving,” the Lord’s Supper service in the Book of Common Prayer pages 333-340; J.I. Packer’s Knowing God; Patrick’s ancient hymn “I bind unto myself today the strong name of the Trinity.” These awaken, ground, and instruct faith.

[b] Life Together (Dietrich Bonhoeffer); Marilynne Robinson’s novels Gilead and Home; Some Principles of Moral Theology and Their Application (Kenneth Kirk, 1920). In very different ways, these bring to life the realities of hands-on pastoral care.

[c] Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin novels. For many years these books have been comfortable friends, and sheer pleasure. They are full of keen perception, wit, lyricism, studies of human nature, adventure, beauty, bringing fresh perspective to current human affairs through immersing in the lives of people far away in time, space, and culture.

Please join me next week for part two of my interview with David.
 

Meet Jerry Bridges.

Jerry Bridges is 79 years old and has served faithfully on staff at The Navigators for over 50 years. And he continues to serve there within the Collegiate Mission where he is involved primarily in staff development, and speaks at various student events. Mr. Bridges also teaches on the gospel around the country.

Mr. Bridges is the author of numerous excellent cross-centered books like:

• The Discipline of Grace
• The Gospel for Real Life
• The Pursuit of Holiness
• Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate
• The Great Exchange: My Sin for His Righteousness
• The Bookends of the Christian Life (March 2009)
  

But you probably know all this already.

So who is Jerry Bridges? What is he presently reading? How does he structure his devotional time? What is his favorite book on the gospel? Let’s find out.

Thanks for your time, Mr. Bridges! Please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading?

On a normal day, I get up at 5:00 a.m.

I spend from 5:30 – 7:00 a.m. reading and meditating on Scripture and spending time in prayer. I begin with what I have tried to teach others to do, which is to preach the Gospel to myself. My usual practice is to read through the Bible simply starting with Genesis and going through Revelation.

I am currently in the book of Numbers. For my prayer time, I start with thanksgiving and move to petition. I always start with the first petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Hallowed be Thy name.” Over a six-day period (Monday-Saturday), I pray for the progress of the Gospel around the world. I pray for my family, my organization and their leaders, and my own personal growth. I have about eight ongoing special prayer requests for friends who have acute needs.

What book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, or (c) for personal enjoyment?

(a) The Existence and Attributes of God by the Puritan, Stephen Charnock. I’m actually not reading the entire two-volume set but am focusing on two chapters, “The Holiness of God” and “The Goodness of God.”

(b) For my ministry (not pastoral but The Navigators) I have just finished reading Why We’re Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be) by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck because I need to keep up with all the “bad stuff” that students are apt to read.

(c) For personal enjoyment, I have been reading John Calvin: A Heart for Devotion, Doctrine, and Doxology. I have to confess when I’m really mentally tired I read a murder mystery by Agatha Christie.

Apart from Scripture, what book do you most frequently re-read and why?

The Apostles’ Doctrine of the Atonement by George Smeaton because it is the best book on the Gospel that I have ever read.

When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?

I don’t have a very good system but I note page numbers on the inside cover of the book with the key thought I want to go back to.

If you could study under any theologian in church history (excluding those men in Scripture), who would it be and why?

John Calvin, hands down, because he not only was a brilliant theologian but had a heart of devotion for God.

What single piece of counsel (or constructive criticism) has most improved your preaching?

Years ago I took the Dale Carnegie public speaking course. In it I learned three things that I try to practice: 1) Know your subject thoroughly. 2) Be convinced your audience needs to hear your message. 3) Have a strong passion to deliver the message. Though these principles were applied in the context of secular speeches, I found them very helpful for my message preparation and delivery.

What books on preaching, or examples of it, have you found most influential in your own preaching?

Christ-Centered Preaching by Bryan Chapell, particularly chapters 10 and 11, and John Stott’s Between Two Worlds.

What single bit of counsel has made the most significant difference in your effective use of time?

Arrange your “do list” in order of priority and work progressively through, starting with number one. You can’t get them all done but this way you get the most important things done. I have modified this advice by realizing that the morning hours from breakfast to noon are my most effective, creative hours, and as much as possible I dedicate those hours to study, writing and message preparation.

What single bit of counsel has made the most significant difference in your leadership?

This question is not applicable to me since I have not been leading or managing anyone for about 15 years.

Where in ministry are you most regularly tempted to discouragement?

Too often, after preaching a message, I feel like I have not done a good job.

Do you exercise? If so, what do you do? If not, why not?

My main exercise is walking either outdoors or on the treadmill. I had a practice of minor weight lifting (no more than 25 lbs) but that practice got dropped in the busyness of life and I am trying to re-start it.

Currently, what sport do you like to play and/or watch?

I don’t play any sport at my age and seldom watch any on television. However, my main sport of interest is football and my favorite teams in order are: University of Oklahoma (I’m an alumnus), the Air Force Academy and the Denver Broncos.

What do you do for leisure?

Read something that is outside of my ministry. I like history, biographies and older (19th or early 20th century) novels.

If you were not in ministry, what occupational path would you have chosen?

Teaching.

Thank you, Mr. Bridges, for taking the time to answer my questions!

-------------

Related: Last November, C.J. interviewed Mr. Bridges in the Sovereign Grace recording studio on the topic of cross-centered living (with some sports talk at the end). The interview can be found here.

Meet J. Ligon Duncan III.

You guessed it, Dr. Duncan is also scary smart—a graduate of Furman University, Covenant Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and the University of Edinburgh (Ph.D.).

Since 1996 Ligon has served as the Senior Minister of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi. He is also a professor at Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS-Jackson). Dr. Duncan is a one-man seminary, having taught courses on patristics, systematic theology, ethics, apologetics, history of philosophy and Christian thought, covenant theology, evangelism, and the theology of the Westminster Standards.

Dr. Duncan is the President and Chairman of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, the Chairman of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, has previously served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the PCA, serves on the council of the Gospel Coalition, and is one of four friends who host Together for the Gospel.

But you probably know all this already.

So who is Ligon Duncan? During his ministry, what advice has informed his leadership? Which contemporary preachers does he learn from? What discourages him? How much weight is he trying to lose? If he were to lose the weight, what kind of mad hoops skilz would he display?

These and many other things we will discover in my three-part interview with my good friend J. Ligon Duncan number 3.

Ligon, please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading?

I usually wake up between 5-6:15 a.m., depending on the day. I typically do my devotions at the church, since I spend almost my entire time at home in the mornings helping to get the kids ready for and to school. I do have a home office (in addition to my study at the church) and I often do devotional reading there in the mornings (but not for very long) and more often in the evenings.

At present I am reading through 1 Chronicles, both the text and the notes, in the ESV Study Bible. I was going to do one of the ESV read through the Bible in a year plans, but the Chronicles readings at the first of the year captivated me, and I wanted an excuse to read through all the ESV Study Bible notes on that book, and I was enjoying Chronicles so much and desired to know it better that I decided to luxuriate in it.

I probably read fifteen minutes or so. Prayer time is distributed throughout the day, and I haven’t tried to quantify it, so I really don’t know. I carry a prayer list in my Bible and on MS Outlook on my Blackberry and iPhone. I also set aside a special prayer time, early on every Lord’s Day morning, to pray for the ministry of a handful of other pastors.

What book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, or (c) for personal enjoyment?

I am not this well-organized! I don’t have my reading apportioned in three such good categories (but I’m not at all surprised that C.J. Mahaney thinks in these terms!). My categories are less sophisticated: what I have to read and what I want to read. Now, of course, I love to read what I have to read (most of the time), but I don’t always have to read what I want to read, so maybe these categories make sense.

Under the have to read category, (1) I am reading 15-20 commentaries at any given time, depending on what book of the Bible I am preaching through. So, currently I am reading through Luke commentaries (including Phil Ryken’s unpublished manuscript, Wilcock, Hendriksen, Geldenhuys, Ryle, Bock, Calvin, Marshall, Morris, etc). (2) Another major area under the have to read category is related to whatever courses I am teaching at that time. Right now, I am teaching covenant theology at RTS Jackson, and teaching a survey of the Westminster Confession of Faith, so I’m spending some time reading things related to covenant theology and reading commentaries on the Confession too (e.g. Hodge, Shaw, Ward, Warfield, etc). (3) The third area under the have to read category is manuscripts that I am to endorse or review (e.g., I’ve recently read Cornelis Venema’s critique of paedocommunion “Children at the Lord’s Table?” and Todd Rester’s translation of William Ames “Sketch of the Christian’s Catechism”). Or secondary literature related to writing and research projects (e.g., recently did a literature survey of every book and article written on covenant theology since 1985).

Under the want to read category, which sort of corresponds to your “personal enjoyment” category, I am an avid reader of book catalogs and a fervent frequenter of bookstores. So I’m on the hunt for new stuff all the time. I also am usually pulling recommendations from people like Al Mohler, Mark Dever, Derek Thomas, Russell Moore et al. I especially love history and great literature. At present I am reading Grimm’s Fairy Tales.

Join us next time for the second part of my interview with Dr. Duncan.

Meet John Piper.

Dr. Piper is a graduate of Wheaton College, Fuller Theological Seminary (B.D.), and the University of Munich (D.theol.).

Dr. Piper is the Pastor for Preaching & Vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, the founder of Desiring God, and the author of more than 30 books including:

• When I Don’t Desire God: How to Fight for Joy
• Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist
• The Supremacy of God in Preaching
• Battling Unbelief: Defeating Sin with Superior Pleasure
• Don’t Waste Your Life
  

But you probably know all this already.

So who is John Piper? What does he read for fun? What discourages him? How does he structure his devotional time? What correction from others has most benefited him? What career path would he have chosen if not ministry?

Thanks for your time, John! Please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading?

I get up two mornings at 5:15, four mornings at 6:15 and one morning at 6:00.

I set aside one hour for prayer and Bible reading using the Discipleship Journal read through the Bible reading plan. That puts me now (February 2009) in Exodus, Psalms, Matthew, and Acts. On the five free days when there are no assignments I focus on memorization.

What book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, or (c) for personal enjoyment?

I am reading Team of Rivals about Abraham Lincoln, Gilead by Marilyn Robinson, Pilgrim’s Progress, Culture Making by Andy Crouch, and Reformed Is Not Enough by Doug Wilson.

Apart from Scripture, what book do you most frequently re-read and why?

I don’t re-read books, except to read them to my family (like Pilgrim’s Progress).

When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?

I index books as I read them, by writing short notes in the front of the book with page numbers beside them. In a good book there may be over a hundred such notes.

If you could study under any theologian in church history (excluding those men in Scripture), who would it be and why?

Jonathan Edwards because he saw the grandeur of God and experienced a great awakening and ran a happy family.

What single piece of counsel (or constructive criticism) has most improved your preaching?

Don’t preach in a way that a Muslim would approve. Preach a divine crucified Christ.

What books on preaching, or examples of it, have you found most influential in your own preaching?

Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students; Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers; John Stott, Between Two Worlds; Graeme Goldsworthy, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture.

What single bit of counsel has made the most significant difference in your effective use of time?

A great tree will fall with many small chops. Pray for daily grace to keep chopping.

What single bit of counsel has made the most significant difference in your leadership?

Lead by helping people see the same truth in the Bible you do so that commonly perceived truth is the fabric that binds together. When truth is not the bond, power moves are inevitable.

Where in ministry are you most regularly tempted to discouragement?

My own recurrent sins are the most discouraging thing in ministry. Next are the sins and sorrows of my family.

Do you exercise? If so, what do you do? If not, why not? (Please be specific.)

I run on the treadmill 30 minutes Monday, Wednesday and Saturday morning followed by a set of back lifts with a Swiss ball, stomach crunches with the ball, and pushups on the floor. I almost always walk to church instead of driving, 600 paces from door to door.

Currently, what sport do you like to play and/or watch?

I enjoy watching gymnastics, soccer, basketball, and football, in that order. If my back weren’t so stiff I would love to play racquetball. When our staff goes away we play volleyball and floor hockey.

What do you do for leisure?

Fill out forms from fellow pastors. Play scrabble with Noël. Read.

If you were not in ministry, what occupational path would you have chosen?

Teaching literature. Or, if my hands stopped shaking, medicine.

Over the years many pastors, leaders, and authors who have influenced my life have also become my friends. I marvel at and am humbled by this fact. And while I am always eager to promote these men and draw attention to their writings and teachings, too often these friends are known primarily for their public ministry.
 
I know from personal experience that these men have much to teach us from their private lives. So on this blog I want to occasionally interview these men, ask them questions to draw out their personal example, and introduce you to a private side of them you possibly have not seen.
 
Here we go.

Wayne Grudem

Meet Wayne Grudem. Dr. Grudem is smart—B.A. from Harvard, M.Div. from Westminster Theological Seminary, and Ph.D. from Cambridge, smart.
 
Dr. Grudem is the author of a number of excellent books including Systematic Theology and a simplified systematic theology for guys like me (Bible Doctrine).
 
He is the cofounder of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and coeditor (with John Piper) of one of the most important books I know of: Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.
 
Dr. Grudem is now the Research Professor of Bible and Theology at Phoenix Seminary, having previously taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School for 20 years.
 
But you may already know all this.
 
So who is Wayne Grudem? What does he read for fun? What discourages him? How does he structure his devotional time? What correction from others has most benefited him? What career path would he have chosen if not ministry?
 
Dr. Grudem was kind enough to entertain my curiosity. I divided the interview to run over the next four days (Tuesday–Friday).

Thanks for your time, Dr. Grudem! Please describe your morning devotions. What time do you wake up in the morning? How much time do you spend reading, meditating, praying, etc.? What are you presently reading?

I usually wake up about 6:00 a.m., but sometimes as late as 7:00 or 7:30 (if I’ve been up late the night before—I need between 7 and 8 hours of sleep or I don’t think as clearly). I get a cup of tea and one of Margaret’s excellent high-protein muffins and open my Bible.

I simply read sequentially through the Bible and then start over at the beginning (I’m currently in 1 Corinthians and Psalms, reading two portions each morning). I will read the Bible for 15 or 20 minutes, underlining some verse, or making some very brief notes. Many times I will wonder about something in the Greek or Hebrew text and check it briefly, but I don’t get involved in extensive exegesis because that is not my purpose at that time. I’m looking for God to teach me directly from his Word, with application to my life.

Usually I just “camp” on a phrase or verse, sometimes writing it out and pondering application to my own life. I also keep a blank notepad beside me because God often brings to my mind things that I need to do and I make a quick note.

Then I will usually pause for five or ten minutes just waiting in the Lord’s presence and thinking about the verse or talking to him about it. After that, I pick up a notebook with different pages for people and things that I am praying for—some pages about various things in my own life, then my wife Margaret, then our children and their families, then my parents and other members of my extended family, and then other friends and people in different organizations such as our church or Phoenix Seminary where I teach.

There’s also a section having to do with our government and concerns of our nation and world. That will take 15 or 20 minutes, and sometimes longer, so the total time may be between 30 and 60 minutes.

At the end of the time I will usually bring before the Lord my “to do” list, and pray about various items on the list, asking the Lord to help me know what to make a top priority today, and asking his blessing on the things that I plan to do. Often at the end I also have another time of maybe two or three minutes or maybe five or ten minutes just resting in the Lord’s presence and waiting on him.

I find in those times of quietness, when I’m not praying about anything in particular but simply resting in the Lord’s presence, that he will bring to mind solutions for problems, or people I need to contact, or things I need to write, or things I should not spend time doing, or any of a number of other things. I also find that over the course of the entire Bible reading and prayer time a deeper sense of peace and rest in the Lord’s presence comes on my heart.

What book(s) are you currently reading in these three categories: (a) for your soul, (b) for pastoral ministry, or (c) for personal enjoyment?

For my soul: Only the Bible at the present time, no other Christian books. But I recently finished your book Worldliness and was challenged and rebuked by it!

For pastoral ministry: I’m not in pastoral ministry, but for professional ministry I’m just finishing Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel. This is an attempt (unpersuasive I think) to show that geography and local types of plants and animals determined why some nations became rich and some did not. It’s all materialistic determinism and, in the end, terribly dehumanizing because it gives no importance to the real factors, human choices and human cultural values, and whether those choices and values were obedient to the truths established by the one true God.

For personal enjoyment: I just finished a new Vince Flynn novel, Extreme Measures. I think I have read all of his books and I enjoyed them a lot (the terrorists are the bad guys and the Americans are the good guys, and the Americans win in the end). But I liked this last one the least because it was so inconclusive at the end. I’ve also enjoyed a number of spy novels by Daniel Silva within the last year (the hero is an Israeli Mossad agent). These are “escape” novels that give my brain a change of pace.

Apart from Scripture, what book do you most frequently re-read and why?

Probably The Hidden Life of Prayer by David MacIntyre, because it encourages my faith to read of Christians in the past who have had such a significant effect on advancing God’s kingdom through their ministries of prayer.

When you finish a book, what system have you developed in order to remember and reference that book in the future?

I underline and write notes in the margin as I go through the book and often write some key thoughts or summary points on the title page as well. Then I shelve it in the right place in my home library!

Join me tomorrow for the second part of my interview with Dr. Grudem.
 

Next week I plan to resume the series on procrastination (unless of course I don’t get to it until the following week).

But today I have the privilege of featuring a recent interview with my friend Jerry Bridges. Jerry is the author of numerous excellent books such as The Discipline of Grace (NavPress, 2006) and The Gospel for Real Life (NavPress, 2003). Last week I invited him to join me in the studio to discuss a very helpful practice for living a cross-centered life, captured in the little phrase “preach the gospel to yourself.”

It was in the writings of Mr. Bridges that I was introduced to this phrase. The interview provided an opportunity to ask him where the phrase originated, what it means, and what difference this practice has made in his life.

The interview also includes some discussion of sports. It’s in this section of the interview that you will hear Jerry Bridges and me deliver a special joint message for all New York Yankee baseball fans. Be listening for that.

As you listen to this short interview I think you will discover for yourselves why I am so thankful to God for this man.

You will find the audio download of the interview here. Or listen to the interview online:

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Related: Interview with Sinclair Ferguson

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The audio recording of C.J.'s first message delivered at the New Attitude conference is now online.

The Troubled Soul: God's Word and Our Feelings
C.J. Mahaney
Psalm 42:1-11
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Louisville, KY

Download here.

Listen here: