When I decided to start a blog in March 2005, I like every other new blogger had to come up with a name for the blog. At the time, I had no idea what I was getting into and had no plans of hanging around for long. So I thought for a few moments about a title that describes me and came up with Provocations and Pantings. Provocations initially came from my reading of a compilation of spiritual writings from Soren Kierkegaard, but also from the numerous places in Scripture where God’s people were “provoked” (as in the case of Jesus in the Temple, Paul in Athens, Elijah on Mount Carmel, etc.). Pantings is a rather weird word, leading many people to think my blog is about paintings. In any case, it comes from Psalm 42:1 which speaks of the psalmist panting for the Lord in the same way the deer pants for the water brooks. The Puritans used the word often. For instance, John Owen, in his book The Mortification of Sin, wrote, “Get thy heart into a panting and breathing frame; long, sigh, cry out.”
When I think about provocations, I am pursuing an enlightened mind; when I think about pantings, I am talking about a passionate heart. Therefore, my goal has been to bring light and heat from both head and heart to my writing. There are many places you can go in the evangelical blogosphere to find brighter lights and greater heat, but this is my attempt to express my Christian thought and beliefs in a medium intended to bring interaction, discussion, and yes, even provocation.
However, I have noticed in recent years that I have not written many posts dedicated to my “pantings”. In other words, I have not been as devotional and encouraging as I would like. Being in an academic environment and reading a lot of books by folks I disagree, it is easy to provide critical evaluation and develop a state where your mind is good but your heart is bad. I have realized this in my own life and want to provide more balance this year.
Can we work together to refresh one another’s hearts as we seek to loving God with all our minds?
Can we commit to getting our hearts in a “panting frame”?
I would love to know what you are studying this year devotionally or in your own Bible study. I have decided to focus afresh on my Savior by meditating on his life, mission, and message in the gospels. As mentioned in the Puritan 2008 Challenge, I will be incorporating the Valley of Vision of more, as well as some biographical works and letters of men like John Newton and Charles Spurgeon. I pray that my meditations and prayers can be an encouragement to you. May we all have deeper affections and higher praises for our risen and glorious Savior.
For the second year I will be using the Bible reading plan from the ESV Daily Reading Bible. This journey twice through both the Psalms and the New Testament, coupled with the balance of the Old Testament, works perfectly for my early morning schedule.
Additionally, each day I will be reading the daily portions from both:
a)”Our Daily Bread” (Radio Bible Class)
b) Spurgeon’s “Cheque Book of Faith”
as well as a selection from “The Valley of Vision”.
Add in your Puritan reading regime (several posts already up on my blog), my weekly preaching and Bible study preparation, and everything else on my list (Tim Challies “Discipline of Discernment” arrived yesterday), and I won’t be watching much TV this year.
:>)
Timmy-
I’ll be looking forward to your “pantings”.
My plan, in 2008, is to spend significant time focusing on discipline. I will begin by rereading the classic by Dr. Whitney on spiritual disciplines, but I intend to branch out beyond the spiritual disciplines to consider deepened discipline in every area. I want to consider time management, greater financial discipline, etc.
Additionally I am using YouVersion’s daily reading plan to read and journal through scripture. I love having it available on the computer. It’s so natural for me to work online.
Thanks, guys, for your thoughts. What I would like to see is my “pantings” posts be an opportunity for others to share their “pantings” in the comments section. I am always encouraged by what God is teaching and doing in the lives of other people, and I am reminded of what Richard Sibbes said in his lifetime:
“Godly friends are walking sermons.”
Believing this to be the case, I look forward to the personal edification as a beneficiary of such sermons.
Timmy,
For 2008 I am going to be reading through the whole Bible. I will be incorporating other books into my devotions as I work my way through the Old and New Testaments. For example, I am working through The Drama of Scripture by Craig Bartholomew,God’s Big Picture by Vaughn Roberts,The Temple and the Church’s Mission by Greg Beale, and Gospel and Kingdom by Graeme Goldsworthy to gain a better appreciation for the grand drama of redemptive history.
In addition, I will be reading Hoekema when I get to the prophets, and Schreiner when I get to Pauline literature. Also, when I am in the gospels I am going to through in some books about the historical reliability of the synoptic tradition (Bruce, Eddy, etc.).
This is just how I intend to read through the whole Bible while incorporating outside sources that are of benefit to the specific corpus I am working through.
By the way, I am going to be doing different “Gospel-Centered” months on my blog, Conquering Thirst, which should tie my devotional and academic reading together into fleshed out writing.
Good stuff, Timmy. And congrats on the new baby!
Timmy,
I’ve started reading through the Bible, I am using the Robert Murray M’Cheyne reading plan; i’m already behind but have plenty of time before I start back college for the spring semester to catch up. I’m also reading in the daily devotional, My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers. Also I have several books that I’ve got that I want to read this year.
I also look forward to checking out your blog and others.
Have a great year.
John Piper has a qoute, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”
I pray that you will become more satisfied in God this year than you ever have been. in Jesus name. amen.
In 2008 I’ll continue working my way through the book of Romans verse-by-verse, read through the Bible via an online email system, continue reading various works to assist me with my discipleship and counseling duties, and hope to find some ‘worthy’ biographies–something I’ve recently gained an appetite for!
Blessings on your goals for 2008!
Timmy,
“With Christ in the School of Prayer” by Andrew Murray.
Billy
Hey Tim,
I’ve got nothing new to add per se, however, I do a read through the Bible in a year plan (1 in the Old, 1 in the New and a Psalms and Prov. on the weekends) Anyhow, what I do differently so I never get bored with what I am reading (if you’ve grown up reading the Bible you can understand how easy it is to gloss over familiar Scripture—atleast for me it is) Anyhow, when I read my daily passage I mark all the references to God and how scripture describes Him and His ways. I do this prayerfully and there is usually something the Holy Spirit will impress on me about His character or His way that provokes or ministers to me. i.e God will fight for you (Deut. 3:22), He answers us whenever we call for help (Deut. 4:7), He is a merciful God. He will not abandon or destroy you (Deut. 4:31) etc. I note what I learned from that passage down in my prayer journal. (I focus on one trait and try to be specific) Afterwards, I praise God using that particular trait. (sometimes it’s a specific truth about Him that I need help believing in or reminders of how He works, so it becomes a confession of asking Him to help me believe this about Him.) At the end of the week I’ve discovered 7 different ways Scripture describes God. At the end of 2 weeks, I’ve discovered 14 more ways and so on and so forth.
At the end of the year, I’ve discovered 365 ways. And I repeat this process over again the next year but and so it becomes a lifetime discovery of “how does Scripture describe God’s character and His ways?”
As you keep a journal, you’ll often see that what trait spoke to you today will differ from what the Holy Spirit teaches you in a year from now so you never really exhaust your search of getting to know Him more. Sometimes you’ll also see a series of traits that the HS seems to be illuminating to you. i.e All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness & truth to those who keep His covenant & His testimonies (Psalm 25:10), God’s lovingkindness extends to the heavens (Psalm 36:5), The lovingkindness of God endures all day long (Psalm 52:1) So, in this case the overall theme seems to be about God’s lovingkindness. That’s when I pull out references searching everything I can find on the subject. Hope you understand my way of getting to know Him as I seek Him in His word and return to Him in prayer.
Right now, for me it’s been about God’s grace and His graciousness. Therefore, I am reading Piper’s Future Grace. I look forward to reading your “pantings” and pray that the Lord will satisfy your thirst for Him in 2008! (Didn’t mean for my comment to be so long—-sorry).
Timmy:
I read the Bible in a year — 2 OT chapters, 1 Psalm, 1-2 NT chapters — that’s Psalms and NT twice in a year and OT once. Every year I get a new Bible to read through, underline, highlight, etc. This year I was very excited to get the ESV Journaling Bible — it is wonderful thus far.
I always start with a Valley of Vision prayer and a daily reading from Tabletalk magazine. I generally appreciate the straightforward commentary of Tabletalk. Every evening this year I will be reading a short devotional by Vos — last year it was Bonhoeffer. I think my time with my wife will include a snippet from either the Institutes or the works of Jonathan Edwards… we are still undecided on that as we finish up our Bible study that we were working on previously.
And, as always, I very much appreciate your keen eye to your own life and your willingness to share your struggle to “pant” regularly. You are a great encouragement to me in that regard. I tell people often, it is very easy as a pastor to get wrapped up in the day to day stuff of ministry, only to get to the end of a day and realize that your private worship was terrible. May God give us hearts that long after Him in prayer and in His word in the days, weeks, months, and years to come!
Soli deo Gloria!
I’m studying 1 John right now. Next I plan to spend some time getting reaquainted with the OT and its Author. It is always amazing how the character of God leaps off the page in the OT.
Thanks, everyone, for sharing with me (and others) what you are studying and reading devotionally and for your studies. I find all these suggestions helpful and appreciate you sharing them with others.
You know, it is often the case that folks can find the blogosphere to a place where we are pointing the finger at others. While I do think there is a place for fair criticism and analysis, I hope that this can be a place where we point the finger at ourselves.
I find myself often thinking about the words of John Newton who said, “I am a great sinner, but Jesus is a great Savior!”
In the ebb and flow of the blogosphere, I hope we can pause to encourage and spur one another to loving Christ supremely in all we do.
The last month of 07 I enjoyed reading through 1 corinthians in Greek(gotta make that seminary education work for something) and read Paul for Everyone:1 Corinthians by Wright. Short, simple, well written books are like gold.
Two books that I found helpful in 07 were Submerge by John B. Hayes and A Contrarian’s Guide to Knowing God by Larry Osborne. The first is about living among the poor, the second is about spirituality for slackers. Both helpful and challenging. The first a gut-check book.
I forgot to mention that I’ve been wanting to give the books away to someone. I’m in Louisville. If you would like them, let me know.
In earlier years I’ve been known as an exceptional theological and political debater. However, the Lord has led me in ways that I would never have expected to a more devotional approach. The problem I have with many devotional sources is either a lack of good theology or a lack of theology altogether. Many tend to be semi-pelagian. Consequently, I’ve sought to write theological blogs more devotionally while maintaining an explicit theology. What I’ve learned from this practice is not likely exhaustive. However, I do know that devotion goes beyond mere application. While good theology is analytical, good devotion tends to employ synthesis to extract foundational truths, not as much for application, but for a change of “heart”. The truth may be known, but without assent to the truth, knowledge alone is useless.