For today’s Marriage Monday column, I thought I would give a word of encouragement that I heard in audio (again) from C.J. Mahaney. He also writes about this practice in Sex, Romance and the Glory of God. He writes:

What we love, we want to learn about. And what we love to study, we come to love even more. That’s just the way God has wired us. I love the Terps and the Skins; so learning about them and growing in my zeal for them was a totally natural process.

I still enjoy following these teams, but my strongest passions now lie elsewhere.

My highest and greatest love will always be reserved for God, for when I was his enemy and worthy of his righteous wrath, in his great mercy he sent his only Son to live a perfect life and die a perfect death in my place. But after my love for God, nothing compares to the passion I hold for Carolyn, my wife.

Because I have this passion for her, I have studied her. I’ve noticed and noted the details about her. All kinds of details. Everything from the kinds of snacks she likes, to what certain facial expressions reveal, to this one particular freckle pattern that only I see.

It has been my privilege to be a student of Carolyn since before our engagement. As I have studied her–seeking to learn what pleases, excites, honors, encourages, refreshes, and helps her–my love for her has only increased.

We need to heed C.J.’s good words here and never fail to increase in wisdom and knowledge as it pertains to those we love dearest. This will often happen, as C.J. later admits, in asking questions to draw them out. But pursue it. Study your family to know how you can best serve them. This will help your love and exercising of your role to be done in a way that honors God Himself.

You can now add the ESV to your list of search providers in Internet Explorer 7. This is one of my most valuable tools on my computer. Since I now preach from the ESV, this move has made importing texts into my manusript very easy. You simply can change searching from LiveSearch or Google to ESV and then add a reference and that is pulled up in seconds. It is quicker than a well-trained 4th grader doing the Bible drill. So utilize it.

Over at the Blazing Center, Mark Altrogge writes on 8 ways to get more out of our Bibles:

1. Prepare the night before
2. Pray
3. Same time, same place every day.
4. Keep track of what you read
5. Write in your Bible
6. Read consecutively
7. Use a journal
8. Respond to what you’ve read

These are some great practical helps you simply must check out.

Ray Van Neste offers some tips on what it means to be a man to some college students.

(HT: JT & Tim Ellsworth)

In Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, D. Martyn Lloyd Jones expounds Matthew 5:10 — “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” He says the following at the end of this chapter – “If you try to imitate Christ, the world will praise you; if you become Christlike, it will hate you.”

JT presents some books of which he is excited for ’08 (including new offerings from D.A. Carson, David Wells and Tim Keller).

Josh Harris explains that often his excellent teaching has been misapplied by some and encourages us that he isn’t out to ruin your dating life.

I have been encouraged so far in the free audio I have listened to from Sovereign Grace Church in Gilbert, AZ. The Pursuit was a men’s conference held recently. Guest Speakers included: Steve Shank, Rich Gamache, Craig Cabiniss, Rich Richardson, Pete Payne, Glynn McKenzie, Mark Alderton and C.J. Mahaney. The messages are available on SovCast or can be downloaded directly here.

For today’s Marriage Monday, I wondered what if any family traditions you celebrate during the holidays. In Disciplines of a Godly Family, Kent and Barbara Hughes emphasize how “family traditions can resonate with the festival spirit in commemorating God’s goodness.” They tell of their tradition during Advent:

Early on, we began the tradition of lighting the candles of Advent, a ritual that emphasizes self-examination in preparation for the two comings of Christ, first in the Incarnation and second in final judgment. The highlight of our children’s days was the progression of nightly Scripture readings and the relighting of each candle.

We coupled this Advent tradition with a Jesse Tree — a barren branch symbolizing that Christ came from the root of Jesse (i.e., in the Davidic line) and that he grew up like a tender shoot from dry ground (Isa. 53:2). Each evening one of the children had the privilege of placing on the tree a construction paper ornament reminding us of a prophecy about Christ while the appropriate Scripture was read. It would be misleading to give the idea that we did this every evening without fail and that the children were always angelic acolytes. We recall a few fights about whose turn it was and tears when little fingers got too close to the flame. But imperfect as we were, these traditions wonderfully enhanced our children’s Christmas focus. And we cherish the memory of their beautiful, candlelit faces, luminous with a curious combination of impatience and wonder.

Meg and I are consistently looking for new ways to enhance time together with Andrew. This suggestion is helpful, although it is a bit too complex for someone of Andrew’s age (do we want little ones playing with fire yet). Nevertheless, traditions can be established that have deep abiding spiritual influence. That is the focus. We all remember something like putting up a tree or licking the beaters from the mixer. What spiritual traditions are we passing on to the next generation?

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I will probably be out of the pocket and done with blogging until Monday. This coming Sunday, should be enjoyable as we look at Mark 8:27-30 and Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Christ. Who do you say that He is?

Hope you have a great Thanksgiving and are able to direct thanks to God for all the blessing He has brought upon you this past year.