A few weeks ago I was at my local haunt – Rudy’s BBQ – having breakfast with a church member. Yes sir, only in Texas are BBQ breakfast tacos possible. I frequent the store so much one of the managers will start making my order the minute I walk in the door. When we arrived at the register and my tacos were ready for feasting my friend asked, “Do you ever change your order?” I answered tongue-in-cheekly, “I don’t believe in change.”

I love routines and habitual living. It’s rare for me to whimsically change a life pattern unless pressing external circumstances demand me to do so.

The beginning of a new year is one such regular occasion for changing the routine.¹ At the beginning of each year I put down a short list of what I call “Endeavors.”² The system of Endeavors was originally inspired by Jonathan Edwards’ Resolutions and gives me foxhole friends for The Good Fight each year.

Here then are my three Endeavors for 2015 . . .

ENDEAVORS FOR 2015

I endeavor to memorize the books of 1 John and 2 Timothy. Next weekend at IDC, Lord willing, we will begin a four-month sermon series through the book of 1 John. I’ve thought in recent weeks, “I might as well memorize it.” I know preaching through the book will make memorizing it easier than it might be otherwise. Since I hope to have 1 John cemented by the end of May, my goal for the rest of the year is to write 2 Timothy on my heart. I’ve long desired to memorize all the pastoral epistles and last year I did 1 Timothy, so Paul’s second letter to his “true child in the faith” is the next logical step.

I endeavor to read Herman Bavinck’s four-volume Reformed Dogmatics. I’ve always advocated the patient, systematic reading of classic works of theology. A few years ago I tackled Calvin’s Institutes and a Brakel’s The Christian’s Reasonable Service, last year I took on the collected works of George Swinnock. Throughout 2014 I considered which set in my study needed slow reading in 2014 and the answer was unmistakable: Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatics. By my calculations, seven pages per day will get me through Bavinck’s work with several weeks to spare.

I endeavor to integrate regular fasting into my life and ministry. For a variety of different reasons I’ve never been consistent in the discipline of fasting. Most centrally is the fact I usually only eat one meal a day (a pattern I probably should address in and of itself). Thus, fasting has always seemed to lose some of its weight because I float through most of each day without hunger pains. Nevertheless, I’m endeavoring to rectify this glaring gap in my spiritual life. To begin, I plan to read Piper’s A Hunger for God: Desiring God through Fasting and Prayer, which I trust will set my course for faithful fasting in 2015.

I can’t wait to see what God will do through these practices. Anyone interested in joining me on the journey?

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