With 2021 quickly waning, many of us are beginning to think about a devotional approach for the year ahead. Some are looking for a resource that will serve as the main component of their devotions and others for something that will be merely supplementary. Either way, I’ve collected some of the resources I most recommend and hope you find something here that will serve you as you devote yourself to reading the Word of God in 2022.

Full-Year Devotionals

Partial-Year Devotionals

Topical Devotionals

If you are struggling in a particular area or eager to be taught in one, you may benefit from a topical devotional. Here I’d suggest the 31 Day Devotionals for Life series from P&R Publishing. They cover a number of key topics like Trusting God’s Promises, Putting God First, Fighting for Purity, and so on. I also recommend the short series by Lydia Brownback with volumes covering Trust, Joy, Contentment, and Purity and the short series by Keri Folmar which offers volumes on Faith, Grace, Joy, and Zeal. Those interested in some Old Testament study may appreciate Nancy Guthrie’s 5-volume Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament series, each of which covers 10 weeks of study. Some may also enjoy Leland Ryken’s 40 Favorite Hymns for the Christian Year.

Bible Studies

Some may enjoy structuring their devotions around a Bible study. While many of these are geared to small groups, they are equally suitable for couples or individuals.

Reformed Expository Bible Studies by P&R Publishing is a relatively new series and currently offers studies on 9 or 10 of the books of the Bible. Each study is 13 lessons long and each lesson is likely to take several days to complete. They nicely complement the sermon-based Reformed Expository Commentary series for those who wish to dive deeper.

The Good Book Guides from The Good Book Company feature a number of authors (e.g. Tim Chester, Al Mohler, Mike McKinley, Tim Keller) and quite a collection of books of the Bible. They pair well with the God’s Word for You series of general-level commentaries which are by the same authors.

Crossway’s Knowing the Bible series is based around 12-week studies and has now reached its full 45-volume length. The series was edited by J.I. Packer and Dane Ortlund and features a long list of authors that includes Jared Wilson, Greg Gilbert, Kathleen Nielson, Lydia Brownback, and Justin Holcomb.

The Let’s Study series by Banner of Truth has studies on quite a number of New Testament books written by authors such as Sinclair Ferguson, Derek Thomas, and Derek Prime.

Finally, Lydia Brownback has three new “Flourish Bible Study” volumes on Esther, Luke, and 1-2 Peter while Kathleen Nielson’s Living Word Bible Studies are available for 8 or 10 different books of the Bible.
As you can see, there is something here for everyone!

If I was the world’s only Christian, I might easily lose confidence in my faith. Can it really be true if I am the only one who believes it? Similarly, if I was the only kind of Christian—if all the world’s Christians were the same age as me or the same race or the same nationality—I might also lose confidence. Can it really be true if only one demographic affirms it while the great majority reject it? Can it be the true faith if it is the faith of just one kind of person?

But I need not fear, for the wonderful fact is that the Christian church is as diverse as the world itself. And this is a source of deep blessing and a reason for great confidence.
I find it a tremendous encouragement to know there are some Christians who have towering intellects, who have grappled deeply with the evidences for the faith, and who have come to believe and embrace it all. I find it an equal encouragement to know there are some who have very simple intellects, who have little ability to grapple with even the least evidences for the faith, but who, in their simplicity, believe and embrace it just the same.
It blesses me to know there are some whose faith is well-established and mature, who have endured many trials and weathered many storms. Yet through it all, their love for God and their confidence in his purposes has remained fixed and constant—strengthened, even, through long perseverance. It blesses me equally to know there are some whose faith is young and fresh, who have only just turned away from a life of rebellion to submit to Christ’s rule—people whose hair is practically still wet from the water of their baptism. Their faith is as yet untested, but every bit as true.
It moves me to know there are some who grew up in a Western context, who were immersed in its worldview, yet who found it all unsatisfying—so very unsatisfying that they could be content only by embracing Christ. It moves me equally to know there are some who grew up in a non-Western context, who were immersed in worldviews that were completely different, yet who found those every bit as unsatisfying. Whether from West or East, North or South, here or there, they turned to the same Savior and were bound together in the same family.
It inspires me to know there are some Christians who bowed the knee to King Jesus when they were old, when they were approaching their final years or final days. After a lifetime of running away, they finally ran toward the lover of their souls. It inspires me equally to know there are some Christians who bowed the knee to King Jesus when they were young—too young to understand very much, but still old enough to express their childlike faith by submitting their lives to the Lord.
It gives me confidence to know there are some Christians who are fantastically wealthy and some who are extremely poor, but that both have entrusted themselves to the same Savior. It warms my heart to know there are some Christians who have received the finest education this world can offer and some who have received no formal education at all, but that both are children of the same Father. It brings great joy to know there are some Christians whose skin is the deepest of all hues and some whose is the lightest, yet that all are members of the same family.
If I was the world’s only Christian, or the world’s only kind of Christian, I would have good reason to question my faith and to doubt its validity. But it’s beautifully and wonderfully true that our God is the God of all kinds of people and that he is building a kingdom of young and old, great and poor, black and white, wise and simple, famous and unknown. He is building a kingdom that transcends all distinctions and all boundaries so together—from a multitude of people in a multitude of places and in a multitude of voices, we can bring praise to the one name that is above all names.

Grace and peace to you on this fine Easter Monday (which is a holiday in these parts).

There is a very long list of Kindle deals available today.
(Yesterday on the blog: Why Should We Try To Add One Stitch To a Finished Garment?)
We Should Talk About Disney
Trevin Wax tells how Disney’s current controversy is different from some other issues that appear similar. “In this case, it’s not about your Whopper with rainbow-colored wrapping, or the propriety of Pepsi taking a position on a particular piece of legislation. In those cases, the product from the organizations remains the same. Consumers may roll their eyes at the leftward virtue signaling or the TV commercials, but the Oreo remains the Oreo.”
An Ordination Prayer
I love a well-prepared prayer like this one, meant for an ordination.
Earlybird Discount Ends April 3OTH For Radius Missiology Conference 
Join Alistair Begg, Kevin DeYoung & others June 29-30, 2022 @ Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, NC.  RMC is a two-day conference with great—speakers, breakout sessions, missiology, and information on current missions. (Sponsored Link)

Roman Road-Construction
I recently came across this video which shows how Roman roads were made. Roman roads were made for traders and soldiers but also allowed missionaries to spread the gospel far and wide.
Our Christian Terminology Is Built on the Old Testament
Here’s an interesting look at something we may take for granted: “how the NT authors regularly draw on the OT to explain the key steps or aspects of personal salvation.”
Totally Torn
“It’s almost a throwaway line in Mark’s gospel, sandwiched between the cataclysmic darkness as Jesus, the eternal Son of God, breathed his last whilst nailed to a wooden cross and the centurion’s amazing declaration, ‘Surely this man was the Son of God.’ Yet, the tearing of the curtain in Jerusalem’s temple wasn’t just incidental, a by-product, or an act of divine vandalism but a sign of the profound significance of each and every event leading to this point.”
Intense, Debilitating Emotions
“I often experience intense emotions that can feel debilitating. How can I grow?” That’s the question at the heart of this video.
Flashback: Spiritual Drafting and the Danger of Christian Complacency
Drafting is a great strategy for racing. Drafting is a lousy strategy for Christian living. Yet I fear that many Christians allow themselves to fall into a form of spiritual drafting. Let me explain

The resurrection of Christ is the Amen of all His promises. —John Boys