Tabletalk Magazine

At the beginning of the year, I started reading Tabletalk magazine, a magazine of daily devotionals produced by Ligonier Ministries. It also contains several articles written by pastors and theologians. Thus far, I have loved working my way through it. It has two overarching themes per issue: one for the month and one that goes through the year.

The theme through the year spans all the daily devotionals except the weekends, which are standalone articles. This year the theme is all of the Prophets of the Old Testament in chronological order. That's one thing I really like about the magazine. We often think of devotionals as inspiring little things to read every day about how God is always there and he loves you. That is true, and I'm not criticizing those types of devotionals, but if you know me at all, you know they don't suit me very well. I like Biblical theology and teaching. I like learning and understanding the Bible. That is what Tabletalk offers: deep devotionals that I feel like I really learn from, things I can meditate on and absorb that help me gain deeper understanding of the Bible and God. They also do systematic theology; last year's theme was the Heidelberg Catechism.

Then there is a monthly theme that unites most of the articles. This month's theme is thinking, listening, and meditating, something that I have greatly benefited from recently. Past themes have included topics like the Five Solas, The Church and Israel, and so forth.

Finally, another reason I love Tabletalk so much is that it comes from a Reformed perspective. Some people may accuse me of making far too much of Reformed theology or making too much of a distinction between it and Arminian theology. But the only reason I care is because I earnestly believe that Reformed theology, as Spurgeon once put it, is nothing other than Biblical Christianity. It comes from reading and understanding the Bible. If I believed differently, then I would never subscribe to such a view.

So, for anyone looking for a devotional that is doctrinally sound, theologically deep, and hard-hitting, I heartily recommend Tabletalk. It's a great resource, and I thank God that such teaching is so readily available.