Weekend A La Carte (November 26)
My thanks goes to Christian Focus for sponsoring the blog this week with news of an excellent new biography on John Ross.
There are a few new Kindle deals today.
Westminster Books continues their deals today with discounts on children’s books.
(Yesterday on the blog: Black Friday 2022 Deals for Christians)
David French and the Future of Orthodox Protestantism
This is an important one from Carl Trueman. “It is now clear that orthodox Protestants, specifically evangelicals, do not own the country. Whether they ever did is a matter for debate; that they thought they did is indisputable.”
Is Islam Really the Fastest Growing Religion in the World?
You have probably heard that Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the world. But is it really?
The search for authenticity
“Churches in hard places may seem full of people being authentic, but people often recoil from the authenticity on display because it is, well, too authentic. The sins on display, that with the church’s help may be repented of, are too much for some to wear. How can professing believers do that?”
A Workaday Faith
“We all want to do great things for Jesus. That’s normal and healthy. But we’re not all going to get to.” Indeed. But this isn’t a bad thing!
The Embattled Pastor
“Disagreement, misunderstandings, frustration, and disunity can tear at the seams of Christ’s church. Conflict leads to hurt feelings, judged motives, and flared tempers. Church members might take sides. Gossip and whispers spread like wildfire, and soon the forest is raging. If criticism is like a sprained ankle, conflict is the fracture.”
When Your Spouse Suffers from Chronic Pain or Illness
Those who are accompanying their spouse through a time of chronic pain or illness may benefit from this two-part article at Biblical Counseling Coalition.
Flashback: How I Review a Book
This is a loose format I follow in many of my reviews and I have found it quite effective in reaching a general audience with an interest in popular-level books. I hope you find it helpful!
The most rebellious thing we can do in a world that prioritizes nonconformity above all is to stand out from the crowd by deliberately conforming our soul, mind, and body to a truth bigger than ourselves and our desires. —Trevin Wax
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What I Long for More than Miracles
I suppose it is possible that I have witnessed a miracle in my lifetime, but if so, I’m not aware of it. If a miracle is a “supernatural, extraordinary event that diverges from observed natural processes,” then I can’t think of a time that I’ve seen a clear example of one. That’s not to say that God can’t work miracles today or that he doesn’t. That’s not to say he hasn’t worked around and about me in extraordinary ways. It’s simply to say that I can’t look at a particular event in my life and say, “That was a miracle.”
And if I’m honest, this doesn’t bother me in the least. It doesn’t bother me in the least because on many occasions I’ve witnessed something I count equally significant or perhaps even more so: I have witnessed the evidence and the intricacy and the perfect timing of God’s providence. I have witnessed how God has carefully arranged circumstances so that events unfolded in a way that proved his detailed involvement in the affairs of man. I have witnessed situations in which things “just so happened” in such a way that I could only conclude, “The Lord did this.”
I recount one of these in Seasons of Sorrow, in the chapter I title “Angels Unaware.” I tell of a day when Aileen and I were particularly sorrowful, particularly overcome with grief. We went to the cemetery to mark what would have been Nick’s wedding day. And as we stood there weeping together, a lovely Christian couple approached us and explained that they had been reading my updates. They showed us where their son was buried nearby and then they prayed for us—prayed down God’s comfort upon us.
This was no miracle. This was not a supernatural, extraordinary event that diverged from observed natural processes. God did not summon these people from heaven or fabricate them from thin air or instantly transport them from afar. Rather, he arranged that they would visit their son’s grave on this day and at this time (even though this was not their custom) and that Aileen and I would visit our son’s grave on this day and at this time (even though this was not our custom). Long prior to this he had arranged that our sons would be buried close to one another—close enough that this couple would spot us across just a few rows of graves. He had arranged that they would be familiar with my website and with our story and that they would recognize our faces. He arranged all this so that, when we most needed comfort, two of his people would be there to provide it.
Think of all the threads that needed to be woven together for this one circumstance to occur—the events that needed to take place, the decisions that needed to be made, the schedules that needed to be aligned. As we parted ways that day, Aileen and I both knew without the smallest shadow of a doubt: God did this. In fact, Aileen has often said that this was the very moment she really understood that God was caring for us in our loss. And it was not through a miracle, but through providence.
Though I don’t recount it in the book, a similar situation happened a short time later. I had another especially difficult day and once again needed to be near Nick. I went alone this time, parked on the little roadway at the cemetery, and got out of my car. And I “just so happened” to see one of our deacons and his wife sitting in their car, about to drive off. They “just so happened” to have visited Nick’s grave on that day and to be there at that moment. So I walked over to their car and said, “I’m having a hard day. Will you pray for me?” And they did, of course. And again, I knew that God had been present through his providence. I knew that he had arranged this for my benefit and as a display of his love.
I can look back on life and recount more stories—stories in which God worked providentially rather than miraculously. I could tell of the evening I visited a friend and “just so happened” to cross paths with one of his neighbors, a girl who was out playing a game with some of the local kids. A few months later I began twelfth grade at a new school and who should plunk herself down in the seat ahead of me in my very first class, but that very same girl. We became friends, I introduced her to Christ, and our next wedding anniversary will be our twenty-fifth. And it all began and unfolded not through miracles but through providence—through God’s deliberate and intricate coordinating of the circumstances of different people and different places and different times.
I once spent my lunch break on a walk in which I was agonizing over whether I should resign from my job to start my own business and dedicate more of my time to writing. When I got back to my desk my manager summoned me to his office, told me I was being laid off, and handed me a severance check. Providence. I once “randomly” clicked a link on my blog which led to a pastor who would become a dear friend and whose church my family would settle into and come to serve. Providence. I once had my car break down in an extremely dangerous spot on the highway and during a terrible rainstorm, only to see that a tow truck had been right behind me. Providence. Time and again my life has testified to the beauty of God’s providence.
The reason I share this is that I know of many Christians who crave miracles and who long to see one. They long to see a miracle because they are convinced it will buoy their faith and increase their confidence in God. And while the Bible does not forbid us from longing for miracles, neither does it instruct us to. It makes no promises that we will witness one and does not associate the presence or strength of our faith with them. (If anything, it does the opposite.) But wouldn’t it be tragic if we spent our lives searching for miracles while overlooking providence? Wouldn’t it be tragic if God was working wondrously in us, and for us, and through us, and around us—and we missed it because he chose not to work miraculously?
I am not saying we should not pray for miracles. That’s perhaps especially true when praying for those whose diagnosis is dire or whose situation is tragic and for whom nothing but a miracle can save. But I am saying that God’s power is displayed around us in ways that are equally significant and perhaps even more awe-inspiring if only we will look and observe and recount. For while God occasionally displays his glory through miracles, he far more commonly displays it through the beauty of providence. Look for it and you will see it; see it and you will praise him for it. -
A La Carte (November 24)
It is Black Friday, as you know. While so many of you were enjoying family and Thanksgiving feasts (something Canadians already did well over a month ago) I was putting together my annual list of Black Friday deals that will appeal especially to Christians. You’ll find all sorts of deep discounts on books, gifts, and other good stuff. Give it a look here.
Godly Leaders Go First
This one takes a valuable principle and applies it to dads. “Godly leadership often involves being last. For years on end, I watched my dad be the last one at church as he chose to be the one to lock up the building and turn off the lights so others in the congregation could go directly home for lunch or beat the Methodists and Presbyterians to the buffet. I watched my parents provide what we needed as their children before even thinking about their own needs.”
Victim Blaming and the Rich Young Ruler
Dave writes about a victim of rape in his village in Cameroon. He reflects on the common tendency to blame the victim rather than the perpetrator.
Avoiding the comparison trap as we serve our Master
“On the Last Day, God is not going to mark on the normal distribution curve, comparing you to all other believers. No, God wants to know what you, with your unique set of circumstances, have done with what you have been given.”
Everyone Places Limits on Sex, Not Only Christians. Why?
Ryan van der Avoort points out that it’s not only Christians who place limits on sex, then explains why Christians insist on the limits they do.
Reflections On Later Life
Eunice Cawston writes poignantly about being a little bit later on in life.
4 Feasts We Eat Every Week at Church
“I walked through the doors of our church with my kids running ahead of me, excited to find their daddy (who is the pastor). It might have been hard to get there that morning, but it was worth it. Simply the presence of other believers encouraged my weary heart. They believed church matters, which helped me believe it too.”
Flashback: Unjust, Unkind, Unfair, Un-humble?
Is it unjust, unkind, unfair, un-humble to insist upon the exclusivity of Jesus Christ? No, it is unjust, unkind, unfair, un-humble not to, for in doing so we are simply describing reality. In doing so we are offering hope.Life with God is not immunity from difficulties, but peace within difficulties. —C.S. Lewis
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And You Shall Never Displease Me
So many people live with a deep sense of failure. So many people go through their lives convinced they are a constant disappointment to the ones they so naturally long to please.
Children consider their parents and feel a sense of shame, certain that in some way their parents regard them as a disappointment. Meanwhile, parents consider their children and feel that same sense of shame, sure that their children regard them with disapproval.
Husbands consider their wives and wives their husbands and, while they may not know exactly what they’ve done wrong or what standard they have failed to uphold, they are convinced their spouse looks toward them with a displeased eye.
Church members are often convinced their pastor is disappointed in them for their level of involvement in the church or for the minimal strides they have made in sanctification. Pastors, meanwhile, often feel a deep sense of disapproval from church members, perhaps because they are ordinary preachers rather than extraordinary ones or because they simply do not have enough hours in the week to accept every meeting and fulfill every request.
There are so many Christians who live under a cloud of disappointment and disapproval. And we cannot allow ourselves off the hook here. Our husbands and our wives, our parents and our children, our pastors and our congregations—all can feel that withering sense of censure from the likes of you and me.
And, if we’re honest, such censure is often real rather than imagined. It is real because we are all susceptible to expecting people to live up to our standards rather than to God’s. Yet where God’s standards are holy, ours are tinged with evil; where God’s standards are rational, ours are arbitrary; and where God’s standards are fixed, ours are constantly shifting. People fail to live up to our standards because it’s impossible for them to live up to our standards. And neither should they, for we have no right to call people to live to any standard other than God’s.
A great gift we can give to others is the gift of our approval. We can assure them that our desire for them is not that they live according to our standards, but that they live according to God’s. If they heed the will of God and live according to a sanctified conscience, we can, we should, and we must be satisfied. We must believe that the best thing they can do is please God and please themselves. And if they have done that, we must not be disapproving of them or be disappointed in them.
Husband, one of the greatest gifts you can give your wife is the assurance that you approve of her and that you delight in her. Let her know: “Please God and please yourself, and you shall never displease me.”
Wife, one of the greatest blessings you can bestow upon your husband is the confidence that you are pleased with him and that you find joy in him. Let him hear it: “Please God and please yourself, and you shall never displease me.”
Parents, your children want to know that you approve of them. So be sure they know: “Please God and please yourself, and you shall never displease me.”
Children, your parents want to know that you approve of them just as much as you want to know that they approve of you. So be sure to tell them: “Please God and please yourself, and you shall never displease me.”
Pastors and church members, you know what to do. Whether you use these exact words or others like them, make sure the sentiment is plain: “Please God and please yourself, and you shall never displease me.”*
There would be nothing more foolish than to disapprove of decisions that have been approved by God or to be disappointed by actions that please God. There would be nothing more cruel than to make someone believe they have failed in your eyes when they have succeeded in God’s. There would be nothing more disheartening than for them to live a life that’s pleasing to God only to find that they have lived a life that’s displeasing to you. So whether it’s your child or parents, your husband or wife, your pastor or congregation, let them know, and then relate to them in such a way that they believe it: “Please God and please yourself, and you shall never displease me.”I have seen these words attributed to the Puritan Philip Henry, but have not been able to trace them back to a source.