As we begin a new day and head into a weekend, please know: Right now, at this very moment, God is reigning from his eternal throne.

There’s a great list of Kindle deals to look through today.
This is one of those occasional reminders that all the quote graphics I share from day-to-day are available to print or download for free in high definition at SquareQuotes.
(Yesterday on the blog: Three New Tools That Make a Huge Difference)
The Great Winnowing
“A lot of people aren’t coming back to church.  Let that sink in a minute. Real people—souls, names, faces, and life stories who you know and love—are most likely not going to return to regular church gatherings in a post-pandemic world.” This article suggests ways to pursue them.
Mom Guilt and the God Who Sees
Lauren Whitman: “Mom guilt. Moms today are well acquainted with the term. We use it as a kind of shorthand to express an all-too-common feeling we face in the everyday events of mothering. I’ve been thinking and reading a lot about mom guilt in preparation for my lecture at CCEF’s national conference this October.”
A Brief Word About Anxiety Medication
Paul Tautges shares some well-considered thoughts on anxiety medications. “We are always made up of body and soul . . . together . . . always. Regardless of what physical elements may contribute to our anxiety, every mental or emotional struggle we experience is also an opportunity to develop our faith. Our souls are always in need of the Spirit’s ministry of grace and truth through the Word.”
Does Christ Rule the Nations Now?
John Piper distinguishes between three different ways that God rules over this world.
Pulling Weeds While People Are Dying: How Do I Respond to the World’s Suffering?
This article grapples with the discordant nature of our lives of ease and other people’s suffering. “I pull out the weeds in my lawn and think about how absurd it is that I am pulling weeds while under the same sky, a young man tries to escape his country by hanging onto the wing of a plane.”
Weeping With Those Who Are Weeping
This dispatch from India comes at a time of great loss (and goes very well with the F.B. Meyer quote below). “These past few months have made this abundantly clear to all of us. From mid-April to mid-May 2021 there was hardly a day that went by without news of someone we knew who had lost a loved one. Those were tragic and exceedingly difficult days.”
Flashback: Faith Hacking: A Simple Method to Organize Your Prayers
Christians have created many patterns and systems to help them as they pray. One of my favorites is John Piper’s model of praying in concentric circles.

To bear sorrow with dry eyes and stolid heart may befit a Stoic, but not a Christian. —F.B. Meyer

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you today.
There are a couple of new Kindle deals to take a look at. They include Andy Naselli’s excellent Romans: A Concise Guide to the Greatest Letter Ever Written.
(Yesterday on the blog: Random Thoughts on Being a Dad)

This is an important word about the appropriate posture as we participate in the Lord’s Supper. “When we approach the Lord’s Supper we should do so with an attitude marked primarily by joy, and not sorrow. We come singing and rejoicing, not mourning or weeping. Yet, how can this be if the thought of death pervades the very foundations of the sacrament? The answer lies in the gospel.”

There’s lots of wisdom here about the relationship of Christians and churches to parachurch ministries. “Rather than addressing every possible error, a few characteristics for sound parachurch ministries are given which will bring clarity where needed…”

When told properly, church history leads to applications for the present day. That’s the case in this look at a bad form of Calvinism and how addressing it led to a great revival in missions.

Darby Strickland considers what it means that God rested from his work of Creation and suggests ways we can follow his lead, resting in his finished work.

Money can often lead to trouble in cross-cultural partnerships. In this article, Ryan Currie offers “three practical tips to consider when giving cross-culturally that can help minimize temptation and strengthen partnerships.”

How do Muslims view the Quran? Dr. A. S. Ibrahim answers in this video from SBTS.

Ideally, trauma is not the time to begin trying to understand how God is present in our pain, but the time to lean into what we already know to be true.

The foolish people of the world do not exist for my entertainment.
—Matthew Mitchell

May the Lord be with you and bless you today.

Westminster Books has a special on a new book you may want to consider for the kids or grandkids.
The steady stream of Kindle deals continues today.
24 Lessons from 24 Years of Marriage
Jen reflects on 24 years of marriage by offering 24 lessons she has learned along the way.
Pastoring in a Pandemic: Of Grey Hair and Glory
This is an interesting take from Mark Jones. “Moving forward, even today, where the wounds have not fully healed, will only be possible if we can all try to admit we may have made mistakes, acted with self-righteousness at times, and failed to adequately appreciate that certain contexts were fraught with problems we cannot fully understand or appreciate. Love believes all things, and I’d like to believe that while my brothers who defied were acting in love, the same was also true of us who did not defy but did so out of love as well.”
Tuma Kitu Home
Writing from a Kenyan context, Kuza writes about the cultural obligation for children to provide for their parents and family. “Does scripture advise on how to approach this matter of family support? Is it in line with the principles set forth for the saint as an expression of practical love? Yes.”
The Trauma of Criticism
I appreciate this pastoral letter. “The truth is that all of us find criticism difficult. If you are anything like me your initial response to criticism is often pretty ungodly and I find it tempting to climb up on my defensive high horse. Tragically, criticism can be devastating and send us into a spiral of self pity.”
God Cares for the Odd Sparrow
“Sometimes I can read the Bible and miss something totally obvious. For example, have you ever noticed that Jesus tells of God’s care of the sparrows two different ways?”
Never Underestimate the Power of a Handwritten Note
“We live in a day and time where life is lived digitally more than ever before. We communicate primarily through apps, texts, and emails. Businesses increasingly send advertisements, bills, and communications via email than snail mail. Even birthday cards are now sent virtually. This means, a handwritten note is a rare gift.” Yes, rare and a gift.
Flashback: The Uninvited Lodger
God’s righteous anger toward his people is real, but lasts only as long as necessary; his favor toward his people is equally real, and never ends.

…if we fasten ourselves to Christ when life is a sinking ship, then we learn to treasure him as our anchor. We discover that our faithfulness is tethered to his, especially during the troubling seasons of life. —Glenna Marshall