A La Carte (December 5)
If you’re into audiobooks, Audible (which is associated with Amazon) has all of their titles discounted, many up to 85% if you purchase them rather than use a subscription credit. So, for example, Becoming Elisabeth Elliot is 85% off while that great new biography of David Livingstone is 56% off, as is the new biography of Corrie Ten Boom. And it’s not just biographies, of course. Basically, just search for a book and click on the audiobook edition to see the sale price.
Today’s Kindle deals include one about the church and one about Jesus.
(Yesterday on the blog: You’re Exactly As Holy As You Want To Be)
Seth Troutt may be on to something here. “Aaron Renn’s Negative World thesis makes sense of the secularization we’ve seen in America through three stages: Positive World (pre-1994), where being a Christian was an asset; Neutral World (1994–2014), where Christians were generally well-tolerated; and Negative World (2015–present), where following Jesus was seen as a liability. … From my vantage point, Negative World is already disintegrating and giving rise to a fourth epoch: Ambivalent World.”
Chris expresses the longing of every Christian heart and does it from the perspective of a career in cancer treatment. “If we needed only one sign that everything is not right with our world, this one will do it: Children are supposed to be playing and laughing and wanting to grow up to be astronauts, not struggling with chemo. Why are children born with birth defects? Why do they die in car accidents? Why do they drown?”
Trevin Wax: “Because I care about the health and vibrancy of the church, and because I want to see a more just and righteous society, I can’t help but be discouraged when I see believers expending more and more energy in opposing and battling the people with whom they share closest alignment than they do making real and enduring strides toward cultural change. I call it ‘fighting phantoms.’”
This is a helpful explanation of some of the big questions parents need to answer as they raise their children.
Here are eight proofs that the Bible is one story. (And on a somewhat related note, here is how Jesus is in every book of the Old Testament.)
“Asking whether God is calling me to a life of obscurity or influence focuses on something largely out of my control. This question positions the spotlight not on the work itself or on the God who gave me this work, but on other people’s responses to my work.”
…while we may have learned what they professed to believe in days of sunshine, we have learned what they really believe in days of rain. And it has been a blessing and inspiration to us all.
By definition we cannot “qualify” for grace in any way, by any means, or through any action.
—Sinclair Ferguson
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A La Carte (February 24)
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you today.
There are some new Kindle deals for you this morning.
No Word For Grace
“How do you preach the gospel in a tribe where there is no word for grace?” What an interesting challenge!
Hearts Strangely Warmed at Asbury
I really appreciate this charitable take on the recent revival from Fred Sanders and Joe Henderson.
Doing what is right without needing a new word from the Lord
“…sometimes we make the service of God a little too mystical. We look for guidance and pray for God to open doors. Some might ask God for a sign before they do something, or expect a special word from God for them personally telling them the right decision to make. Some seek a sense of peace about a decision. While this does exhibit faith in believing that God can do this, it is not a Biblical expectation.”
Unexpected English Idioms (Phil 3:5)
Bill Mounce provides an example of a case in which a very literal translation can actually hinder understanding.
Turkish Christians Plead: Don’t Distribute Bibles After Earthquake
CT reports on Christian relief efforts in Turkey. “The Protestant Association of Turkey (TeK) has been hard at work to establish guidelines. Last week, after expressing a ‘debt of gratitude’ to all who have prayed and given to support relief efforts, it issued six directives.”
Your House is on Fire
Kristin wrote this one specifically for pastors’ wives, but it is applicable far beyond that.
Flashback: Little Seeds that Split Great Rocks
…each Christian must be on constant watch against little seeds of dispute that fall into little fissures of disunity. For little disputes have their ways of growing into big disputes, their ways of becoming far greater than we would ever have thought, would ever have imagined.For God’s people to truly love and obey him, they needed more than rules. They needed new hearts—hearts with his good law written right on them. God had to transform his people from the inside out. —Gloria Furman
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A La Carte (May 6)
Those who like to read to little ones will want to check out this sale from Westminster Books on the Big Theology for Little Hearts series.
Overcoming Doctrinal Pride
“There is one specific kind of undiscerned spiritual pride that I think is not often discussed and is especially hard to recognize—the danger of doctrinal righteousness. Sadly, I think it’s a particularly prevalent danger among Reformed, theologically-minded Christians. It’s a danger I have fallen into at times.” You should probably read this one.
Humans Come in Only Two Sexes
“Up until the last few seconds of human history, it was collectively accepted that sex is binary. People are born either male or female. Not so today.” This is so simple, yet so hotly debated. We especially need to assure the younger generations of the simple fact that there are but two sexes.
Gun Control and the Right to Bear Arms
A couple of weeks ago TGC sponsored the blog to tell about their forthcoming “Good Faith Debates.” The first of those debates is now live and it makes for very interesting viewing. It covers gun control. No matter your position on this, it’s likely to be sharpened by hearing a robust defense of the opposite position.
9 Myths about Abortion Rights and Roe v. Wade
Kevin DeYoung dusts off an older article to remind people of some common myths related to abortion and Roe v Wade. (See also: Samuel James’ Receiving Justice with Gratitude.)
A Church of Suspicious Minds
I really appreciate this article from Trevin Wax’s blog. “Suspicion takes a wrong turn when we filter everything and everyone through the lens of distrust, always on a quest to discover an ulterior motive. This is one of postmodernism’s most pernicious effects—a hermeneutic of suspicion that claims every proposal or position is just a power play in disguise. Even deeds that appear altruistic must be tainted somehow by the lust for power.”
Hope has to be learned
“I’m going to let you in on a secret that I’m only getting to grips with myself, it’s simple, but oddly revolutionary: hope is an action. We learn it.” It changes our understanding of hope to see it as an action!
Flashback: What Makes a Sermon Difficult To Listen To
Recently, and largely for my own purposes, I found myself thinking about some of the elements that can make a sermon difficult to listen to. Having jotted them down, I thought I’d share them with you.It is expedient that you should pass under the cross to inherit the crown. —Thomas Watson
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Weekend A La Carte (July 16)
May you know the Lord’s blessings this weekend!
(Yesterday on the blog: From Everlasting to Everlasting)
After the fire
“Our family was driving through the Var region of southern France recently, and we passed through an area that had been burned in a forest fire just last summer. The scars of that destruction were still clearly visible, but what was astonishing was the amount of green already bursting forth, the unstoppable life pushing through and undoing all the hard work of the forces of darkness.” There’s a lesson to be learned here.
Isn’t one enough?
This is encouraging. “Sometimes you just know the Lord is at work. That’s not to say he’s not at work when you don’t sense it. He’s always at work, after all. But sometimes, while he’s at work, he is at work in ways that are particularly noticeable.”
Desperate and Dependent
You may appreciate these pointers for prayer. “I can’t go to the store and purchase wisdom, character, integrity, honesty, diligence, perseverance, or salvation for my children or grandchildren, but I can ask God to give it. And so I ask.”
How Do You Know If You Love Jesus?
This article draws upon a good source to consider how you can be confident that you truly love the Lord.
What is the beatific vision?
You’ve probably heard the term “the beatific vision.” In this short video, Sinclair Ferguson explains what it is.
The Light of the World: How Jesus is Reaching International Students
This is an encouraging story about how the Lord is reaching international students.
Flashback: Behavior Both Odd and Ugly
I see the world through my own sin and project my sin upon others. I see my sin in them, even where it doesn’t exist. I unfairly and sinfully accuse them of my sin.What then is holiness? Holiness is nothing but the implanting, writing and living out of the gospel in our souls. —John Owen
