Merry Christmas, friends. Today I’ve got an all-Christmas edition of A La Carte for you. Enjoy!
Today’s Kindle deals include a few excellent picks from Crossway themed around biblical theology and systematic theology.
(Yesterday on the blog: A Prayer for a Christian Husband and Wife To Pray Together)

It is good to consider on Christmas that God is with us. And that’s exactly what Blake does here. “What are you currently going through? Has a trial overtaken you? Did an unexpected event capsize your heart and cause you to despair of life? Have you been doubting the Lord because of the death of a loved one? Whatever the occasion, the statement is true: Jesus is with you.”

“When I was in the seventh or eighth grade I asked for a German Shepherd puppy for Christmas. I think I desired that gift more than any other I ever requested as a boy.Dad and Mom told me that I could have a dog if I earned enough ‘puppy points.’” Vance Christie explains what this has to do with the gospel.

“Have you ever noticed the relationship between your expectations and your contentment?” Casey McCall considers this question in light of Christmas.

“‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’  So said the angels to the shepherds at the first Christmas in a land that continues to suffer endless conflict.  ‘Peace in the Middle East’ is such a long-standing pressing need that it has become a cruel joke for a platform in beauty contest satires and other portrayals of impossible aspiration.”

Stephen makes an important point in this article. “Our post-religious age wants to make every day Christmas. Not to elevate all days to that deep, meaningful, purpose-filled day celebrating the greatest gift of all – the Incarnation – but to bring that day down to every other day. When every day is like Christmas then Christmas will be like every day.”

Abigail Rehmert writes about the longing that preceded the first Christmas and the longing that has happened since.

This article is meant especially for those who are overseas for Christmas (and/or for their loved ones).

On this day, I am pondering a lovely quote I found in one of De Witt Talmage’s sermons—a quote that calls us to not only be joyful at Christmas, but to see in Christmas proof that Christianity is a joyful faith. 

Look to Jesus this Christmas. Receive the reconciliation that he bought. Don’t put it on the shelf unopened. And don’t open it and then make it a means to all your other pleasures. Open it and enjoy the gift. Rejoice in him.
—John Piper

If only I was wealthy, then I could really make a difference in the world,” he told me. “I want to be rich so I can better serve God’s cause, so I can give even more to his work.” But does it really take a lot of money to serve the Lord? In the New Testament, the character who most stands out for obedience and generosity is the one whose wealth was just two pennies—two pennies that she surrendered to the Lord. While the people of extraordinary wealth fade into the background, the one whose legacy has survived is the most impoverished, for she proves that God loves to work out of our lack more than out of our abundance.
“If only I had the gifting of this preacher or the skill of that author. If only I had their talents, then I could really be on mission for the Lord.” I understand why you think that way, but hasn’t the Lord often proven that he delights to display divine strength through human weakness? It was to timid Gideon that the angel said, “God is with you, mighty man of valor.” It was to stammering Moses that God gave the call to stand before Pharaoh. It was to ineloquent Paul that he gave the call to be the church’s foremost theologian. He magnifies himself more through those who are naturally weak than those who are naturally gifted and strong.
“If only I was more intelligent and had received a better education.” We all sometimes wonder what we might have been if only our circumstances had been different. We all sometimes wonder what potential lies undiscovered and untapped within. But God delights to use the weak and the simple. He saved Naaman through the words of a mere child and used a donkey to redirect Balaam. Then, of course, he called ordinary men to be his Apostles—mere fishermen and laborers. Yet these men turned the world upside down, not through their raw talent or towering intellect, but through their obedience and zeal. What set them apart was not their IQ, but the fact that they had been with Jesus, they had received his Commission, and they lived in obedience to it.
“If only I had more of a platform. If only God would give me more followers, I’d be able to serve him so much better.” I often think of the Garasene demoniac who had been miraculously delivered from a whole legion of demons. He begged to be able to go with Jesus and serve him, to be one of his disciples. Yet Jesus told him to return to his obscure hometown and to labor there. His calling was to be faithful in his own little patch, to make the most of a small mission field rather than a large one. His submission pleased and honored God.
If you cannot be satisfied with little, you will not be satisfied with much.Share
The fact is, the God who used spit and dust to cure a man of his blindness can most certainly make use of you. And I assure you that if you had great talents, you would simply compare yourself to those who have more still. If through greater gifting you had greater opportunity, you would still not be satisfied. If you cannot be satisfied with little, you will not be satisfied with much. The man who climbs Kilimanjaro immediately becomes envious of the man who has scaled Everest and the man who has scaled Everest immediately becomes dissatisfied that there is not some higher mountain to climb. We need to be content with what we have—content with what God has given.
Contentment comes when we accept what God has given us and commit it to his cause, no matter how great or how small it seems to our eyes. For in God’s eyes, it is all very dear, all very precious, all very meaningful. That’s true if it’s billions or pennies, health or weakness, the intellect of a genius, or the intellect of a child. God is the giver of every gift and the gifts he gives to his people are only ever good. Our task is to receive them from his hand, whether one talent or ten, and unleash them all for the good of others and the glory of his name.

This week’s giveaway, sponsored by Spurgeon College, is a free copy of No Neutral Words by Sam Bierig, Dean of Spurgeon College.

The first 25 to complete the form below will receive a free copy of the book. Upon completion of the giveaway, the entrants will receive an email to confirm the location and mailing address.

No Neutral Words
The Pastor’s Investment and Stewardship of His Most Precious and Powerful Tool
By: Sam Bierig
What if I told you there’s a budget in your life and ministry other than your finances and time—one that you’re just as accountable for but are likely overlooking?
As a pastor and ministry leader, you no doubt conceptualize your ministry in terms of financial stewardship. You no doubt feel the weight of stewarding and maintaining your church’s financial budget. Further, we could even extend the pastor’s budget concept to also include a “time budget.” I trust you’re comfortable thinking in these terms. We’re all too aware of how easy time can be flitted away. We have no quarrel on the stewardship of either of these points. But what if we sought to steward our talk and our words just as closely as we do our money and time?
The aim of No Neutral Word is to convince you to consider your “word budget” and show you that every single word you speak is an eternal investment in your hearers for either life or death. The life-or-death investments spoken by you into others, pastor, is your move.

Enter Giveaway Here:
Giveaway rules: You may enter the giveaway one time. The recipients will be notified by email. The giveaway closes on Sunday, March 4th at midnight.