Good morning from Louisville, Kentucky where we are attending Boyce College’s Preview Day for the third time (this one for Michaela’s sake).

Strongmen vs. The Structures of a Healthy Church
“When modern dictators fall the societies they ruled tend to flounder and splinter. This is because they have previously been gutted. A dictator, in order to increase and maintain his power, needs to systematically weaken all other institutions of civil society that might serve as independent centers of power and organization.” This leads to an interesting reflection on churches.
Crisis in Canada: Assisted Suicide
Robert VanDoodewaard writes about a serious social problem in Canada. “Though our nation’s violence may primarily be carried out in the sterile rooms of hospitals, it is a grim reality. Behind closed doors, Canada is becoming a nation of state-sanctioned lawlessness and violence.”
The Peculiar Glory of Unexpected Discoveries
Chris Thomas: “But there is a peculiar glory found in unexpected discoveries. A cool fresh stream flowing down a heavily forested gully is enjoyable, but the same stream found in the barren wastelands of some distant desert is a wonder. Treasure, found in a clay jar, is all the more brilliant for the fact of where it was hidden. Again, there is a peculiar glory found in unexpected discoveries.”
Do Not Fear, Only Believe
“As you read this, you may at this moment be filled with hope and expectation … or you may be filled with dread and anxiety about the future. Either way, Jesus’ simple words to a suffering man speak volumes. Jesus invites us to rest in him, now and always.”
Decisions about faithfulness might be the key moments of your life
“Much of our lives might be a little mundane. We work, we spend time with family, and we get involved with many things. Yet there will be certain times, certain decisions, that change the direction of our lives and matter more.” Yes, indeed. And we don’t always know what these are until after the fact.
Four Biblical Categories for Theological Triage
Dwayne offers some new categories for doing the work of theological triage.
Flashback: The Character of the Christian: Mature and Humble
God calls all Christians to maturity and humility—and such growth best takes place in the context of mature, humble leadership.

At the cross, Jesus redeemed sinners. Reconciled rebels. Appeased God. Expiated sin. Purchased forgiveness. Won righteousness. Defeated Satan. —Steven Lawson

There is little we are called to in life that is purely intuitive. There is little that truly matters to our lives, yet comes to us innately. To the contrary, almost everything that is important and almost everything that matters requires practice.
What matters most in life is love. We are called to love the Lord with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Our great divine calling is love—and this is a calling that requires practice.
Perhaps you have observed times in your life in which you have become complacent toward others or apathetic toward serving them. Maybe it has been a long time since you opened your home to extend hospitality or opened your schedule to lead discipleship. Maybe it has been a long time since you opened your hand to extend compassion or opened your wallet to extend relief. It is unlikely that such apathy simply started one day and that such complacency swept upon you in a moment. It is far more likely that over time you fell out of practice—out of the practice of love.
I once read of a musician, an especially talented pianist, who spoke of the importance of constant practice. He said that if he skipped his hours of piano practice for only three days, the public would begin to notice the difference. He said as well that if he skipped for only two days, his friends and family members would become aware of it and if he skipped for even one day, he himself would be conscious of it. He knew that only daily practice could keep his skill at the highest level.
And we would do well to learn from him and be cautioned by him. The caution is that others will soon bear the cost of our lack of practice. The musician will fail to honor his audience by his sloppy play and the Christian will fail to honor those he is called to serve. The failure to practice will impact the very ones he is most called to love. We are creatures of habit and do well to construct and maintain habits that will keep us focused on our most important callings. We do well to build habits of love.
We must learn to practice love in the little moments of life, in the small things, in ways that may go unseen and unnoticed.Share
What we must learn, then, is to practice love every day and in every circumstance, to never allow ourselves to ease off, to never neglect an opportunity to be a blessing to others. We must learn to practice love in the little moments of life, in the small things, in ways that may go unseen and unnoticed. For just as the pianist’s skill declines every time he shrugs off a practice, our skill declines every time we shrug off an opportunity to love. Hence, our question should always be, “How can I love right now? How can I serve in this moment? How can I be a blessing in this circumstance?”
God has work for us do in this world, and that work is love—to extend to others the love that God has so graciously extended to each of us. Love is not innate to us and not intuitive. It comes with difficulty, not ease. It comes with labor. It comes with practice. Love is a skill, a skill we must practice constantly and consistently, a skill we must practice for the good of others and the glory of God.

Westminster Books has just refreshed its children’s fiction section and is offering some pretty good deals.

Today’s Kindle deals include at least one good book from RHB.
The indelible conscience and a month of “pride”
“In case you haven’t heard, June 1 no longer marks the end of the school year or the unofficial beginning of summer. It’s the start of Pride Month. Initially conceived in 1970 to commemorate the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots, Pride Month has become a government-promoted, corporate-sponsored, 30-day celebration of LGBTQ acceptance and achievements.” Kevin DeYoung reflects on the cultural significance of Pride Month.
Declaring and Clicking in the Word of Faith
“I was one of those people. You know the ones telling you to watch what you say because death and life are in the power of the tongue. It is with certainty and irony I can say my actions drove family members nuts at times. Decreeing and declaring were integral in what was considered prayer time. When faced with a possible negative outcome in life, it was not uncommon to say, ‘I do not receive that’, because receiving the negative would make it a reality. This was seen as a lack of faith. Rather, we were to declare a thing and see it come to pass.”
Truth on Fire (Free ebook!)
The Good Book Company is giving away a free ebook of Truth on Fire by Adam Ramsey. In the book, Adam encourages readers to know God truly and experience him deeply. (Sponsored Link)
Nevertheless
I appreciate this reflection. “I’m not sure I would have ever considered that my sorrow could be associated with my good. That is, unless Jesus told me so. Nor could I work out how Paul could pair sorrow and rejoicing in the same sentence—maybe he understood something about Jesus I’d missed. I don’t feel too bad, though, and neither should you if these matters are confusing to you too, I mean, the other disciples didn’t really get it either.”
Pastor, Jesus Doesn’t Care How Big Your Church Is
Pastors need this reminder from time to time. In this case it’s Jared Wilson delivering it.
Time
Paul Levy: “It strikes me, that as Christians we need to be more aware of our finitude. I suspect more of us struggle with wasting time than we are willing to admit. The internet has it’s obvious problems with pornography and online gambling, but the way that it distracts us and robs us of time without our realising it.”
Benefitting From A ‘Bubble’
Here is something good that came out of a COVID bubble.
Flashback: Friends to Christ, Strangers To His Church
The call to community is a call to familiarity. If we are to love and serve others, we need to know them…We can love others in precise and meaningful ways only to the degree that we know them.

It is the sovereign decree of heaven that nothing can make sinners truly happy but God in Christ… —A.W. Pink