As well as reading a lot of books, I also read a ton of articles every week. Here are some of the articles that I’ve read recently and have found interesting, helpful, challenging and encouraging. I hope that they will be the same for you, my dear readers…
DO WE NEED TO WALK TO CHURCH?
“I recognise there can be some real advantages to living near your church. But let’s also recognise that, however beneficial they may be (and let’s also recognise those benefits will vary from one context to another), it is not biblically demanded of us. Nor is it always viable.”
10 Books of the Bible Christians Don’t Read Enough
I don’t know about you, but some of the books in this article are amongst my favourite parts of the Bible. Maybe I’m weird.
Hearing the Scriptures Clearly
“The best way for us to be sure that what we hear is the authentic voice of Christ is to check that what we have heard from him is what those who faithfully sat at his feet through the centuries, led there by His Spirit, have also heard. To do anything else is to give a perilously high level of authority to our institutions and their leaders and our reason and its conclusions and to risk them distorting, or even deafening, the voice of Christ contained in the Scriptures.”
The importance of truth in a truth-less world
“Previously if something was true, that was it, it was true. No discussion or questions asked. If something could be verified and argued convincingly with evidence, then it was true. That isn’t really the case anymore. The phrase that you’ve probably heard tons of time is “that might be true for you, but it’s not for me” or “that’s your truth”. When you think about it denying that there is such a thing as truth is absolute nonsense.”
The Best Method For Discipling Believers In A Thriving Small Church
“The beauty of mentoring-based discipleship is that it doesn’t just create smarter Christians. It raises up new mentors.”
8 Variations of Selfish Preaching
“We all minister with mixed motives. It is important to be aware of that, and to prayerfully stay before the only One who can really know what is going on inside of us. Sometimes it can be helpful to delineate some of the unhelpful or sinful motivations that can sabotage a ministry. It is not possible to avoid every negative motive all the time, but we must beware lest any of these start to fester within and then characterise our ministry.”
Do Not Adjust Your Set: Sex, Gender and Public Policy
“Children and young people are being harmed by an ideology and an overly sexualised society and many see identifying as something other than their biological sex as an answer to their distress. Instead of their distress being managed and alleviated by helping them to come to terms with their biological reality, they are affirmed and headed off down a medical and surgical pathway that results in loss of sexual function and often infertility but does not address underlying psychosocial and mental health issues.”
The Scar
“On this side of eternity, I find it difficult to fathom the depth of God’s love to a sinner like me. On dark days, I may even be tempted to doubt his goodness as a Father. But when I stop to consider my Saviour’s scars in light of my ignorance, I know that I am still a child, and there is much I do not know.“
Walking Worthy Podcast
I’d like to draw your attention to this new podcast from Dustin Benge. I think that they will prove to be helpful and insightful little snippets of Scripture for you twice a week. If you don’t follow this guy on social media, do it now! He is such an encouragement.
3 Biblical Requirements for Social Media
Dustin is such an encouragement on social media and an example of how to do it well. Check out what he wrote on the topic.
The Doubt Gap
“It is not uncommon for Christians to struggle at times with questions like: Does God really love me; Can I trust the Bible; are the promises of the gospel too good to be true? Unsettling doubts can steal your joy in the gospel of Jesus, and hinder your witness for Christ. Indeed, as a people of faith some find it hard to admit that they struggle with doubt – not only to other Christians (who they fear might judge them as being inferior believers) but also to non-Christians (who might raise them to the surface in conversation or in asking us questions). In this article I want to take you on a journey that will help you get over the hurdle of doubt.”
Let Limitations Do Their Work
“We live in a world that teaches us to repent of limitations and push past them. Age is just a number and don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t reach your dreams. Christianity teaches us to actually embrace limitations, laboring within boundaries and resting when we’ve reached them.”
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