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…
Preachers Gotta Preach
“As much as the congregation needs to be reminded of the power and privilege of preaching, I’m convinced that preachers need to be reminded of these things even more.”
Are Christian Parents Too Protective of Their Children?
“As nervous Christian parents, sometimes we think our number one job is to make sure our kids are never exposed to any non-Christian thinking. We may be tempted to place our children inside a sanitized theological bubble, safe from all forms of intellectual contamination. But, just like germ-conscious parents, this may not be accomplishing what we think.”
Why reading books you disagree with helps you grow
“picking up a book that you know you will disagree with can help you understand another’s perspective and clarify why you hold to another position. This doesn’t mean that you run to just any book, but as you grow more comfortable with ideas, you can expose yourself to contrary positions in order to strengthen your own.”
Suffering Is Painful
“Friends, suffering is painful, but it has a point. Suffering is often the means that causes us to run to the Lord in utter dependance on Him. Suffering is painful but it can bring a humility that a healthy body might ignore. Suffering is painful, but with it comes the comfort that one day it will be no more. Suffering is painful, but God is bigger.”
HOW I READ (WITH PICTURES)
It is always interesting to see the techniques that others use to make sure that they’re reading well.
When Words of Comfort Feel More Like Salt in a Wound
“When we are hurt by the words and judgements of others as Job was, we can filter their words through the lens of the gospel, asking Christ to help us discern what is true, and trust that God will ultimately be our defender. By God’s grace, he can even use the judgmental and hurtful words of others to draw us to him, grow us in grace, truth, and compassion, and use us to bring comfort and hope to others who are hurting.”
5 Loopholes We Use to Excuse Sin
“The more we absorb the gospel, the less necessary each loophole becomes. In Christ, we don’t have to manufacture remorse for sin. Instead, Jesus’s sacrifice floods our hearts with affection for him. As we gaze at Calvary, it becomes impossible to trivialize our sin. Our good works are exposed as insufficient. Our cynicism is melted away. We’re freed from conformity to others. We come to see success not as license to sin, but as grace to undeserving rebels.”
50 Books That Changed My Life (and Might Change Yours, Too)
A downloadable ‘book’ from John Beeson with some great recommendations from a wide variety of styles and topics.
Rethinking Productivity and Love in Pregnancy
“Pregnancy has given me a taste of God’s ‘perfect love’ for his children—a love that is both joyful and costly, and where acceptance precedes performance. A love that is unconditional and does not demand to be earned. I have no doubt that motherhood is going to come with challenges that will spotlight my selfishness and failure to love, but for now, I am learning to see and taste God’s love for his children through the love that I feel for my own. Pregnancy may be hard, but it’s certainly been filled with a ‘million tiny moments for worship.’“
Was the Trinity Torn Apart at the Cross?
“Christ’s confidence that God was “for him” as Son and faithful servant, and that God was “against him” as substitute and representative (surety), were both expressed in that one cry: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” The cry doesn’t tell us everything about the atonement or what Jesus suffered, but it does reassure us that he has gone into a darkness we will never face.”
It Is Obscene
“I have spoken to young people who tell me they are terrified to tweet anything, that they read and re-read their tweets because they fear they will be attacked by their own. The assumption of good faith is dead. What matters is not goodness but the appearance of goodness. We are no longer human beings. We are now angels jostling to out-angel one another. God help us. It is obscene.”
A Life On The Frontier
I like the original article name. This is a great story of being a witness for Christ in all situations and to all people.
My Anchor Holds
“He, by his grace, has held me safe thus far, and he, by his grace, will hold me to the end. I have every confidence that my anchor will hold—that my anchor will be held—until he at last delivers me to that safe harbor far across these troubled seas.”
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