A La Carte (7/19)

Time and an Eternal Perspective [2] - Carolyn McCulley offers reflections on the way we use our time. “My ambitions about productivity have to be reshaped by the idea that I’m simply a steward. I am responsible for investing and multiplying what I receive from the Lord because I will give an account to Him one day for my activities. What isn’t from Him is a waste of time.”

Wheaton’s Contraception Lawsuit [3] - Christianity Today interviews Philip Ryken about suing the government over the Obama administration's Health and Human Services mandate. It’s quite fascinating.

African Missionaries [4] - Conrad Mbewe asks and answers this question of the church in Africa: “Why are we not sending out African missionaries?” What a joy it is (and will be) to see people of all nations taking the gospel to all nations.

Does God Love Us By Sending Pain? [5] - This article looks at spanking and God’s discipline. "When there is no pain in discipline, there is a chronic unpleasantness in the home rather than acute pain. Discipline must be a memorable event; it is not effective as a low-grade unpleasantness"

State of the Sexual Union [6] - “While unmarried Christians have been given practical reasons to avoid sex, what we lack is a compelling vision of marital sex as God’s good design. We have never heard the poetry within the command to practice chastity -- the ‘yes’ that the ‘no’ protects. When it comes to sex, we suffer from a theological deficit.” I agree, though I wish they had quoted less from John Paul II, though, as there are others who would have carried their arguments better. Still, it is a very helpful article.

The Divine Institution of Marriage [7] - Here is a “Christian plea for all to recognize the Lordship of Christ, the divine nature of the institution of marriage, and the ethical and moral dimension of how we live our lives today.”

We carry an insidious prosperity gospel around in our dark, little, entitled hearts. —Matt Chandler