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A La Carte (12/31)

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Happy New Year – Paul Tripp offers a lot of wisdom when it comes to resolutions. “Few smokers actually quit because of a single moment of resolve, few obese people have become slim and healthy because of one dramatic moment of commitment, few people who were deeply in debt have changed their financial lifestyle because they resolved to do so as the old year gave way to the new, and few marriages have been changed by the means of one dramatic resolution.”

How Not to Read Your Bible – “When it comes to daily (or not-so-daily) Bible reading, January 1 can be a welcome arrival. A new year signals a new start. You’re motivated to freshly commit to what you know is of indispensable importance: the Word of God.” Well and good. But here is some counsel on how not to read your Bible in 2013. Meanwhile, once you’ve decided how to read the Bible well, here are some Bible-reading plans that may help.

Holland vs The Netherlands – Here’s a funny and fascinating video explaining why you should stop referring to The Netherlands as Holland. Good luck following it all the way to the end.

True Religion – “It is popular today to decry the word ‘religion.’ And I suppose the goal here is a good one: to show the futility and falseness of a ritualistic, cold, unlively, practices of religious stuff. At the same time the word religion is a biblical word, used in James 1:27. It describes the practice of godliness.”

The Danger of Theological Novelty – C. Michael Patton nails it in this article about theological novelty. “You see, in theology, for many people ‘in the know,’ once something becomes mainstream, it becomes disqualified. Once it becomes too popular or normal, it becomes naive. Once everyone thinks it is correct, it is no longer qualified to be anything but a foil for the correct. We become theological swingers whose end is not to find the truth, but simply to swing to the next partner.”

23 Reasons to Be Joyful – Here, from the book of Philippians, are 23 reasons to be joyful.

God often comforts us, not by changing the circumstances of our lives, but by changing our attitude toward them.

—S.H.B. Masterman

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    Weekend A La Carte (February 28)

    A La Carte: How marriage actually refers to Christ and the church / Does it matter if stories are true? / To cover or overlook? / Should Christians feel guilty for being patriotic / Sinful desires / and more.

  • New and Notable Christian Books for February 2026

    New and Notable Christian Books for February 2026

    Not a single month goes by without Christian publishers providing us with great new resources. Thankfully, most of those new books end up in my mailbox. That allows me to sort through them and distil them down to a list like this one: A list of new and notables.

  • A La Carte Friday 2

    A La Carte (February 27)

    A La Carte: Time / More than a book / If you knew him, you would ask / The multitasking myth / Beware AI-generated Christian content / It’s sad that you believe that / and more.

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (February 26)

    A La Carte: Death with dignity / On “balance” and young men / No need to fear / A gospel reset for the weary Christian / A shy guy’s guide to big groups / Book and Kindle deals / and more.

  • Substacks I Read and Recommend in 2026

    30 Christian Substacks I Read and Recommend in 2026

    t is a blessing to have so many dedicated and talented Christian writers who are willing to share their work with us. Many of them choose to share it through Substack, a platform for email newsletters. I follow all kinds of Substacks and thought it might be helpful to create a roundup of some of…

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    A La Carte (February 25)

    A La Carte: Why wouldn’t God provide more proof? / Gospel antidotes to anxiety / The predictable pastor / Writing is pain / Depths of Mordor / The Lord’s Supper is the best altar call / and more.