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A La Carte (April 22)

thursday

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.

Today’s Kindle deals include quite a number of good books.

(Yesterday on the blog: Simon, Would You Still Have Passed That Way?)

How Hyperbole Dulls Our Spiritual Discernment

This is a very good article from Thomas Schreiner. “We live in an age with a cacophony of voices, where we exaggerate to make our voice heard. It is tempting, therefore, to trumpet our concerns with hyperbole. We seize the attention of others with rhetoric, by overplaying our hand, and sometimes the good and righteous are vilified.”

What Does It Profit A Person To Win An Argument, But Act Like A Jerk?

Todd Friel asks a good question and answers through the words of John Newton.

Guilty!

Kyle Borg: “With many in our nation and world I waited in anticipation yesterday as the jury delivered their verdict in the Derek Chauvin case. I watched intently as the camera focused on the face of the accused and as his eyes darted all around. I listened as Judge Cahill calmly read the sentence of justice: ‘Murder in the second-degree: Guilty. Murder in the third-degree: Guilty. Manslaughter: Guilty.’ As I watched and listened I felt it. I didn’t feel sad and I didn’t feel celebratory. But I did feel the weight and heaviness of that word: Guilty.”

Sin Wants You to Itself

Doug Eaton: “Whether you think the church COVID lockdowns were justified or not, one thing is for sure; Satan loves that our fellowship with other believers has been hindered.”

Moral Standards and Goodness Can’t Exist Without God

Randy Alcorn explains why moral standards and goodness just can’t exist without God.

To The Girl With The Sad Eyes

“I saw you at the bus stop, waiting. Your eyes were the only crack in your disguise—small pools of emptiness surrounded by perfection. I’m sure it took you some time, to put on that mask. I’m sure if you could have, you would have covered your eyes with it as well. If I wasn’t a stranger, then I’d love to ask, what do you do it for? Who do you do it for?”

Flashback: It’s Not Often in Life You Get a Do-Over (So Take the Do-Over!)

And there is no better time than now to be reflective about what we want our lives to be. There is no better time than now to be prayerful about how we will keep our lives from going from too empty to too full.

A church characterized by a small experience of forgiveness will be characterized by a small expression of love.

—Peter Hubbard

  • The Phrase that Altered My Thinking Forever

    This week the blog is sponsored by P&R Publishing and is written by Ralph Cunnington. Years ago, I stumbled repeatedly on an ancient phrase that altered my thinking forever.  Distinct yet inseparable. The first time I encountered this phrase was while studying the Council of Chalcedon’s description of the two natures of Christ. Soon after,…

  • Always Look for the Light

    Always Look for the Light

    For many years there was a little potted plant on our kitchen window sill, though I’ve long since forgotten the variety. Year after year that plant would put out a shoot and from the shoot would emerge a single flower. And I observed that no matter how I turned the pot, the flower would respond.…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (March 18)

    A La Carte: God is good and does good—even in our pain / Dear bride and groom / Sin won’t comfort you / Worthy of the gospel / From self-sufficiency to trusting God’s people / The gods fight for our devotion / and more.

  • Confidence

    God Takes Us Into His Confidence

    Here is another Sunday devotional—a brief thought to orient your heart toward the Lord. God takes the initiative in establishing relationship by reaching out to helpless humanity. He reveals himself to the creatures he has made. But what does it mean for him to provide such revelation of himself? John Calvin began his Institutes by…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    Weekend A La Carte (March 16)

    A La Carte: I believe in the death of Julius Caesar and the resurrection of Jesus Christ / Reasons students and pastors shouldn’t use ChatGPT / A 1.3 gigpixel photo of a supernova / What two raw vegans taught me about sharing Jesus / If we realize we’re undeserving, suddenly the world comes alive /…

  • Ask Pastor John

    Ask Pastor John

    I admit it: I felt a little skeptical about Ask Pastor John. To be fair, I feel skeptical about most books that begin in one medium before making the leap to another. Books based on sermons, for example, can often be pretty disappointing—a powerful sermon at a conference can make a bland chapter in a…