The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you today.
Today’s Kindle deals include another collection of the Great Thinkers series of books. I’ll look again in the morning to see what else turns up!
(Yesterday on the blog: A Collection of Random Thoughts on Christian Living)
The Virgin Mary and Modern Therapeutic Culture
“I believe therapeutic culture gets the meaning of the blessed life wrong. You don’t find happiness, fulfillment, and meaning by prioritizing yourself above all. The pathway to true and lasting blessedness doesn’t come through getting our desires but through giving ourselves. We don’t discover joy by prioritizing ourselves but by completely giving ourselves back to the One who made us. Pursue your own happiness above all, and you’ll find yourself miserably enslaved.”
Beware of Relational Heresy While Addressing Perceived Doctrinal Heresy
Bob Kellemen expresses the importance of ensuring we don’t fall into relational heresy while we attempt to address what we perceive to be doctrinal heresy. “Our failure to address this runs counter to God’s all-sufficient Word. The Bible is replete with commands about how we treat one another while we address doctrinal disagreements. The Bible consistently commands us to guard our hearts against relational heresy.”
The Darkness Does Not Win
Kevin DeYoung: “The title of this article is hard to believe, isn’t it? Doesn’t it seem like every week we hear about wars and rumors of wars, about terrorism or mass shootings, about Christian persecution and cultural degradation? We can look back on this past year and think of loved ones who’ve died, or friends who’ve been diagnosed with cancer. And others who are gripped by addiction or saddled with chronic pain or mired in a depression that will not lift.”
How Does God Deliver Me From Pain by Pain?
It seems odd or even impossible that God would deliver us from pain by pain. John Piper discusses that in this episode of Ask Pastor John (which you can read or listen to).
Making the Most of the Holidays With Your Adult Children
“It’s been estimated that one in four parents are estranged from at least one adult child. Many parents yearn for their kids to return to the faith in Jesus they have abandoned. Some parents vividly recall an argument over political differences that turned into a shouting match. Many parents would simply long for that Folgers moment: they haven’t seen their adult children come home for Christmas in years.”
“O Come…”
Susan puts out the call for Christians to take time to heed the call to “come and let us adore him.”
Flashback: Purposeful and Persistent Parenting
John and Cindy Raquet parent as weirdly as any of us, but their weirdnesses generally overlap with my own, and it’s for that reason that I so enjoyed reading their book Purposeful and Persistent Parenting.
I’m not afraid of failure; I’m afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter.
—William Carey
