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A La Carte (December 2)

wednesday

This month’s free book from Logos is a must download: Philip Ryken’s excellent commentary on Exodus. There are several other volumes in the same commentary series available for only a few dollars, so stock up!

Today’s Kindle deals include a pretty good list of books. (Also, if you’re into board games, Amazon has a bunch on sale today.)

How a Former Radical Sparked the New Calvinist Movement

Writing for TGC, Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra has a longform article about the life and influence of David Wells.

Christmas Nativity Mistakes: Cybertrucks and Overbooked Inns

John Dyer says “These seven words—’there was no room for them in the inn‘—is the source of the traditional nativity story, where Mary and Joseph arrive in Bethlehem for the census, but all the rooms at all the inns are booked, so baby Jesus is born alone in a barn, surrounded by animals. However, this picture is based on a mistranslation of a Greek word and a cultural misunderstanding of the first century world.”

Eternal Generation

You might like to download the new issue of Credo magazine which is free for the taking. Alternatively, you can read it in your browser. This issue focuses on eternal generation.

My Threshold for Civil Disobedience in a COVID19 World

It continues to fascinate me how different pastors in different contexts respond differently to the government-mandated rules and guidelines. In this article from TGC Canada Paul Carter explains his threshold before he’d lead his church into full-on civil disobedience. (See also Darryl Dash’s My Plea to Those Who Hold Strong Views on Masks and Lockdowns.)

He Is Enough

“True contentment is found in knowing the character of God and His history of faithfulness and in trusting in His sovereign wisdom and goodness to provide. Far from the stoic idea of passive resignation to our fate, godly contentment is positive assurance, joy, and gratitude that God personally watches over us and supplies all our needs.”

The Resurrection Creates Reconciliation

Jared Wilson teases out the connection between resurrection and reconciliation.

3 Blessings of Seeing Our Sin

Ed Welch: “Only people who know they have burdens can be delivered from them. Sadly, the method for that deliverance—confession—has been tarnished. We are slow to talk about sin for fear that it could threaten our already fragile egos or label us as judgmental and narrow-minded. But instead of thinking about sin talk as an endless stream of negativity and browbeating, think of it as something good.”

Flashback: Is There Still a Place for Blogs in 2020?

It’s not difficult to foresee a day in which Christians who speak out about any number of pressing issues are no longer welcome on those platforms. Blogs, however, have no gatekeepers and continue to allow Christians to speak out about even the most politically-incorrect topics.

Every day we may see some new thing in Christ. His love has neither brim nor bottom.

—Samuel Rutherford

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    Spread Too Thin

    With so much to do, we can easily begin to wonder whether prayer is an appropriate use of scarce time. Wouldn’t it be better to give my attention to something that would let me cross something off my to-do list?