Good morning! The Lord be with you today.
There are a few Kindle deals to browse through today.
(Yesterday on the blog: Pornographic Detachment)
Jesus Loves You, Tom Brady
Jared Wilson loves Tom Brady and uses his Super Bowl win to tell him about his concern. “I think the Christian’s adulation of public greatness is always complicated—or should be. Like the rest of the world, with hope and aspiration we appraise the work of politicians and pop stars, country singers and quarterbacks, and we celebrate success. And there’s a touch of worship in it. Sometimes more than a touch.”
What is Spiritual Abuse?
The term “spiritual abuse” is often used but seldom defined. Michael Kruger does a good job explaining it here and pointing out one peculiarity of spiritual abuse: “abusive behavior (as strange as this sounds) is used as the means of accomplishing the good goals of the church.”
Three Recent Titles from Cruciform Press
The Ten Commandments of Progressive Christianity (Michael J. Kruger), is endorsed by Collin Hansen, Kevin DeYoung, and Michael Horton. Galatians: Redeeming Grace and the Cross of Christ (Melissa McPhail; Lisa Menchinger; Keri Folmar, ed.), the first in a new inductive Bible Study series for women, is endorsed by Karen Hodge, Kevin DeYoung, and more. On Purpose: Living Life as It Was Intended, by Jonny Ivey, helps us embrace the joyful purpose of our current circumstances. (Sponsored)
Faith: Just to Take Him at His Word
“Travel back in time to 1880 in New York City. Nine years earlier you immigrated from England to the United States, and shortly after your arrival, you set your heart on becoming a Christian missionary to China. However, your poor health prevented this. Instead, you married and had a little girl, Lily. A few years later with your young family, while enjoying a day on the Long Island Shore, you heard cries of distress coming from the sea – and then your husband runs off to save the drowning boy. They never made it back alive…”
Prohibiting Prayer in Australia
Carl Trueman: “The state of Victoria in Australia, however, just passed a bill that will considerably intensify the conflict between religious freedom, individual choice, and identity politics. And it might well become a model for laws elsewhere in the democratic world.”
Do My Sins Hinder My Prayers?
John Piper’s answer to this fairly common question is rather interesting.
Why We Should Embrace Trials
Our tendency, of course, is to run away from trials. But here’s why, when they are upon us, we should do our best to embrace them.
Flashback: A Prayer for Battling a Destructive Desire
At times each of us is faced with destructive desires—the kind of desires that, were we to act on them, would necessarily harm ourselves or others, and necessarily distance ourselves from the God we love.
To live in a heavenly place, we must live a heavenly life. Those who do not live a heavenly life on earth will never live in heaven.
—Charles Ebert Orr
