Today’s Kindle deals include several good books from Crossway, including one of my all-time favorites: Owen’s Overcoming Sin and Temptation.
(Yesterday on the blog: What Has the Lord Been Teaching You From His Word?)
Do All Things Without Complaint
I enjoyed this reflection on God’s goodness and our complaining. “God’s plan is to do a new thing; he’s making us holy like he is holy, removing sin fully from our hearts so we can one day live with him in glory. His faithfulness is steadfast to the work he began in us and in creation. The things we complain about are the very tools used by God to complete the work in us. He can’t be unfaithful to himself, so he can’t be unfaithful to us.”
Red Lines, Faithfulness and Playing the Game
I have spent a lot of time reading about the early history of the Church of England which makes its current path all the more painful to watch. Stephen Watkinson says this: “2019 is going to require courage for Christians and church leaders in the Church of England. Many thought they could wait until the Living in Love and Faith report in 2020. The House of Bishops’ guidance has changed that. A red line has been crossed and our church has enshrined heresy. If we are to be faithful, we have no option but to act.”
What Is the Christian Response to Witchcraft? (Video)
Conrad Mbewe offers the question from an African perspective.
Love Your Bibles
“Who doesn’t love to hear the sound of God’s voice? The problem is that most of us want to hear God’s voice, but we don’t crack our Bibles, and we don’t even buy our own excuses for not doing so. We can all use some fresh motivation.” Perhaps especially at the start of a new year.
3 Reasons to Study the Biblical Geography of Israel – LogosTalk
It is well worth the study to better understand the biblical geography of Israel. “When we don’t know the land, we don’t really know the whole story. It’s like watching a play without a backdrop or props. Geography drops you right in the middle of the setting of God’s grand narrative and brings it to life. Here are three specific benefits of studying biblical geography.”
How To Kill a Church
Jared Wilson: “Want to fatten a church for slaughter? The steps are below. This is a true story.”
History Repeats Itself
I’ll be interested in reading some analyses of this article from World magazine. Scott Allen says, “Today’s social justice debate in the evangelical church feels eerily similar to the debate that led to division in the Protestant church in the early 20th century. Then, the debate didn’t center on social justice but the social gospel.”
Flashback: Your Deepest Identity
More than anything else, your new identity hinges on this one simple truth: You are in Christ. You are united to Christ, and identified with him.
A life outside of Christ is both hard and frightening; a life in Christ has hard edges and dark valleys, but it is purposeful even when painful.
—Rosaria Butterfield
