Good morning. Grace and peace to you.
(Yesterday on the blog: Life Without Romans 8:28)
On Coffee-Sipping in the Sanctuary
I guess John Piper recently caused a bit of a brouhaha when he tweeted about sipping coffee in the church sanctuary. Here he explains what he meant and why he sees coffee as a relatively inconsequential symptom of something bigger. “Let me try to get right to the heart of the matter. The heart of the matter is not coffee in the sanctuary. That’s only a symptom, and there are lots of other symptoms of what I’m concerned about.”
Aging Peacefully
I think a lot of people will identify with Melissa’s thoughts about aging peacefully. “Here, in the middle of a department store, my eyes filled with tears, and I was embarrassed. Embarrassed that I cared so much that I’m never going to wear a dress like that again in my life. I was embarrassed that I haven’t transcended these ideas of what it is to be a woman, that I haven’t devoted more of my mind and my heart to purely spiritual endeavors instead of physical ones.”
How ‘Evangelical’ Are Iowa’s Evangelicals?
I’m glad Thomas Kidd asks and answers this question at the WSJ. (I used a link that should unlock the article for you.) Essentially, he means to show how the media uses “evangelical” as a political term rather than a Christian one.
The Danger of Rejecting a Good Conscience
“All of us have a conscience, but the problem is that we have a conscience while living in a fallen world where sin has affected all that we are—including the conscience we possess.” Mitch Chase goes on to explain how dangerous it is to reject a good conscience.
Show Up for What God Has for You
I appreciate the point Rebekah makes here—that God works through us if we make the commitment to show up. That’s true of a lot of areas of life!
Is Our View of Satan Too Small?
Peter Mead: “I have noticed something strange. Many Christians will acknowledge the existence and the general agenda of Satan. They will affirm that he is alive and active on planet Earth. Yes, they recognize that he hates God and God’s people. Yes, he hates truth and wants to steal, kill and destroy. … And yet, oddly, as quickly as those affirmations are made, that awareness seems to evaporate just as quickly.”
Flashback: Aging Gracefully
Every day, we are all building the house we will live in when old age comes. Some of us are building a beautiful palace. Some are building a dark prison. What are you building?
God’s love is not as ours, a sudden passion, but a resolve from eternity.
—Stephen Charnock
