Good morning. Grace and peace to you.
Today’s Kindle deals include several titles that are meant to help you navigate some of the trials that life inevitably brings.
Is It Good That You Exist?
Is it just plain good that you exist? Or do you need to labor to prove your value to the world and therefore justify your existence?
Should We Trust Churches?
Alan explains why it’s so important that we trust churches even if we have been hurt by them in the past. “Should we trust churches? Obviously, not all churches are trustworthy, some aren’t even orthodox! But setting matters of prudence aside for a moment, Should we desire and work to trust churches and other religious institutions or should we have a posture of skepticism? Put differently, what do we lose if we hold a posture of skepticism toward religious institutions and what do we risk?”
The Lost Coin
Mark Dever relates the Parable of the Lost Coin to reaching some of the most unreached people groups. This challenge, like the coin, is “not going to get swept up easily or quickly. It’s going to take more intentionality, more deliberation, and more time. These things are required of both the individual who wants to go, and (even more fundamentally) on the part of the church from which they are sent.”
In Defense of Childhood
Brad Littlejohn shares some very good news. “Let me start off with a ridiculously bold statement: January 15, 2025 could turn out to be a pivotal day in the entire history of the internet. Now, let me defend it by giving some backstory.”
Take Your Anxiety to Church
“We don’t like to admit we’re scared. No one wants to be thought a coward. Admitting fear or anxiety feels like admitting weakness, and we constantly encounter the powerful message that weaknesses must be camouflaged and compensated for. Our surrounding culture prevails on us to be self-reliant, self-confident, independent.”
How Do I Leave My Abortion in the Past?
Camille Cates: “When considering your life’s journey, I don’t know if you can truly leave your abortion in the past. Every experience you go through becomes part of your larger story. With this in mind, how you view your abortion at this point in your life is what is most important. Do you still feel shame and condemnation, or are you living in the light of Christ’s redemption? Are you moving forward and finding your comfort in God and his Word?”
Flashback: We Prophesy Grief, Not Grace
…when I feel fear for my girls, when my mind clouds and my pulse quickens, instead of looking forward to project grief I look back to remember grace, instead of looking inward I look upward, instead of dwelling on projections I dwell on providence.
Sin can no more stand against the presence of the Holy Spirit than darkness can resist the gentle, all-pervasive beams of morning light.
—F.B. Meyer
