I’ve got two reminders for you today. The first is that my blog is regularly translated into Spanish. The second is that much of it is recorded in a daily podcast format.
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(Yesterday on the blog: Fascinating Facts about Aimee Semple McPherson)
Joining a Mob
Here’s World magazine on the young man who become the object of such scorn this weekend. “The church need not overly concern itself with what secular media outlets got wrong or the disgusting calls for violence that resulted. But we should ask why so many blue-check believers, not to mention their hundreds of thousands followers, were so eager to join an outrage mob against a child based on so little information. Even further, why were so many willing to extend that condemnation to the child’s parents, teachers, and school?” (And, from the other side of the political spectrum, here’s The Atlantic.)
The Time I Went Under Church Discipline
J.A. Medders: “By God’s mercy, as Jesus says, “I paid attention,” and, “Listened.” They won their brother. Honoring Jesus and honoring my brother mattered to me; I didn’t realize I had dishonored both of them. A breakfast meeting changed the way I see my sin, one another, community, and unity. I looked at John and Lucas and saw the grace of God. I confessed my sin, asked for forgiveness, and thanked them for pursuing me, for putting discipline among the body of Christ to work. It works. It worked on me.”
Faithful with the Few
Jen Oshman offers a challenge that pertains to so many areas of life. “Our friend, who was almost a decade ahead of us, pointed out a truth that every person in ministry must eventually confront: God may only give you a small audience. He may only grant you a few supporters. He may only bless you with a small team, a short reach, a limited influence. The question for us back then was how would we respond?”
Mister Rogers’s Deathbed Confession
“This will not be one of those ‘the gospel according to [insert film here]’ posts, but I do think one particular portion of the documentary lends itself to (what ought to be) a deep question at the heart of every person.” The film is the documentary on Mr Rogers and the writer is Jared Wilson.
I Carried My Dying Daughter to Term
This was written prior to the March for Life, but applies equally after. “Carrying Cerian was an unexpected privilege. It brought me profound joy as well as grief. It was not until I cared for this vulnerable human being that I came to see the value of all human life. The way our culture treats the most vulnerable — the elderly, the ill, the unborn — reveals our true beliefs about people. We live in a culture that wants to end life when a person’s usefulness, productivity and mental capacity diminish. We live in a culture that assents to the disposal of unborn children with abnormalities and physical challenges of many kinds. But this is a value system that none of us can live by.”
A Short Dictionary of Jesus Words
Wyatt Graham has put together a “short dictionary of Jesus words to help you avoid error and to know Jesus better.”
Gospel Ministry: Ace or Average?
There’s a good comparison here between Second World War aces and celebrity pastors. “The work of the kingdom is not accomplished by a few super-star heroes ‘aces’ who excel, but by an army of ordinary pastors plugging away. They may seem mediocre and average in comparison, but they are the workhorses that accomplish the goal.”
Flashback: When You’re at Your Best, Plan for Your Worst
I am only holding my son to the standard I use for myself—the standard of a sinful man, wanting desperately to avoid a major fall, and all too aware that in those times I begin to lose my delight in God, I grow in my delight in sin.
In salvation, we do our part and God does his part. We do the sinning, and God does the saving. —HB Charles Jr