The Lord be with you and bless you today.
(Yesterday on the blog: Fallen Planes and Fallen Pastors)
Evangelicals Need a Constructive Vision
Here’s a thought-provoking article. “Critique is easier to make compelling than charity. This explains why the books consistently generating the most conversation—both from fans and detractors—follow a similar format: a book length dismantling of a problem followed by a single chapter or epilogue offering a positive vision forward. When was the last time you read a book (on evangelicalism and culture) that spent one or two chapters on a problem, and then the remainder offering a constructive alternative?”
Keep Singing the (Whole) Gospel
Rebekah looks at a few Christian songs that have had “offensive” lyrics removed. She encourages us to make sure that we sing the whole gospel.
He’s With You; No Matter What Row You’re In
This is an encouraging and transparent reminder that the Lord is with you, no matter your situation. “Fear is an expert at making me believe I’m in the farthest seat from God. How could He see me and my problems in the flood of others—many, I’m sure, far more important than mine?”
Abundant Life in Room 129
“She spent Christmas in our small town hospital, a full week of therapies, breathing treatments, medications, coughing, and pain. She’s 89 years old. Being with her is like dipping a toe into the rivers of Heaven–she speaks almost exclusively about Jesus and her eternal home.”
On Pastors and Professors
Jonathan offers a bit of a mea culpa here, then celebrates the distinctions between pastors and professors. “Pastoring and being a seminary professor are two different things. This is not to say that pastors can’t be seminary professors and seminary professors can’t be pastors: in many cases they effectively fill both roles. But both vocations require a distinct set of skills, and thus a distinct course of training.”
Was Jesus Confused by the Cross?
John Piper answers an interesting question here: Was Jesus in some way confused by what was happening on the cross?
Flashback: The Decay of the World and the Love of God
God’s love for his people is so great that he will continue to tolerate all of this sin and rebellion, all of this hatred toward him, until the last of his chosen and beloved children has been born, has heard the gospel, and has been saved.
A Christian is not of hasty growth, like a mushroom, but rather like the oak, the progress of which is hardly perceptible, but, in time, becomes a great deep-rooted tree.
—John Newton
