Good morning. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Today’s Kindle deals are headlined by a selection of Crossway’s top books of 2020. It’s the first time most of these have been on sale.
(Yesterday on the blog: Why Is There Only One Way To Heaven?)
We Must Find a Better Way to Talk About Race
This is typically level-headed stuff from Kevin DeYoung. “The simple, honest truth is that Bible-believing orthodox Christians are not setting a Spirit-infused example in how to talk about racial matters. That’s the bad news. The good news is no one else is setting a great example either, which means it’s not too late for grace-filled, truth-loving followers of Jesus to show to the world a still more excellent way.”
The Teachable Will Lap the Gifted
This is a helpful reflection on humility (as displayed in teachability). “Looking back on my Bible college and seminary days, it’s interesting to note how some of my most gifted classmates didn’t really end up flourishing spiritually in life and ministry. At least not to the same extent that the steady, humble, teachable ones did. In fact, over time the seemingly gifted ones were lapped by the ones most of us would have been tempted to initially overlook. The unassuming, the unpretentious, the ones who didn’t have to lead, but who eventually led anyway because of their steady faithfulness and consistency – these friends are the ones who quietly got started in ministry, have so far persevered, and are now harvesting righteousness (James 3:18).”
Liang Fa – The First Chinese Ordained Pastor
Liang Fa was the first Chinese ordained pastor. It’s amazing to think how many pastors have followed in his footsteps in that land.
Why Is It So Hard To Think?
“Here I am. I’m aware and conscious, and I’ve been given a mind that is capable of taking all of this in, sorting through it, and thinking about what it really means. A mind made for so much more than just the intake of sensory impulses and output of instinctual reactions, moment by moment. A mind designed for more than mere survival or the consumption of entertainment, but to discover and create, to know and relate to others and to its own Creator.”
An Inside Job
“God’s plans are stretched into forever, while our afflictions are light and momentary. They feel heavy and unending, but we are promised that they are actually preparing an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17). I am comforted by this dear reminder again and again and again.”
The Bible Belongs to Every Age
Stephen Nichols reflects on Jonathan Edwards and the Bible he loved. “As Edwards noted, the Bible belongs to every age. It is not simply the true Word for the first century. It is not simply the authoritative Word for the first century. It is not simply the necessary Word for the first century. It is not simply the sufficient Word for the first century.”
A Simple Explanation of Divine Simplicity
Here is a simple explanation of divine simplicity…
Flashback: When Your Goodness Goes Splat
When we think about our own goodness, we always compare ourselves to others. It’s not that we are good by any objective standard; we are good compared to the parent, the neighbor, the stranger, the criminal. We choose our comparisons carefully.
Only when sin breaks our hearts will the coming of the Messiah excite our hearts.
—Paul David Tripp
