The God of love and peace be with you on this fine day. Our fine day yesterday was blanketed with wildfire smoke, and I suppose it’s likely to stick around for a few days, as it often does. It’s always a bit eerie to have the sun diffused by the smoke, but it does lead to some fascinating sunrises and sunsets.
Sales & Deals
Today’s Kindle deals include some titles I have not seen on sale before, such as Ortlund’s Why God Makes Sense in a World That Doesn’t and several guides and devotions from The Good Book Company.
Recommended Reading
Does the Day End in Night, or the Night End in Day? Seth Lewis ponders beginnings and ends. “Every winter gives way to summer. Every summer eventually fades to winter. Every day ends in night, and every night ends in day. These cycles have been circling for longer than anyone can remember, and they will continue long after our own lives are forgotten—but they cannot continue forever. Someday, the cycles must finish. And will they finish with an everlasting day, or a never-ending night?”
Gen-Z Revival Isn’t Happening. Here’s How It Could. Zac Fuller writes from and about Gen-Z. “Whether it’s TikTok-viral Catholic Mass pizza parties or influencers announcing they’ve decided to follow Jesus, many young people in America are reaching for something greater than what they’ve found on their phones. I myself am a son of the internet who came to faith after years of hedonism and selfish ambition that I learned online. While my generation isn’t yet characterized by widespread revival, I think some key aspects of my story offer insight into how the Spirit may be working among my peers.”
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Could Your Devotional Material Be Hindering Your Spiritual Growth? Alistair Chalmers wonders if some devotional material could actually hinder spiritual growth instead of fostering it. “There is a quiet irony in much of modern Christian publishing. We have more devotional material available to us than almost any generation in church history, and yet many Christians know their Bibles less well than previous generations did.”
The Ordinary and Enduring Gifts of the Spirit. William Barcley’s article in Tabletalk does a good job of explaining the ordinary and enduring gifts of the Spirit. “Most of God’s gifts in Scripture are ‘ordinary.’ Every believer has at least one God-given gift, though most have two or more. Moreover, all God-given gifts are to be used to serve the body of Christ, not to build ourselves up.”
When You Cannot Sing, Let the Church Sing for You. There are times when we are too sorrowful to sing, and in such times, it’s a blessing to let the church sing for us. “In that moment at church, the pain I felt mingled with the hope I wanted to have, and I was unable to sing. As I fought to hold back my tears, I let myself simply listen to the strong voices surrounding me. The ache in my heart lessened a bit as I let the truths of the song begin to permeate the thick fog in my mind.”
Pray Them Home – Three Prayers for Prodigal Children. Sarah Walton: “Parents, if you are raising a seemingly hard-hearted, rebellious son or daughter (whether outwardly or inwardly), I challenge you to take up your arms, fight the spiritual battle that rages over them with all of your God-given strength, and refuse to give up on their life. I encourage you to pray these three prayers over lost children.”
Ben Sasse
Ben Sasse continues to uphold Christ’s cause as his cancer progresses. That said, WORLD reports that his tumors have shrunk to an incredible degree. “The disease has metastasized to five systems in his body including his liver and lungs. However, a marker of cancer levels in his blood was down 99% in five months, he said.” However, that is not likely to change his terminal diagnosis.
That headline was drawn from a new interview with Sola Media in which “Ben Sasse and William Inboden join Michael Horton to discuss why Christians might not want to spend their time and energy trying to burn down the current political order online, but instead meet our moment of illiberal policies and politics with civic virtue, ‘little platoons,’ and local communities.”
Meanwhile, Christianity Today has a written interview with him. “Since his pancreatic cancer diagnosis last December, former Nebraska senator and college president Ben Sasse has been proclaiming his steadfast faith in Jesus: to The New York Times, on 60 Minutes, and now, to Christianity Today. He spoke with CT contributor Haley Byrd Wilt, who reported on the US Congress for nine years.”
Flashback
3 Helpful Instructions on Keeping a Journal. When you experience wants or needs or difficulties, or when temptations assault you, turn to the written record of God’s past graces. When you are in any kind of distress it will do your soul good to see how God has faithfully delivered you from similar situations in the past.
If we found on Mars what we find in the womb, there would be no doubt life was discovered.
—Garrett Kell
