Good morning. Grace and peace to you. Whether you’re in Canada and catching up after Canada Day, in the U.S. and catching up after Independence Day, or somewhere else entirely, I trust you are enjoying the blessing of belonging to the Lord and living your life for his glory. What a privilege he gives us!
Sales & Deals
As usual for a Monday, there are some good Kindle deals from Crossway. This week, they include some slightly more theological texts by authors like G. K. Beale and T. Desmond Alexander. I have redesigned the page a bit to hopefully make it more useful.
Recommended Reading
Theoretical Christian Living. Reagan Rose is concerned about the lack of practical instruction in the Christian world. “Last year I heard a pastor say, ‘Evangelicals are allergic to the practical.’ The phrase stuck with me, because my ministry gives me a front-row seat to that aversion. Christians who otherwise love biblical teaching often react badly the moment you get specific about application. We like principles. But when it comes to the doing, we get skittish.”
Why (and How) to Avoid Spicy Books. I have heard a few people express how difficult it is to find fiction that is not “spicy,” which is to say, full of sexual content. “The cover was innocent enough: a horse-drawn carriage gliding across the snow. I can’t remember the title or the author, only that my conservative, Christian grandfather gave me this book after buying it at Costco. He had no idea he was handing a 15-year-old girl smut, and despite knowing better, I had no intention of putting it down once my curious teenage flesh realized its contents.”
The Best Man in Hell. Jacob introduces you to the best man in hell. “Meet John. John is a good guy. He’s honest, trustworthy, and kind. John has never cheated on an exam, on his taxes, or on his wife. John has two kids that he loves. He has a great relationship with both. John is also a great employee. He worked at the same job for 35 years, employee of the year three times. He plays an important role in his community. He helps out at the youth center and busies himself cleaning the local park on the weekends. John is known all around town as an upstanding citizen. As we look into the future, John lives a long and happy life. And when John dies, he’ll be the best man in hell.”
The Call to Pursue Purity and Faithfulness to Christ Doesn’t End in Your 60s, 70s, and 80s. Randy Alcorn speaks to older folk to remind them to continue to be vigilant against sin. “In recent years, many cases of immoral relationships of Christian leaders, including those I have spoken with at various events, have happened with men in their seventies. Since I am 72, I take that very seriously. It should make all of us carefully examine our lives and take heed to Paul’s warning, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). And Proverbs 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” God help us all to guard our hearts and minds and be on alert because the devil desires to destroy us.”
Taught in the Valley. Alistair Chalmers: “There are lessons God teaches us in the valley that we rarely learn on the mountain top. I wish that were not true. I wish there were easier ways to learn dependence, humility, endurance, compassion and prayer. I wish sanctification could happen without tears, weakness, sleepless nights, hospital appointments, unanswered questions and bodies that do not work as we want them to. But many of us know, not merely in theory but in experience, that suffering has a way of exposing what we really believe about God. For me, this is not an abstract theological issue.”
The Body of Christ is Disabled. Cody Watson wants us to remember that people with disabilities are just as much a part of Christ’s body as anyone else. “When a church is missing a part of the local body, whether it is someone’s gifting or someone who is part of the body but does not have access to attend or serve, then the whole body can be disabled. Currently, there is a large group of both believers and prospects who are missing from local bodies of believers: the disabled.”
Headlines
Here are a couple of interesting headlines from the mainstream media.
A Devastated Generation. Canada’s National Post has an article expressing a concern that goes far beyond Canada: That anti-family propaganda has devastated a generation of women. “A generation of women were indoctrinated to believe that pregnancy was a burden, only to be undertaken after fully self-actualizing, and with full awareness that it could be a career ending move. As a result, there is a growing divide between men and women when it comes to desire to have children.”
76,475 Dead. The Washington Post reports the likelihood that the Government of Canada will decline to further expand the availability of euthanasia in the year ahead to those whose sole condition is psychiatric. The headline says it all: With 76,475 dead, Canada appears to find its line on euthanasia.
Flashback
4 Marks of a Godly Husband’s Love. How is a husband to love his wife? What is the kind of love that he owes her? I am tracking here with Richard Phillips as he explains in his new commentary on Ephesians.
The leader cannot spend time on secondary matters while essential obligations scream for attention. A day needs careful planning. The person who wants to excel must select and reject, then concentrate on the most important items.
—J. Oswald Sanders
