Good morning. The Lord be with you and bless you today.
Westminster Books has cut the price on a neat new resource: the ESV Spiral-Bound Journaling Bible. It is also worth taking a look at their large selection of Clearance Titles.
The Golden Rule for Hard Conversations
It can be hard to know if, when, and how to have those hard conversations with others. Casey McCall offers some wise counsel here. “I’m sure we’ve all seen the harm in overzealousness in this area. Some folks seem too eager to obey such commands and look for the tiniest cracks in someone else’s character. However, far more common is hesitancy to speak at all. It’s not really our business, we reason. Who wants to risk making someone angry at us?”
Seven Reasons You Shouldn’t Ignore Beauty
“It can be all too easy to ignore beauty, treating it as frivolous. Isn’t character what matters most? Doesn’t God judge based on what’s inside rather than appearances?” Even if this is true, we should still value beauty, as Andrew Noble explains.
The Early Church on Entertainment (Video)
This is an interesting video in which Gavin Ortlund looks to the early church to find guidance for our entertainment. There’s lots to learn.
A Thousand Wheels of Providence
“As you pray for the Lord to remove the trial because you do not see how it could be doing you any good, remember he may not stop that wheel because doing so would stop the blessing of countless other believers. If he answers your prayer and ends your trial, he has already accomplished his purpose and set the needed wheels in motion. If he does not, he still has more wheels to spin.”
The Uselessness of Prayer
Is prayer useless? Of course not. But it can sometimes feel that way. “Why do this hard work? Especially when it doesn’t seem useful? Because God is bigger than us. When we pray, we’re not in the realm of results and statistics, ‘trade-offs’ and ‘metrics’ and ‘measures.’ We’re not in a world of success and failure. Prayer is training us to look up to the God whose first and greatest commandment is to love him with our whole heart, mind, and soul. You cannot measure or quantify that goal. You can only give yourself over to that desire and direction.”
Impossible, Hard, and Easy
“The Christian life and ministry have something in common. Both are impossible, hard, and easy at the same time.” Darryl Dash explains what he means by this.
Flashback: With Blistered Hands and Aching Backs
They knew their salvation was complete because here, in this new land, the waves could not reach them and the storm could not threaten them. They had reached a haven. They were safe. They were saved.
There are few places where many words are more unfit, than in the presence of grief. A warm pressure of the hand, a word or two of strong sympathy, and a quiet heart’s prayer to God for help, will give the truest comfort.
—J.R. Miller
