A La Carte (June 22)

Sales & Deals

Today’s Kindle deals include In the Lord I Take Refuge by Dane Ortlund, Turn Your Eyes by Winfree Brisley, and several other good picks from Crossway.

Spydle

Do you enjoy simple but satisfying games? If so, you should check out Spydle, which my friend Stephen and I have collaborated on. It’s as simple as it gets: Look at a very zoomed-in picture and guess what it is. If you get it wrong, it zooms out. Check it out at playspydle.com.

Recommended Reading

Why This Temptation? For the Glory of God. Gareth Simpson: “Because God allows temptation, he must have an excellent purpose for doing so. God is always at work for our good and his glory. He wants us to know, trust, and obey him; temptation, on the other hand, is the offer to reject God’s loving purpose for us. When we reject temptation—as Job did—and rest in God’s sovereignty, God’s name is more glorified than if we had never been tempted. The ultimate temptation is to be satisfied in something other than God; to doubt God’s goodness. To glorify God’s name is to give him the preeminent place in our hearts. It is to allow Jesus to be Lord of our lives.”

Running Out of Time. This is quite an interesting reflection from Brad Littlejohn about the reality that many of life’s most important accomplishments cannot be rushed. “In every field of human accomplishment, it is only the sustained, painful application of effort over a very long period of time that can produce skill or mastery.”

Let Me Dwell in Your Tent Forever. Wes Bredenhof discusses why it’s so unusual that David would say, “Let me dwell in your tent forever.” “Have you ever been told that a certain spot is a ‘safe place’? It’s a buzzword in our culture. A safe place is often thought of as somewhere you can safely express yourself without fear of judgment. But sometimes a safe place is also somewhere you don’t have to be afraid of physical harm. If you’re afraid of someone or something, you don’t have to be afraid in a safe place. They can’t hurt you there. Have you ever been so afraid that you wished you had a safe place?”

The Mirage of the Influencer–Pastor. Sam Hyeong Rae Jo offers a lot to ponder in this article about what Carl Trueman refers to as “Gig Eva.” “In recent years, the evangelical landscape has undergone a seismic shift no longer confined to North America. We have moved from an era of large, stable institutions toward a decentralized, digital-first world of individual content creators. Although this phenomenon is often discussed in an American context, it has become a global crisis, accelerated by the borderless nature of the digital age. Across the world, the center of gravity is shifting from the objective life of the church to the subjective personality of the leader.”

Seven Marks of Growing Disciples. Afshin Ziafat offers seven key marks of growing disciples. “Since spiritual maturity is a process and not a destination, we need to know we are on the right path. Even though we will never get to the top of the mountain in this life, we need markers to guide us along the way. To that end, our church has identified seven characteristics of a maturing disciple.”

What It Means That Christ Is Praying for You Today. We should probably give more time to pondering the amazing reality that Jesus Christ is praying for us. “Through the cross and resurrection, Christ has crushed sin’s dominion. He has shattered the chains of death, led a host of captives free (Ephesians 4: 8), and triumphed over every power and authority. Paul tells the Romans, ‘Christ Jesus died and was raised and is now seated at the right hand of God.’ Unlike us, sitting down doesn’t mean He’s grabbing the remote and kicking up His feet. His sitting signifies something far more profound…”

Recommendations

Last week, I asked you to tell me what you recommend, then shared it in Weekend A La Carte (be sure to check it out). I really enjoyed that feature and would like to do it again.

So let me know what you are enjoying and would recommend to other readers. It could be a book, an article, a product, or anything else. I will compile some of them and share them on the weekend. Just fill out this form to share what’s bringing you joy these days—and what might bring joy to others. (The form won’t appear in the email newsletter, so you’ll need to click through to fill it out.)

Flashback

The Thing About Light and Momentary. Even as our suffering is excruciating it is also light and even while it feels endless it is also momentary. To understand this we must engage our faith and move forward in time—forward beyond time.