Good morning. The God of peace be with you on this fine day.
Sales & Deals
Today’s Kindle deals include several titles from P&R’s The Gospel in the Old Testament series. You’ll find lots of other good options as well.
Westminster Books has a great deal on the new (second) volume of John Calvin’s Illustrated Institutes.
Stay tuned for a list of deals from Amazon’s Prime Days. There are often good deals to be had on books, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for those.
Recommended Reading
Murder in Disguise. Carl Trueman: “What is it that haunts the nightmares of parents of children with disabilities—with cerebral palsy, let’s say, or, given our psychologized times, perhaps even a propensity towards depression? I discovered the answer in a recent conversation with a friend who has a son with Down syndrome. It is the fear that when the parents pass away, the child will become vulnerable to state-enforced euthanasia.”
The Design of Feet on Display at the World Cup. I appreciate what Emily Reeves points out in this article: That the true star of the World Cup is the human foot and its remarkable design. “The human foot is beautiful and versatile. Dance shows off its beauty, and football, aka soccer, its multifunctionality. The most famous plays in the sport’s history would not be possible without the amazing ability of the foot to reconfigure, stiffen, become flexible, tilt inwards and outwards, and pivot right or left.”
Sovereignty and My Murdered Friend. John Piper addresses a really difficult issue in this episode of Ask Pastor John. “Pastor John, I’m a high school student. A girl who was my close teammate and her mother were recently brutally murdered. People say this was ‘her time’ or ‘God’s will,’ but I don’t understand how this can be true. The murderer’s actions were obviously sinful, violating God’s commands like ‘You shall not murder’ (Exodus 20:13). If their choices were evil, how could this tragedy be God’s plan? How does God’s sovereign will operate alongside human sin, especially when it leads to such profound suffering? How can I reconcile this and turn to the Lord for comfort and understanding in my grief?”
Where Are the Young Men? Ministry and the Crisis of Formation. This article takes as its starting point that fewer young men seem to be pursuing careers in ministry, then goes in an interesting direction. “The problem is not that no young men are considering the ministry. The problem is deeper and more complicated. The shortage of young men entering ministry is not simply a recruitment problem. It is a formation problem. Before the church asks why fewer young men are becoming pastors, we may need to ask why fewer young men are being formed into men capable of embracing costly, durable, public, spiritual responsibility.”
Raising Kids in the Faith Is Simpler Than You May Think. Joe Carter looks at the results of a new study about children who retain the faith of their parents. “A new report finds that the single biggest factor in whether children keep the faith isn’t their church, their youth group, or their peers but their parents. The more surprising finding is what works at home, and how often well-meaning Christian parents get it backward.”
We Are the Witnesses. “Only a few hours earlier, I had joined a large crowd at a church just a few blocks from our home. We gathered there to be witnesses to grief as a heartbroken mother and father followed their son’s casket out of the church to the graveyard. He was only twenty-two years old, and the sadness poured out of our swollen eyes, like a steady rain in the middle of the night. I wonder if our shared tears will help fill in the dry spaces for his parents in a few weeks or a year from now. I don’t know what it’s like to lose a child, but I do know the importance of standing as a witness to pain, and I think we all felt the significance of the moment in front of us.”
True Manhood
I’ve often appreciated this quote by F.B. Meyer, which he addresses those who feel that they could do more for the Lord if only their circumstances were different. He insists that each of us is in exactly the right circumstances to serve to our greatest capacity.
If, my brother, you could have reached your truest manhood as an emperor or a reformer, as a millionaire or a martyr, you would have been born into one of those positions; but since you are only a servant, a bank clerk, or an ordinary businessman, you will find right beside you the materials and possibilities of a great life. If, my sister, you could have attained to the loftiest development of your nature by being a mother, or a rich man’s wife, or a queen, you would have found yourself placed there; but since your lot is that of a milliner’s assistant, factory hand, or toiling mother, you must believe that, somewhere within your reach, if only you will search for them, you will discover the readiest conditions of a noble and useful life.
Flashback
Being the Best You Can Be. Remember that whatever he has given you is a gift from the hand of the King. Far be it from you to reject his gift and demand someone else’s.
We may never know the treacherous journey people have taken to land in the pew next to us.
—Rosaria Butterfield
