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A La Carte (June 3)

thursday

Good morning. May the Lord bless and keep you today.

Logos users will definitely want to check out this month’s free and nearly free items.

There are lots of excellent biographies on sale in today’s Kindle deals, including Luther, Packer, MLJ, and others.

Going Beyond Clouds That Hide the View

This is a good one. “Gloom is part of my life, shadowy and rainy. But so is brightness. My clouds at times stormy, other times reflective seem to melt away as if the sun’s rays filter through each molecule of my being and sadness dissipates. I get impatient for dreary moods to lift. I’m not sure I like being a cloudy person.”

Having Confidence in Prayer

Here are three important lessons about prayer based on the life of Elijah.

Looking For Help With Cross-Cultural Church Planting?

If you are looking to planting churches among the remaining unreached people groups, consider Radius International to help you or your church with that. Radius International offers pre-field mission training for workers headed to plant churches among the unreached language groups. (Sponsored Link)

Do Not Swear?

George Sinclair: “James 5:12 says that you should not swear. What does that mean? How do you figure out what it means? Is the question even a big deal? Here are three ways to understand what ‘do not swear’ means.”

How to Abide When Serving God is Harder Than You Expected

“It was a surreal moment when my foot finally landed on the dusty African soil. All my nine-year-old childhood dreams had finally been realized, as my husband and I were about to start an exciting adventure of sharing the gospel with unreached people in Tanzania. At first, the thrill of the new adventure supplied the energy we needed to adjust…”

Is God for Us?

“I often hear people say, ‘God wants good for me.’ ‘Okay, sure, absolutely. I can agree.’ Here’s the rub. What is ‘good’? That’s where I believe we differ. I don’t believe God’s perspective of ‘good’ is the same as ours. God’s ‘good’ does not necessitate health here on earth. God’s ‘good’ does not necessitate a lack of birth defects, financial blessing, intelligence, godly spouse, etc. While we may be blessed to experience some of these things, God’s “goodness” does not necessitate it.”

Christianity Is the Best Explanation for Reality

“If someone asked you how you know Christianity is true, how would you answer them? Would you appeal to your transformed life, the witness of miracles, or apologetic arguments?” Alan Shlemon replies.

Flashback: The Cost of Radical Generosity

You can’t keep up with the Joneses when you’re committed to radical generosity, and I think that’s exactly how God intends it.

Your soul will wither and die without your Bible. Approach it desperately.

—Matt Smethurst

  • Quiet Time

    The Quiet Time Kickstart

    We are all people of habits. To some degree, we are always battling to establish good habits while battling to supplant bad ones. This is true of us in many different areas of life and most certainly true in our spiritual lives. In fact, some have argued that when we describe the way we relate…

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    A La Carte (January 16)

    A La Carte: Why don’t we read the Bible more? / Did David rape Bathsheba? / To (almost) die is gain / Learn to pray the Bible / When you’re close to burnout / Called to freedom / and more.

  • How To Obtain a Plenary Indulgence in 2025

    How To Obtain a Plenary Indulgence in 2025

    I think we can sometimes fool ourselves into believing that the Reformation caused the Roman Catholic Church to abandon some, most, or all of the doctrine that was so concerning to the Reformers. We can sometimes believe that the Catholicism of today is materially different from that of the 16th century or that it has…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (January 15)

    A La Carte: iPhones, idolatry, and evil spirits / At my mother’s deathbed / Nothing to do but pray / Bible study tips for beginners / Jesus did condemn homosexuality / Please don’t sing “Imagine” at funerals / Kindle and book deals.

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (January 14)

    A La Carte: Narcissus in public / A famous poet, KFC, and peace with my past / Does empowerment come from boudoir photoshoots? / Surrendering them to God / Sermon prep / Your plans for this year / and more.

  • 10 Reasons to Teach the Bible’s Big Truths to Children

    📖 Why teach children the big truths of the Bible? Moses commanded Israel to gather everyone—men, women, and little ones—to hear God’s law. Why? So they could “hear and learn to fear the Lord.” (Deut. 31:12-13) Children need the deep, rich truths of Scripture to know God, embrace the Gospel, and build a faith that…