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A La Carte (June 4)

Today’s Kindle deals include several Bible study guides that will lead you deeper into the Word.

Logos users won’t want to miss this month’s deal on free and low-cost commentaries.

I don’t know anything about this month’s free book from Christian Audio, but I noticed that there are a couple of good options in their $4.98 list (e.g. Rosaria Butterfield’s new book).

Submission Is a Mark of Maturity

I always enjoy reading Stacy Reaoch: “In our own sinful, independent spirit we think we know better. We are a society that claims rights. As Burger King coined it so well, we like people to tell us “have it your way.” So the idea of acquiescing to someone else rubs most of us the wrong way. Without a Godward focus and remembering the commands of his word, we can easily be swept into the world’s way of claiming our rights and insisting on our own way, no matter what the cost.”

“Go For Broke”: The Story Behind the Most Decorated Military Unit in U.S. History

“In 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain Steve Rogers single-handedly frees captured Allied soldiers from a Nazi base. ‘What, are we taking everybody?’ one soldier asks, referring to another soldier who appears to be Japanese. ‘I’m from Fresno,’ the soldier retorts. The scene was a hat tip to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, an all-Japanese-American regiment that, during World War II, became the most decorated unit in U.S. history—a distinction it still holds.” It’s a great story.

Watch These Cunning Snails Stab and Swallow Fish Whole (Video)

“Cone Snails have an arsenal of tools and weapons under their pretty shells. These reef-dwelling hunters nab their prey in microseconds, then slowly eat them alive.” Nature is bizarre.

How Not to Fight Pornography

“First things first. Do you want to fight pornography? Many who ‘struggle’ really just want to be assured of God’s love for them as they enjoy a love-hate relationship with pornography. Like so many spouses in abusive relationships, they hate pornography, but can’t imagine life without it. They hate what it does to them, but love what it provides: a short-lived moment of escape, a false sense of worth, an unsatisfying feeling of love. But after giving in, guilt sets in. They realize they’ve been dehumanized. Longing for pleasure, they run back to their lover again and again and again. Love never felt so wrong.”

The When, Thens of Life

I enjoyed this reflection on the restlessness we feel. “If we are completely honest with ourselves, most of us are not satisfied with the permanent output of our lives. This is why so many of us, so often, feel so purposeless. This is why so many of us jump from one job to the next, from one church to the next, from one city or school or relationship to the next. We feel like we were made for more, like maybe one day we will eventually find ‘it,’ and yet nothing satisfies, nothing makes us feel fuller, and “it” is always still out there somewhere.”

How Bishop Curry’s Sermon Revealed the Four Evangelical Tribes

David Robertson: “One of the biggest surprises of That Royal Wedding sermon is the way that is has shown up the fault lines within evangelicalism in the West. I have been reflecting on this over the past week and it appears to me that there is a great deal that we can learn from the reactions.”

When Muslims Dream of Jesus

I appreciate the care Darren Carlson put into researching an issue I think we’ve all heard of. “In 2007, Dudley Woodberry and others published a study that recounted interviews with 750 former Muslims who had converted to evangelical Christianity. Many of the reasons they gave for their conversion would be expected—the love of God, a changing view of the Bible, and an attraction to Christians who loved others. But one reason might come as a surprise: the experience of a dream they believed to be from God. These study results aren’t isolated.”

Flashback: 8 Items for Christian Parents to Ponder

Consider this question: If you neglect to instruct your children in the way of holiness, will the devil neglect to instruct them in the way of wickedness?

Being a Christian is less about cautiously avoiding sin than about courageously and actively doing God’s will.

—Eric Metaxas

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