Grace and peace to you today!
Today’s Kindle deals are highlighted by Al Mohler’s A Gathering Storm.
(Yesterday on the blog: Drowning in an Ocean of Encouragement)
I’m Playing My Harmonica For You
This is a wonderful tribute to one of God’s saints. “I admire the way that she cared for her family. She bloomed right where she was planted, and made it her mission in life to create the fertile soil for her family to flourish as well. Then, she passed along that maternal message to a younger generation of women at the verge of marriage and career.”
Contracts and Covenants
What do you do when the culture you’re speaking to has no notion of a covenant? “‘The only thing we use the word covenant for is Jihad. That’s it.’ I shook my head, feeling simultaneously the joy of deeper insight into the local culture and not a little corresponding trepidation. We are trying to church plant in a culture whose only understanding for covenant looks like Al Qaeda.”
Lemuel Haynes and The Right Preaching of Justice
Jared Wilson holds up Lemuel Haynes as a model of the right preaching of justice. “Right now in American evangelicalism we are experiencing a great balkanization, some of which involves fracture lines along issues of social justice or racial reconciliation. One would think we’d be beyond the concerns addressed in more rudimentary terms in colonial America. But here we are. And our preaching must take the timeless Word into our troubled world.”
How Is Christianity’s Message of Salvation Different from Other Religions? (Video)
Stephen Nichols answers in a brief video.
Not Born Ready: Why Jesus Went to High-Priest Training School
“When it came to being our high priest, Jesus wasn’t born ready. He was born as a helpless infant who needed to grow in wisdom and stature. True, the incarnation was absolutely necessary for us to be saved, since our high priest needed to be human to represent us. But sinners like don’t just need saving; we also need sympathy. And sympathy requires experience that Baby Jesus (or Teenage Jesus, for that matter) didn’t yet have.”
The Rest Of The Story
“What happened? In the unknown, we wonder. What’s the rest of the story? A specific encounter comes to mind. One seemingly orchestrated. Timely. A divine appointment with gospel flowing. And genuine interest on her part. Hunger to know. In fact, she relates a series of events. That have brought her to this point. This place. Sitting in my Karachi living room.”
Flashback: The Cherubim Cheered the Loudest
…there is still someone, between God and man. It is no longer a cherubim but a human being. He is no longer threatening you with a sword and warning you away but he is inviting you to come.
Generosity is at the heart of true productivity in all areas of life.
—Matt Perman
