Skip to content ↓

A La Carte (March 26)

friday

Good morning! The God of love and peace be with you today.

There are a couple of Kindle deals on the list for now. I’ll look for more in the morning.

There is a pretty clear theme through the different links I bookmarked yesterday and included today. It shouldn’t be hard to spot it…

The Good Name of Our Neighbor

Richard Holdeman cautions against speaking rashly of others. “Fellow believers in the church can be very careless with regard to our good name and reputation. This is especially tempting in a situation in which an individual has sinned or is thought to have sinned.”

Avoid the Hot Takes

Susan Olasky cautions against speaking hastily about current events. “Christians especially should be slow to speak. People are complicated. Explanations that focus only on external factors of race, gender, ethnicity, or legal requirements may miss the motivations that animate individual human beings. The Bible teaches that ‘out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.’”

When You Are Tempted To Think You Are At War With Fellow Christians

Wyatt Graham cautions against thinking you are at war with fellow Christians. “Social media, online communication, and the speed of the news tempt us to vilify each other for clout, sales, or whatever else. Often, however, the real war is the war in heart—it deceives and tempts us.”

Most Discernment Ministries Fail to Follow this Rule (Video)

Todd Friel cautions against discarding an important rule (as many discernment ministries do).

April Fool

Andrée Seu Peterson cautions against improper use of humor. “Skip this column if you have never made a joke you regret. In my house that would be just the cat, although my husband is more admirable than most in this regard. Nor let me diminish his virtue by saying that his sense of humor does not admit of censurable excess.”

Living in Harmony

Keith Kauffman cautions against disharmony. “An unbelieving world is always watching in at the church. It has too often seen division and disunity over minor issues. Let us ask that God grant His church to live in harmony with one another as we love and serve one another, both for His glory and so that the watching world can hear the sweet music of Christians dwelling together in unity.”

Reflections on the Christlike leadership of John Stott

Finally, Rico Tice offers no cautions, but does commend the humility of John Stott. I think you’ll enjoy the anecdotes that illustrate it.

Flashback: How to Pray All Day

Let no obstacle hinder you from coming to God. Though God is in heaven, he will hear your cries from the depths.

Divine providence is never frustrated by Satan in its plan for this world—for the everlasting good of God’s people in the all-satisfying praise of the glory of his grace.

—John Piper

  • A Batch of New Books for Kids

    A Batch of New Books for Kids (and Teens)

    Every month I put together a roundup of new and notable books for grownup readers. But I also receive a lot of books for kids and like to put together the occasional roundup of these books as well. So today I bring you a whole big batch of new books for kids of all ages…

  • A La Carte Thursday 1

    A La Carte (March 28)

    A La Carte: The case against the abortion pill / What I’ve learned about grieving with hope / Heartbreaking deception: teen girls, social media, and body image / Could podcasts save the church from stupidity? / Count it all joy / and more.

  • What God Wants You To Forget

    What God Wants You To Forget

    We are never far from reminding God of our credentials, of providing him with a curriculum vitae that lays out all we are, all we have been through, and all we have accomplished for his sake. We are never far from making the subtle turn from grace to merit, from what is freely given to…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (March 27)

    A La Carte: New music / Millennials and GenZ / Scotland’s new hate crime law / Cate Blanchett, Easter is for you / Why the Reformed pray for revival / What truly happened to Jesus on the cross? / and more.

  • New and Notable Books

    New and Notable Christian Books for March 2024

    As you know, I like to do my best to sort through the new Christian books that are released each month to see what stands out as being not only new, but also particularly notable. I received quite a number of new titles in March and narrowed the list down to the ones below. I…

  • A La Carte Collection cover image

    A La Carte (March 26)

    A La Carte: God delivers from the suffering he ordains / The beautiful partnership of family and church / The end of religious liberty / On whales, menopause, and thanks to God / Ordinary women, extravagant gifts / and more.