The Lord be with you and bless you today, my friends.
(Yesterday on the blog: Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God)
Sexual ethics and colonialism for the modern age
This article considers the strange contradictions between society’s hatred of an old form of colonialism and its love of a new one.
The Miracle In Newgate
“The gentle, kindly face of Elizabeth Fry was chosen by the Bank of England to grace the £5 note between 2002 and 2016, reflecting the high regard in which she continues to be held almost two hundred years after her death. Through her work as a prison reformer the lives of thousands of convicts were transformed. Yet that was just one part of her far-ranging ministry which is still influential today. At the heart of her thinking and practice was the regular reading of the Bible.”
Submit Your Felt Reality to God
“A number of years ago, a counselor friend of mine introduced a simple and accessible concept that he regularly uses in his practice. He calls it ‘felt reality.’” This is a good and useful term!
The Return of the Culture War
“Here’s something you often hear people say as they get older: ‘I remember the last time that was popular.’ Fashions once considered outdated come back in style. Movements arise and subside, and then surge again. A benefit of age is the wisdom and perspective you bring to the current moment. History doesn’t always repeat itself or move in predictable cyclical patterns, but the more you study it and the longer you live, the more you see how the present and the past rhyme.” With that, Trevin Wax reflects on the return of the culture war.
It Rots the Bones
“Many months ago, I received an email from a dear, faithful reader, asking for help. Her life was quickly unraveling, and in the midst of persistent heartache, she had fallen headlong into envy. Jealousy towards a woman in her church, whose life seemed quite perfect. This jealousy was destroying her, from the inside out. Envy is the thief of contentment, isn’t it? It reveals an idol tucked in the heart.” It does, indeed.
Charles Spurgeon’s Battle with Depression
“Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892) preached to approximately 10 million people in his lifetime, often speaking ten times a week. His 3,561 sermons are bound in sixty-three volumes, and in addition he wrote many books. Wonderful as those accomplishments were, they put demands on his life that no doubt contributed to his battles with depression. (Not least of all that he often worked eighteen hours a day!)”
Flashback: The Benefits and Drawbacks of Following a Parenting Method
We, as parents, can and should learn from methods, but be very cautious about following them too rigidly. We must always ensure our confidence in parenting has not subtly shifted from the goodness of God to the performance of methodology.
Happy the man within reach of a library, the shelves of which are well lined with books of holy biography!
—F.B. Meyer
