Westminster Books is offering 50% off all Christian Focus titles. Personally, the CF books I treasure most and use with greatest frequency are Nick Needham’s volumes on church history; they are phenomenal and written at just the right level.
The Literal Word Bible app may appeal to you, especially if you’re into Bible study (and/or into the NASB).
Who Owns Your Body?
Andrée Seu Peterson: “Who owns your body? It’s a hot topic today, with actress Alyssa Milano calling for a ‘sex strike’ till legislators agree that women own their own bodies. If you’re a Christian, you know the answer: God owns your body.”
Embracing Our Intellectual Limitations
I have long since learned to embrace (or at least accept) my obvious intellectual limitations, but still found this a helpful challenge. “People should know what they’re good at, what their calling is, and celebrate that they can use their brains to learn more about God’s word, but also not get depressed by the fact that there are people who know more, or that there are limits to what they can learn. We’re not meant to be unlimited; we’re God’s creatures, and we can celebrate that and celebrate the fact that we have an all-powerful, all-knowing saviour.”
Did the Church Decide Which Books Made It into the Bible? (Video)
Michael Kruger explains (and tells about the difference between a thermometer and thermostat) in this video from Ligonier Ministries.
Maringotele, and What She Teaches Little Girls
Here is a story your children might know if they had been raised in a different culture. “As a little girl in the west, the stories you hear are of princesses. Though this trope is being critiqued and perhaps modified, it is still the case that traditionally the girls in these stories are sweet, beautiful, compliant, and often awaiting rescue. They look for the prince in the frog or the Beast and draw these characteristics out of them. What stories do Tanzanian girls hear? What stories are they told?”
The Sexual Revolutionaries Got Sexual Satisfaction All Wrong
This should be no great surprise if you’re paying attention to a) the Bible and b) the fallout of the sexual revolution. “Sexual liberation has all too often brought neither sex nor liberation, and thanks to the work of the IFS, we can respond to felt need with real data. Are you seeking love in this life? The church doors are always open, and while matchmaking isn’t its purpose, the connection to a holy God carries with it connection to his flawed people, and in those connections you can find profound joy.”
We Need Leaders Alert to Dangers from More Than One Direction
Trevin Wax: “My worry today is that evangelical leaders have sharpened their skills in fighting threats to the church that come from only one direction. What’s worse, many evangelicals seem to prefer leaders who will point out the dangers coming from only one direction while never offering a warning or uncovering the blind spots that may originate closer to home.”
When Reason Does Not Suffice: Why Our Culture Still Accepts Abortion
This is well worth reading. “Some people are moved by the force of logic and science. Some others are moved by the obvious charity that Christians show, despite the calumny of our opponents. But most people are not moved. And it behooves us to ask why not. It cannot be that they are bad logicians. It cannot be that they are simply unaware of the charities. It is something else.”
Flashback: The Hardest Sins to Talk About
One of the most difficult things to do is to lovingly confront another person about sin, or—even harder—about what may have been sin. In his excellent book Side by Side, Ed Welch offers some practical counsel on doing this well.
Our obedience is not the grounds of our relationship (with Jesus) but the overflow of it.
—Jared Wilson
