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A La Carte (May 28)

thursday

Sometimes I have business ideas I don’t want to take action on. Like this: the Christian world needs a company that will connect advertisers and podcasters. Tons of people want to podcast, but there’s no seamless path to monetization. Someone ought to figure it out.

Today’s Kindle deals include just a few titles.

(Yesterday on the blog: The Safest Place for the Weakest People)

Turning the Other Cheek

Michael Aitcheson: “Jesus’ command to turn the other cheek (Matt. 5:38) probably strikes many of us as odd, at least at first. At best, it seems that Jesus is advocating neutrality from the victimized, and at worst it seems that He would have them welcome more harm. A closer look will show a Christ-centered understanding of the believer’s call to be free from a heart of revenge when wronged by others.”

The Coronavirus Crisis as a Wilderness Experience

“To what might we compare this unexpected and unsettling coronavirus season? We might think of it like ‘Groundhog Day’: a repeating monotony of locked-down life. We might think of it like the holding pattern of an aircraft coming in to land: an interminable period of waiting—like that of refugees waiting for a safe place to call home.” This article argues that we should think of it as a wilderness experience.

Dear Worthless Cockroach

Tony Payne answers an excellent question: “Is there anything about me (as myself, as the person I am apart from God’s saving grace) that is actually worthwhile or lovable? Am I just a worthless, sinful cockroach that God has chosen to love? And if so, am I wrong to feel bad or uneasy about this? To feel (as I sometimes do) that underneath everything, I really am pretty worthless and unlovable?”

Still Growing

Melissa reflects on 21 years of marriage and how she and her husband have grown up along the way.

Churches’ Rights and Responsibilities When Reopening in the Pandemic

Church leaders will benefit from reading this article from 9Marks. “Having represented churches around the country throughout this pandemic as they stood up to religious discrimination, we have frequently been asked to share our thoughts on what churches’ rights and responsibilities are as they consider reopening. Although much of this discussion focuses on what legal rights and responsibilities churches have as they transition into this new phase, it is critical to keep in mind that just because something is legal to do (even under our Constitution) does not always mean that it is wise to do.”

What Are God’s Purposes in a Recession?

Could God actually have good purposes even in a recession? John Piper offers an answer. “God is sovereign, which is why you can speak in terms of purposes. God is sovereign over these things. He foresees them all. He causes or permits them all. And when he foresees and he causes or permits, it is always by design. So, whatever comes to pass comes to pass by God’s design, however it comes to pass.”

4 Ways Paul Encourages Us to Love the Church (Even When It’s Hard)

“The church has more beauty—and more value—than we can see with physical eyes. Like the Old Testament tabernacle that was covered on the outside with ram’s skins and goat hair but ornamented inside with gold and silver, the ordinary-looking church is actually much more than it seems.”

Flashback: The Tone Deaf Singer

You can be utterly tone deaf and sing beautiful music in the ear of God when the gospel is dwelling richly within and when you are singing to exult in the Savior.

Afflictions are continued no longer than till they have done their work.

—Matthew Henry

  • When God Plants an Acorn

    When God Plants an Acorn, He Means an Oak

    We stood together on the crest of a hill, a gentle breeze rustling the meadow around our feet. The fields ran gently downward until they met a creek that gurgled happily in its course. A few years prior, an acorn had somehow made its way to the highest point of this hill, carelessly dropped there…

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    A La Carte (April 28)

    A La Carte: Protestantism’s Catholic converts / How healthy is your pursuit of health? / God’s special calling on your life / Considering a Christian university? / Testing the teachings of Catholicism / Kindle deals / and more.

  • New and Notable

    New and Notable Christian Books for April 2025

    It is surprisingly difficult to find a list of Christian books that have been released in any given month—especially if you want that list to be filtered by books released through particular publishers. That’s one of the reasons why I close each month by coming up with my list of New and Notable books. I…

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    Weekend A La Carte (April 26)

    A La Carte: Every pinch of pain has purpose / China closed Christian bookstores / Watch for the thing after the thing / For everything there is a time / Showers of blessing / What Pope Francis can teach us about preaching / and more.

  • What Makes You Beautiful

    What Makes You Beautiful

    I have often thought of a conversation that took place when my girls were little. Abby was perhaps 5 or 6 at the time and Michaela just working her way through the “terrible twos” (which for our kids always happened when they were three or four). A stranger saw me interacting with them one day…