A La Carte (November 4)

Sales & Deals

Some of today’s noteworthy Kindle deals include Al Mohler’s reader-friendly commentary on Hebrews, Shelby Abbott’s guide to help students deal with stress, and Marty Machowski’s family Christian devotional.

Recommended Reading

Discerning Between Godly and Worldly Grief. I think we all sometimes have to try to determine whether a person is displaying godly grief or worldly grief. Sam Crites offers three marks to help us make that determination.

Harvest in Fearful Times. Here’s Melissa Edgington on trusting the Lord with an uncertain future. “I’ve seen various types of hand-wringing over the past week about governments and militaries and potential power grid disruptions. I watched one video, and then social media began showing me a different side of the internet, where cowboy hat-wearing men hand out ‘top secret insider knowledge’ from the front seat of their pickup trucks. In fact, I saw individuals from all sides of the political spectrum worrying out loud about how much water they should have on hand, how many weeks’ worth of prescriptions, how many canned goods and what types of communication devices would be best.”

Can I Love My Enemies While Addressing Wrongs and Protecting Myself? “Practically speaking, how then should we demonstrate godly love for our enemies—the kind of love that redeems and restores instead of perpetuating sin and injustice? Let’s consider three implications of godly love that help answer this question…” Jeremy Oliver offers counsel on a sensitive matter.

Is Missions Too Costly for Kids? I think a lot of people wonder whether life on the mission field could cost their children too much. Jessica B. writes from experience. “Are my children also called to this? As a mama missionary, I wonder about our fitness for the task when our family of eight clogs airport security and labors in language study and ministry like a well-meaning circus. Will my kids catch a deadly virus from the airport carpet? Will beans be lunch every day? How can we possibly replace years spent with grandparents and a vibrant children’s church? Will they become healthy adults when this calling cuts not only us but them?”

How AI Brought a Mathematician to Ecclesiastes. This is an especially interesting article from Alan Noble. “Nobody—not even the most informed futurist—knows the effect AI will have on careers in the future. Some predict we’ll mostly adapt and find new vocations. Some predict we’ll all be living lives of leisure in a hyper-abundant economy while robots do all the labor. But if I had to guess, I’d predict that some people are going to have at least some of their valuable labor replaced by AI in the near future. And when that happens, people will have a crisis of meaning.”

Don’t Stock the Pantry With Temptation. Darryl Dash warns against stocking the pantry with temptation. “We are used to preparing for almost everything. We prepare our clothes, our food, our vacations, and more. Paul is saying that whatever you do, do not prepare to sin. Instead, actively take steps to cut temptation out of your life. Deliberately arrange your life so that sinful desires are harder to satisfy. Avoid certain environments. Put a filter on your phone. Cancel that streaming service. Throw away those books. Cut out influences that tempt you toward sin.”

Headlines

Here are just a couple of interesting headlines from Christian news outlets.

Christianity Today reports that Churches Face a Shortage of Worship Leaders. “A growing shortage of worship leaders has researchers, educators, and pastors wondering if it’s time to rethink music ministry recruitment and preparation.” Maybe some churches will ask whether they actually need a worship leader, since I have often wondered whether it’s a necessity for many of them.

Across the pond, Evangelical Times considers the government’s proposal to ban conversion therapy and says Secular Press Wakes Up to the Danger of Labour’s Plan to Criminalise Conversion. “For months, indeed for years, Christians and others concerned about freedom of speech have warned that the government’s proposed ban on so-called conversion practices could criminalise ordinary conversations, parental responsibilities and the everyday ministry of churches. Those warnings have too often been dismissed as scaremongering. Now, however, some of Britain’s leading newspapers are beginning to recognise the danger.”

Flashback

Why It Matters that We Call the Final Book of the Bible Revelation, not Revelations. The book of Revelation is in fact The Revelation of Jesus Christ. What follows that opening word is a single and definitive revelation, not a series of them.