Astute readers would have noticed that I posted today’s A La Carte yesterday which means, I suppose, that I’m posting yesterday’s today. How confusing…
Today’s Kindle deals include some classic novels and a number of other books.
(Yesterday on the blog: If God Utters Any Complaint At All)
5 Ways the World Would Be Worse Without Christianity
“In 2007, God Is Not Great, a bestselling book by the late Christopher Hitchens, denounced Christianity as being violent, hateful, and inimical to human flourishing. Today, similar claims are reiterated by those who condemn Christianity as the religion of the oppressor class. Christians are instructed to ‘check their privilege’ and ‘do the work’ to repudiate Christianity’s toxic legacy. But what would the world really be like without Christianity?”
The Power And Pitfall Of Vulnerability
Lara explains the power and the pitfall of vulnerability (both online and in the local church).
An Assessment of Andy Stanley’s Unconditional Conference
These are strong words: “If I wanted to quietly mainstream pro-gay theology and transgender ideology into the evangelical church, I would create this conference. It’s the perfect vehicle.”
The Real War
“Some of us remember when the world’s suffering was relegated to one hour on the nightly news. We watched a sober-faced newscaster recount famines and wars and disasters in far-off places with sorrow in our hearts, and then we returned to a sink full of dishes or our algebra homework and the horror faded as the immediate pressed in. Now, though, we have the internet.” Yes, that was then and this is now.
Remember That You Prayed
There’s an important application in this one: Don’t only pray–also remember that you prayed and what you prayed.
Healing Words or Sword Thrusts?
“If your tongue habitually spews forth words of death in the form of discouragement, anger, or jealousy, then you must realize that it’s a heart issue before it’s a tongue issue. You can try to control the tongue, but it will be driven by what’s in your heart. No amount of self-discipline can kink the hose between what’s in your heart and what comes out of your mouth.”
Flashback: What You Can Take With You Into Eternity
As Job exclaimed in the depths of his misery, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return.” But as J.R. Miller reminds us in this old quote, there actually is one thing we can take with us.
Never think that you have so much to do that you have not much time for prayer. An hour’s work done in the quiet, secret power of the Spirit is worth more than a day of your own efforts. Keep the roots watered.
—Charles Ebert Orr
