Good morning. May the Lord be with you and bless you today.
Today’s Kindle deals include another great big list. There’s a highly-recommended reader-friendly commentary on Philippians, a book for spouses to learn to pray together, Al Mohler’s look at Jesus’ parables, and much more.
(Yesterday on the blog: The Pastoral Prayer: Examples and Inspirations)
Our Greatest Tool for Reaching the West Again
Aaron Armstrong: “We need to keep sharing the gospel, but we also need to point to the evidence of its truthfulness. How can we prove it? In one sense, it’s impossible to satisfy a person’s questions or doubts about the truthfulness of the gospel message (at least until they experience it). But we can point to one thing in particular as proof: our fellowship with one another.”
Ordained or Allowed?
A lot of people wonder whether God ordains or allows bad things to happen. Reflecting on the loss of her son, Donna Evans says both are true.
If the Twin Towers Fell After Twitter
It is an interesting thought experiment to consider how 9/11 would have been different if Twitter had existed at the time. “For a time, 9/11 brought everyone together. You saw American flags everywhere. On bumpers. In gardens. On television. I didn’t grow up in a vociferously patriotic family, but we were still caught up in a sense of solidarity with our nation. I saw a rush of patriotism that overwhelmed partisanship, and even as a teenager, I knew this was something unusual, something beautiful and even good.” That would probably not be the case today.
Sorting the Silver
Andrea Sanborn has a word of encouragement for the misfits. “Are you one of the awkward ones, a misfit wondering what your purpose could be? Have you been sorted and labeled by a world that would rather you stay out of sight? Are you overlooked and unpolished?”
How to “Get Over it” When You Taught Poorly
If you have ever taught or preached poorly, you will benefit from this word on getting over it. “You are sitting on your couch on Sunday night at 10 pm, feeling pretty crummy about your sermon from earlier in the day. Or you are just home from the Tuesday afternoon Bible study you led that was as flat as the terrain along I-70 in Illinois. You feel like you failed. What can you do in order to get over it?”
Divine Immutability Explained (Video)
In this explainer video, Kevin DeYoung briefly explains the doctrine of divine immutability.
Flashback: Are You a Peacemaker or a Troublemaker?
Are you a son of God in making peace, or are you a son of the devil in undermining or destroying peace? The clear calling for those who have come to peace with God is to make peace like God.
Some Christians want enough of Christ to be identified with him but not enough to be seriously inconvenienced.
—D.A. Carson
