We’ve just about come to the end of another week! Be sure to check in over the weekend for some think pieces and reader recommendations tomorrow, followed by some enjoyable, uplifting, and just-right-for-Sunday content the morning after.
Sales & Deals
Today’s Kindle deals include the excellent Isaiah by the Day by Alec Motyer along with a couple of biographies.
Recommended Reading
You Must Go On. You Can’t Go On. You Will Go On. Marc Sims: “You have hit the wall. Your resources have been spent. Small, so very small, you have become: a dry, delicate leaf, curled inward. But what you must do—the very thing that has so hollowed you out—remains. You must still be a parent, a spouse, a church member, an employee, a friend. You must. But the responsibility has been so overwhelming—you had no idea it would be this hard. What you must do begins to feel like some old, pagan god: stone-faced, unmoved by your confessions of weakness. It demands more. But you have no more to give. But you must. But you cannot. What do you do?”
Am I Good Enough? I know many people who battle to be good enough and who, therefore, would benefit from reading Bethany Broderick’s article. “No matter what stage I was in or how much effort I put in, the feeling was always the same at the end of the day: it still wasn’t enough. There was always something more I should have done or done better. Maybe your story looks different from mine, but I imagine you’ve felt like you’re falling short of expectations—from the people around you, from your own inner voice, or even from what you think God expects of you.”
Ligonier Pastors’ Pre-Conference in Ontario. Faithful ministry requires perseverance. On November 6, join Ligonier Ministries in Southern Ontario for Standing Firm in the Truth, a pastors’ pre-conference event reflecting on Paul’s second letter to Timothy. We’ll consider the Apostle’s charge to endure adversity, guard the gospel, and faithfully preach the Word in and out of season. Registration also includes FREE admission to Ligonier’s regional conference on November 6–7. (Sponsored)
Pause AI for Humanity’s Sake. Amid all the growing concerns about the power of AI, Peggy Noonan advocates for pausing some parts of its development. “AI professionals always speak of when RSI ‘arrives’ or ‘comes,’ but RSI isn’t a natural or unstoppable evolution. It was a decision. The big AI companies decided the past few years to go down that road, and appear to be well along on it. The question now isn’t how to ensure that humans can exercise some control over AI systems in the future; it is how to ensure that humans maintain complete control of those systems.”
Where Is God When Sleep Won’t Come? Like Charisse Compton, I have waged a long battle with insomnia (though lately I have been experiencing a bit of a respite). She writes about trusting the Lord with her trial. “It’s difficult to overstate just how desperate I felt when I’d still be awake at 4:00am, 5:00am, and then 6:00am when the alarm would sound and the day would officially begin. Many nights I despaired. But then slowly, over time, a surprising thing happened: God trained me, as he has countless others of his children, to ‘kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.’”
A Three-Read Method for Understanding Scripture. I love reading how different people engage with God’s Word. The Beholding Method sounds like a promising one: “The method goes like this: read the same passage three separate times, with each read addressing a different set of questions. The first pass will be for meaning, the second for beauty, and the third for obedience. Each pass will build on the one before it.” Give it a read and perhaps then give it a try.
I’m a Pastor’s Wife. Here’s Our Rules for Marriage. Heidi Tai responds to a horrific Netflix documentary by telling the rules that she and her husband, a pastor, adhere to in their marriage. “As a pastor’s wife myself for over 14 years, I felt compelled to respond to the documentary by clarifying what the Bible actually says is a safe and godly marriage. This list of our ‘marriage rules’ is not exhaustive, but I hope it paints a picture of what mutual love, respect, and submission looks like in a marriage which seeks to honour Jesus.”
The Funnies
My friend Chris Martin maintains a Substack called The Funnies, and every Saturday he shares a few fun and silly things he found on the internet—something I see as a modern equivalent of the comics pages that used to be in every newspaper. I asked him to share a couple with you.
Flashback
The Ministry of Presence. The local church doesn’t need people of outsized talents or rare abilities as much as it needs normal people with full-out commitment.
God’s kindness is called Jesus. When we look at Jesus, we see God’s character; we see his kindness in coming to and for those who had chosen to live in darkness.
—Alistair Begg
