I apologize for those who experienced formatting issues with the newsletter the past day or two. I think they have been resolved. But also, because of these issues and others, I will be revising the newsletter template in the next few days to make it much simpler and (I trust) much better. It will be obvious when it lands in your inbox.
Sales & Deals
Today’s Kindle deals include Blair Linne’s Made to Tremble, which I believe is making its debut on the list. You’ll also find The Deconstruction of Christianity, Managing God’s Money, and more.
Recommended Reading
How Can I Summarize Marriage in One Word? Kraig Keck: “A few months ago a young couple in our church that was on the cusp of engagement asked me what one word is most important in marriage. They had been asking other older Christian couples to summarize what was necessary in a Christian marriage in a single word. I honestly don’t remember what I told them, and it’s really hard to list one word as more important than others in a Christian marriage. However, I know what I would say now.”
How to Pray When You Feel Like You Pray the Same Thing Every Day. Courtney Reissig addresses something I’m pretty sure we all grapple with from time to time: How should we pray when it feels like we are praying the same things just about every day? She offers a few practical ideas.
Hymn Readings for Daily Devotion. From The Sing! Hymnal editor Dan Kreider, this elegant devotional features 365 classic hymns, including many unfamiliar gems, each paired with a brief meditation and suggested tune. (Sponsored)
Full Disclosure: Why Should I Tell My Spouse About Past Sins? Caitlin McCaffrey explores the practice of full disclosure when it comes to sexual sin. “A full disclosure is when a spouse writes, with thoughtfulness and prayer, the nature and history of their sexual sin. It is a decisive way to walk in repentance. It includes enough detail for your spouse to know you in your specific struggle but avoids descriptions of sensations or graphic visuals.”
John Piper: Why Did Jesus Call Her a Dog? In a story from Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus refers to a foreign woman as a dog. A concerned reader of Scripture writes to John Piper to ask him why he would do such a thing. “What did he mean by this? Surely, we are not to speak of people from other nations and cultures like animals. So, how should we understand his words in light of his love and compassion for so many?”
God Brought Them Here: How Should We See Church Visitors? Siyabulela Zalabe has had this thought playing in his mind recently: we often fail to notice the very people God has graciously brought to us. “What if we began seeing visitors differently? Instead of thinking, ‘someone else will greet them,’ what if we asked, ‘could this be someone whom God has graciously brought for me to meet today?’ The Lord is still building his church. He’s still drawing people to himself. Sometimes he does so through faithful evangelism during the week. Sometimes, in his wonderful providence, he simply brings people through the doors of our churches. May we never take that for granted.”
How Do I Live in God’s Presence Every Day? We know, I think, that we are called to live in God’s presence day by day, but perhaps we aren’t sure what that entails. Daniel Hyde explains for Reformation21. “Gathered worship might take up two hours of your week. That leaves about 166 hours somewhere else: in traffic on Pacific Coast Highway, at your desk doing remote work, out past the break waiting for a set, in a hospital waiting room, at school trying to fit in. But we pour a lot of energy into those two hours. I can spend thirty hours preparing for two and quietly treat the other 166 as filler. That’s backwards.”
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 to the comics pages that used to be in every newspaper. I asked him to share a couple with you.
Small print: The inclusion of someone’s “funny” here is neither an endorsement of that person nor a recommendation that you follow them on social media. Just laugh or roll your eyes and then move on.
Flashback
Are You a Lover of Good? When it comes to your spouse, when it comes to your children, when it comes to the members of your church, when it comes to other Christians of any kind, are you more skilled at identifying good or evil, sinfulness or virtue?
Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still.
—E.M. Bounds
