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A La Carte (September 6)

thursday

You won’t find a better deal than this on Credo Course’s “Introduction to Theology” course. Meanwhile, Westminster Books has a nice sale on books for young children. I did not manage to track down any new Kindle deals for the day.

(Yesterday on the blog: Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, and Milkshake Ducks)

The Seductive Song of Self-Pity

I wish I didn’t identify so closely with this article. “Her voice is soft and melodic; it’s sweet to the ear and soothing to the tired heart. She whispers not during the seasons of joy, but instead during those times of trial. When you’re tired and weary. When the responsibility is great, and when busyness abounds. I feel her scratch my itching ears with her words, saying just what I wish I heard from the people around me. And here’s what she sounds like.”

On Choosing Wisely When to Say No and When to Say Yes

Randy Alcorn has been very helpful to me in this regard. “When we’re asked to do worthless or stupid things, it doesn’t take much wisdom to say no, does it? Especially not when you do one of those things and think, ‘Okay, that was a waste…I’m never doing that again.’ The real problem is all the good things we’re asked to do.”

Most Women Who Had Abortions Were Pressured Into It

This is important. “Defenders of abortion tend to call themselves ‘pro-choice.’ They believe that whether a woman chooses to have the baby or whether she decides to ‘terminate the pregnancy’ should be her choice and no one else’s. Well, what about women who really want to have their baby, but their husbands or boyfriends pressure them into getting an abortion? Where is the ‘choice’ in those cases? Do ‘pro-choicers’ support abortion in those circumstances?”

Everybody Fits In

One fascinating reality of life in Canada is that there are large cities where minorities are the majority (which probably means we need some new terminology!). This article looks at what’s working well and what isn’t.

A Viral Photo Shows the Problems With In Vitro Fertilization

“IVF is an enormously sensitive issue for Christians to discuss, because the availability of IVF makes it possible for couples to conceive who otherwise could not. Telling would-be parents they should not utilize IVF as a last resort to become parents can seem uncaring, unloving, and depriving a husband and wife of something (children) that God considers a blessing (Ps. 127:3). We should not minimize this longing. It is a primal desire given to us by a loving heavenly Father. The longing for children is by nature and by choice.” But…

What is Encouragement?

It’s a word we use and a virtue we should practice. But what is it? “Encouragement is the giving of strength, often for a difficult task.Regardless of what our hearts or Hollywood tell us, no one inherently has the strength needed to do what God calls us to do. We are neither designed nor created to be self-sufficient in the most important tasks of life. Rather, we are designed and created to be vessels ready to receive the strength others can give to us. Everyone you know has very hard work to do.”

Cringing at Church: What It’s Like as an Autistic Person in Your Congregation

This is a helpful look at church through the eyes of an autistic man.

Flashback: The Duty of Introspection

Christian introspection is not merely an opportunity to see sin and shortcomings but also to see blessing. Self-examination is incomplete if it does not rejoice in commands that have been obeyed and sin that has been put to death.

There is no greater state than to get up from your knees knowing that God has forgiven every sin you’ve ever committed.

—R.C. Sproul

  • What God Wants You To Forget

    What God Wants You To Forget

    We are never far from reminding God of our credentials, of providing him with a curriculum vitae that lays out all we are, all we have been through, and all we have accomplished for his sake. We are never far from making the subtle turn from grace to merit, from what is freely given to…

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    A La Carte (March 27)

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  • New and Notable Books

    New and Notable Christian Books for March 2024

    As you know, I like to do my best to sort through the new Christian books that are released each month to see what stands out as being not only new, but also particularly notable. I received quite a number of new titles in March and narrowed the list down to the ones below. I…

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    A La Carte (March 26)

    A La Carte: God delivers from the suffering he ordains / The beautiful partnership of family and church / The end of religious liberty / On whales, menopause, and thanks to God / Ordinary women, extravagant gifts / and more.

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    This sponsored post was provided by Burke Care, and written by Jen Arend, which invites you to schedule care today with a certified biblical counselor. As the music swells, she begins her descent down the aisle. All eyes are on her, especially her groom. She is radiant, majestic, and filled with beauty. Her gaze meets his tear-filled…

  • Does God Care How You Cook Your Goat?

    Does God Care How You Cook Your Goat?

    It is one of those biblical commands that has always perplexed me. If it appeared just one time in Scripture I might be tempted to pass it by. But it appears no less than three times, in Exodus 23:19, Exodus 34:26, and Deuteronomy 14:21. The repetition tells me that God is quite concerned that his…