Twice a year, for every year of my life, the debate has raged: Should we maintain daylight saving time or finally get rid of it? I’m in favor of abolishing it, but until then, let’s not forget to “spring forward” tonight so we don’t get ridiculed for showing up late to church tomorrow.
Meanwhile, I am featuring some longer pieces today that should give you lots to think about this weekend. I hope you enjoy them!
Today’s Kindle deals include a biography of C.S. Lewis, a helpful book by Christine Hoover, Michael Horton’s Core Christianity, and more.
(Yesterday on the blog: What a Good Marriage Sounds Like to Your Children)
In Ukraine, a Community of ‘Simple Believers’ Shuns the Modern World
I enjoyed reading about this community in Ukraine whose members seem similar to the Amish of North America (though they come from completely different roots—in this case, 1970s-era Ukrainian Pentecostalism). I do wish the writers had told us more about what they believe instead of focusing almost entirely on how they live, since from what I have observed, communities like this often seem to abandon the gospel in favor of legalism. Nevertheless, it is an interesting profile. “They call themselves simple believers — viruiuchi prostaky, in Ukrainian — or just believers. They strive to live by biblical law and remain apart from the modern world. Its members’ houses have no electricity, and instead of cars they use horses and wagons.” (I provided a gift link, so you should be able to access it without a subscription.)
Four Ways to Radically Rethink Your Workweek
Obviously, many people have no ability to radically rethink their workweek and must be available in particular places at particular times. I’m thankful that nurses, bus drivers, and store clerks aren’t rethinking their workweek! Yet for many, work from home or self-employment has allowed them to reconsider some modern-day assumptions like a 5-day and 40-hour workweek, a 9-5 workday, and more. This article at the Wall Street Journal (the gift link should unlock it for you) offers a few different suggestions, like meeting-free Mondays or a split workday. As it happens, I tend to do a split workday where I start work early, turn my attention to other things in the afternoon, and return to work in the evenings—something that is more feasible now that we are empty-nesters.
The State of the Church in Iran
I’m sure many of us are wondering how we should think about the church in Iran. Here are a few resources that may be helpful:
- The State of the Church in Iran from byFaith (a PCA publication) “invited Presbyterian and Reformed ministry leaders with ties to Iran to share any reports they have received about the situation on the ground and how the PCA can pray for Iran and Iranian Christians.”
- Afshin Ziafat, an Iranian-American pastor, recorded a video for TGC to explain the situation and say Iranian Christians Need Your Prayers More Than Ever.
- At Desiring God, David Mathis asks What Will War Bring to Iran? and provides a prayer.
For years, we have heard that the church may be growing faster in Iran than anywhere else on earth. Perhaps we will soon find out if that has, indeed, been the case.
New Music
Are you interested in some new music? I’ve got a couple of new options for you:
- Like No Other by The Worship Initiative is a live album recorded at the recent CROSS Con. Clicking the link will allow you to choose from among many different music services.
- All I Have Is Christ by Jordan Kauflin features the best of Jordan Kauflin’s music recorded in a live setting. It includes, of course, “All I Have Is Christ” and “Christ Our Hope in Life and Death.” This link will take you to a YouTube playlist, though you can find the album wherever else you listen to good music.
AI Doesn’t Reduce Work—It Intensifies It
This article from Harvard Business Review made the rounds this week and shared some surprising study results—that AI tools are actually intensifying many people’s work. “In an eight-month study of how generative AI changed work habits at a U.S.-based technology company with about 200 employees, we found that employees worked at a faster pace, took on a broader scope of tasks, and extended work into more hours of the day, often without being asked to do so.” One of the interesting takeaways is that AI is allowing people to take on tasks they never would have been able to do in the past (such as product managers who are now writing code). This has been my experience too: AI makes tasks that would have been mystifying in the past accessible in the present, which just seems to provide new tasks to do. (Also on the subject of AI, here’s one on The Ethics and Limits of AI in Sermon Preparation.)
Why 1 Timothy 2 Is a Universal Normative Guide
Finally, Steven Wedgeworth explains why, contrary to what so many people claim, 1 Timothy 2 is a universal normative guide. “In the debates over women’s ordination, a historically decisive passage in the New Testament is 1 Timothy 2:11-15. It is so direct that critics call it a ‘clobber passage.’ And indeed, some critics argue that it says much more than even very conservative traditionalist churches are willing to admit today. As such, they say it should be viewed as cultural or historical, limited to the conditions of the late-antique Mediterranean world.”
Flashback: Most To Jesus I Surrender (or Maybe Just Some)
Do we really fully surrender to him those things that we love most, or do we effectively bring him what is lame and spotted, what is of little consequence and low on our list of priorities? Do we surrender the firstfruits of our lives or the lastfruits?
Grace often grows strongest where conviction of sin has pierced deepest.
—Sinclair Ferguson
