May God bless and keep you as you serve him and worship him this weekend.
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(Yesterday on the blog: The Path to Glory)
Courage Inspired by the Martyrs
Ed Welch: “Among the many heroes of faith, the martyrs stand out. They take up a central place in our corporate identity because they so closely evoke Jesus’ faithfulness in the face of death. God honors the martyrs even to the point that he uses their deaths as a countdown to Jesus’ return.”
What is the “Greatest Threat to the Gospel”?
John Mark Yeats says, “The broader culture frequently embraces a new concept, philosophy, or ideal that challenge the claims of the cross. These challenges should not surprise us for Jesus reminded His followers that we would be hated, persecuted, and oppressed. As we enter seasons where external cultural forces make it difficult to live a life of faithfulness, our internal radar will frequently signal, ‘Danger!’ We move to protect ourselves or warn our community, and rightly so. But here’s the catch…”
A Different Take On Barnabas
I like this take on the split between Paul and Barnabas.
A Desperate Saint
Susan Tyner: “A desperate woman can do some crazy stuff. Like tricking your father-in-law to sleep with you to get pregnant. I’m not sure if you’ve ever been that desperate, but let me introduce you to someone who was.”
Cultural Appropriation is Standard Christian Fare
“I confess that most present-day vices and virtues fail to impress me, largely because they strike me as watered-down (if not parasitic) versions of vices/virtues with more substantial historical-moral roots and are almost invariably being touted in an obvious effort to secure the higher moral ground (read: ‘advantage’) in some largely inconsequential power play.” I think Aaron Denlinger may be on to something there.
Why?
This is an article (and a question) for those whose churches are just spinning up again after COVID lockdowns.
How Does God Measure Success?
“The crowd hooted and whooped. Handclapping sounded like thunderous downpour. I walked across the stage and received my diploma from Dallas Theological Seminary, and it felt monumental. Spiritual. Euphoric. Friends stopped by our Airbnb after the ceremony. We ate large amounts of General Tso’s Chicken—and hugged deeply. Then, my family and I flew back home.”
Flashback: Fathers (and Mothers), Do Not Provoke Your Children!
These two words are key: discipline and instruction…This little pair of words covers both the positive and the negative sides of learning and growing, helping our children go from folly to wisdom, from childishness to maturity, from self-centeredness to loving others, and, we trust, from sin to salvation.
God’s people are never so exalted as when they are brought low, never so enriched as when they are emptied, never so advanced as when they are set back by adversity, never so near the crown as when under the cross. —Theodore Cuyler