This week I spoke at my first conference since COVID … and came away with a pretty good case of COVID (of the “bad cold” variety). So I’m moving a bit slow and catching up on a bit of TV, but hoping to be back on my feet by Monday.
There are a few Kindle deals to take a look at.
(Yesterday on the blog: On What Basis Could The Rings of Power Completely Fail?)
“Elizabeth the Faithful”—a Small Reflection on our Queen
I really enjoyed Michael Haykin’s tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. “Having been born in the mid-1950s, Elizabeth II (1926–2022) is the only monarch I have ever had. And so, it is very strange to hear the time-hallowed refrain, ‘The Queen is dead. Long live the King!’”
God save the Queen
This is also a lovely tribute. “The rain is falling outside the window, the sound of students from the Westminster school drifts over and blends with the sound of sirens. And there flies the flag on top of Parliament, still not yet at half mast. Soon it may be lowered, tethered, like a million waiting souls, to the frail, fluttering life of an old lady surrounded by doctors and family in Balmoral. That slight, whisper-light weight will drag behind it a freight of emotion and uncertainty that will bury the country for days and weeks to come.”
How Manti Te’o’s Fake Girlfriend Helps Explain Transgenderism
Brett McCracken: “More than its insights about sports stardom, media hype, or the perils of online dating, Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist, reinforced for me a theory I’ve had about contemporary culture: transgenderism and social media are inextricably linked, and the plausibility of trans identities is a unique byproduct of the digital age.”
Did Jesus take on our sin nature? (Video)
Michael Reeves does a great job answering the question.
What is the House Church?
This article offers a helpful explanation of the Chinese house church.
Then Comes the Breaking
“Something within me broke. Tears began to flow down my face as he came and sat down beside me. He shared that he had some idea of the unspeakable pain I was experiencing because he and his wife had miscarried many years ago. He asked how I was doing, and I jokingly said, ‘I was doing fine until you stopped by.’”
Flashback: The Glory of Children Is Their Fathers
While our ultimate desire is to hear God say, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” we all also want to hear our children say, “Well done, good and faithful dad” or “Well done, good and faithful mom.”
Love is not only doing others no harm; it is doing them all the good that it is in our power to do.
—J.R. Miller
