Here are a few good reads from this week:

To Those Who Are Frustrated With the Church, HT to Challies. “It’s easy for a critic and the cynic to come into the local church and say, ‘Look at all this that is not yet done. Look at all this that is not yet complete. How can Jesus Christ be present in this?’ Jesus Christ is present in His church as the builder. The evidence of Christ’s presence is not that everything is complete, but that everything is in process. The fact that the church often feels more like a building site than a showroom is evidence of the presence of the builder.”

Help! I Want to Read the Bible, But I Find It Boring. “If we’re honest, I think we’ve all been there. It took years before I learned to enjoy and love the word—and that was after I became a Christian. Here are a few things I learned as a young person struggling to find a love for the Scripture.”

How My Mind Changed about End-of-Life Care, HT to Challies. My mother-in-law’s decline was a revelation in many ways. At one time I would have said that food and water should be given until the last moment. I didn’t realize that part of the body’s final shutting down means losing the ability to process food. Trying to get food into a person in that condition can cause problems. I don’t agree with withholding food and water just because someone is terminal. But there does come a time when treatment causes more harm than good.

Do You Have Enough Faith to Be Kind? HT to Challies. “If we are hesitant to be kind to one another in moments like this, it may be that we have more faith in brute force than the strength of our argument. Worse, it may be that we believe the power of public shame is greater than the power of the Holy Spirit. Our instinctive response answers an important question: Do we have enough faith to believe that ‘a soft answer turns away wrath’ (Prov. 15:1)?”

Help! My Kids Don’t Like to Read. Obstacles and tips.

As I read Shelly Hamilton’s update on her husband, Ron, his song “I’m Going Home” came to mind. At my first recall, I connected it with getting ready for heaven. But as I listened to it again, I remembered it’s a beautiful prodigal son song. I thought I’d share it with you: