I have just a short list of good reads to share with you today:

Own Your Faith, HT to Challies. “If God has gifted you with a healthy church and parents that love Christ, be so thankful! See your own faith as connected to theirs, but not dependent. They labored hard so that you would leave and be a beacon for Christ on your own. They desire to see you making godly choices. They want you to make the decision to wake up early and seek God’s face. The time for hand-holding is over. Your parents won’t stand before the judgement seat of Christ for you.”

The Most Profound Aspect of Jesus Saying “I Never Knew You. “Most of the time, the lesson we derive from Matthew 7:21-23 is that there will be people who believe they have a right to enter the Kingdom based upon their religious activities and behavior, but will be rejected. This interpretation is true, but in stopping there we miss something.”

The Supremacy of Christ in Repentance: Understanding True Sorrow vs. Worldly Regret. “There is a significant difference between natural regret and Spirit-driven repentance, between emotional sadness and spiritual surrender. The flesh can feel remorse, acknowledge sin, and feel shame. You can regret in an emotional or intellectual way, but that doesn’t make sorrow spiritual. You can regret sin without having a change of heart. Godly sorrow responds to God’s view of sin. It’s looking at God’s perspective on my sin. It’s vertically oriented—God-ward.”

How to Pray for an Unmet Desire, HT to Challies. “In His most famous of sermons, Jesus tells us to pray, assuring us that the heavenly Father won’t give us a stone when we ask for bread. But sometimes that bread just seems so long in coming. How could a good Father withhold a good thing from His child? After all, our earthly, sinful fathers would never ask their child to starve when they had the means and ability to provide food. How are we to respond in these seasons? What should our prayers look like?”

Nobody ever outgrows Scripture. The book widens and deepens with our years.
–Charles Spurgeon.