Laudable Linkage

Posted on August 23, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Here are some of the good reads found this week:

A Biblical Message for Children of Aging Parents. “What I’ve seen time and again is that even the most loving, conscientious children are often riddled with guilt — especially when decisions feel impossibly hard. But Scripture offers clarity, comfort, and guidance for those walking this sacred path.”

To Be Almost Saved Is to Be Completely Lost. “I sometimes wonder how many people in your church and mine have heard the gospel, have thought about its claims, and have perhaps even found themselves agreeing with many of them—yes, Jesus existed; yes, he died for sins; yes, he died for people like me—but have still refused to trust in him. It is one thing to assent to facts, but an entirely different thing to trust in Jesus.”

Learning to Have Conversations with God. “I have often spoken to people who struggle to know how to integrate prayer and Scripture in such a way that they can carry on a conversation with the Lord.” Tim Challies gives some tips for doing that.

One Pentecost Was Enough, HT to Challies. “The lyrics repeatedly declare, ‘We need another Pentecost.’ This simple refrain raises an important theological question: Is this how we should think about Pentecost? Should Christians be praying for another one? Or has God already given us what we’re asking for?”

6 Ways to Lead Better Bible Study Discussions, HT to Challies. I wince when the primary question in a Bible study is “What does this passage mean to you?” This article shares better ways of thinking through the text and drawing out its meaning.

Am I a Mission Colonizer? HT to Challies. “Many people believe that a missionary should never go in the first place. Or that if he does, his work should only be humanitarian. He should never dare to try to persuade someone to change their beliefs. That’s sort of the mantra of our culture today, isn’t it? You can believe whatever you want as long as you don’t impose it on someone else. Kind of ironic, actually. The people who say we shouldn’t impose our beliefs on other people are, in fact, imposing that very belief on other people. They are making personal autonomy the highest value. But who gets to decide that’s the highest value?”

How to Execute: The Discipline of Following Through, HT to Redeeming Productivity. “Most people can make a plan. Planning is fun. You get to dream, scheme, and visualize a future where everything is awesome. But executing plans? A lot of people struggle with that.”

Thank God my salvation does not depend on my frail hold on him,
but his mighty grasp on me. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Laudable Linkage

Posted on August 16, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Here are some of the posts that stood out to me this week:

None Too Old to Serve the King, HT to Chalmers Blog. “I love this scene with the feeble follower and the deposed king. What a touching moment for David, and a beautiful invitation to Barzillai. It reminds me that I serve the greater King David, and stirs in me the desire to “appear with him in glory” as he rides across the Jordan (Colossians 3:4). Does it do the same for you? I want us to imitate this elderly saint by meeting the King in the wilderness and serving him until our dying day.”

Reading the Bible for the Ten Thousandth Time. “By instinct we know that first-time readers of the Bible need guidance. But long-time readers need help too. In this article we’ll explore some of the ways to combat boredom and lethargy for experienced Bible readers.”

A Biblical Template for Prayers of Confession from Daniel 9. HT to Knowable Word. “For God’s promises and sure word aren’t a reason for inactivity and passivity. They’re fuel for confident prayer.” Though the author makes a case for corporate confession, these principles are true for private prayer as well.

All Those Things We Never Did, HT to Challies. “There remains a powerful temptation in midlife to nurse and rehearse dreams unfulfilled. The loop snags and captures with: We never did this, we never went here, we never bought this . . . The all those things we never did is a thorny and fruitless path, often culminating in a sour, self-centered existence. For the Christian, all those things we never did may humbly be replaced with: Your kingdom come; your will be done.“

The Picture on the Nightstand, HT to Challies. “When a marriage is strong, it is a fortress. It shields what is fragile. Spouses are safe. Children thrive. Its strength creates overflowing benefit into entire communities. When a spouse breaks the marriage covenant, the impact is brutal. It exploits vulnerability. Spouses bleed. Children bear the weight. And the effects ripple outward.”

Should You Take Your Children to a Funeral? “Whatever the size or venue, here’s a question for parents to consider: should you take your children to a funeral? My answer is a sure yes, and here are several reasons why.”

The Rare Jewel of Contentment in Childlessness. “Paul’s testimony of contentment encouraged Bethany and me to ask God for that kind of contentment in our state of childlessness. Jeremiah Burroughs describes Christian contentment as ‘that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.’”

Silent Women, Speaking Women, HT to Challies. This is one of the clearest explanations I’ve seen on the Bible passages about whether and when women are to teach in church.

Beware the New Notebook Energy. “A new planner gives me an avenue to blame my lack of follow-through on a bad system. If I can blame the system, that saves me from the day-in and day-out-ness of life. I call this New Notebook Energy: fleeing actual responsibility and good habits in favor of reorganizing and starting again.”

Ways to See and Support Foster Families. “All of a sudden, we were a part of the foster system, which came with all of the staff, the rules and regulations, the visits with social workers, the paperwork, the doctor’s visits, and so much more. I quickly realized that before this happened, I didn’t understand how much support the foster families in our church probably needed from me but hadn’t been getting. So I thought I would outline a few things that each of us can do to help foster families in our churches.”

Ten minutes’ praying is better than a year’s murmuring. Charles Spurgeon

Laudable Linkage

Posted on August 9, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Here are some thought-provoking reads found this week:

The Change Along the Way, HT to Challies. “Ever since mankind was in the Garden, and that fatal first sin was committed, we have tried to shortcut the goals set before us. As with our first mother, we are fickle creatures, seeking always the final product without the process in between. . . .Even our Saviour was tempted in the wilderness to escape the way of the cross for the kingdoms of the world, for the devil knew this inherent weakness in mankind. We long for the glory, and if we can avoid the cross, all the better.”

Can Faith and Fear Coexist in the Life of a Believer? “What separates a person of faith from the crowd? It’s not a lack of fear. The faithful choose to listen to their faith instead of their fears. Faith assures us that God’s invisible presence and power accompanies us as we obey His voice.”

How to Have a Soft Heart. “You can probably think of women who have been cut by life and now wear their pain as sharp edges. But you probably also know women who have walked through as much difficulty and somehow emerged softer. Gentler. More gracious. More trusting. Have you ever wondered how to end up like them?”

Do You Talk Too Much, or not Enough? “The danger in too much talking arises when the entertainment value lies in the drama. And when we enjoy talking, it’s easy for the conversation to drift there. Here are some danger zones where many words can lead to sin.”

Does God Really Care What You Wear This Summer? “Perhaps you’ve wondered it too: does God really care what I wear this summer? Before diving in to answer that question, it may be helpful to consider another: do I really want to know the heart of God on this topic, or am I merely looking for affirmation of my already-formed opinions? In other words, what do I want more? An answer to the question ‘Does God really care what I wear?’ Or am I more concerned with how close I can get to a perceived line of immodesty without going over? “

Dear Weary Caregiver, HT to the Story Warren. “But for those (like me) who need regular reminding, here are three lessons God is teaching me about himself and his ways as I care for my boy. I hope they encourage you as you continue to lay down your life in the service of another.”

Ten Reasons Why I Love Verse by Verse Exposition, HT to Challies. “What is verse by verse exposition? This is when a pastor preaches a book of the Bible, reading and teaching each verse in order to expose it’s meaning. Sure, this can be done poorly, but I think that this approach is super helpful for the church and really beneficial for the preacher. I want to outline ten reasons why I love verse by verse exposition.”

How to Guide Your Children Through the Digital Age, HT to Challies. “Technology is everywhere. There’s no escaping its influence—not only in our own lives but also in the lives of our children. Here are three powerful ways technology is shaping your children and how you can help them respond with wisdom and discernment.”

A Plea to Biblical Counselors Regarding Autism, HT to Challies. “Recently, I’ve heard biblical counselors make unhelpful comments about autism, namely that it’s just a “Big Pharma” money-making scheme. They insist that diagnostic criteria are too vague, making an autism diagnosis too subjective. They even say that biblical counselors have better answers, as if they are better suited to “treat” autism. Biblical counselors, I beg you, do not go down this road, as it will lead to irreparable damage to individuals and families impacted by autism. This road represents a profound misunderstanding of what autism is, how it is diagnosed, and the medical side effects with which these families suffer.”

God sees trouble and grief, which we can lay in His hands where it is safe,
and where we are safe. Corrie ten Boom

Laudable Linkage

Posted on August 2, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Some of the noteworthy posts found this week:

Your Fig Leaves Are Showing! Why Your Christian Home Is not as Close as it Should Be. Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together to cover the shame they felt after they sinned. “That ancient impulse hasn’t changed. Sin still causes shame. Shame still creates barriers. And we still reach for fig leaves. Today, our fig leaves are more sophisticated.”

Transhumanism, Christian Productivity, and Why I Don’t Use the Term “Second Brain.” I’ve been concerned about the transcendence of AI affecting our ability to think and process. But I didn’t realize those behind it have a larger plan. “Forte’s ultimate vision for personal knowledge management is a digital Tower of Babel. This is the philosophy of transhumanism. And it might sound a little kooky at first until you realize he is far from the only one who thinks this way about technology and personal improvement.”

Everything Matters. “Just mark it down right now: the devil is a liar. He says our sin is so small that it won’t affect us, and our good works are so insignificant that they won’t impact anyone else. But there is no such thing as an action without a reaction. In God’s kingdom, everything matters. Here’s how…”

Did Abraham Get Away with Lying? I had never realized all these ramifications of Abraham’s lies.

Ansel Adams, AI, and the Essence of Creation, HT to Challies. “It seems to me that part of the essence of true creation is labor, striving, wrestling, and overcoming. It calls forth the virtue of courage to beat back the doubts and insecurities and fears, and surge up something fresh and true. It demands a presence in the world, a willingness to interact with creation and people, to touch things and be affected viscerally. This is true whether your creation is painting or photography or film or poetry or fiction or nonfiction. The human element matters.”

Singing Anyway, HT to Challies. “I do not doubt that each of the kids singing on stage had reasons not to sing. There were likely moms who forgot to make Easter baskets, dresses that felt too tight, shirt tags that itched, parents who were fighting in the kitchen that morning, and siblings who were annoying during the ride to the service. But they showed up anyway. They sang anyway. And because they decided to show up and sing, countless people were moved toward a posture of praise.”

Christian Cultural Bias in Missions is a Real Challenge. “Missionaries are tempted to recreate the church culture they admire back home. One reason this happens is that they have not taken the time to understand the differences between their cultural Christian experiences back home and what the Bible actually teaches. They don’t realize how much their idea of what a local church should look like comes from cultural expectations or simple habits (often unconscious).”

What’s Going On In Your Pastor’s Mind? “It is one of the strengths, or perhaps one of the weaknesses, of the human mind that it can have different “tracks” playing at the same time. Even as one series of words is emerging from a person’s mouth, an entirely different series of words may be flitting through his brain. He can have an entire monologue playing internally, even as another is playing externally.”

What if God ruined your plans
so your plans wouldn’t ruin you?
J. C. Ryle

Laudable Linkage

Posted on July 26, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Some of the good reads found this week:

The Power of a Courageous Word. “Sometimes it is the simplest of matters that bear the greatest fruit. A simple deed, a simple gift, a simple word can make all the difference. They can even begin a cascade that changes lives and changes the world.”

The Preacher’s Trust, HT to Challies. This article focuses on preachers, but I have found its principles true for writing and ministering for God in any way. Instead of being crushed by our inadequacies or inflated with self-reliance, we put our trust in God, who works through His Word and Spirit.

Protesting Well. This is the fourth in a series on protest, dealing particularly with what to do when you disagree with the authorities in your life.

Lessons from Nathan’s Rebuke: Effective Strategies for Christian Confrontation, HT to Challies. It’s not pleasant, but sometimes rebuke is called for when a professing Christian sins. This article draws principles for what to say based on Nathan’s rebuke of King David.

Please, Don’t Say These Things to Women Who Have Miscarried, HT to Challies. “When a couple experiences a miscarriage, there are tons of responses like these flung in their direction like darts. Those who say them don’t mean for their words to attack, but they often do. They bring into question not only the grief of the mother and father, but also the value of the baby who was lost.”

Explain Up, Don’t Dumb Down. “I’m a big advocate of using big words with little kids. Our tendency, of course, is to use very simple terminology with children. It seems to me like we do this out of two desires.”

Just and Gentle Parenting. “Dear dads and moms, don’t we long to embody Scripture’s perfect balance — to parent between the poles, to divinely blend grace and law, and so to image God and the gospel to our children? Gentle parenting is not one of only two options. Neither is it the best, most biblical option.”

Just Diagnosed: Questions Parents of Neurodivergent Kids Should Ask Next, HT to the Story Warren. “For years, we focused on ‘fixing’ his social skills, handwriting, and attention deficits so he’d be successful in school. We’re thankful these early interventions continue to bear fruit. Still, the best gift we gave our son came when we stopped emphasizing what was wrong and began to focus instead on God’s good purpose.”

If your path had been smooth, you would have depended upon your own surefootedness; but God roughened the path, so you have to take hold of His hand. T. D. Talmage

Laudable Linkage

Posted on July 19, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Here are some good reads found this week:

Sometimes, Worship Should Be Hard. “We plan our worship services several months in advance. We choose themes for each service and discuss how to introduce them. Last Sunday, our chosen theme was ‘Our Good God.’ In the canon of worship themes we use, the goodness of God is not as difficult to explain as something like transcendence or immanence. But on Sunday, July 6, 2025, it was hard. As we filed into the church and greeted one another, nearly 100 people were still missing due to flash floods in Texas.”

Trying to Make Sense of Bad Things that Happen, HT to Challies. “Most people find it pretty easy to accept that the good things which happen are from the hand of God. But we find it hard to accept any bad, tragic, or painful experiences that come our way. Can they really be from God? Are they really under his governance? Can they really be for a good purpose? The Bible says, ‘Yes, they are. Yes, they can.'”

Boaz: A Pillar of Leadership. Boaz is one of my favorite OT people. “Boaz wasn’t a king, prophet, or warrior. He was a businessman and landowner, yet he exemplified godly leadership. His leadership wasn’t flashy, but it was faithful. It wasn’t about personal gain but about a godly impact. So, what made Boaz a leader worth emulating?”

Leviticus and the Right Hand of Fellowship, HT to Challies. “What we fail to realise is the catechetical nature of the book of Leviticus. As the centre point (and, I would argue, climax) of the Torah or Teaching, its goal is not to simply lay down a law to live by, or to provide fodder for debates over what verses we use. The goal of Leviticus is teaching. And it is hands on teaching much like that of a missionary landing in foreign culture.”

Staying Afloat in Summer. A mom of a newly-graduated high school student looks back at ways she wished she had handled summers.

When You’re Dreading Monday Mornings, HT to Redeeming Productivity. “Maybe you’re currently in a job you once longed for—even prayed for—and couldn’t wait to start, but now you have the Sunday scaries, dragging yourself out of bed on Monday morning only to count down the days until Friday. Or maybe you’re in a job you never really wanted but took out of necessity, expecting to move on to something different after a short time—but you haven’t. So what do you do when you’re no longer excited to go to work?”

Daily prayers and religious readings and churchgoing are
necessary parts of the Christian life.
We have to be continually reminded of what we believe.
C. S. Lewis

Laudable Linkage

Posted on July 12, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Happy Saturday! Here are a few good reads found this week:

The Privilege and Responsibility of Freedom. Though Independence Day has passed, rightly considering our freedom is a timeless topic.

There Is No Pit So Deep that He Is not Deeper Still, HT to Challies. “Life had been incredibly hard for years, but this latest trial felt like more than I could bear. To be honest, I felt utterly hopeless. I didn’t want to live in my diseased and hurting body; I didn’t want to live in the chaos of our special-needs challenges; and I certainly didn’t want to live in a flea-infested home. Everything in me wanted to escape, but I had nowhere to run.”

The Stranger, a neat, short film (about 12 minutes) based on a true story about a stranger who shows up in the middle of the night to attend a mission conference.

Three Lies of Comparison: How to Help Your Teen Find the Truth. “If she’s like most teens, there came a day when her eyes fluttered open to comparison. Her sunny giggle faded, and her carefree personality fell as she began placing her measuring cup next to someone else’s, asking, ‘How do I measure up?’ So, what can you do? How can you help? How can you keep her from retreating to dark corners of isolation and insecurity? How can you stop her from driving herself to exhaustion with endless perfectionism?”

A Time to Be Tired, HT to Challies. “There are times when we must save our strength. The question is: what are we saving it for? Our strength may be limited, but it is real. God gave it to us, and he gave it for a reason. There has never been a shortage of meaningful work to do, people to love, and problems to solve. In all our talk of looking after ourselves, I wonder if we sometimes forget that overprotecting ourselves is at least as dangerous as burnout—it is one of the quickest roads to weakness.”

Tattoos as Confession, HT to Challies. “Gullett says many Americans instinctively judge tattoos — deciding whether they approve of the image or the act of getting inked at all. But he and Dayhoff encourage a different approach: suspend judgment, ask about the story, and listen.”

We do not study the Bible just to get to know the Bible.
We study the Bible that we might get to know God better.
Warren Wiersbe

Laudable Linkage

Posted on July 5, 2025 by Barbara Harper

I have a short but good list of reads to share today:

Why It’s Good (and Christian) to Love Your Country, HT to Challies. “American Christians have also been pretty angsty about patriotism. In the last few years, many academics, journalists, and even some pastors have equated any love for the country with idolatry or worse, fascism and theocracy. So many well-meaning American Christians have shied away from expressions of patriotism because they don’t want to engage in false worship.”

Keep Reading Your Bible, Even if You Don’t Understand It, HT to Knowable Word. There are times to stop and dig deep in a passage we’re reading. But sometimes a passage won’t make sense until we’ve read more of the rest of the Bible.

You Don’t Need Another Prayer Technique, HT to Challies. “While my new system does help me be more organized and varied in my petitions, it hasn’t turned me into an Olympic runner in prayer. My best training came instead from an unexpected source.”

Dumb Dads: 3 Ways The Stereotype Is Harming The Archetype, HT to Challies. “By watching movies, reading stories, and entertaining the distorted pictures of dumb dads as a stereotype, we have forgotten the archetype of fatherhood. God didn’t create men and fathers to be weak and foolish. He created them to be so much more than what modern culture is preaching to our children.”

The Sandwich Generation, HT to Challies. “We are still parenting young-adult children, while at the same time attempting to gracefully maneuver through the aging years of our parents with honor. The similarities are endless; how to love our family without becoming a dictator, how to aid them in making their own decisions, how to help them navigate the path which will provide the best outcome for their future.”

America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

Katharine Lee Bates, from “America the Beautiful”

Laudable Linkage

Posted on June 28, 2025 by Barbara Harper

I’m behind on blog-reading this week, but I found some thought-provoking posts to share.

Being the Best You Can Be. “It is good to be the best you can be. It is noble to attempt to maximize your potential and to make the greatest good on even the least gift. God calls each one of us to be faithful stewards of all that he has entrusted to us. Yet there is a world of difference between being the best you can be and wanting to be known as the best.”

Be a Man-Pleaser, Not a Man-Pleaser, HT to Challies. In other words, our people-pleasing can be good or bad, depending on our motives.

Bible Reading Blues? Study Your Stop. “If you were sitting across from me and you mentioned that you’d abandoned your Bible reading plan, I wouldn’t ask you about what went well. We’d talk about what didn’t work. We’d start with what made you stop because understanding why you didn’t finish could be the key to helping you begin again.”

Guarding the Gospel: Understanding the Dangers of Syncretism. “Syncretism is the combination or synthesis of two or more different religions or philosophies. Syncretism happens in Christian missions when people profess Christ by believing an altered version of the gospel message that lines up with their previous beliefs.”

ChatGPT May Be Eroding Critical Thinking Skills, HT to Redeeming Productivity. “Researchers used an EEG to record the writers’ brain activity across 32 regions, and found that of the three groups, ChatGPT users had the lowest brain engagement and ‘consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels.’ Over the course of several months, ChatGPT users got lazier with each subsequent essay, often resorting to copy-and-paste by the end of the study.”

He who grows in grace remembers that he is but dust, and he therefore does not expect his fellow Christians to be anything more. Charles Spurgeon.

Laudable Linkage

Posted on June 21, 2025 by Barbara Harper

I found quite a few good reads this week:

Our Father Values His Children, HT to the Story Warren. “The Father certainly feeds the birds and takes care of us. We can easily see how He takes care of us when we have all we need. But what about those times when the resources we typically depend on dry up, and from your viewpoint all looks impossible.”

You Need God When Life Is Good: Three Ways to Remember Your Need. “It doesn’t usually happen on purpose, but quietly, thoughtlessly. We slide into self-reliance not because we don’t need God, but because the comfort of the moment dulls our awareness of just how much we do.”

The Cool of the Day. “But this…this is worship too. God speaks in the heat of the kitchen as well as the cool of the day, if I have ears to hear.”

Does Your Prayer Life Point to the Beauty of Christ? “Prayer continues to be the most difficult of all the spiritual disciplines for me. Prayer is hard. Maybe you’ve had the same thought: ‘I don’t like to talk about this, but it’s really hard for me to pray. It’s awkward, and I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to do it.‘”

Let God’s Word Shape Your Prayers. “While we know that we’ve been given an indescribable gift in prayer, we often miss its full potential, offering only intangible and vague petitions such as ‘be with so-and-so as they go through this trial.’ We want to pray, but we lack the right words to shape our prayers. How do we pray beyond the surface need and get to the heart of the matter?”

Fallen Behind on Your Bible Reading Plan? HT to Redeeming Productivity. “This is the time of year when many readers give up on their Bible reading plans. Despite their best intentions, their plans fall by the wayside. But there’s no need to wait until next January to start over. Now is the time to ‘go’ for it and get back into the rhythm and routine of Bible reading. After all, the person who is truly blessed is the one who delights in and meditates on God’s instruction day and night (Psalm 1:2). Here are some strategies to help you get going if you have been struggling to read Scripture daily and thoughtfully.”

Cultivating Flavor. “When my children were trying solid foods for the first time, many helpful advice-givers encouraged me to try varied tastes, textures, and types of foods so that the kids would grow into healthy adults. It makes me want to cultivate this type of flavor in their education and entertainment choices. I don’t only want to put my time and effort into growing herbs in the garage to flavor their food. I also want to shape the moral palates of each of my children so that they will love virtue and live as lights in darkness.”

Master Your Moments and Master Your Days. “God is more interested in who we are becoming than in what we are accomplishing. Great deeds done from bad motives please God less than small deeds done from great character. And character’s primary focus is always on the matter at hand, the duty of the moment.”

Being the Best Christian, HT to Challies. “You would think that after almost 34 years of walking with the Lord, this ‘be the best’ mentality would hardly be a problem anymore, a thing of the past that I’ve outgrown. While the Lord has given me more wisdom and discernment to see it, it still entangles me from time to time.”

Facing the Midlife Spiritual Plateau, HT to Redeeming Productivity. “For those who’ve been following Jesus for years, it’s not uncommon to hit a spiritual plateau, often in midlife. You’re reading the Bible, going to church, part of a growth group, serving where you can—but it feels like you’re no longer growing. Not like you once did. Instead, it’s like you’re coasting.”

What’s Lost Isn’t Always Lost. HT to the Story Warren. “Our most memorable losses are sometimes the most inconsequential ones. Once when I was five, my brother and I were bored outside of church, because our parents were talking to the big people again. So we started playing catch with my Luke Skywalker action figure and after one fumbled throw, Luke dropped through the iron grate of a storm drain. I still have the memory of seeing my prized toy only four feet away, but absolutely inaccessible.”

Diapers of Glory, HT to Challies. “Now that I’m a stay-at-home mom, success looks different than it once did—and, like the disciples, I realize I’ve been asking the wrong questions.”

Diabolus Ex Machina, HT to Challies. This is an unsettling “conversation” with AI in which it repeatedly lies. (Note: not from a Christian source).

Your relationship with God will never be any stronger, more vibrant, or more genuine than your relationship with the Word of God. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth