Laudable Linkage

Posted on January 18, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Some of the good blogging found this week:

Nearness Is Enough, HT to Challies. “For years, I thought the nearness of God would mean that everything would be okay or, at the very least, feel okay. I hoped that his nearness would mean some sort of tangible presence, some sort of relief from pain. I hoped that it would act as a shield and protection around me, that it would stop the fiery arrows of the enemy from penetrating my heart. But that was not the nearness of God.”

Trump, Trudeau, and the 51st State. The situation in Canada, from one who lives there.

Narcissus in Public, HT to Challies. “I took my family to downtown DC, ending the day with what we had envisioned as an idyllic skate at the ice rink in the National Gallery’s Sculpture Garden. Although it was lovely, as ice skating always is, the experience was marred by the presence, for most of our one-hour skate, of a cluster of young women for whom the rink’s only value was as background scenery for Instagram glamour shots.”

The Prosperity Gospel We Sometimes All Believe In. “There is a version of the prosperity gospel that we can all believe in and it goes something like this: ‘God, I gave my life to you, and in exchange I expect you to make my life easy. I may not need riches or opulence, perfect health or abundant wealth, but I would like ease. And if you take that ease from me, I may just assume that your feelings for me have altered or your love for me has waned. I may even regret following you. Please, just keep my life easy.’”

Please Don’t Sing “Imagine” at Funerals, HT to Challies. Or any time, really.

Will You Pass the Test of Praise? HT to Challies. “Generally, testing feels like something we want to avoid. But Scripture mentions a surprising test which looks, at first glance, like an exam we all want and could easily ace.”

The End of My Words. “‘The words of Job are ended.’ Have you ever come to the end of your words? I have. More than once, in my sanctification process, I’ve cried and wailed, and a time or two, I’ve even screamed my case before God until nothing was left. Dry bones. And at the end of my words, something miraculous took place.”

Hosting a Missionary Family. Tips and insights for churches and families hosting a visiting missionary.

I wish, my brothers and sisters, that during this year you may live nearer to Christ than you have ever done before. Depend upon it, it is when we think much of Christ that we think little of ourselves, little of our troubles, and little of the doubts and fears that surround us.
— Charles Spurgeon

Laudable Linkage

Posted on January 11, 2025 by Barbara Harper

I hope you are warm and snug this cold winter morning (if you’re in the northern hemisphere–if it’s summer where you are, stay cool!) Here are some good reads found this week:

Reading the Bible to Meet God, HT to Challies. “In my book Help My Unbelief: Why Doubt is Not the Enemy of Faith I wrote about how important it is to read the Bible to meet God, to read it relationally and as sustenance for the soul. Often we simply read it for information, to follow a rule, or as an academic pursuit. Reading to meet God sounds like a great idea and the ideal for a Christian, but how do we actually do it”

Life Beyond the Spiritual Shallows. “There is a depth to God’s character that cannot be assessed with quick glances and fleeting thoughts. We will never become the kind of women who face the lion’s den without a deep understanding of God’s character. We will never know that depth if we cannot find ways to circumnavigate our brain’s wiring and study God’s Word for longer than eight second bursts.”

Preparing for the Storm, HT to Challies. “We don’t acknowledge the likelihood of impending trials, so we don’t prepare for them. It’s only after the trial has passed, when we’re left trying to pick up the shards of hope and put our lives back together, that we realize we need to stockpile emergency supplies for the next time Sorrow comes knocking at our door. Having lived through one storm, we realize we’ll need a reservoir for the next one.”

Why Pray for Protection When Suffering Keeps Coming? John Piper answers a difficult question from a listener about praying for protection when it seems pointless, when God let bad things happen in the past.

Are You Your Spouse’s Biggest Cheerleader? HT to Challies. “It works both ways. Wives need their husbands to encourage and affirm and cheer for them as well. In healthy, thriving marriages, husbands and wives are cheerleaders for one another. Smart husbands and smart wives know that the Bible is right on target when it says, ‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue’ (Proverbs 18:21). Spoken words can destroy or empower.”

Little People with Big Emotions: 5 Strategies for Emotionally Healthy Kids. This is excellent, something I wish I’d had when mine were young. “I wish I had been better equipped to help my kids when they experienced big emotions. How can we help our children manage their feelings without stuffing them down, prettying them up, or feeling like there’s no room for them?”

Four Reasons Acts 2:38-39 Does Not Imply Infant Baptism. “Though this passage mentions both children and baptism, Acts 2:38–39 leaves no room for infant baptism. Here are four reasons why.”

Sin brings brief pleasures and lasting sorrow.
Repentance brings brief pain and eternal joy.
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

Laudable Linkage

Posted on January 4, 2025 by Barbara Harper

Have things settled down for you now that the holidays are over? Or has your new year started full tilt? We’re in resting/puttering mode–getting things done here and there but taking it slow after a lovely but busy couple of weeks.

There are several good reads found this week. I hope you’ll have time for some of them.

A Happy New Year Task for Writers. Though geared to writers, it’s good for us all. Before resolutions or goals or words for the year, we need to consecrate everything to the Lord.

How Healthy Is Your Soul? Six Questions for a New Year, HT to Redeeming Productivity. “Strewn throughout Scripture, prophets and apostles, wise men and the God-man all urge us to watch ourselves, pay attention to ourselves, and stay awake “lest we drift away” (Hebrews 2:1). Unless we keep our hearts ‘with all vigilance’ (Proverbs 4:23), they will not be kept.”

More Bible, Better Bible in 2024. This was written to preachers but is good for anyone who writes or speaks from the Word of God: we need to read and study it for our own souls, not just to find something to share with others. This was written by one of our former pastors.

The Good Shepherd Is the Lover of My Soul. Some good lessons from the life of Michal, David’s first wife.

What Happens When We Share the Gospel? Six Encouragements, HT to Challies. We may not know exactly what’s going on in hearts when we share the gospel. But there are a few things we do know.

Honor Your (Elderly) Parents: How Adult Children ‘Make Some Return,’ HT to Challies. “What can we tell adult children in the church to help prepare them for this call to honor aging parents and elders? As one in the thick of learning the lessons (and the blessings) of honoring, I would suggest three main messages for the adult children among us.”

Parental Regret: How to Move Forward When You’ve Let Your Kids Down, HT to Challies. “Rather than letting regrets anxiously swirl in our minds, we can take the off-ramp of reckoning honestly with what happened. Did you notice the pattern? It’s relational. Let your regrets move you toward the Lord, toward other Christians, and toward your kids.”

God’s Power Is Made Perfect In Weakness, HT to Challies. “He’s not saying God gives me his power and I feel powerful. This isn’t a shot of divine Red Bull that makes Paul powerful in his own right. No, God’s power is at work even as Paul is weak.”

Finally, just for fun, (Southern) Pride and Prejudice–Jane Austen’s book read in an “American Southern” accent.

Maybe the circumstances you most fear will contain treasures you least expect.
Sarah P. Walton

Laudable Linkage

Posted on December 28, 2024 by Barbara Harper

I’m sorry there was no Laudable Linkage last week. I had not been on the computer much at all and only had two links saved. I’ve done a little catching up this week and have many more to share. The first several pertain to Christmas but are still relatable reading.

Multiple Miracles of Christmas. “There were so many miracles in Christ becoming a man and making possible man’s salvation. Our Christmas celebration focuses on that incomparable miraculous event we call ‘The Incarnation.’ Note just a few of the miracles recorded in the Gospel accounts that were all part of the purpose and plan of God in Christ coming into our world.”

What Did Mary Know? Maybe More Than You Know. “You’ve heard the song. You’ve felt the angst. What did Mary know when she gave birth to Jesus Christ? Well, we have Mary’s song, the Magnificat, in Luke 1:46-55. In it, she reveals what she knew. The depth of her understanding as a teen-aged girl in the first century surpasses all expectations.”

Guard Your Heart from the Christmas Bandits. “In a familiar parable, Jesus described four types of soil that show how our heart condition determines whether the gospel will bear fruit (Matthew 13:1-23). He also identified the bandits that steal the good news. Let’s apply His teaching to Christmas and protect ourselves from the Christmas bandits.” This is good beyond Christmas.

We Three Kings . . .. HT to Challies. This was interesting and informative not only for who they were, but why they were included in Matthew’s gospel.

Making the Most of the Holidays with Your Adult Children, HT to Challies. “While we trust and pray for God to work, there are many things we can do to make the most of the holidays with our adult children”

Have You Lost the Ability to Think Deeply? HT to Challies. “While entertainment isn’t sinful, we need to ask ourselves if it’s affecting our spiritual growth. Jesus commands us in Mark 12:30, ‘Love the Lord your God . . . with all your mind’—our minds are connected to our affections. When we limit mindless entertainment and replace it with deeper content and conversations, our relationship with God and others will benefit.”

Finally Transformed: From Transgender to Christian, HT to Challies. “Christianity bears the brunt of modern criticism. It was oppressive to me—too limiting and too judgmental. I strived to resist it at all costs, believing ‘Bible thumpers’ the most viciously opposed to my identity as Andrea, even more so than the strangers shouting mean comments in the streets. But then I was transformed.”

Creativity in Devotional Time with God. “Reading the Bible straight through as it is printed from Genesis to Revelation can easily become old, even too predictable. Prayer through an unchanging prayer list day in and day out can be quite dry. I would like to help us stir our creative juices a bit and offer some practical ideas for keeping our devotional time fresh.”

The Reality of Edmund, HT to the Story Warren. Kelly Keller writes that in her childhood, she loved Lucy in the Narnia stories. But returning to the series as an adult, she found much to identify with in Edmund. She brought out some things about him that I had forgotten.

9 Ways to Help Those Who Are Suffering, HT to Challies. “While we feel compassion, we often find ourselves at a loss for what to do. Whether it’s a struggling spouse, a grieving friend, or a hurting member in our church, we want to help, but we’re unsure of the best approach. We walk a fine line between giving people space and showing up, between speaking truth and offering a listening ear. We fear doing or saying the wrong thing. It’s difficult to navigate. So, how do we help those who are suffering? How can we grow in showing up with love and wisdom?”

What? You Don’t? HT to Challies. “C.S. Lewis famously once said that friendship is birthed when the one says to the other, ‘What! You too?’1 The thought holds much truth, but the older I get, the more I learn it doesn’t always have to be.”

Teach Your Teen About Christian Freedom, HT to Challies. “When kids are young, we work hard to train their consciences, to teach them God’s commands and how to choose between right and wrong. But as kids get older, they must learn to navigate issues that aren’t black and white. They need wisdom to discern between good choices and those that are best.”

How (Not to Use AI: Three Principles, HT to Challies. “Along with technologies of writing, currency, transportation, and food production, AI confronts us with this quandary: how can we use this and not be corrupted by it?”

“Welcome, New Year,” said Captain Jim . . . “I wish you all the best year of your lives, mates. I reckon that whatever the New Year brings us will be the best the Great Captain has for us.”
–L. M. Montgomery, Anne’s House of Dreams

Laudable Linkage

Posted on December 14, 2024 by Barbara Harper

This is a busy time of year, but here are a few good reads you might find thought-provoking when you have a moment:

Uncomfortable Christmases, HT to Challies. I saw this last year after Christmas and saved it for this year. “But for some of us, going to a holiday gathering (or hosting one) can be fraught with spiritual tension when few (or none) share our Christian faith. And given numerous trends in our society, the tension may only get worse in the days ahead.”

Eleven Hindrances to Answered Prayer. HT to Challies.

Thinking About Bruce Willis and Jesus, HT to Challies. “We often talk as Christians about the suddenness of death. We talk to unbelievers about how important it is to not put off a decision for Jesus until later, because what if death comes calling when you don’t expect it. I wonder though have often we talk about or think about for ourselves, the suddenness of debilitation or disablement; how fast we can go from a fully functioning person, to our arms not working, our legs not working, our kidneys not working or even our mind not working.”

Keep This in Mind When There Is “Too Much to Do,” HT to Challies. This is written to pastors but has good advice for all.

Proverbs 31 Is Not Just for Women. Marli has an interesting perspective on this chapter that I’d not heard before.

How to Read and Remember, HT to Challies. “Someone recently asked me how to stay focused and retain what they read. It’s an important question, especially for anyone devoted to a life of profitable reading and learning.”

The Almighty Bean: When God’s Good Gift Becomes an Idol. “Maybe you own the t-shirt that says, ‘I need a little bit of coffee and a whole lot of Jesus.’ In truth, we just need Jesus—coffee optional.”

Wrap Up Some Stuff this Christmas, HT to Challies. “Our consumer-driven mentality is out of control, and we feel it everyday as more and more waste piles up around us. Sometimes a good answer is to slow down, cut back, and remove the unused things in our lives. But sometimes it’s not. Because you and I were created for a world full of things.”

More Than a Feeling: Be Ruled by Peace. “I’ve often fallen into the trap of thinking that peace is primarily a feeling. So when circumstances outside my control arise—my kids’ health situations, strained relationships, or some other crisis—peace feels elusive . . . drowned out by anxiety, sadness, anger, or overwhelm. This is why it’s important to understand peace as a reality that does not change when we encounter trials and suffering. Peace originates in the unchanging person of Jesus, and it never runs dry, regardless of what we’re facing or what our emotions might tell us. “

I sometimes think of changing the name of my “Laudable Linkage” posts, and one reason is that it seems weird to include links back to my own posts under such a title. But there are two that I think might be helpful this time of year:

Christmas Grief, Christmas Hope, Christmas Joy. Both of my parents and my grandmother all died in December, in different years. It seems every year I know of someone with a fresh loss during the holiday season. Even “old” grief can flare this time of year.

You Don’t Have to Choose a Word for the Year. Some do this rather than New Year’s resolutions and find great benefit in it. If it’s helpful, great. But it’s not a must. “What’s more vital than a word for the year is daily seeking God in His Word.”

Christmas is gloriously out of step with the times, for it outlasts the times. It champions obscurity over visibility. Humility over hubris. Divine mercy over human effort.
–G. K. Chesterton

Laudable Linkage

Posted on December 7, 2024 by Barbara Harper

Some of the good reads found this week:

How to Have a Perfect Christmas. “The longer I live, the more I realize perfect Christmases only appear in movies. No surprise, really, because real Christmases are never perfect.”

The Other Christmas Story. “We all love the Christmas story in Matthew’s gospel. . . . What we seldom notice, however, is that there is another Christmas story in Matthew, another version of how Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph. This overlooked account is squeezed between a list of Jesus’ ancestors and the familiar story.”

8 Proofs that the Bible Is One Story. “Does the Bible sometimes seem random to you? What does Hezekiah have to do with Philemon? How is Enoch connected to Ruth? What do battles in ancient Mesopotamia have to do with the church? Is the Bible really all one story?”

5 Tips to Reinforce Your Bible Study and Prayer Routine, HT to Knowable Word. “No church leader wants to admit it, but for many of us it’s true: we still don’t have a sustainable habit for personal Bible study and prayer. Here are five ways forward—true for anyone, church leader or not.”

You Can Read the Bible to Your Kids. “And one day, out of the blue, she asks me an innocent question that cuts me deeply. ‘Papa, how can I tell people about Jesus when I grow up, unless you first read the whole Bible to me?’”

Re: Is God Calling Me to Obscurity or Influence? I loved this post. Christa makes good points about both obscurity and influence.

Modesty Requires Looking Away. “When we talk about modesty we usually speak about the way people present themselves in public with their dress or demeanor, with their words or their actions. We speak about the immodest ways people may draw attention to themselves, whether to their bodies, their wealth, their power, or any other attribute. But no sin has just one side. If one side of modesty is refusing to display what should remain private, the other side is refusing to pay attention to what is not our concern.”

13 Ways to Redeem Small Pockets of Time. “Too often, however, we overlook the potential of small pockets of time. They seem too short to get anything meaningful done in them. But with a pinch of discipline and a dash of strategy, you can train yourself to redeem these little bits of time for the glory of God.”

This Christian message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity — hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory — because at the Father’s will Jesus Christ became poor and was born in a stable so that thirty years later he might hang on a cross. –J. I. Packer

Laudable Linkage

Posted on November 30, 2024 by Barbara Harper

I haven’t been online much this week, but here are a few good reads I’ve found:

The News Media Is Broken. What Now? HT to Challies. “I explained to my friend that I’d spent the last few years consuming news from both sides of the aisle, hoping to figure out what was going on. I complained that it hadn’t worked. ‘Instead of just being confused,’ I said, ‘I’m also exhausted and angry. Who can I trust to report the truth?’ I didn’t expect his response. ‘Mike, it’s worse than you think, and I’m more frustrated than you are.'”

Ashamed of the Gospel, HT to Challies. “I trusted in Jesus and his payment for my sins, but the thought of approaching a stranger (or anyone really) to evangelize left my stomach queasy. I read stories of people who unnerved passersby and their loved ones with constant questions like, ‘Where will you spend eternity?’ I could not relate. Besides writing about my Christian faith on social media, my evangelism was non-existent.”

5 Ways to Be Sincerely Kind to Someone You Disagree With, HT to Challies. “Kindness in dialogue is powerful, especially when we are speaking with someone we disagree with. Kindness opens up not only relational doors but intellectual doors. In other words, it helps us not only to like each other more but to understand each other better.”

What Does the Bible Say About Manifestation and the Law of Attraction? “Many Christians don’t recognize that these seemingly harmless exercises usually rest upon a philosophy that has permeated the world of self-development. It is a philosophy that runs contrary to what God’s Word says and contains spiritually dangerous teachings. Still, many believers seeking to pursue self-development have adopted its practices without realizing what they are getting into. I’m talking about the philosophy manifestation”

What To Do Before You Read the Bible, HT to Knowable Word. “There is one aspect that I find myself attending to with more focus than I have before: the pre-workout warmup. . . . As I have grown in Christ and sought to challenge myself to embody Paul’s charge not just to train my body, but, more importantly, to “train yourself for godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7), I have learned that in my spiritual training, I need a warmup routine as well.”

Praying for Daniels, HT to Challies. “Since the election, I’ve been convicted to pray for God to raise up “Daniels”- men who understand the times and know what our country should do- on both sides of the aisle. We need to pray for gifted men and women with character who are capable, competent, and able to solve difficult problems.”

Unless humility precede, accompany, and follow every good action which we perform, being at once the object which we keep before our eyes, the support to which we cling, and the monitor by which we are restrained, pride wrests wholly from our hand any good work on which we are congratulating ourselves. All other vices are to be apprehended when we are doing wrong; but pride is to be feared even when we do right actions, lest those things which are done in a praiseworthy manner be spoiled by the desire for praise itself.–Augustine

Laudable Linkage

Posted on November 23, 2024 by Barbara Harper

I came across quite a few good reads this week:

What Would Happen if You Became a Christian? A Thought Experiment, HT to Challies. “Let me invite you into a thought experiment. What if you became a Christian? What would change? I’m talking about an actual disciple of Jesus, not a Christian in name only. What would be different if you became a Christian?”

He No Longer Sleeps. “Do you remember that Jesus is in your boat? He’s with you. He sees you. And He’s not asleep or unaware or busy with someone else.” (This post has Mendelssohn’s “He, Watching Over Israel” from Elijah in my thoughts this week.)

When You Long for Justice, HT to Challies. Mixed emotions after a sexual assault.

When Offenses Come: How to Forgive and Move On, HT to Challies. “The air of our Father’s home is grace — grace from basement to attic and floor to ceiling, grace in every room. He crowns us with grace, clothes us with grace, sings over us with grace (Romans 5:2). Far be it from us, then, as the children of this God, to replace his grace with malice, gossip, passive-aggressive paybacks, or bitter distancing from a brother or sister whom God has forgiven.”

Do Children Need to Consent to Puberty? HT to Challies. I am continually amazed at the world’s warped thought processes. This article explains why the answer to the title question is “No.”

On Winning the War: The World. This is the second in a series of fighting against a Christian’s enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil.

On the Other Side of the Wall. A lovely tribute and a great way to think about loved ones who have passed on.

The Messages We Receive, HT to Challies. “Messages about who we are—our identity—are powerful. They can shape how we see ourselves, how we see the world, and how we see God. It is a matter that regularly comes up in counseling conversations. When people have hard experiences in their lives or have been mistreated by others, it always proves valuable to explore what messages those experiences have communicated about who they are.” I especially like her examples of reframing messages with God’s truth about us.

What Is My Spiritual Gift? Maybe You’re Asking the Wrong Question, HT to Challies. “In view of the ink spilt and bytes downloaded on the matter of discovering one’s spiritual gift, you might be surprised to learn that such introspection is completely absent in all these passages. Either Paul and Peter failed to answer such a vital question . . . or we are asking the wrong question. I think the latter is the case.”

The Plimsoll Line, HT to Challies. “’The Plimsoll line is a reference mark located on a ship’s hull that indicates the maximum depth to which the vessel may be safely immersed when loaded with cargo.’ . . . . Years ago I decided to include the Plimsoll line in my marriage.” In this case, the Plimsoll line has to do with one being an extrovert and one being an introvert.

10 Correctable Mistakes We Make When Preaching and Teaching, HT to Challies. Some of these would apply to writing as well.

67 Screen-Free Activities for Kids, HT to Redeeming Productivity.

“Better to be disappointed a thousand times—yes, and be deceived—than once miss a chance to help a soul. The love of God suffices for any disappointment, for any defeat. And in that love is the energy of faith and the very sap of hope.” Amy Carmichael

Laudable Linkage

Posted on November 16, 2024 by Barbara Harper

I hope you’ll find something of interest in this collection of good reads.

Love the Church Like Jesus, HT to Challies. “Imagine you see a bride early on the morning of her wedding day — and she is a mess.” But she’ll look very different at the wedding, and it would be wrong and foolish to tell others how awful she looked that morning. The author provides an interesting comparison to the imperfections of the church and what it will be someday, and how we look at it as Jesus does.

Why Am I So Spiritually Dry? HT to Challies. “As I crunched my way through my neighborhood and watched the clouds for rain, I realized that dry seasons can be for our good. Sometimes spiritual dry spells come with a diagnosis and sometimes they don’t, but the only way through them is through them.”

Do You Feel Overwhelmed When You Pray? 3 Reasons not to Lose Heart. “Take heart, weary prayer warrior. When our feelings overwhelm us and the trials of life threaten to drown us, we can look to the unchanging truths of the Bible for strength and hope.”

Responding When Those We Respect Disappoint Us, HT to Challies. “While we understand intellectually that every person we meet is fallen and desperately needs God’s grace, that knowledge gets tested when someone we deeply respect disappoints us.”

The Spiritual Gift Inventory I Believe In. “In many churches, it is standard practice to have Christians take some kind of a spiritual gift inventory. Through a series of questions that probe an individual’s interests, passions, and successes, these tests claim to help people discover the ways the Holy Spirit has gifted them to better love and serve his people. Much has been written about such inventories and many people have expressed a degree of skepticism about their usefulness or accuracy.”

Marriage Happy, Marriage Holy. I really don’t like the saying that marriage is to make us holy, not happy. Scripture depicts marriage as happy. Yet when two sinners live together, they are bound to have differences and irritations. Tim Challies shares some of the surprising ways marriage can help sanctify us.

God’s Good Gift of Hobbies, HT to Redeeming Productivity. Steve Lindsey discusses many valuable benefits of hobbies. .

Why I’m Grateful to Live in 2024. Though there’s a lot wrong in the world, we’re also immeasurably blessed.

The Criticized Leader, HT to Challies. Good advice even for followers.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago Ciara Dierking, who lost all four limbs after a near-fatal illness. Revive Our Hearts has two episodes of a podcast with her. You can listen to or read the transcript of Part 1: What Did I Do to Deserve This? here, and Part 2: More Grateful Than Before, here.

He makes us wait. He keeps us on purpose in the dark. He makes us walk when we want to run, sit still when we want to walk, for He has things to do in our souls that we are not interested in. –Elisabeth Elliot, Secure in the Everlasting Arms

Laudable Linkage

Posted on November 9, 2024 by Barbara Harper

Here are the latest good reads I’ve discovered:

If You Want to Be Like God. “At the root of every sin is some desire for godlikeness. . . . But. Satan didn’t invent this desire. Instead, he hijacked a desire that God had already wired into His creatures. God’s intention for us has always been for us to be like Him – just in a very different way.“

The School of Faith: When God’s Ways Are a Mystery, HT to Challies. “But what about those seasons when God remains silent to prayers? What about that time when you prayed for protection and the very thing you feared and prayed against became a reality? What about that moment when you took a step of faith and followed God’s difficult leading, only to be met with more difficulty and nothing but confusion? Where is God’s love and goodness in those moments?”

A Call to Christian Unity in a Divided Country. “Today, and going forward, may people look at us and know more about the God we serve, than the man or woman we voted for. Shaming, blaming, gloating, laughing, wishing harm, or questioning people’s salvation over their voting choices is not reflective of the One who laid down his life for us.”

A Warning About Having Children. “The surgeon general recently issued a new public health advisory. Forget pandemics or toxic substances; this time the source of this warning is likely sleeping under the same roof as you. The culprit: your own kids. According to the surgeon general’s report, the mental toll of raising children is ‘an urgent public health issue.’ As the mother of a larger-than-average family—we have five children ages 18 months to 18 years—I’d like to think I have a little credibility on this topic.” I’d been mulling over posting about the benefits of children, since so much of society seems to view them as a bother and inconvenience. Jessica Burke does this well and shows the joy and positivity of being around little people.

On Parenting: Are You Bribing Your Way Through? “While our heavenly Father does use the promise of reward as a facet of the motivation He gives believers, it is only a part of the entire diamond that is the relationship we enjoy as His children. We too, can make use of measured, deserved, and appropriate rewards. However, the bribing system, which uses them perpetually to calm situations or direct behavior, deprives children of the biblical wisdom parents are commanded to impart.”

Design: Does Evolution Care About You? “It constantly amazes me to hear those committed to an evolutionary worldview talking about design. They can’t help themselves. Everything is so intricately designed.”

What Cheap Comfort Will Cost You. “What He has spent this year exposing is that I don’t have a shopping problem; I have a comfort problem. All my life, I have been seeking comfort in all the wrong places. The question God’s Word asks is: where do you turn for comfort?”

Toward. “Depending on your opinion and vote, you are either feeling elated or disappointed. And now we each have a choice to make – will we let the outcome continue to be divisive and cause arguments; or will we let it bring us toward one another to encourage one another?

10 Ways Your Pastor Wishes You Would Pray for Him. “I emailed the senior pastor at my church and asked him for his practical input. He responded by telling me that prayer is the most important way that church members can encourage their pastors. This prompted another email and another question: how do you want your congregation to pray for you?“

The Church’s Unsung Hero: The Persevering Sunday School Teacher, HT to Challies. “The most significant contributions to the kingdom often come from those who never stand in the spotlight.”

Announcing Our 10th Annual Bible Reading Challenge. Knowable Word has a challenge to read the Bible in 90 days. I’ve never tried this, but I’ve heard from friends who have that they’ve seen overarching themes and connections that way that they never noticed before. KW is offering some nice prizes as incentive.

I’ve seen recommendations for Advent devotionals popping up this week from Michele Morin and Tim Challies. I’ve not read any on either list except Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus, compiled by Nancy Guthrie–and how fun that it was on both lists! It was on my list of recommendations last year, too.

Take heed that we hear, what we hear, and how we hear. Warren Wiersbe

Jesus admonishes us to take heed that we hear (Matt. 13: 9),
take heed what we hear (Mark 4: 24), and
take heed how we hear (Luke 8: 18).
–Warren Wiersbe