Laudable Linkage

Posted on November 2, 2024 by Barbara Harper

Comfort and Joy: How God Used the Loss of a Loved One to Save the Life of Another, HT to Challies. “Grief is painful, angry, messy, and real. But God does not abandon us in the midst of it. In fact, from soil soaked by tears, He can cultivate healing, goodness, and beauty—even if our broken hearts can’t see it right away.”

Christianity Is not Colonial: An Autobiographical Account, HT to Challies. “According to this ‘Christianity is colonial’ narrative, Christianity is the ‘white,’ ‘western’ religion which permitted all the above. Therefore, the Christian God is himself a racist colonialist who deserves, not to be worshiped, but to be denounced. This association of Christianity with colonialism is so out of step with reality as to be literally ridiculous.”

COVID’s Gift: The Gem We Should Now See We Were Missing. “If I asked you to make a list of the ten two-word phrases most common in the New Testament, the phrase ‘in Christ’ wouldn’t make it on most of our lists. Yet that phrase and its variants occur more times in the New Testament than the phrases ‘the cross,’ ‘eternal life,’ or even ‘Jesus Christ.'” The author posits that understanding our unity in Christ would reignite our love and understanding of the church. The best part of the article is under the heading “How are believers unified with Jesus?”

I’m Fine! “How are you today? No, I mean really, how are you today? I know you know the socially, western culturally correct response is that you are fine, however, that’s not what we’re about here, in this space.”

Purposes of Predictive Prophecy. “Certainly prophecy is intended to have a present impact on the believer’s faith and practice. No one should dispute that. But some posit that viewing eschatological prophecy as a detailed prediction of specific events short-circuits the ethical intention of such prophecy. I am positing that God tells us about the future because He actually wants us to know what is going to happen and expects us to believe that it is going to happen just as He says.”

We Need to Sing More Than Songs of Praise, HT to Challies. I agree, though I think singing does more than express emotion.

Sanctification and Sexual Purity: God’s Will for Your Life, HT to Challies. “There is a direct link between our holiness and our sexual purity. There’s a direct link between your body which is united to Christ and what you do with your body. And that my friends is not popular.”

Finally, I don’t know David and Ciara Dierking, but evidently many of my friends do, because I started seeing requests for prayer all over Facebook back in December when Ciara and her young son Colton became ill. Colton had COVID and strep, I believe, and two abscesses of infection in his neck. Once he had surgery to drain those, he was well on the road to recovery. Ciara had influenza B, group A strep, severe pneumonia, which sent her into toxic shock (sepsis). She nearly died. The medicine to treat the sepsis narrowed her blood vessels to the point that her extremities couldn’t get enough oxygen. She ended up having both arms and both legs amputated.

You can imagine how devastating that would be, especially for a young wife and mother. As I have prayed over and ached with this sweet family these last several months, there have been so many signs of God’s hand on them.

Ciara was rereading Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth’s book, Choosing Gratitude, when all of this happened. As her family put excerpts from the book that Ciara had underlined on their Facebook page, somehow Nancy learned of it and asked if she could interview Ciara and David. That episode will air November 11 and 12 on the Revive Our Hearts app or website or podcast. But as part of that interview, ROH made this video. I encourage you to watch, be encouraged, and pray for this family. They’ve all overcome many challenges, but still have many more ahead. I’m going to leave this here in place of my usual Saturday morning graphic.

Laudable Linkage

Posted on October 26, 2024 by Barbara Harper

Here are some of the good reads found this week:

Why, My Soul, Are You Dejected? HT to the Story Warren. “Some people beat themselves up for feeling sad. Recently, an older Christian shared with me the many ways they do this. They said, ‘I know it’s bad, I should be happier if I have faith in God, right?’ They treated their sorrow with gut punches of shame. Some medicate it with distractions. Some do all they can to avoid it. Sadness surprises and embarrasses them. It shouldn’t.”

God Brings Us Bad to Give Us Best, HT to Challies. “When God lobs a hand grenade into life and rattles our faith to the core, we wonder how he’ll work the pieces of shrapnel together for our good. What does good mean, anyway?”

Why We Should Expect Witnesses to Disagree, HT to Knowable Word. “No two people are alike, so no two people experience an event in precisely the same way. If you’ve got three witnesses in a murder case, expect three slightly different versions of the event. Don’t panic, that’s normal. In fact, when three different witnesses tell me the exact same thing, I start to get suspicious.” J. Warner Wallace then applies this to the gospels and explains why variations between them don’t make them unreliable.

Helping Husbands After a Miscarriage, HT to Challies. This is part of a series from Biblical Counseling Coalition on reproductive loss.

Are You Scattering Bad Seed? “Every day good seeds are being sown into the lives of the people around us, the people we love and are called to serve. And every day we are tempted to plant thorns among them, to sow weeds among the wheat and tares among the crops.”

The Trouble with Competitiveness, , HT to Challies. “Competitiveness comes in many forms, which is part of its sneakiness. And because of its prevalence in our culture, we can easily deceive ourselves into thinking that it’s really not such a big deal. Author Jerry Bridges names competitiveness as one of our ‘respectable sins.’ And this respectable sin may seem fun for the moment, but it’s anything but harmless.”

The Procrastination Spiral. How procrastination becomes cyclic, discussion about whether or not it is a sin, and tips for breaking the cycle.

What Pastoral Productivity Can and Cannot Do For You, HT to Redeeming Productivity. Even though this article is aimed at pastors, I found the principles helpful as well. “Although the benefits of productivity can change your life and maybe your ministry, life in a fallen world means the benefits of productivity are limited. . . Although productivity can help you fulfill your purpose, productivity should not be your purpose.”

When you think of what you are, and despair;
think also of what He is, and take heart.
–Charles H. Spurgeon

Laudable Linkage

Posted on October 19, 2024 by Barbara Harper

I have a fairly long list of good online articles discovered this week. Perhaps a few will be of interest to you.

Gone Are the Dark Clouds, HT to Challies. “If communicating the gospel appears daunting, remember that Christ commissions and accompanies us. Through Jesus’s work on the cross we are reconciled to God, not abandoned. We can talk about this with genuine care and love for people.”

Why Does God Say No to Good Things, HT to Challies. “We understand why God would reject requests contrary to his revealed will (e.g., for provisions to rob a bank successfully) or purely materialistic requests (e.g., to win the lottery). But why would God say no to something good—seemingly consistent with his desires?”

Satan Loves Social Media. “Every other video on the internet seems to be trying to convince women to be dissatisfied with their lives. I’m not just talking about people displaying gorgeous homes and inspiring jealousy. I’m not even talking about the vast array of ads and influencer posts that convince us we aren’t allowed to age or sport any type of physical imperfections. I’m talking about reel after reel of men and women explaining to women specifically and in great detail why we should be unhappy.”

Great Gifts but Little Faithfulness. “I have known Christians who have great gifts but low faithfulness. God has given them much and it is apparent that they are making little of it. . . . I have also known men who have few gifts but great faithfulness. God has given them little and it is apparent that they are making much of it.”

No Little People. No Little Places, HT to Challies. “As Francis Schaeffer would say, ‘No little people, no little places.’ Everything God gives us to do is big and beautiful and of eternal significance. So let’s not miss out on the chances God gives us every single day to make a difference to someone.”

I Asked the Lord That I Might Grow, but He doesn’t always answer in the ways we expected. HT to Challies.

A Key Discipline: Observe Without Judgment. “It can be jarring to worship in a church that adheres to an unfamiliar tradition. Customs may be strange and patterns may differ from what I am accustomed to. And it is at the point of such differences that I immediately find myself tempted to pass judgment.”

Stretching Joy: 10 Ways to Notice God’s Everyday Mercies, HT to Challies. “I’ve been considering lately how to amplify singular moments of joy or beauty that God gives me. I want them to be longer-lasting, more durable experiences of thanksgiving that coexist with ongoing hardship, sorrow, or struggle with sin.”

The Glory of Good Work, HT to Redeeming Productivity. “Watching someone do good work brings joy. So does hearing someone talk about how they do something difficult that’s worth doing for the good and enjoyment of others. Proverbs 22:29 says, “Do you see a man skillful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.” God made us to enjoy seeing people who are good at their work.”

Grace and Peace in an Election Year. “In an election year, loving our politically-other neighbor may feel more costly than airfare with an extra baggage fee! Our toughest cross-cultural assignment may be extending grace to a colleague or fellow church member whose opinions seem incomprehensible to us.”

“If we really want God’s will to be done and His kingdom to come, the chances are pretty good that my will is going to have to be undone every once in a while.” –Elisabeth Elliot

Laudable Linkage

Posted on October 12, 2024 by Barbara Harper

I haven’t been online as much as usual this week, but I have a short list of good reads discovered.

Count It All Joy: How to Grow and Mature in Trials. “I have a confession to make: Sometimes I revert to thinking like I’m in a fairytale. This one meets that one, and they live happily ever after. This happens and that happens and . . . they live happily ever after.”

Let’s Stop the Kid Jokes, HT to Challies. “While joking about kids may seem inconsequential in the moment, this sort of talk points to a larger cultural trend toward devaluing children by depicting them as burdensome and annoying. As Christians, we need to pause and reflect on how we speak about our children. Do our comments about parenting and our children’s struggles reflect Christ’s heart or the hot takes of our culture?”

The Measure of a Mom: How Women Combat Comparison. “Even in the local church, conflict flares unseen in the minds of mothers who allow their choices to become their identity. And with so many choices available, there are infinite ways for us to be divided.”

I Don’t Want to Be Taught! “While the rest of us are trying to white-knuckle a disciplined outward appearance, my youngest daughter’s disdain for being taught was in full display. It caused me to consider the state of my own heart, how often I might resent being shown my lack of wisdom and knowledge in matters more weighty than chess. Despite following Christ for most of my life, I find I am often still trying to go it alone, trying to prove I know the rules (or can make my own) and can safely play by them.”

How I Read Ten Books at Once. My own routine has some similarities, except I’m in five to seven books at any given time. I shared some of that several years ago in Finding Time to Read.

You Can’t Afford to Sit Out the 2024 Election. “There is no perfect party or candidate. But some support policies that do a better job of honoring biblical values. I pray for protection for those who do.” I don’t say much about politics here, but I believe we need to be good stewards of this right we’ve been given to have a voice in our elected officials.

Unbelief puts our circumstances between us and God,
but faith puts God between us and our circumstances.
—F. B. Meyer

Laudable Linkage

Posted on October 5, 2024 by Barbara Harper

Here is some of the thought-provoking writing I found online this week:

The Corner of Sanity. “The Corner of Sanity has ended up being the most graciously extended metaphor for my life as a Mom; I’ve willingly handed over my sleep schedule, my to-do list, and certainly my standards of cleanliness each time a new baby comes along. But from the beginning, I’ve learned the vital importance of holding fast to morning time with God to get me through. Many other priorities can be downgraded or abandoned entirely, but going without time in the Word and in prayer has been akin to spiritual starvation. Trying to love and tend young life while starving is impossible to sustain—at some point, I will just run dry.”

When You Fear Your Best Days Are Behind You. “We notice how our struggles have changed us and fear we may never be able to do anything significant again. We look at how we are now, compare ourselves to how we used to be, and think our most fruitful years are behind us.”

Complaining to God. “In the book of Numbers the people of Israel are judged for moaning and groaning about not having enough food. Then why are there so many Psalms of lament, suggesting that complaining to God is okay?”

How Hannah Found Peace in the Middle of Pain. “Sometimes I’ve told myself, ‘When I get past this, then I’ll quit fretting.’ However, if my peace depends on my circumstances or other people, then peace is fragile and illusive. The story of Hannah in 1 Samuel 1-2 shows sorrow and challenges can either rob our peace or push us toward the Source of peace.”

Proverbs Purpose #4: To Transform People. “He desires nothing less than the transformation of the simple person (‘the youth’) into a wise person (who has ‘prudence’), and of a wise person (‘one who understands’) into a wiser person (one who will ‘increase in learning’).”

Guard Your Heart When Suffering, HT to Challies. “In an effort to pull us away from fellowship with the Lord and our effectiveness in the kingdom of God, Satan is always looking for weak spots to target his assaults on God’s children. His long experience with humans has taught him that we are especially vulnerable in times of physical weakness. This is why he delights in or taking advantage of times of physical suffering.”

What If He’s Faithful? HT to Challies.”I’d like to pose another question when life is hard and you’re fearful of the future. What if He’s faithful? Instead of immediately defaulting to all the potential disasters, what if we take our thoughts captive and force them to settle down in front of the 100% likelihood of who God will be to us no matter how hard life gets?”

He’s Still Working on Me. “As he and I don’t go away by ourselves very often, I had a verrrry hard time with this turn of events. Since I’m a Christian and believe in the sovereignty of God, I knew God could have changed the timing of this sickness or just not allowed it to happen in the first place. But he didn’t. And though it wasn’t a life-threatening illness, I was still less than pleased.”

Clearing Up Confusion About Humility, HT to Challies.”Here’s the simple guideline: To develop humility, don’t put yourself up relative to others, and don’t put others down relative to you. Instead, do the opposite.”

“The only thing that keeps me stable and settled in these days of uncertainty
is the absolute dependability of God’s Word.” — Elisabeth Elliot

Laudable Linkage

Posted on September 28, 2024 by Barbara Harper

Here are some good reads found this week:

Living with Hope in Mental Illness, HT to Challies. “In this day and age, people are easily and haphazardly diagnosed with mental illnesses. There are times that sin (e.g. anxiety) is labeled as mental illness. But I believe that there are also times when mental illness proves to be real. Mental illness is a normal and natural part of the brokenness of this world.”

The Uncarnation of Christ? HT to Challies. “Doctrine is vital to the Christian life. I must state that upfront for the sake of everything else I’m about to say, lest I’m misread. We can never diminish or dilute the importance of sound doctrine. My concern is when our theology never rises above the ink set on the page. I want to warn us about doing theology in a way that depersonalizes our Lord. Any approach to doctrine that dehumanizes Jesus of Nazareth is deadly to our spirituality.”

Rome’s Seven Deadly Errors, HT to Challies. “Let me lay out again the reasons we should be seriously concerned with Roman Catholic teaching — and that, at numerous levels, its contradictory stance toward Scripture produces, I think, a kind of religion that I fear has led many people astray, even into destruction. And I do not mean that Roman Catholicism has a corner on that kind of misleading teaching. There are lots of brands of so-called ‘Christian’ tradition that have damaged people by the errors that they represent.”

Leading Children Into a Wider, Deeper Love of Jesus.”‘Jesus loves me, this I know.‘ What a sweet sound it is when words about Jesus flow by memory out of even the youngest child. Simple truths like these help kids start to see the beauty of the gospel. But a common pitfall is to stop there. When we teach our kids about Jesus only in simple, general terms, they may come to know Jesus only vaguely or even wrongly. The love of Christ is broad, long, high, and deep (Eph. 3:18). How can we help our children to know Him more fully? One way is to help them see Him in all of Scripture. Here are four questions to keep asking as you open the Bible with your family.”

The Calling of Motherhood, HT to Challies. “It had been a good day. A day of errands, laundry, reading books together, playing, and caring for my children. I tucked my 3 and 2-year-olds into bed, came downstairs and sat my tired body on the couch. I opened social media for a few minutes before cleaning up from the day. In a matter of moments, I felt my heart go from thankful and satisfied to longing for more and dissatisfied with what I hadn’t accomplished that day.”

Exposed to Hope: The Evangelism of Welcome, HT to Challies. “I have long admired bold and courageous people who aren’t afraid to share the gospel with strangers. But for many years, I felt ashamed that I would rather eat a hundred stuffed peppers than “evangelize.” What kind of a Christian wasn’t eager to share the Good News with others? I wondered. I never considered that evangelism could also be a way of living, rather than a frightening obligation.”

Slow and Costly in a World of Fast and Cheap, HT to Redeeming Productivity. “I’m worried about a world in which A.I. and algorithms are in control, and we’re reduced to passive consumers. There’s a solution. . . . ‘People are seeking things that are rare and valuable right now. In a world of cheap and fast, people desire slow and well-crafted.'”

A Letter to Mentors with lots of ideas of what such a letter could include.

When I looked at that person who had offended me through the “spiritual eye,” I saw in him one of God’s instruments to teach me, instead of one of the devil’s to torment me. I saw something more. I saw a person God loves, and whom He wants to love through me. — Elisabeth Elliot

Laudable Linkage

Posted on September 21, 2024 by Barbara Harper

Here are some of the good reads found this week:

Will God Forgive My Worst Sin? “When I hear this question that’s so filled with self-recrimination and doubt and fear and guilt, I want very much to introduce this woman — I wish I knew her name, as I could call her by name — to what I have for many years called ‘gutsy guilt.”

God Is Good to Forbid Sin. A helpful lens with which to view God’s commandments.

How Do Spiritually Mature Christians Handle Suffering? “Much of our thinking about suffering is unbiblical. We tend to think that spiritual maturity somehow inoculates us against the pain of suffering. We falsely imagine that the more spiritually mature we are, the less emotional pain we will experience when we suffer.”

What If the Worst Happens? “I found myself growing fearful. Not a heart-stopping, all-encompassing fear, but the kind of constant gnawing that occurs when you look at the discouraging trends of the present and assume things will never change. When you think about the future and wonder, ‘What if the worst happens?'”

John Piper on Brokenhearted Boldness: A Christian Alternative to Outrage Culture. “Boldness can become brash, harsh, severe, cruel, angry, impatient, contentious, belligerent, coarse, crude, snarky, snide, loud, garish, obnoxious — all in the name of Christian courage. Or more subtly, boldness in the cause of truth can become, even if less brash and severe, more all-consuming. It can become such a fixation that all other beautiful affections and dispositions are eaten away from within.”

How to “Get Over It” When You Taught Poorly. “If you teach the Bible regularly, you know the experience of wishing you had done better — sometimes much better — immediately after you finished.” This is true for writing as well as speaking.

Is That Person Male or Female? “Is there a scientific and effective way to discern whether someone is male or female? The answer is yes. There have been established methods for a long time. It’s only with the recent rise of transgender ideology that there has been any substantial pushback to these methods. Here are three ways to determine whether someone is male or female.”

How to Have Better Conversations. “The problem is that if asked, most of us would have no plan for how to improve our conversation skills. We have goals for our weight and physical exercise but not for what occupies more time than anything else in our day. If you don’t have ideas on how you can improve your conversation skills, you won’t.” This is something I have struggled with over the years. Numbers 1 and 2 have been the most helpful to me.

In the past, I’ve included a phrase a phrase behind the links in these posts—a “HT” to another site. Occasionally someone will ask me what “HT” means. It refers to “hat tip,” a way of giving a nod to the place where I saw the link I’m sharing. I used to see this designation in many places, but it occurs to me that I don’t anymore. So I decided to take it out. Let me know if you have a preference for it to remain.

God shields us from most of the things we fear, but when he chooses not to shield us,
he unfailingly allots grace in the measure needed.
–Elisabeth Elliot, Secure in the Everlasting Arms

Laudable Linkage

Posted on September 14, 2024 by Barbara Harper

Some of the thought-provoking posts found this week:

A Sycamore Tree. a Car Crash, and God’s Provision, HT to Challies. “When we think of God’s providential provision for his children, we often think in immediate terms—the unexpected financial gift that comes on the day the bill is due, the odds-defying recovery, or the new job starting right when the severance pay ended. These kinds of immediate interventions are marvellous. They should lead us to praise and give thanks to the God who gives them. But we should also be ready to see that many of God’s provisions are prepared for us long before our needs arise.”

Brussels Sprouts or Brownies? How Would You Describe Your Bible Reading? “I wanted to love my Bible, but I didn’t. It seemed more like brussels sprouts than brownies. Something I consumed because it was good for me, not because it tasted good. I wish I could say my attitude toward the Bible changed overnight. Instead, it was a slow but steady transformation that began when I read a passage the apostle James wrote to the church. There I learned how to position myself to learn from and love God’s Word.”

Let the Cursor Blink, HT to Challies. “The path of wisdom has footprints of restraint. It’s the idea of holding back or keeping back. There’s an intentional restriction of what is said. This is the self-control that knows that sometimes it’s better to be slow to speak (James 1:19) or even not to speak (or text, or email, or post).”

Are Christians Parents Too Protective of Their Children? HT to Challies. “As nervous Christian parents, we sometimes think our number one job is to make sure our kids are never exposed to any non-Christian thinking. We may be tempted to place them inside a sanitized theological bubble, safe from all forms of intellectual contamination. But, as for germ-conscious parents, this may not be accomplishing what we think.”

You Can Parent Teens with Hope in a Secular Age. “All this leads Christian parents to their greatest concern: Is it possible for my teen to develop a strong faith in God amid a culture that celebrates sin, promotes self, and declares truth to be whatever feels good in the moment?“

Exercising an Idle Mind. “I see in myself the need to flee not just from idle hands but also an idle mind. As is true of many women, unless I’m sleeping, my mind is quite active. And if I do not give my mind a steady intake of good fuel to burn, I will often be burning whatever fuel I can find. The result? Lots of thoughts about aimless things.”

Walking Our Wives Through the Valley of Miscarriage: An Encouragement to Husbands, HT to Challies. “Miscarriage brings a unique grief in the valley of death; and it’s not an area well-known to us, especially us husbands. There are no maps; no entry and exit signs. There is only darkness, grief, and pain. And while, as fathers, we certainly grieve when our unborn children die, mothers seem to bear a far greater burden, a far deeper wound to the soul.”

Why We Worry When Choosing a Bible Translation, HT to Challies. There are difficulties but also benefits of having multiple Bible translations.

Why a Good God Commanded the Israelites to Destroy the Canaanites, HT to Challies. This is something atheists love to throw at Christians, and it’s something difficult to understand. This post raises some good points.

This hard place in which you, perhaps, find yourself, is the very place in which God is giving you opportunity to look only to Him. –Elisabeth Elliot

Laudable Linkage

Posted on September 7, 2024 by Barbara Harper

Here are some of the thought-provoking reads found this week:

Abortion vs. Free Speech. “Which of these election issues is more important to a believer?” The writer gives some compelling reasons why free speech might be, partly because we need it to speak out about abortion and other things. Some of the links to incidents curtailing free speech are frightening.

Suicide–When Hope Runs Out, HT to Challies. Reason people commit suicide, reasons not to.

When Resilience and Grit Aren’t Enough, HT to Challies. “I have pretty high odds, statistically, of having numerous, overwhelming problems as an adult, whether mental or physical, relational or marital, financial or housing-related. But in all of those areas, despite the odds, I’m doing okay—and immensely better than the generation before me in my family. Why is that?”

Where Are the Children? HT to Challies. “For many of us, apprehension about the faith of our children and the young people we care about runs deeper than concerns about how they will provide for themselves, whether they will find a spouse, or even if they will enjoy good health. Nothing is more critical than where they stand on this issue because it undergirds and informs everything. Yet, despite its importance and the significant influence God has given parents in guiding children’s faith, we struggle to wield that influence well.”

What a Rare Brain Tumor Is Teaching Me about the Art of Remembering and Forgetting, HT to Challies. God tells us to remember some things and forget others, but we so often get it backwards. A brain tumor affecting memory and cognition has taught the writer more along these lines.

How Do I Serve Without Becoming a Doormat? HT to Challies. “’How do you serve without becoming a doormat?’ This question, posed to me during a marriage counseling session, gets to the heart of a common misunderstanding of the biblical call to serve others. The short answer is that Jesus’s call never entails allowing another person to assert their will over you as you passively obey. However, we often struggle to understand key distinctions due to our failure to properly define our words.”

The Dutiful Introvert. “There was a time in my life when I allowed introversion to provide a ready excuse when I did not want to do something—when I did not want to accept an invitation, attend a gathering, or meet a new person. After all, why would I do something that clashes with my personality, that drains me, and that I can find exceedingly difficult?”

An Upside-Down Guide to High School, HT to Challies. “Within moments of high school, my subconscious was flooded with expectations, ideals, and possibilities for a happy life. Fast forward four years and I now have my diploma in hand and high school in the rear view mirror. Looking back I can confidently say my hopes were not all they were cracked up to be (but there is truth in all of them).”

Writing Prayers for Others, HT to Challies. “Especially when someone is suffering, I’ve found that a written prayer that includes the kinds of things I’m already praying ministers more effectively to my hurting friends than simply writing: “I’m praying for you.” I’ve also found that it is a helpful way of communicating to Christian friends the kinds of virtues that I’ve been praying will develop in their lives.”

Why We Haven’t Turned Off Our Live Stream. Stephen Neale responds here to a post by Tim Challies asking Is It Time to Stop Steaming Your Service? Both raise good points, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. My own two cents: we have appreciated live stream quite a lot both in visiting churches and in being able to watch while home sick. I don’t think we have to worry about whether we’re enabling people to avoid being part of a church. That’s not our purpose when we live stream, and if people misuse it, that’s between them and the Lord. I also don’t think we need to turn the service off during communion to emphasize that the people at home aren’t actually there–they’re aware and feel out-of-it as it is. I also think it’s good to acknowledge those who are watching online, though not entirely necessary. In our current church, the person making announcements will sometimes say something like, “We’re glad you’re here, in person or online.” At one church we visited for several weeks, the pastor would look into the camera directly and invite watchers to come in person or to call him if they had a need.

A Season of Singleness: Confronting the Coaches. I don’t know if we realize how much we wound young people when we try to “fix” their singleness with glib, thoughtless advice. Katie shares some godly responses.

How to Ask a Girl Out, HT to Challies. “If you are rolling your eyes about whether or not we even need this article, you may be losing touch with the current cultural climate and the effects of the internet-age.” It’s one of my parental regrets that we spent more time emphasizing to the boys not to pair off too soon, but didn’t go into the positive aspects of how to date and build relationships.

Tozer quote: Jesus is the only way to God

Jesus is not one of many ways to approach God, nor is He the best of several ways;
He is the only way.–A. W. Tozer

Laudable Linkage

Posted on August 31, 2024 by Barbara Harper

Here are some of the good reads found this week:

If You Confess: How to Bring Your Sins to God, HT to Challies. “When it comes to confessing our sins, many Christians fall into one of two errors — both of which steal joy, disrupt peace, and undermine assurance.”

When Life Feels Crushing, HT to Challies. “Some seasons are like that. They aren’t just overwhelming. They aren’t just hard. They aren’t just exhausting. They’re paralyzing, and from a humanity standpoint – they feel unbearable.” Sarah offers some helps for those times.

What Are Spiritual Gifts and How Do I Discover Mine? HT to Challies. This is probably the most helpful piece of writing I have seen on this subject.

Is “Allah” Just Another Word for God? HT to Challies. “There’s confusion about the word ‘Allah.’ Recently, a commentator claimed that ‘Allah’ is just the Arabic word for God, and that it doesn’t specifically refer to a different god. Her reasoning? ‘Arabic-speaking Christians pray to ‘Allah.’’ Is that true? Yes and no. Some nuance is needed. Here are four points to understand.” I appreciate clarity on this from one who knows.

Transgender, Intersex, and the Olympics. I appreciate the advice and example to wait and be sure we have the facts before we speak out on something. The topic here is two Olympic boxers who identified as female. “Political and religious conservatives jumped on the story immediately, decrying transgenderism and the unfairness to women in allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports.” That’s a valid concern but wasn’t the issue here. The women were intersex, not transgender.

More Than Bodies: Examining Our Assumptions About Disability, HT to Challies. Our prayers ad concerns for disabled friends tends toward a desire for healing, for whatever their disability is to be “fixed.” But their needs go deeper.

Eliminating Negative Self-Talk: 4 Key Reasons and Actionable Tips. “Do you respond to a compliment by putting yourself down? Do you verbally attack yourself because of your own clumsiness, forgetfulness, or aging body? You, my friend, may struggle with negative self-talk. So do I. And I’m guessing we aren’t alone. What a relief, huh? But the everybody-does-it response won’t cut it. It can be a comfort but not an excuse.”