a quiet life | Stray Thoughts

Here are some of the latest links to helpful reads:

Be Careful When Defending or Opposing Christian Nationalism. Different people mean different things by the term.

Not Brave, HT to Challies. “I don’t know about you, but I am not brave. I dread criticism and judgment. I’d rather work behind the scenes than live in the spotlight and be open to the critique of others. The world is hostile and people can be harsh. Let someone who likes the attention rise up and be the focus. Have you ever uttered these sentiments? If so, you are not alone.”

Raising Little Image-Bearers, HT to the Story Warren. “I think my early parenting was often shaped by the unexamined thought, ‘Look at this small person I have made and will shape into my perfect-parenting-book-inspired image!’ . . . We long for the Bible to give us clear steps on how to produce wonderful children. But what if instead of looking for step-by-step instructions, we zoomed out to the bigger picture from Genesis 1:26-28 of what God has crafted.”

Use Your Comfort Zone to the Glory of God, HT to Challies. “‘Get out of your comfort zone.’ We hear it all the time, from friends, family, business leaders, church leaders, and actually, the whole rest of the world, it seems. But I’m going to encourage you here to do just the opposite: to find your comfort zone and stay in it.”

Should Our Joy Depend on Our Circumstances? HT to Challies. “Instead of saying, ‘My circumstances don’t matter; they’re not the source of my joy,’ we’d be better off saying: ‘God uses my best circumstances to encourage me, and He can use my worst circumstances to enrich me.'” Yes! I’ve often been frustrated by the dichotomy many see between happiness and joy. I usually see it in the saying, “God wants you to be holy, not happy”—as if we can’t be both.

How Can I Lead a Quiet Life When My Job Requires Self-Promotion? HT to Challies. “First Thessalonians 4:11–12 talks about making it your ambition to lead a quiet life. As a commercial real estate broker, I’m told to advertise and promote myself to attract new clients. How should I reconcile these apparently opposing positions?”

Stop Calling Them Names, HT to Challies. “If you’re prone to use name-calling with theological opponents, consider three passages in Scripture and how they address our unhealthy culture in evangelicalism of pejorative labeling.”

The Goal of Scripture Memorization is not Recitation, HT to Challies. “As I’ve grown up in the faith and studied God’s Word, though, I’ve realized that the goal of Scripture memorization is never to recite it for the applause of men or to win a competition. Though the programs of my childhood smartly utilized games and competitions to encourage us to memorize, the goal was to store up God’s Word like a treasure so that when we needed to remember the gospel or God’s character or how to live as His people, the words of the Bible would already be buried deep within us. The point of Scripture memorization, I realized, was to remember.”

Help for Family Devotions, HT to Challies. “Many families attempt to practice family devotions but end up falling off the bandwagon for various reasons. If you’ve ever been discouraged about family devotions, here are five encouragements to help your family navigate the frustrations.”

Ten Reasons the Old Testament Matters for Christians, HT to Challies. “Should I as a believer in the twenty-first century claim Old Testament promises as mine? Does the Mosaic law still matter today for followers of Jesus? Is the Old Testament Christian Scripture, and if so, how should we approach it?”

12 Axioms for Young Missionaries, HT to Challies. Though aimed at missionaries, these “business proverbs” are useful when involved in any kind of ministry.

Introducing “Remembering Our Parents.” My friend Lois has created an Instagram community “for all of us with moms and dads who are gone but definitely not forgotten.” Readers can share a memory or story and photo of their parents. This post tells how it came about and suggests prompts for what to share.

God's self-exaltation is not because he's incomplete without praise, but because we're not complete without it. John Piper

I’m a little behind on my blog-reading, but here’s a collection of good reads from this week. Some are just in time for Father’s Day.

My 10 Favorite Attributes of God as Father. “Regardless of our earthly-father experience, God as Father, rises above any father definitions we write into our stories. He is Abba Father.”

I Am My Father’s Son (Hope for Failing Dads on Father’s Day). “I know he is anxious about this conversation. I know he is fearful of his accountability of the past. He is well aware of his sins and his demons and his neglect of those he should have loved.”

Honoring Your Father When He’s Evil, HT to Challies. “In our family, I was taught to honor my father and mother, forgive others, and not gossip, but homes warped by abuse have their own language. ‘Forgive’ meant pretend you’re happy, even when you’re covered in bruises. ‘Honor your father’ meant obey him, even when you’re terrified he might kill you. And we were repeatedly warned not to ‘gossip,’ which meant telling anyone the truth.”

A Good Friday Ride, HT to Challies. “It occurred to me to marvel that we’d meet a Muslim man on Good Friday and have him evangelize to us rather than the other way around. And it also occurred to me to pray—even if just for an instant—for this fellow image-bearer of God who would so excitedly and passionately share his faith with us.”

The Good Commission, HT to Challies. “I would trade every kid who takes a mission trip to change the world for one who would stay home and clean his room, treat his brother like a human being and help mom around the house without being asked twice. Changing the world is easy, the latter is harder and far more Christlike.”

Fighting Atrophy, HT to Challies. “Just like our muscles atrophy and weaken through lack of use so our spiritual muscles atrophy though lack of use. The question as things reopen is will we put the work in to develop and grow those muscles that have atrophied in recent months?”

Dealing with Criticism: 7 Truths to Remember, HT to Lisa. “No one likes criticism, but it’s an inevitable and valuable part of life. Here are some truths to deal with criticism next time you’re so fortunate to receive it.”

Happy Saturday, and I hope you have a great Father’s Day tomorrow.